Dancing With The Stars - Era Night!

By Natasha Oreshkina, co-owner of the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Syracuse, New York.

This week, the couples did two routines and I was happy to see that Nicole Scherzinger finally earned a 10 from Len Goodman! Nicole and Derek are now in first place with 59 points out of 60. Close behind are Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya and Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough (total score: 59/60)
Nicole's first dance was a Foxtrot and it was a joy to watch. Nicole and Derek portrayed a nice love story. She looked great without any stress. For their second routine, they danced a 1950s Paso Doble. I didn't know how they were going to pull that one off but the dance was perfect. I have no critiques!

Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya (total score: 53/60)
Evan's first dance was a Waltz. I didn't care for this dance's choreography. In my opinion, waltzes should be more progressive, flowing across the floor, but Evan's dance didn't have that kind of movement. Then he danced a futuristic Cha-cha. Usually, Evan's Latin dances are weaker than his ballroom dances but in this case, his futuristic movements worked very well.

Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy (total score: 53/60)
Erin's first dance, a Tango, was great. She had phenomenal legs and she pulled off a difficult, entertaining jump in the beginning. I really enjoyed the choreography. For her second routine, she danced an 80s Rumba. This was another dance with great choreography. Erin and Maks looked good together. She was very flexible with beautiful top lines. Her dance was smooth and lyrical.

Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke (total score: 45/60)
Chad's Tango needed more polish. I loved the presentation but he needed to work more on the character of the dance and the connection with his partner. His 60s Jive was very high energy and a good dance overall.

Niecy Nash & Louis van Amstel (total score: 43/60) ELIMINATED
Niecy's Viennese Waltz was very pretty but she needed more flowing actions and her transitions weren't clear enough. There was too much pull and push in the dance. Her 1990s Paso Doble didn't have enough control and balance. The dance's choreography was difficult with interesting elements but I didn't care for the music and it didn't seem to fit Niecy's personality.

It is important to show the style and technique of each dance and I'm happy to see that ALL the couples have improved each week with that. Next week, it's the semi-final round!