‘Dancing with the Stars 16’ review: Zendaya, Kellie Pickler take over prom week

Are you read for prom night on “Dancing with the Stars”? This week’s episode was a trip down memory lane; or in the case of Zendaya, where she will probably be going in a few months. This show loves costumes, and from a design perspective you had to love all of the colors and fancy gowns.

As for the dancing, there really was an interesting sort of divide this week. A little over half of these contestants really seem like they have the potential to go far; meanwhile, the others just seem to be missing something (drive, talent) to have them become something more than just cannon fodder.

Aly Raisman & Mark Ballas – In starting prom night, it only seemed appropriate that we had a more romantic routine. It was sweet and subtle, and it shows that Aly is really growing at something that we presumed would be her weakness before the competition: connecting emotionally to the song. Score: 23

Andy Dick & Sharna Burgess – Andy seems to have realized that he is this year’s Carson Kressly. He’s not a very good dancer, and will probably never be a very good dancer. Therefore, he’s really just better off playing up the silly angle for as long as he possibly can. We can’t really blame him; we’d rather see fun bad dancing than boring bad dancing. Score: 18

Ingo Rademacher & Kym Johnson – We still don’t think that Ingo is particularly long for the show, mostly because he has that feeling of a guy who is not really going to pull in new fans beyond the ones that he came on the show with. Talent-wise, he’s certainly good enough to stay for another week, but we’re not quite sure it will happen. Score: 21

Lisa Vanderpump & Gleb Savchenko – It’s much easier for Lisa to shine in ballroom than in Latin, and this waltz was perfect for her and for the night’s theme. Is it redemption following a week in the bottom two? If nothing else, she at least gave herself a fighting chance at lasting for another week. Score: 21

Kellie Pickler & Derek Hough – We knew that Kellie would have the performance aspect of this show down pat, but who expected her to be so dynamic a performer so quickly? We sure didn’t, and that has in part made her a little more endearing as a contender to win the whole thing. This jive was a worthy follow-up to her routine last week, which was a hard thing to live up to. Score: 25

Victor Ortiz & Lindsay Arnold – Who doesn’t love a good comeback? To think that Victor may have been eliminated last week were it not for Dorothy Hamill’s injury is pretty sad, since this contemporary was fluid, passionate, and miles ahead of anything the boxer has done just far. Is it fair to say that he is now back in the ring? Score: 23

D.L. Hughley & Cheryl Burke – This was bad. Granted, Latin dances seem to be too fast for the comedian … but is there anything that he would really do a great job at? The difference between him and Andy is that at least the other funnyman this season is trying to be entertaining to make up for the dance. This, however, didn’t quite do that. Score: 16

Jacoby Jones & Karina Smirnoff – This routine was the rumba, and so the NFL star chose to really capitalize on something that is often the strength of the dance in pure sex appeal. There was another strong routine for Jacoby, and this alone tells us that he could end up staying deep in the competition. Score: 24

Wynonna Judd & Tony Dovolani – Is Wynonna being afraid, or are we seeing at the moment now the full extent of her dancing ability? We did not expect anyone to be a dud on the same level as D.L., but she rivaled him tonight with a routine that was mostly her just standing around. Score: 15

Sean Lowe & Peta Murgatroyd – Sean’s not a good dancer, but he tried! Isn’t that good for something? The good news is that his fans will eat up this YMCA routine, and thus he will probably survive for a few more weeks. Score: 21

Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy – The show really wants you to know that Zendaya is a great dancer. She is in the front of some of the cast photos, and she also happens to be the best dancer on the show by a mile when it comes to talent. This actually wasn’t their best performance, but does it matter? She’s sure to survive. Score:

Who was your favorite dancer in the ballroom this week? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can see where we ranked the contenders going into the show by heading on over to the link here.

Photo: ABC