Middle tier
8. Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess: 23
Bobby chose graduating from high school as his most important year — because it was the first time someone in his family had done so. He had a contemporary dance, and though there were moments of exuberance, they mostly fit the song. This reviewer caught a few moments where he seemed to be more walking than dancing, but he also had moments where he shone, and that is a massive improvement.
Carrie Ann dubbed it “magic.” Bruno told him to “keep it going.” We might just have a dancer in Bobby yet — and he pulled off his highest score of the season. Welcome to the middle tier, sir.
7. Mary Lou Retton and Sasha Farber – Viennese Waltz 8, 8, 8 (24)
While she spent a not inconsiderable time out of hold, Sasha choreographed a pretty great Viennese waltz for her, and leaving her to hold her hands up in the classic gymnastics finishing pose was, dare we say it, golden. “I loved that. I loved that determination,” Bruno said, before praising her improvement. Carrie Ann was already teary, though she did note that Mary Lou improved as she went on in the waltz.
She is moving on up, and over the weeks, she has shown that without a doubt, she will power through and not let things get to her. It’s an underrated skill in Dancing with the Stars.
6. DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold: 26
DeMarcus cited the year he won the Super Bowl as his most memorable year. There’s always been a strength to his dancing, but he put it on display to full effect in this Argentine tango. There were a few brief moments where he danced down, but he made a strong comeback after a bit of a weird week last week.
“It blew me away,” Carrie Ann said. Even though it wasn’t traditionally Argentine tango, necessarily, Len had quite a bit of praise. In a normal week, this would bump him back to the top tier, but there were four couples who surpassed him. (That’s right: two 9s no longer guarantees a spot in the top. That’s how tough this season is.)
5. Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten: 26
Contemporary might always look easy, but there are ways to do it wrong and ways to do it right. It was clear that this dance was hard on Alexis in particular, but there were some beautiful, beautiful shapes, and though there was pain in it, there was also a tenderness. Alan is turning out to be a great choreographer.
“Loved the lifts, Alan,” Len said, and Bruno compared her to an angel. As Erin Andrews noted, she also put up her highest score so far in the competition.