There were plenty of "Dancing with the Stars" tears on “Dedication Night,” including a spotlight dance from Derek and Hayley Hough that came months after she had a severe brain bleed during one of their tours.
The performance Tuesday night was highly emotional and proof something like this can be healing – for those involved and those who witness it. The Houghs soared.
Tears fell for moms, kids, coaches, teammates – even Taylor Swift – and the scores were high.
Joey Graziadei – the new one to beat – and Danny Amendola – the new threat – topped the leader board (with 36 each) and looked in charge. The former did a classy Viennese waltz; the latter offered up a contemporary dance. (A word about this: Contemporary doesn’t have rules and should score highly if the participants don’t fall, which means Graziadei’s work was more impressive.)
Brooks Nader, who was eliminated during this, the halfway mark in the season, got respectable marks (a 32) for her partnership with her sisters but probably didn’t have the social media backing that would have kept her in. A hinted “showmance” with partner Gleb Savchenko could have worked against her.
Chandler Kinney, a leader in early weeks, got some criticism from the judges who talked about the others’ growth and told her she needed to “dig deeper.” She was in that middling pack with a 32.
Stephen Nedoroscik, the Olympic gymnast, got the “good on you” compliments and was told he had taken charge in his Argentine tango and got a 33.
While NBA star Dwight Howard had the lowest score (a 29), he brought his five kids to the show and managed to work them into the number. The rumba was OK, but not as good as Phaedra Parks’. She got a 32 and prompted Hough to break his 5 paddle. She wasn’t THAT good but she did have her mother in the audience and some of that “growth” they were touting.
Rugby star Ilona Maher, who was in the bottom three last week and appeared to be shaken, rebounded with a 32 and cheers from her Olympic teammates. Jenn Tran got a 32, too, but she was just meh. If there’s a surprise elimination next week, she could be it.
The battle is between the bare-chested bachelor and the football star. Amendola was in sync with partner Witney Carson and made his tribute to a former coach resonate. He got the “breakthrough” pep talk, too, and that 36.
But Graziadei has moved to another level and looked like he was floating across the floor. He dedicated his waltz to his fiancée and, likely, could own the dance floor at the wedding.
He’s the one to watch this week and next.
