‘Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars’ review: Melissa Rycroft takes over on hectic night

“Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” really crammed it all in on Monday night. There were two dances for every pair this time around as we near a special double-elimination, and all of these dances really blew by in the blink of an eye. Derek Hough was also back after a week off due to injury, and even though he is still hurting, he’s going to soldier on for the rest of the season.

Since there are so many performances here, we’re going to share some quick impressions of each one, including the trio performances in round two, along with the scores. Who were some of your favorites? Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this article to both vote in the poll and share your thoughts with a comment.

Shawn Jonhson and Derek Hough

Dance 1 – Shawn has never really excelled when it comes to emotional dances, but this Viennese waltz was actually subtle and lovely. Could it be a little bit more emotional? Definitely, but it may be the best slow routine she’s ever done on the show. Score: 29.5

Dance 2 – The second dance was pretty much every woman’s dream: doing a samba with a shirtless Derek and Mark Ballas. However, it was a nightmare for Len, who tore into the pros for some choreography that was not a samba at all. Score: 26, which brings her overall total to 93.5.

Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff

Dance 1 – Apolo brought plenty of energy to this tango, but it suffered in parts just because for whatever reason, the Olympian did not really jump off as an entertainer as much as he needed to be. This is the time in the competition where everyone gets high scores, though, and this did not hold him back much. Score: 29.5

Dance 2 – For whatever reason, Apolo got to dance a jive that actually featured Karina as much as him given that he was mostly just mirroring troupe member Sasha. “Greased Lightning” was great, but it did not create the “wow” moment that Apolo probably needed. Score: 29, which brings his total to 91.5.

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chermkovskiy

Dance 1 – Is a good dance bad when it is simple? This is the debate for Kirstie’s waltz. It was probably her strongest technical dance to date, but Maks did not exactly load it with difficult choreography … and the scores reflected that. Score: 27

Dance 2 – For this paso doble, Maks brought in Tristan to help … but he couldn’t save this routine from being a hot mess. Even in spite of the angelic theme and all of the entertainment, this may have been Kirstie’s last dance this season. Score: 24, and brings her to 79.

Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy

Dance 1 – This waltz was pretty solid, but it actually did not flow nearly as well as the earlier two waltzes on the night. The biggest issue with Kelly at the moment is that you can just tell she is exhausted, and understandably so given her schedule at the moment. Score: 28

Dance 2 – Louis van Amstel returns here, and this was really pretty much the earlier dance with Shawn but with Kelly. Does being shirtless mean higher scores or something? This was a decent jive, but is anyone else feeling disappointed that some of these routines are not popping? Score: 28.5, which brings her total to 92.5.

Gilles Marini and Peta Mugatroyd

Dance 1 – Was this quickstep perfect? Not exactly, but it had “Top Gun” written all of it and was thoroughly entertaining. What the judges being hard on Gilles as of late, this is a dance that he really needed to excel at; and while it was not a perfect score, it was still pretty darn good. Score: 29.5

Dance 2 – This was a pretty cool routine, and it featured two ladies in Peta and Chelsie Hightower. Once again, though, what really made it so special? It almost feels like the dancers were so overwhelmed this week both of their routines suffered. Score: 29, and an overall total of 92.

Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke

Dance 1 – This dance was almost identical to what Kirstie did with the waltz. It was not exactly exciting by any means, even if it was fairly solid on a technical level. Score: 28

Dance 2 – Remember what we said about none of these dances popping? Well, this proves us wrong! With the help of Kym Johnson, this routine was like one gigantic party … and nobody is better at throwing a party than Emmitt. Score: 30, and he topped Gilles overall with a 92.5.

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani

Dance 1 – Who doesn’t love a good quickstep … or a great quickstep? After seeming like she was destined to be in the middle of the pack earlier this season, the former “Bachelor” star is quickly becoming a frontrunner. Score: 30

Dance 2 – She’s on a roll again! Melissa concluded the night with not only another strong night, but also a prediction from Bruno Tonioli that she should be in the final. Score: 30

Who were your favorite performers this week on the show?