Dancing with the Stars week 2 power rankings: It’s a low roll for DeMarcus Ware

Middle tier

8. Nancy McKeon and Val Chmerkovskiy (21; 20)

The only paso doblé of the night belonged to this couple. There was definitely a misstep or two in her performance, but Nancy McKeon had her serious face on and seemed to get into the character of a paso pretty well. “It was full of attack,” Len said, before asking for more elegance.

She dropped in score as well, since Len was tough on her. However, she has higher potential, we think, than Bobby Bones or even John Schneider, because she’s able to bring different characters to each night and is thus far more consistent in scores rather than only showing flashes of greatness. Consistency might not get her far, but it gets her into the middle tier.

7. Mary Lou Retton and Sasha Farber (22; 24)

Ironically enough, “Copacabana” mentions cha cha and meringue, and yet these two had to do the samba. Sasha Farber pointed out that this is not an easy dance, and he’s right. There were a few bits where Mary Lou Retton seemed to have moments of pausing. However, it was still fun to watch, as Carrie Ann said. “That was a proper, proper, proper samba,” Len said, clearly pleased.

An improvement on her night one scores gets her into the middle tier, but with so many couples stepping it up, that’s about as far as she can go — for now.

6. Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe (24; 24)

Keo Motsepe deployed the open shirt technique for this jive, but he didn’t really need it. Evanna Lynch came out and actually kicked the dance-off with a brief solo section, and she frankly seemed to show another improvement — and displayed a much more free-spirited character. “It could have been a bit cleaner in places,” Len said, but overall, she had really positive scores. She hasn’t quite broken into the top tier yet. However, things are looking bright.

5. DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold (24; 23)

With a live performance of his own via Boyz II Men, DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold seemed to be the opposite of John and Emma. This dance just seemed to suit him more, and his smile seemed a lot more natural. Quickstep was tough on his frame, which Carrie Ann and Len both commented on, but he had a strong performance in terms of showmanship, as Bruno noted.

Don’t worry, fans: I don’t think he’s going anywhere just yet. But in a week where hitting 24 became pretty well-expected, he’s not going to make the top tier with a 23.