We're down to the semi-final round on "Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars," and while it won't be a particularly happy Thanksgiving for two of the remaining couples (a dreaded double elimination takes place on Tuesday), it will be an entertaining week for viewers.
This week's themes are off the wall -- literally. OK, actually the Michael Jackson album that will be tributed is "Bad" -- which turns 25 this year -- but with any luck, we'll see someone dancing to "Dirty Diana" and find out who's the baddest one of all.
In addition to some "Bad" dancing, the all-stars will take on wacky dance theme combos. Host Tom Bergeron joked that he didn't know what the producers were smoking when they came up with these themes ("But I'm sure it was medicinal," he said), and he may be on to something. Because who has ever heard of a "Mad Monk" merengue? We haven't either, but sadly, that was ousted all-star Gilles Marini's assigned dance, so we won't get to see that one anyway.
But here's what we will see. Check out this twisted semi-finals dance card:
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: "Caveman" Hustle
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: "Knight Rider" Bhangra
Apolo Ohno and Karina Smirnoff: "Big Top" Jazz
Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke: "Espionage" Lindy Hop
Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: "Surfer" Flamenco
As for the stars, they're busy mastering their M.J. and trying to decipher their crazy combo dances. Here's what the "DWTS" all-stars are saying about the week nine dances.
Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, who's partnered with pro dancer Karina Smirnoff, tweeted: "Big top jazz....rumba.....here.....we....go!!!" (Now all we have to do is figure out which Michael Jackson song would work with a rumba.)
Karina Smirnoff told On the Red Carpet what she thinks of next week's combo dance with Apolo, the "Big Top" Jazz: "Big top is a circus and jazz is jazz," she said. "The circus is funny and scary, and jazz is smooth and sexy. So I'll be smooth and sexy, and [Apolo] will be funny and scary."
Melissa Rycroft and pro dancer Tony Dovolani have enjoyed perfect scores for their past two dances, but will the "Caveman" hustle be this perky couple's demise? Rycroft told OTRC, "The hustle I'm vaguely familiar with, but then you add the caveman theme on top of it ... I don't know what our music is. I hope it goes together." She added that next week could "potentially be a hot mess for everybody with the mixtures that we got."
Tony Dovolani chimed in about his anticipated loincloth look: 'I'm going to wear a humungous diaper."
Longtime "DWTS" pro Cheryl Burke, who's saddled with an espionage-themed lindy hop, spilled the beans on her Michael Jackson dance with partner Emmitt Smith. Burke tweeted: "Just finished our first rehearsal for the semi finals now off to Dallas!!! Two full dances this week. Tango and Lindy!! Lots of work to do!!"
Val Chmerkovskiy dished to OTRC about his surfer-style flamenco: "I love flamenco… it's very paso doble genre," he said. But Val's all-star partner, Kelly Monaco, wondered about pairing the dance style with sun and sand: "I don't know how that happens." (Neither do we!)
Derek Hough seems to be having trouble reconciling his "Knight Rider"-themed bhangra. The three-time mirrorball champ tweeted: "Flippin through the tv and Knight Rider just came on ... Seriously having trouble trying to marry Bhangra with this theme." Hough told "Access Hollywood" that while he loves a challenge, the "Knight Rider" part is throwing him off.
"Bhangra is kind of like Bollywood … that flavor," he said. "But then 'Knight Rider'? The only thing I can think of off of the top of my head is that famous car comes in, maybe it's like a time machine or something, and it takes us to India. "
Hough also gave one more hint for Monday night's show: "Our other dance is very cool … I'm very excited about that," he said. "It's Michael Jackson so it's gonna be very, very cool or ... 'Bad.'"
"Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars" airs on 11/19 at 8 PM ET on ABC.
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