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April 27th, 2010
09:34 AM ET
'Dancing' recap: Champ suffers concussion, low scores testing captions Poor Evan Lysacek. The Olympic skating champ who has been doing so well on “Dancing With the Stars” not only suffered a mild concussion during rehearsals for last night’s show, but also received his first bad reviews from the judges. Lysacek performed the samba with his professional partner Anna Trebunskaya - a performance that seemed really terrific and showed off his great posture and dancing skills. But judge Bruno Tonioli summed it up this way: “It was pretty to look at, but it wasn’t correct for this dance.” Judge Len Goodman called it Lysacek’s worst dance so far and pronounced it “too balletic.” Lysacek seemed to take it all in stride, perhaps still recovering from the concussion he suffered while Trebunskaya flipped him over her back as they were rehearsing for the swing dance marathon, prompting him to land straight on his head... a moment the producers showed over and over again. Last night’s show was the first Kate-Gosselin-free episode of “DWTS” and there were no cringe-worthy performances. Jake “The Bachelor” Pavelka did a decent job with the samba, though Tonioli said that he lacked bounce. Comedienne Niecy Nash performed what was perhaps the first Argentine tango with a dash of comedy in it, playfully biting off part of a rose at the beginning. (Her professional partner, Louis Van Amstel, ended the routine by taking a bite of a cookie and almost choking for real.) ESPN correspondent Erin Andrews is still bickering with her professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy in rehearsals, but they received mostly good scores for their samba. The biggest attention-getter of that number seemed to be Andrews’ giant skirt made of feathers, which made her look like a purple version of Big Bird. After the dance, Goodman blamed Chmerkovskiy for not bringing out Andrews’ full dancing potential, which prompted a flash of anger on Chmerkovskiy’s face. Football star Chad Ochocinco was urged to take the lead in the Argentine tango and he did so, resulting in a passionate performance that the judges loved. Singer Nicole Scherzinger did a great, festive samba that received a perfect score from Tonioli, but which prompted Goodman to remark: “It’s not a samba, it’s a hodge podge of sexy moves and gyrations.” Meanwhile, actress Pamela Anderson tackled the Argentine tango in a brunette wig, but she seemed a bit hesitant and wobbly at times. The swing dance marathon was the big finale for the evening and the first group dance of the season. Scherzinger received the top scores for that one and once again leads the pack. Pavelka is at the bottom. Who do you think should be voted off tonight?
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@ Simi - I agree with you completely. I didn't mean to offend anyone... if my comment came across as rude it's because I was annoyed that the person I had replied assumed that everyone knew that Evan Lysacek was an American Olympian and that having no knowledge of that was laughable.
I did address that Evan was born in America but also cleared up his ethnicity, since even I had to look it up after I first saw him on DWTS. I honestly think that was where the original questioner was coming from. Like Evan, I too was born in the US but am of Nigerian descent. I answer both when I asked where I'm from, because I think when I speak, it's obvious I'm American and that's not the question people are really asking.
People get so touchy when the whole ethnicity vs. nationality vs. American vs. non-American issue comes up. No one is trying to take away from him being an American. I was just trying to acknowledge his original ancestry.
Okay this nationality question is bothering me like a nervous tick. The original question posed was absolutely correct: What is Evan's nationality, i.e. what country does his family come from. Ethnicity just lumps people into like 5 basic categories (white black brown etc.) and it isn't very helpful at all.
I live in Queens, the most diverse county in the entire USA, and this is how we approach this matter. He is clearly American, but his nationality is Greek and Czech (I think). My ethnicity is Indian for example, but my family comes from Guyana, a South American country thousands of miles away from Asia and with an entirely different culture. The difference is a bit more than subtle.
Sorry if I sound full of myself but I'm OCD about some of these things. Feel free to judge me accordingly.
BTW Evan's performance was great and he was scammed by the judges. 8's at the very least would have been what he deserved.
It's time to ditch Jake. His 15 minutes were up a long time ago. He never belonged on this show, so that tells me they were really scraping the barrel to staff this season with "celebrities."
I think lastnight was a toss up. I mean I felt they were being unfairly harsh on some and overly judgemental or too quick to give glowing praise. I mean if you though that they have shown such vast improvment or you enjoyed it 'that much' then why low scores. Nichole is, I find, in the same boat is Mya was lastyear. They add someone with a bit of a stronger background and insist of tearing it apart to make it appear even. Its not fair on Nichole or the other contestants. If you wanted it to be even, adding a dancer to the mix is probably not a fair challenge. But scolding her to make it appear like they did not make a mistake? That is not fair to her. They should be judging each couple individually with a basic mindset of what they are looking for. The nit picking of the stronger dancers and then the overly encouraging for the lesser does not make anyone become better dancers or prepare for the next episode. Either pick at them all the same or support them all the same. Otherwise it looks petty and judgemental withouth actually feeling like they are being judged properly
Maks and Erin! So cute together and although Evan and Nicole are fantastic, they do have an advantage with their dancing/skating backgrounds. Erin is a truly tackling something new!
Seriously, TBomb? I totally agree with you. I just wanted another comment that started with "Seriously". Do you know what I have realized recently? There are only two things that IQ has no influence on... making babies and posting comments on the internet. Cheers!
Thank you to TBomb and es for correcting ella.
I'm just happy Goodman noted that there was no samba whatsoever on Nicole's choreography and song.
Anyone who would affirm that choreography was samba, or that Rick Martin song (seriously???) was samba, have never seen a real samba before. EVER!
Shame on the producers for not making sure the contestants use the right song for their performances, it's kind of disrespectful with the Brazilian culture.
Am I the only one who thought she saw Maks throw his sleeves at Len? By the way I think Erin and Maks are great and I vote for them each week. She is not a dancer yet looks wonderful on that dance floor.. That tells me she works hard each week.
I agree with TBomb in response to nationality vs. ethnicity. However, American is incorrect. His nationality is United States. Anywhere else in the world considers "America" as any country in North AND South America.
Seriously ella? Evan's NATIONALITY is American – as in he was born in the United States. The correct question would have been "What is his enthnicity?" The answer to that would be Greek and Czech. And just for my own information – What is a common "American" last name? This country has been a melting pot for hundreds of years. Almost all of our citizens' ancestors came from somewhere else. Is your "common American" last name "Little Feather"? Be nice.
Evan is an amazing dancer! Too bad he wasn't partnered with Julianne Hough. He would win...but still might. He had lover
scores last night bec of the choreography for that type of dance.
And that didn't have anything to do with his dancing. His moves
are outstanding! It would have been great to have seen Derek
and Julianne (brother & sister) compete for the win, again. But
this time they would have both been given dancers with great
potential to win. Evan has the biggerst challenge but Julianne
can take someone with no dance background and turn them
into champs.
Go Nicole! Jai Ho, baby!
Seriously, kv? Evan was BORN in America, sure, but he is of Greek and Czech descent. Hello, his last name is Lysacek... hardly your common "American" last name. Trust me, I'm holding back on being just as rude as you were to the above poster.
Seriously, Millie? Evan Lysacek is an American... He won figure-skating gold for the US in the Vancouver Olympics – just a few weeks ago!
Evan is not poor by any means and he has quite a body. What nationality is he?
KATE IS GONE AND SO ARE THE COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG!!!!!
the only couple len liked last night was ochocinco and cheryl! i thought ocho was terrific and much improved! it bothers me that nicole has an unfair advantage, i really hope she is not voted the winner!
Just give me Idol!!!