‘Dancing with the Stars 23’ review: How Terra Jole, Jana Kramer, Laurie Hernandez fared in week 5
Tonight’s “Dancing with the Stars” marked the fifth week of performances, and we’re starting to get to the point of the show where the metaphorical rubber starts to really hit the road. The majority of the dancers left at this point are capable of getting good numbers, and there are some underdogs who will be looking to do anything and everything in their power to overthrow the favorites. At the top of said list has to be Laurie Hernandez, who has remained for the most part dominant this season.
Just like with every other performance-show review in the “Dancing with the Stars” world, we’ll be updating this article live as we progress. Be sure to refresh the page live!
Maureen McCormick and Artem Chivintsev – The former “Brady Bunch” star took on this “most memorable year” theme with a routine that was emotional. How about this for a beginning? Sure, the story of the dance was there, but Artem has done a wonderful job teaching her technique — and Maureen has shown to be a great student. Every week, she just gets better and better. Score: 24.
Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold – Calvin told a story about his record-setting rise to stardom and the importance of his family. There wasn’t anything that stood out necessarily about the dance itself, but at the same time it was really entertaining and there was a great appearance from former NFL star Jerry Rice to boot. Score: 24.
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko – Easily the best dance from Jana all season, and also the most emotional as she told the story of her past and how important her child really was to her. Maybe you can argue that the emotional overwhelmed the routine at times, but after watching this it’s almost impossible to be cynical of anything. Score: 26.
Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke – Is there something in the water tonight? Almost everyone is stepping things up, and that includes the Olympic swimmer as he came out and delivered what was his strongest dance to date. Also, we felt his vulnerability for once! Score: 24.
Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy – We’re now at the point where Laurie getting a 25 is marked by a ton of criticism, as though the judges have to justify her getting a score that is not in the upper stratosphere. If nothing else, that should be further evidence of her greatness, but she was definitely more than one point better than Ryan, right? Score: 25.
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough – This was a dance honoring her mother and the time before landing “Taxi,” and it certainly fulfilled the trend tonight of being beautiful and showing the best of what she does as a dancer. Think of this as the epic comeback of someone who once appeared in a little dancer. Score: 27.
Amber Rose and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Amber had the samba, and that in itself created more of a challenge for her as she tried to sculpt an emotional performance honoring many of the women out there — and also her son at the same time. Yet, she hit the technique well, and while we’ve seen crazier dancers in this style, she made the most of it. Score: 24.
James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess – After a story about his devastating injury, James came out with what may be one of the most passionate, entertaining tangos we’ve seen in quite some time. Great posture, good technique, and a lot of fun as a whole. Score: 29!
Terra Jole and Sasha Farber – She closed the night, and did so with a really emotional tribute to her father that felt almost like a story more so than the dance. It felt like a “So You Think You Can Dance” routine! While we do think there were several dancers that were technically stronger, this one delivered when it comes to heart. Score: 27.
Remember that if you want to see where we ranked the Stars going into tonight’s episode, be sure to head over to the link here. (Photo: ABC.)