Entertainment
Aaron Carter shines on 'Dancing With the Stars'
msnbc.com contributor
10:30 PM EST November 2, 2009
Aaron Carter led all dancers this week in the individual performances, scoring 29 points for his fast-moving jive.
© ABC

Monday night kicked off with the second week of double eliminations on "Dancing With The Stars." This week required every team to learn two dances: one alone, and one for a team confrontation between Team Paso Doble and Team Tango. Not only that, but Tom Bergeron announced early that there was another illness in the ballroom.

Six teams and a total of eight dances made a slow pace for two hours, so the night began with a showcase for some of the show's professional dancers - the kind of filler that's usually saved for results shows, to no one's regret. Once that was over, the actual competition began.

First up were Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova, coming off a week when Michael saved himself in the dance-off with a surprisingly relaxed performance. This week, they faced the foxtrot, an elegant dance requiring him to find the debonair within. Michael ultimately pulled off a surprisingly graceful and convincing foxtrot, with perhaps the best posture he's ever had. The judges praised him, and finally seem persuaded by his growth as a dancer.

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson didn't get as much love for their jitterbug last week as they expected, partly because it wasn't quite quick enough - making this week's quickstep a particular challenge. Donny did lose his posture a time or two, and he definitely lost his timing. Nevertheless, the quickstep is another crowd-pleaser of a dance, and he had the crowd with him. Bruno Tonioli praised him for covering up "all the mistakes" admirably, and Len Goodman pointed out that there were mistakes partly because there was challenging choreography.

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