‘Dancing With the Stars’ holds first fusion night

It was a big night for contestants on the popular show ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as they were asked to prepare their first fusion performance, combining two different dance styles into one routine and even the judges were not sure if they would be able to pull it off. “It could be fantastic or it could be a dance meltdown,” quipped judge Bruno Tonioli at the opening of Monday night’s show. Here’s a quick rundown of who pulled it off and who fell behind the pack.

The night’s winner Melissa Rycroft pulled a 39 score and rave reviews from the judges for her tango/cha cha number. At the end of the performance Bruno exclaimed “sexilicious cha cha cha….You were on fire… You turn me on!” Carrie Ann Inaba was equally impressed saying, “You are a star!”

Running a close second was Shawn Johnson, whose tango/paso number earned a 38 and repeated exclamations of “Wow” from host Tom Bergeron.

Kelly Monaco rounds out the top three of three of the evening earning a 36 for her foxtrot/ cha cha, earning rare praise from judge Len Goodman who said that they captured the “smoothness of the foxtrot with the quickness of the cha cha cha.”

It wasn’t all success for the stars last night though as some failed to pull their two dances together. Emmitt Smith and Gilles Marini earned a 34.5 and 33.5 respectively for their routines. While the judges had positive remarks to make about their performances there was also criticism about both the dancers positioning of their upper bodies.

Coming in second to last, Apolo Anton Ohno received a 33 for his paso doble/ cha cha and while the judges were impressed with his routine their scores kept him from rising in the ranks.

Last but not least, Kirstie Alley quickstep/sambaed her way to a 28 last night. Siting preoccupation with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Alley said her heart wasn’t into her routine this week and the judges took notice. Carrie Ann said the number “fell out of sync” and that the samba “fell apart” but Bruno tried to cheer up Alley saying “Whatever you do it’s entertaining. Only you can turn Cinderella into a stripper.”