A new episode of Dancing with the Stars season 11 aired last night. I snuggled in to watch another two hours of crazy costumes, various levels of dance skill, and the hilarious Bruno Tonioli. (I don’t think he was too hard on Michael Bolton last week, not at all!) It was week 3 and that meant it was STORY NIGHT. Sadly, I didn’t watch last year and had no idea what I was in for. (I totally have to Youtube the Paparazzi dance that Kate Gosselin did, right?)

The dance selections last night were: samba, foxtrot and waltz. Meanwhile, co-host Brooke Burke was wearing a dress that showed so much cleavage it was ridiculously inappropriate. Who’s in charge of her outfits?!

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough: Their story was about an older teacher and a young school boy. It was hard to tell who was the pro because Jen is SO good. I thought they easily should have been the best of the night, but the judges are apparently a little blind! Len said he really loved the dance and that the choreography was very clever. Bruno said she was the sexy mistress of cougar town’s academy of samba. (I wonder if Bruno knows that Cougar Town is an actual show?) Carrie Ann said the pair was slightly out of sync (!), but that they really stayed in character. The judges also said there was a mess-up, but I didn’t even see it. Then Jen and Derek redid the move they messed-up to prove they could do it.

Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas: They did a song from “The Sound of Music” – but the one I never liked as I was growing up: “Edelweiss.” But I will admit that this morning I was humming the song, and have a craving to re-watch the movie. (SEE WHAT MEDIA INFLUENCING CAN DO?) Florence has played Maria on the stage before, so thiswas a great song selection for them. I also loved the green skirt Florence wore (the top half was cheesy, although appropriate), and they ended their waltz with a half-hearted lip-to-lip kiss. Bruno said he could really feel the emotional connection she had with the role. He also said the waltz should have continuous progression, so she did need to work on that. It’s just a matter of being confidence with the steps – which is hard when you’re new to dance. Carrie said it was a little simple, and wants to see the boundaries pushed. Len said it was emotional and sweet, and that the story was beautiful. But, he also said she has no technique in her feet. All that said, Florence has loved this show and wanted to be on it forever, I hope she sticks around for a long time.

Kurt Warner and Anna: The good news is that I’m starting to like Anna. The bad news is that I have completely given up trying to spell her last name. This duo had a difficult song to tell a story with – “Bad Day.”  They turned it into a kind of… Kurt’s character was cheering Anna’s up after a bad day. Eh. Carrie said Kurt was charming and their hold was beautiful. She loved it. Len said Kurt’s arms weren’t as musical as they should have been, but otherwise it was great. Bruno said his frying pan hands were kind of all over the place, so he has to be cleaner with his movements. Kurt practiced being more delicate by having a tea party with his two daughters. It was adorable. I also LOVED how his one daughter was shy with the camera’s there so she whispered in his ears how he should wear a princess dress next time (and then he repeated it aloud – which is how I know that’s what she said. I’m not a mind reader. Yet.)

Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel: For the “Copacabana” Cho was wearing a large yellow, feather headdress that was distracting. Luckily she took it off quickly. Len said he didn’t get the story, and the legs got heavy later. Bruno praised her for wearing a rainbow (a symbol of gay pride), but said she lost her way with the footwork. Carrie said she also loved the story but things looked out of control. I felt the same, it looked confusing. I wish they had talked about what the story meant a little bit more. After the dance, Cho spoke a tiny bit about what the rainbow meant and how so many gay teenagers are committing suicide, and it has to stop. There was more of a message here than we really got to hear. My friend was like, “I hate rainbow dresses, that’s ugly” so I was trying to explain how it was symbolic. But with ballroom costumes, so many are so ugly that it’s hard to know when something is purposeful and not just an accidental hot mess. Cho’s dancing skills aren’t great, and I think she may be booted soon.

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