Welcome back to Dancing with the Stars! This week, the stars are back with their regular pros, and the theme is famous dances. In the intro we get to see a few brief glimpses – Singing in the Rain, Flashdance, Can’t Touch This, Single Ladies—but we’re just scratching the surface here. Let’s see what our stars and pros have up their sleeves this week!

Hayes and Emma (Jazz)

These two are going to be dancing to You’re the One That I Want from Grease, which I find kind of hilarious, as this movie came out long before Hayes was even born. Not surprisingly, he’s never seen the movie. Actually, it seems like he’s never even heard of it before. And just to put a little more pressure on him, Olivia Newton John is the guest judge this week. Does his dance hold up? I’d definitely say so. I wouldn’t necessarily call the dance sexy, but he has the dance down. He lifts her like it’s nothing, and they do a couple other acrobatic moves together that are incredible. Surprisingly, Bruno and Carrie Ann are a little hard on him. She tells him that he’s got to finesse his lines, and he says Hayes has to splice the beat, whatever these things mean. Julianne and Olivia both love what he’s done though.

Score: 32

Andy and Allison (Jazz)

Andy did really well last week with Sharna, and now he wants to continue this streak now that he’s back with Allison again. And what a dance to have to perform! Singing In the Rain is a truly iconic dance, one that Allison is super excited to perform. Andy is understandably nervous, though he needn’t be. The dance is fun and fast-paced, and he’s got incredible confidence and dances perfectly. The judges definitely agree, if their standing ovation is any indication. Carrie Ann says he’d filled Gene Kelly’s shoes with ease. Bruno says he succeeded with honour. Olivia says she’d dance with him any day. Before tonight, I was worried that he might be the one to go home after Paula, but I don’t think he’s got much to worry about now.

Score: 40

Alexa and Mark (Cha Cha)

Alexa got the first perfect score of the season, so she’s got a lot to live up to this week. Derek was really positive with her last week, and Alexa hopes that Mark will see how she’d responded to that, since he’d been pretty hard on her the week before. They’re dancing to Slave 4 U by Britney Spears, complete with the albino snake. Personally, I think she did an incredible job. I think she danced just as well as Britney. She hit all her moves, and she was super sexy the whole time. The judges were a little harder on her. Carrie Ann and Julianne say that she didn’t have the essence of Britney and that she wasn’t grounded until she got the snake at the end. Bruno says she did very well, but that she tends to let her free hand wobble, which isn’t a new note for her.

Score: 30

Bindi and Derek (Rumba)

These two are going to be dancing to Time of My Life, and this makes Derek incredibly nervous as he’s never been much of a lifter, and this dance has one hell of an iconic lift. So they decide to try practicing in the water, just like in the movie. I’m not sure why they can’t seem to find cleaner water than the pond they practice in, but it’s very clear that they’re both pretty grossed out by the smell. They couldn’t have used a pool? Anyway, the practice really helps, as does the visit from Jennifer Grey. The dance is flawless. Bindi is such a treat to watch. She’s energetic, with such a positive attitude, and she’s a really great dancer to boot. All of this comes out in their performance tonight. And for the record? The lift is perfect. The judges all gush over their performance. Bruno says it was blindingly brilliant and Olivia calls her enchanting

Score: 40

Paula and Louis (Jazz)

These two are going to be dancing to Madonna of all things. I don’t really get it, but Louis seems to be pretty excited about it. Paula learned last week that having fun is the most important part of the competition, and Louis sort of agrees, though he wants to do what he can to up her game. Now that’s a tough task. Their performance of Vogue, based on the awards show Madge performed on years and years ago, is pretty bland, despite the elaborate Victorian garb Paula is wearing. Carrie Ann says Paula was overwhelmed by her heavy costume, and I agree. She seemed super stiff and uncomfortable. The other judges were more positive, as usual, but their scores reflected how they really felt.

Score: 24

Carlos and Witney (Rumba)

Carlos is really nervous this week, because he and Witney are going to be dancing to Pony from Magic Mike, and he’s not sure he’ll be able to do it because of his faith. He doesn’t feel comfortable at all with the dance because all he can think about is going back on his religion by being so raunchy. Witney assures him that she’s going to make sure it’s tasteful, but it’s very clear how frustrated she is with him when he continues to hold back in rehearsal. Well, when he performs, you wouldn’t even know that he’d felt uncomfortable at all. The dance is extremely sexy. I felt like I was watching Channing Tatum himself in that first dance he does from Magic Mike. It’s incredibly well done. I actually thought the parts when he danced with Witney seemed out of place, but when he was dancing by himself or with the other guys, it was incredible. Carrie Ann assures him that he’d performed beautifully and with elegance, though he’s embarrassed when Olivia says he’d missed his calling. I think I agree with her.

Score: 38

Nick and Sharna (Samba)

Nick acknowledges that he’d tried to take the lead last week because he’d felt insecure without Sharna, and it definitely hadn’t paid off. It was a reality check for him. I’m glad he admitted this, as his attitude last week seemed to turn off some fans of the show. Hopefully he’ll be able to win them back this week. They’re dancing to Saturday Night Fever, so Nick has to channel his inner John Travolta, just like Hayes had to. I think he pulls it off well, though some of the camera shots and the set itself makes it hard to see what they’re doing. When the camera is shooting in close to them, you can see their moves well, but when it pulls back, his clothes unfortunately blend in too much with the coloured lighted floor, making it difficult to see their exact moves. Carrie Ann isn’t super impressed with Nick’s performance. She says it’s good but not perfect and that he was inconsistent. Thankfully, the other judges all disagree with her. Julianne says it was a true reinvention of the dance and Bruno says the choreography was perfect.

Score: 39

Alek and Lindsay (Jive)

Everyone (including me) was shocked by Alek’s low scores last week. I still don’t understand it. It seems to have kicked a little at his confidence this week. He says that he always has trouble getting the moves down for the first couple of days, and this week, it’s even worse, since he’s got to channel the King. Elvis had been all about cool confidence, and Alek can’t quite get there. So they bring in an actor who has played Elvis five times to help him get into character. They also force him to go out in public as Elvis to make him the feeling of what it’s like to be Elvis. It sort of works. The dance itself is good, though I still don’t think he’s emoting enough with his face. Julianne agrees. She says he’s improving, but he’s got to connect even more. Bruno also criticizes him for holding back. Carrie Ann says she wants him to work with Ardem because he’s so good at staying in character.

Score: 30

Tamar and Val (Jazz)

Last week, Tamar didn’t do too well, and that really hit her hard. On top of that, she also got sick, so she missed two days of rehearsal. Not a great thing since their dance this week is Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson. It’s an extremely precise dance, so if they don’t get it down, it’s going to look really bad. Tamar has lost some of her confidence, but she’s not a quitter. She’s going to come back and show everyone that she’s got what it takes to win this competition. And boy, does she deliver. Her moves are spot on, in complete unison with the other dancers. Bruno says she knocked it out and that she was indistinguishable from the other dancers, which is a massive compliment this week. Carrie Ann had been worried about her after last week, but she nailed it this week. And Julianne says the dance was intricate and fast. She’s definitely brought it back this week.

Score: 40

And now for the elimination. The bottom two teams this time around are Paula and Louis, and Alexa and Mark (um, wha? She gets a perfect score last week and still ends up in the bottom two? I don’t understand). Alexa immediately starts crying, and Mark wraps her in a hug to comfort her. She’s got nothing to worry about this week though, as Paula is the one to go home. However, with Paula gone from the competition, this leaves her and Alek tied for last place in terms of judges scores. This isn’t a great thing for her. Could she be the next one to go home? It’s very possible. Of the two, I’d definitely say she’s the better bet to leave the competition, since everyone loves Alek, no matter what kind of critique the judges give him.

Who do you think will go home next? Who do you think will win it all? And who do you think will have the best Halloween dance next week? I’m not sure, but I’m certainly excited to find out!

– Rebecca