With only three weeks left to the competition, this week marked the first real two-dance night (no group dance nonsense!).  Our six remaining contestants each took on one ballroom and one Latin routine, and there were a couple upsets.

First to take the floor was Marissa Jaret Winokur, fresh off of her highest scores ever last week.  Although she struggled in rehearsals with the sexuality of the tango, Marissa delivered when it was showtime.  She thoroughly impressed the judges by casting aside her usually giggly and bouncy self in favor of an intense and passionate persona.  Len said this was her best dance yet, and Carrie Ann applauded her willingness to push her self-boundaries.  Nines across the board kept the bar high for her second dance of the night, the rumba.

After all their belly aching and judge trashing, Shannon Elizabeth and partner Derek were the first couple to be named safe form elimination last night.  Humbled, the duo offered up a weak apology in the hopes of dismissing their hostile attitudes before Monday’s performance.  Also returning to the ballroom are Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony, Cristian de le Fuente and Cheryl, Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark, Jason Taylor and Edyta as well as Mario and Karina, who were in the bottom two for the second time this season.  This meant that Marlee Matlin and Fabien’s time had come to an end.  

Jason Taylor's cha cha challenge this week was to participate more. Jason tends to do well highlighting Edyta but falters when the opportunity to showcase himself arises. While hip hop classes helped him overcome his freestyle fears, Jason's cha cha timing and footwork fell short. Len even noticed he was doing the ol' "2-3-cha cha cha" chant, but Carrie Ann came to the rescue saying Jason's saving grace is his strong lines. A score of 24 tied them for fifth place.

Priscilla has left the building!  After four weeks of strong dances, a sub-par samba was all it took to eliminate Priscilla Presley and partner Louis from the competition.  Joining them in the bottom two were Cristian de la Fuenta and Cheryl, followed closely by Marlee Matlin and Fabien.  Returning to the ballroom for next week's two dances (individual plus a group number), in the order they were revealed, are:

Still out to show the judges what he's made of, Mario opened last night's round of dancing with the samba.  Taking advice from his mentor Stevie Wonder, Mario let go of any "act" and was simply himself to the judges' delight.  Solid hip action and classic, clean choreography led Carrie Ann to call him smooth and energetic, while Len said this was a vast improvement from previous weeks.  With a warning to watch his footwork, Mario and partner Karina walked away with a score of 27.

In what could quite possibly be the best DWTS "Results" show ever, last night featured little kids vying for the judges' votes. 8-year-olds Aaron and Daniela kicked things off by dancing to a Little Mermaid tune, but it was Aaron #2 and his uncontrollable bursts of enthusiasm ("I want to be famous and makes lots of money!!" he squealed) that truly captured the hearts of the judges. Performing his favorite dance, the paso doble, Aaron and partner Rashell beat out Aaron and Daniela for the chance to compete again next week. Upon hearing of his win, Aaron #2 didn't let any papparazzi fantasies go straight to his head, instead sweetly replying that he "felt bad" for Aaron and Daniela. Aww!

Garnering the first tens of the season (but plenty more were to come later in the night), Kristi Yamaguchi and partner Mark wowed the judges as usual with their technique and choreography.  Holding them back from absolute perfection, however, was Kristi’s lack of feeling and drama, according to Len.  Bruno and Carrie Ann disagreed, with Bruno calling Len “crusty” and Kristi a “jezebel” of the paso doble—which was meant to be a compliment in Bruno’s book!  A score of 29 tied Kristi and Mark for first place.

After Monday night’s performances, where frontrunners faltered (Mario, Jason) and a new leader emerged (Cristian), there seemed to be no likely elimination candidate.  As endless have proved before, a fan favorite can be saved despite their poor performances, and likewise, as Sabrina Bryan showed us last season, even the best of dancers haven gotten the early ax.  But sadly it was Steve “The Gutte” Guttenberg who bid farewell last night and exited the ballroom, but not before being asked to reprise his tango—joined this time by Jonathan instead of partner Anna.

Minus Penn Jillette and Monica Seles, the remaining ten celebs trudged on last night in the hopes of sustaining another round of elimination.
 
Opening the show, Marlee Matlin, though slightly off beat at times, still thoroughly impressed the judges with her jive.  Despite Marlee's personal obstacles, she's dancing better than many in the competition and tackled difficult choreography with spunk and style.  Carrie Ann's only complaint were her occasional limp "pancake" hands.  A score of 21 was Marlee's lowest yet but enough to keep her out of the bottom slot.

Asked to reprise their mambo, Jason Taylor and Edyta kicked off last night’s first season six elimination show.  With one male and one female contestant set to get the ax, host Tom Bergeron wasted no time getting down to business.

Calling the men to take the stage, Tom and Samantha readily revealed that Steve Guttenberg and partner Anna were safe from elimination (yay!).  Next in the clear were Jason and Edyta, Mario and Karina and Adam Carolla and Julianne.  This left Cristian de la Fuente and Penn Jillette in the bottom two, and it was no surprise that Penn and partner Kym were sent home.  Penn actually seemed relieved and admitted that he will not continue dancing in the future.