'Dancing with the Stars': Week 6 Recap

By Rebecca Harper, Hulu | Thursday, October 29, 2009, 4:21 PM

Aaron and Karina strike a pose.

ABC/Adam Larkey

It was a week of jitterbugs, waltzes, and double eliminations on "Dancing With the Stars," but there was also a mambo dance-off that shuffled up the leaderboard, giving some celebrities a much-needed boost in points. In the end, though, it came down to a last-chance dance event that pitted two of the bottom performers -- former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and snowboarding champion Louie Vito -- against each other. And while there were some missteps among the top dancers, we saw a real turnaround for pop star Aaron Carter, who performed an elegant waltz with his partner, Karina Smirnoff. Here's a look at the notable performances from the sixth week of "Dancing."

Biggest Turnaround: Aaron Carter
Poor Aaron Carter can't get no respect. For weeks the singer dealt with harsh criticism from the judges -- he was even brought to tears one night -- and found himself in the bottom two not just once, but twice. Last week, his Argentine tango finally earned praise from judge Carrie Ann Inaba, but he only squeaked through to the sixth round. This time, Aaron came to rehearsal in character and ready to show off a more-mature, romantic side. And while we cringe every single time the judges make a point about Aaron finally becoming a man, they were right this week. His waltz scores earned him a pair of eights from Bruno and Carrie Ann (who noticed some footwork issues); Len gave Aaron his first nine.

Jitterbug, Delivered: Mark Decascos
A little stumble at the end may have cost Iron Chef "chairman" Mark Decascos a perfect score, but he delivered a routine that was high energy and full of kicks, tricks, flips, and spins. The martial arts expert put his training to good use and, with the help of partner Lacey Schwimmer, got the crowd on its feet at the end. His fast-paced performance brought him one of the top scores of the night: double nines from Carrie Ann and Len and an eight from Bruno.

Poetry in Motion: Joanna Krupas
Judge Bruno is known to wax poetic when it's his turn to critique the celebrity dancers, and he didn't hold back when it came to swimsuit model Joanna Krupa's waltz. He compared her to a butterfly, and while we think she looked more like a music-box ballerina, we have to agree with Len, who claimed it was the best waltz of the week. He and Bruno each gave the blond bombshell a nine, while Carrie Ann held back a point because she saw some hesitation in Joanna's performance.

Last Dance: Melissa Joan Harts
Although actress Melissa Joan Hart set out to be a class act with her waltz this week, she lacked the flow and technique the judges want in this stage of the competition. With a score of 20 from the judges, she and Mark Ballas needed to reel in the votes from their fans to keep them in the competition, but unfortunately for the "Sabrina" star, she didn't earn enough to stick around for another dance.

Dance-Off Death Match: Michael Irvin vs. Louie Vito
For the first time this season, "Dancing" hosted a dance-off between the second- and third-lowest-ranked performers to see who would make it to the seventh week of dancing. It came down to Michael and Louie, who each got to choose their style of dance and song. Football star Michael went for a crowd-pleasing samba that might not have had all the technique, but he brought tons of personality.

Meanwhile, Louie, the professional snowboarder, "Fought the Law" with a fast and energetic jive, but Len called out a gaffe at the end of the routine -- a misstep that probably cost Louie his place on the show. What will happen to the possible love connection between him and his partner, Chelsie? We may have to wait until they return for the season finale.

Talk About It: Which stars were at the top of your list this week?

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