DWTS - Latin Night

It was the Samba and the Rumba on Dancing with the Stars last night and my favorites had strong showings, ending up in the top three. With another nearly perfect score of 29, Kristi Yamaguchi continues to dominate the competition. She can go on all she wants about how dancing is different from skating, but I definitely saw some figure skating type moves in her sensuous Rumba. She was chastised last week for being too controlled, so this week she literally let down her hair. The judges were duly impressed, but to me it didn't seem like she was quite letting go. Still, it's her competition to lose--no question!

Jason Taylor also performed the Rumba that was really steamy, earning a 27. He uses his tallness to great advantage and seems as at ease on the dance floor as he (most likely) is on the football field. The only downside to his performance was an excessive amount of showboating by partner Edyta--something that judge Len Goodman called her on. I've also noticed the same tendency to preen and pose by the other female professionals--using their male celebrity partners mainly as support beams for their splits and back bends. It's a bit annoying, but I doubt it will be eliminated. That's why people tune in, right?

Also scoring a 27 was hottie Mario whose Samba was very smooth and professional. Again, these three are my picks to go to the finals. The dark horses of the competition--Cristian and Shannon Elizabeth--both earned 23's for their Rumba and Samba, respectively. Rumba was very pretty--but that was more courtesy of his partner Cristian'sCheryl (see discussion of showboating above...) and Shannon's Samba was very pretty, but lacking in the requisite hip action.

Moving ahead of those two was Marisa Winokur, who DID have a lot of hip action in her Samba. She earned a 24 for her energetic and upbeat performance. Falling behind again this week was Marlee Matlin, who had fire and passion in her Samba but was a bit off rhythm and out of step. The judges continued to praise her accomplishments given her deafness (something I'm sure she's tired of "hearing"), but only gave her a 22. And at the bottom of the pack was Priscilla Presley whose awkward and tentative Rumba only rated a 21. Now, I'm not really a fan of Ms. Presley, but I give major props to a 60-something year old who can gracefully execute a SPLIT! Still, given her low score and the fact she was in last week's bottom two, I predict last night was Priscilla's last dance.