STEP OFF: Teams Salute Veterans via Trio Routines on DANCING WITH THE STARS

It's double-elimination week on DANCING. Ahh, yeah. Cue the fireworks, cue the victory dance, cue the dramatic intros and sobs and cheering and flying rainbow-colored cats. Double-elimination is like a snow day. It's like a snow day made of ice cream on top of another snow day of pizza!

On tonight's episode, the remaining contestants paid tribute to the troops in honor of Veteran's Day by wearing various military garb - and each gave two performances, one with their usual partner, and the other with a third professional dancer. Because last Tuesday Americans eliminated Mitt Romney (ahem, wahoo!), no one was sent home on DANCING. And so, their scores from last week will be combined with this week's.

So, how did the contestants fare tonight? Who shall be struck down by the audiences' overzealous text-voting in conjunction with the judges' overzealous scoring? Check out the recap below:

Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 30/30 (first routine) + 30/30 (second routine) + 39/40 (last weeks' routines) = 99/100
Individual Dance: Quickstep
Bruno: "Oh, Melissa, I want to join the navy. It was like watching Anne Meara and Gene Kelly - fantastic!"
Trio Dance with Henry Byalikov: Paso Doble
Len: "Of all of our celebrities - and you're all great - [but] you impress me the most."

Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 29.5/30 + 26/30 + 38/40 = 93.5/100
Individual Dance: Viennese waltz
Bruno: "My darling, that was heavenly perfection."
Trio Dance with Mark Ballas: Samba
Bruno: "As a piece of dance, as art, it was absolutely fantastic…but even I have to admit, it wasn't really a samba."

Kelly Monaco & Valentin Chmerkovskiy: 28/30 + 28.5/30 + 36/40 = 92.5/100
Individual Dance: Viennese waltz
Carrie Ann: "What I love about you: you are always pushing yourself to The Edge. You are growing every week."
Trio Dance with Lous van Amstel: Jive
Len: "It was fun, it was fast, it was flamboyant, and it was fabulous!"

Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 28/30 + 30/30 + 34.5/40 = 92.5/100
Individual Dance: Viennese waltz
Bruno: "Yes, there was a slight stumble but overall it was very, very nice, because you interpreted it in a very, very classic way."
Trio Dance with Kym Johnson: Salsa
Bruno: "You do it naturally and it's great to see."

Gilles Marini & Peta Murgatroyd: 29.5/30 + 29/30 + 33.5/40 = 92/100
Individual Dance: Quickstep
Len: "You came out with energy, speed and with control. That was a quickstep!"
Trio Dance with Chelsie Hightower: Salsa
Bruno: "Gilles, Menage au Trois comes natural to you. Your intent in taking care of the ladies was so strong, you lost timing a couple of times."

Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 29.5/30 + 29/30 + 33/40 = 91.5/100
Individual Dance: Tango
Carrie Ann: "Fantastic! I mean, wow!"
Trio Dance with Sasha Farber: Jive
Carrie Ann: "That was your most vibrant performance."

Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 27/30 + 24/30 + 28/40 = 79/100
Individual Dance: Viennese waltz
Len: "Hallelujah! Your best dance ever. Well done!"
Trio Dance with Tristan MacManus: Paso doble
Len: "It had aggression, but it lacked finesse."

So TV personality and formerly injured Melissa Rycroft is cementing her tap-shoes into the very highest spot on the board - and Alley's cement feet have sunk her to the bottom. With a double-elimination tomorrow, and the reckless abandon many DANCING voters show, it's anyone's guess as to who will be forced to bid their fame adieu. Could be Alley at the bottom, could be middle-man Emmitt Smith comfortably stomping around on one foot like a linebacker. There's no sure-fire way to tell with DANCING - I think after Bryan's elimination a few weeks back, we can all agree to that.

In addition to the performances and hopes of a just elimination tomorrow, DANCING WITH THE STARS host Brooke Burke-Charvet announced last week via YouTube that she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. We wish her the best of luck and a quick, full recovery. We have no doubts Burke-Charvet will make it through her personal and physical battle unscathed, and be back to wrangle in the celeb-wildebeests on the next season of DANCING WITH THE STARS. 

DANCING WITH THE STARS returns tomorrow night - with a performance from the cast of NEWSIES - be sure to check back on BroadwayWorld to find out who was sent home.