SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2012 – “Dancing With The Stars” competitors head south of the equator to South America for one of the most popular weeks of the season.
Week 5 is “Latin Week.” Three couples will be dancing the samba: Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff; Gladys Knight and Tristan McManus; and Jaleel White and Kym Johnson. Three couples will be dancing the salsa: Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower; Melissa Gilbert and Maks Chmerkovskiy; and Maria Menounos and Derek Hough. The remaining three couples will dance the Argentine Tango: Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas; Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd; and William Levy and Cheryl Burke.
Driver and Murgatroyd dance last, the position considered the most favorable for getting the best consideration from the judges and the dance fans remember most clearly as voting gets underway at the end of the show. The rest of the order isn’t known, although Twitter rumors have Katherine Jenkins dancing fourth.
Donald Driver will dance last tonight. Can he bring the fire for a second week to his Argentine Tango? Photo: ABC/Adam Taylor.
These assignments seem to favor Roshon Fegan. The salsa is a high-energy dance and Fegan’s got energy to spare. He needs to make a big comeback after seemingly dodging getting voted off last week. If Maria Menounos has recovered from her foot injuries and aching back, she may also do well. Her partner Derek Hough is a masterful choreographer, so even with her limitations he may be able to craft a terrific dance around them.
The salsa may be Melissa’s swan song, especially if she is still hampered from her injuries last week. But she’s demonstrating an admirable sense of humor, posting to Twitter that her salsa “es muy caliente!!” adding “what’s the best thing 2 do when u fall off a horse? Get rt back on. Watch 4 it at the end of our dance.”
Among the three competitors dancing the samba, Gavin McGraw may have the best chance of doing a decent job. Gladys may not have the energy level needed, and Jaleel will really have to stretch himself, though his partner Kym Johnson will help get him through it.
The trio assigned the Argentine tango will either soar or flop. Donald Driver has plenty of strength and agility, and if his partner Peta Murgatroyd can get him to produce the right sharpness he may continue his week-by-week improvement. Cheryl Burke has danced some of the show’s best ever Argentine tango routines with previous partners. Can she get a good routine out of William Levy? This will be the week where he shows what he’s made of. Katherine Jenkins is a question mark. Partner Mark Ballas will come up with a good routine, but Jenkins has to deliver some smolder and fire. She’s a good dancer and while Latin does not seem to be her forte, she could surprise everyone.
The night kicks off with a performance by two fan favorite professional dancers, Anna Trebunskaya and Louie Van Amstel.
Gladys Knight is a fan favorite, and she’ll need help from fan votes to escape elimination this week as the competition gets tougher. Photo: ABC/Adam Taylor.
Expect Donald Driver, Roshon Fegan, and Maria Menounos to be at the top of the leaderboard, and Melissa Gilbert, Jaleel White, and Gladys Knight at the bottom of the scoreboard by the end of the show.
“Dancing With the Stars” returns for week 5 of the competition on Monday night, April 16, 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time, on the ABC Television Network.
Voting Numbers:
William Levy and Cheryl Burke: Argentine Tango
Voting # 1-800-868-3408 or text VOTE to 3408
Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff: Samba
Voting # 1-800-868-3404 or text VOTE to 3404
Melissa Gilbert and Maks Chemerkovskiy: Salsa
Voting # 1-800-868-3407 or text VOTE to 3407
Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: Argentine Tango
Voting # 1-800-868-3410 or text VOTE to 3410
Gladys Knight and Tristan McManus: Samba
Voting # 1-800-868-3411 or text VOTE to 3411
Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: Salsa
Voting # 1-800-868-3401 or text VOTE to 3401
Jaleel Whie and Kym Johnson: Samba
Voting # 1-800-868-3412 or text VOTE to 3412
Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower: Salsa
Voting # 1-800-868-3405 or or text VOTE to 3405
Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: Argentine Tango
Voting # 1-800-868-3403 or text VOTE to 3403
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
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