‘Dancing With the Stars’ results recap: Curtains for Chaz
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Well, the story of the Phantom of the Opera ended in curtains for the guy with the mask, and Chaz Bono suffered a similar fate on this sixth week of “Dancing With the Stars.” The author and activist and pro partner Lacey Schwimmer were deemed the latest contestants ousted from the “DWTS” ballroom, promptly concluding a particularly dramatic Broadway Week.
No one could say that this elimination was a surprise- – Chaz had been hovering at or near the bottom of the leader board for quite a while, and Lacey made it clear during rehearsals that his routines’ levels of difficulty were not up to snuff. Also, the backstage footage revealed he’d had it to there with Bruno’s pandering cuddly animal comparisons, so maybe the time was right for the contestant and the judge to part ways. But embattled couple Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were also deemed in jeopardy alongside Chaz and Lacey, so this elimination could have gone either way.
But even Maks’ bold claim that “this is my show” (prompting gasps of disbelief from Carrie Ann and Bruno when uttered on Monday night) did not deter voters from calling in their support. Though Maks did well to take it back. “It’s not my show,” Maks backpedaled later. “I’m part of a large cast, and they’re amazing.” “Damn,” added Tom with a pitch-perfect zing. “And I was going to ask him for a raise.”
Still, author, activist and Sonny and Cher progeny Chaz left with his unmasked head held high. “I took so much away for this; it really pushed me and showed me that I could do so much more than I ever thought I could,” he said. “I wanted to show America a different kind of man.”
After a two-week hiatus, we were treated once again to the encore dance performance. The honors this week went to J.R. and Karina for their razzle-dazzle “Chicago”-themed quickstep, which showed off as much fringey fun as their first time around. Encore bonus: being told immediately after that they were moving on to next week’s Halloween special.
The Macy’s Stars of Dance performance featured Corbin Bleu in a nod to Broadway numbers choreographed by Kenny Ortega. The ambitious piece started with Corbin in a jacket tapping on the grand staircase to “42nd Street,” then in purple and in a chain-link cage with “Cool” from “West Side Story,” and ended with him donning red and a newsboy cap and attempting his best Lin-Manuel Miranda impression for a rousing version of “In the Heights” from the eponymous musical. It can’t be easy singing and dancing at the same time. Didn’t it seem like the “High School Musical” star was huffing and puffing to make it through by the routine’s end?
Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Kristin Chenowith came back for the second night in a row to perform “Lessons Learned” from her latest album, “Some Lessons Learned.” She was cute as a button, and Tony Dovolani danced it out on the ballroom floor with “DWTS” Troupe member Dasha Chesnokova, and she and Kristin were in matching one-shoulder dresses during their performance. Kristin told Tom she loved Broadway night. “This is as old school as it gets,” she said. The singer and actress was also diplomatic about whom she was rooting for, name-checking J.R., Ricki, Nancy and David before saying, “I’m always going to go for the petite woman, though” (if only Carson was still around!). Later, Martina McBride appeared in a stark white dress with a black flower pattern to perform “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” under chandeliers, while Val Chmerkovskiy and Chelsie Hightower twirled romantically like windswept lovers on the dance floor.
We were also treated to a Halloween special preview where a heavily guylinered Mark Ballas appeared alongside Lacey Schwimmer and a bunch of dancing kids (“Dancing With the Stars’ 2020 pros,” as Tom called them) dressed up like a Nutcracker zombie crew to groove to a spooky haunted house routine, choreographed by Lacey.
What did you think, ballroom fans? Did the right contestant go home this week? Was Maks’ apology enough to win him a reprieve? How cute was Kym pretending to move back to Australia if ‘Davy’ didn’t give her a good quickstep? Can anyone catch J.R. and Ricki at this point?
Related:
‘Dancing With the Stars’ recap: Broadway Bound
‘Dancing With the Stars’ results recap: Pom-Pom and Circumstance
Complete ‘Dancing With the Stars’ coverage on Show Tracker
— Allyssa Lee