'Dancing With the Stars' Results Show Elimination October 27

Posted 10/27/09, 11:59 PM GMT by Michael Maloney
Categories: Interviews

'Dancing With the Stars' host Tom Bergeron was correct when he said the "dance-off' would save the hide of one of the remaining couples on Tuesday night's double-elimination show; NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and his dancing partner Anna Demidova got a reprieve (whew!) after their samba pleased the judges over skateboarder Louie Vito and his partner Chelsie Hightower's jive.

Actress Melissa Joan Hart and partner Mark Ballas didn't even get a chance to work their magic; the duo had the lowest total of viewer votes and judges' scores and were booted before the dance-off. ('DWTS,' now in its 9th season, started with a record 16 couples and is now down to a mere seven.)

AOL was backstage to talk to the eliminated duos and get their reaction to the departures. Also, surviving couples weighed in on the colorful mambo group dance from Monday night. Host Tom Bergeron and judge Carrie Ann Inaba walked the press line to give their thoughts on the the Hart/Vito exits.

Mark, was it frustrating not being able to even try to save your spot in a dance-off?
Mark: Yes. I'm kind of upset. I think the salsa we prepared for tonight would have been great.

Melissa, how do you feel?
Melissa: I'm okay. I'm exhausted. It's kind of hitting me. I've hit a wall.

What are your plans for the future?
Melissa: I'm going home [to Connecticut]. I'll come back and do the finale. I have a pilot that I'm doing for ABC Family in December. I play a bad girl politician, who has to raise her sister's children. I hire Joey Lawrence to be my "manny." It's a sitcom.
Mark: I'll be here for results shows, I think. We [the Ballas/Hough band] have a new single coming out in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for the November 3 results show.

Will you be singing on that show?
Mark: [Smiles] Maybe ... yeah, we'll be here.

Louie and Chelsie, how do you feel?
Louie: I hate losing. Being on the show was fun. But I'm a competitor. Any time you lose, it sucks.
Chelsie: It is what it is. Fair is fair. Opinion is opinion.

What are your plans for the future?
Louie: I've got to get healthy and strong and psyched up for the qualifiers [for skateboarding].
Chelsie: I hope to do results shows and get ready for next season.

Chelsie, did you see how many times they replayed Louie dropping you on Monday's show -- and added the sound effect?
Chelsie: Yeah. Wow. Cool.
Louie: They could have given me a little more love and shown [other another clip.]

Tom Bergeron, what do you think of the double elimination tonight?
Tom: I think, in all honesty, we learned that you can't have 16 couples to start a season. We came out of the gate learning some things that I hope you'll never see again. Having said that, though, I like the way this season is picking up. I think people are coming back. [Viewers] may have thought, "We don't know who to support here because the body count is so high."

Carrie Ann, you were the deciding vote in Michael getting to stay. What if Len [Goodman] and Bruno [Tonioli] had voted the same?
Carrie Ann: The show would have changed the order in which we revealed our decisions. We just stay on our toes and listen to Tom. Like every show, we write down our scores.

Your handing them to a production office is usually caught on-camera. People think it's like you're passing a note in class.
Carrie Ann: I know! People may think I'm not paying attention. [Laughs] And now they think I'm the evil queen!

What was it about Michael that gave him the edge over Louie?
Carrie Ann: Michael didn't make any mistakes in the dance-off. He was very confident. I think that both he and Louie are mediocre on the technique side, but I do believe it all came together [for] Michael. I've loved watching Louie. He always tried so hard.

Michael did the samba and Louie did the jive in the dance-off. Wouldn't it have been more fair for them to have done the same dance?
Carrie Ann: I think it came down to what they each chose. It came down to performance, and Louie had a few moments when he messed up. It was really more that Louie lost it than Michael won it.

Mya and Dmitry, how tough was the group mambo dance on Monday's show?
Mya: Another couple did run into us. I don't know what happened after that. We moved out of the way, instinctively. I looked at Dmitry the whole time. Occasionally, I'd look at the judges.
Dmitry: That dance was so fast and so intricate that one mistake can throw you completely.

All the other couples were wearing bright colors; you and Dmitry were in white ... do you think that was a factor in you not winning?
Mya: I think colors matter. If you're wearing a dead, mute color that blends in with your skin it can look boring. But your dance has to be there also to back it up.
Dmitry: The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in your costume.

Louis, are the video segments -- like Kelly going to learn the trapeze -- helpful or do they eat up valuable rehearsal time?
Louis: [Beat.] Good point.
Kelly: I think it depends what we do in them. It's nice to show your charitable side. [Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson] did a beautiful and amazing thing [by spending time with children] this week.

Kelly, you've shared that you felt like you're not good enough; how do you change that?
Kelly: Because I am sick and [expletive] tired of this show talking about my confidence. I don't want it to get in the way anymore. I'm sick of it. I hate it!
Louis: That was the change. Right there.
Kelly: I'm sick of having a judge tell me I don't have confidence. I do.

Michael and Anna, how'd it feel to get a high score and a great review from Len, who's known for being stern?
Michael: He's got the reputation for being the real technical guy. I got emotional when he started talking about [us doing] the best waltz he'd seen up until that point.
Anna: Michael's definitely improving. He did that last week with the paso doble. I think his waltz was even better. He's done an amazing job.

Derek and Joanna, how'd it feel winning the group mambo competition?
Derek: It was utterly liberating. It was a huge highlight.
Joanna: It felt great because we were all on the floor at the same time. We had a blast. We had a great night.
Derek: A memorable night.

Who did you think was going to win the mambo?
Derek: We definitely had our picks of who'd last. We just hoped we'd make it to where we could move around on the floor. Joanna started shaking. She was there in the moment and I was there with her. It was so much fun.
Joanna: We thought Mya and Dmitry, of course, would make it to the end.

How long do you think you could have kept going?
Derek: I was about to die. But when you have an audience that's rooting for you, it keeps you going. I got my third wind. It was a blast. Joanna was rocking it. She got in the groove and I think that's what the judges saw.
Joanna: Not much longer! My thighs were killing me. I was like, "Can you please let me up now?"