"Dancing With The Stars": One-Armed De La Fuentes The Top Scorer

LOS ANGELES — It may always take two to tango, but it apparently only takes one arm to tango and mambo.

Cristian de la Fuente and his partner were the top-scoring couple after Monday night's "Dancing With the Stars" performance round, despite an injury to the Chilean television actor's left arm.

De la Fuente dropped partner Cheryl Burke last week when he ruptured a tendon in his biceps, but his doctor cleared him to continue in the ABC-TV dancing competition. Burke choreographed their dances so that de la Fuente mostly used his good arm _ including the lifts, which were allowed this round.

The couple pulled it off, using energy and precision (and a glittery support sleeve for de la Fuente during the mambo) to overcome the injury. De la Fuente was clearly favoring his injured arm, which he used only when absolutely necessary and hung limp at other times.

They scored a 28 for the tango, and a near-perfect 29 for the mambo, to lead all contestants in judges' scores at the end of the night. Audience votes in conjunction with the judges' scores were to determine who stays and who goes in Tuesday night's elimination round.

De la Fuente has said he will need surgery to repair the injury, but that he planned to delay the operation so he could continue dancing.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pnindex

Comments

[irkthesmirk]

I have been watching DWTS with my wife and we both agree that Kristi Yamaguchi, though we are both big fans of hers, does not belong on a show with amateurs. She made a career out of choreographed moves on ice and the rest of the dancers are at a clear disadvantage.

[rcampbell]

But she is no where near as good as Yamaguchi

We are addicted watchers of DWTS. Kristi and Mark are usually top notch. Last night this was not the case. I mentioned to my wife during their dance that Kristi seemed quite out of her element. Her movements appeared disjointed and flailing. She will likely win the tacky globe trophy, but last night's performance was not her best. Christian was operating with a bad wing, but he was spot on with his feet and hips and, as the judges pointed out, Cheryl's choreography was so creative and clever it never required him to engage it. I'm sure the producers would like to see a woman win the trophy, but Jason is very good and Mario keeps improving. Should be an exciting conclusion.

[eliceo]

I never watch this But i did last night...
i've been a fan of Kristi the figure skater....but wow she was awesome last night....
her mambo was incredible­....especi­ally the final spins!

She and her partner were clearly the best...

the other guy....sucks about your arm...but they were not anywhere near yamaguchi!

and thats my two cents!

GO KRISTI!

[TimT]

The show seems to have gotten a third grade mentality when it comes to the judging. The judges feel like they have to give everyone the same number of gold stars instead of actually noticing who is better.

Was Christian with one arm actually better than his is with two arms? Of course not. But that's how the judges scored him because they want to show that they care.

The same goes with Marissa. She is amazing for someone carrying around that much extra weight. But she is no where near as good as Yamaguchi when it comes to technique and the challenging routines. Doesn't matter to the judges though. They want to send a message -- heavy people are just as good as pro athletes. That may be true on a moral level but not in a true physical competition.

The bottom line is the show is about feeling good about your body, not about who is the best dancer.