"Dancing with the Stars" Contest Heats Up

There was a lot going on at the judge's table Monday night on "Dancing with the Stars".

Several dancers, including fighter Chuck Liddell and entertainer Donny Osmond, chose to begin their routine there or throw in a move that included a stop by the table.

Monday's show featured four new dances: the two-step, Charleston, Bolero and - "the forbidden dance of love" - the Lambada. Comments after this dance gave the show most of its humor.

Model Joanna Krupa and her partner, a shirtless Derek Hough, were the first to do this dance and it was a torrid number.

"All I can say is I hope the children were in bed," said judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

Highlights of Past Seasons
Photos: "Dancing with the Stars"

"I bet some of the adults are now," rejoined co-host Tom Bergeron. Krupa earned a 26 for her efforts.

Last week's leader, the singer Mya, also steamed up the floor with a Lambada.

"Mya's on fire," exclaimed Inaba, who with judge Bruno Tonioli awarded her perfect 10. Judge Len Goodman graded her a little harder, saying her previous dancing led him to expect more. She tied with actress Melissa Joan Hart for the top spot this week - 28 out of 30.

Hart, who got a 19 last week, did a Charleston, which Inaba called a "breakthrough." Said Tonioli: "You have the role 110 per cent."

Also doing a Lambada, but falling short, in the judge's eyes, was singer Aaron Carter, who got by a score of 18. Inaba urged him to "chill out" saying his over-the-top moves turned her off. Goodman said he expected more raunchiness from the dance.

Tied at the bottom were NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and pro snowboarder Louie Vito, both of whom scored 16s and were criticized for too few steps in their routines. Irvin did a Bolero and Vito, a two-step.

Just ahead of them was Liddell with a 17. The former UFC light-heavyweight champion kicked off the show with a country two-step, lassoing his partner at the judge's table.

"There's a novelty value about you because you don't expect you to be able to dance and so that's always good. But eventually you've got to come down to the fact that this is a dance competition and your quality of dancing isn't there," Goodman said.

Singer Donny Osmond, who got a 24 for his high-energy Charleston, compared it to "dancing and playing Twister at the same time."

Olympic champion swimmer Natalie Coughlin also scored 24 for her Bolero, which led Tonioli to urge her to "channel Sharon" Stone.

Singer and actress Kelly Osbourne and her partner Louis Van Amstel channeled Liza Minelli and Joel Grey for their "Cabaret"-styled Charleston. It earned them a 23.

"Iron Chef" host Mark Dacascos earned a 22 for a two-step that featured his partner Lacey Schwimmer scraping her feet along the front of the judge's table while dancing in Mark's arms.

Audience scores will be added to the judge's rabkings and the lowest scorer will be eliminated in tonight's results show, which will feature a performance by singer Shakira.

Already voted off were actress Debi Mazar, former model Kathy Ireland, actor Ashley Hamilton and singer Macy Gray. Former politician Tom DeLay pulled out of the competition with stress fractures on both feet.