A DANCING WITH THE STARS miracle will have to happen tomorrow night for Ralph Macchio to escape elimination during Week 8 of Season 12. A miracle far greater than the one he just accomplished by dancing The Viennese Waltz and an “Insta’ Dance” Cha Cha Cha on a bum knee. With his knee injury peeking last Friday, it wasn’t even known whether or not Macchio was going to dance at all tonight, let alone get through it, until right before showtime.

He persevered, making it through with somewhat decent, though not impressive, scores. And yet in this stage of the competition it may not be enough. He ended his two dances with a total of 46, far below Romeo’s 52, Kirstie Alley’s 53, Hines Ward’s 54 and Chelsea Kane’s 55.

The DWTS couples had two dances tonight. One with music and routine all in place and the second with just the routine in place and no music until, twenty minutes before they had to perform it live – an Insta’ Dance, if you will. They all did well considering. Macchio and partner Karina Smirnoff put the WHOLE thing together in twenty minutes, incredibly impressive when you consider they received 21 out of 30 for their Insta’ Dance. They had no time to rehearse the first dance let alone the second.

So here Macchio sits at the bottom. The only way we will see him dance again with a healed leg – Macchio told the audience to give him a chance to come back because the injury should heal in a couple of days – is if Macchio’s got a HUGE fan base. Now only the fans can save him.

Chelsea Kane (Disney Channel Star) and her partner Mark Ballas

She has learned a lot. She was actually able to teach her partner Ballas something about humility. Ballas made a big fuss about Kane’s scores last week even though she placed a close third to Ward and Macchio’s first place tie. She basically told Ballas he embarrassed her, acting like a spoiled child. This week she came back and wowed the judges. They do seem to love everything she does. Len Goodman did think there was a little too much emphasis on the story and it took away from the Salsa. Bruno Tonioli said Kane’s dancing was of the highest quality. Carrie Ann Inaba gave her a peek at her score saying she earned perfection.
Scores: Inaba – 10, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 10, PH – 9

Insta’ Dance – Kane looked more like she was running than dancing the Salsa, still she did annoyingly well. Tonioli told her she was setting the bar very, very high. Goodman thought her Salsa was hot! However, Inaba thought Kane had no connection to the music.
Scores: Inaba – 8, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 9, PH – 8

Total – 55

Hines Ward (Football Star) and his partner Kym Johnson

Sometimes he does it for me, sometimes he does not. This time his Foxtrot did not. However, the judges completely disagreed. Tonioli stated that he’ll have what Ward is giving out. Inaba thought he conquered it. Goodman said in a generic way that his dancing has great appeal.

Scores: Inaba – 9, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 10, PH – 8

Insta’ Dance – Although his feet looked heavy, he did have a good connection to the beat. Tonioli thought he looked more like a penguin. Inaba disagreed, saying he was on every beat. Goodman thought Ward’s Jive was a fantastic one.

Scores: Inaba –9, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 8, PH – 8

Total – 54

Romeo (Rapper/Actor) and his partner Chelsie Hightower

His Tango was too jumpy and jerky, not very smooth. Inaba thought he danced with a fierce survival instinct. Tonioli said he saw the real man in Romeo. Goodman thought Romeo was a great contender.

Scores: Inaba – 9, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 9, PH – 8

Insta’ Dance – Good, just not great. Romeo’s Salsa was too casual for Inaba. Goodman said he was with it. Tonioli saw a loss of fluidity within the dance.

Scores: Inaba – 8, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 8, PH – 8

Total – 52

Ralph Macchio (Actor) and his partner Karina Smirnoff

Can’t this guy get a break? He did a great job and it was applauded. The judges agreed, giving him kudos for his effort and even some credit for his impaired dancing.

Scores: Inaba – 8, Goodman – 8, Tonioli – 9, PH – 9

Insta’ Dance – He did his best. It may not have been enough, but he certainly did not phone it in. Macchio rehashed some of last week’s Cha Cha Cha into his Insta’ Dance and got through it. The judges agreed that he coped very well and even gave him a standing ovation for his accomplishment.

Scores: Inaba – 7, Goodman – 7, Tonioli – 7, PH – 8

Total – 46

Kirstie Alley (Actress) and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy

She held her own…feeeeerrr sure! Tonioli said she was sultry. Goodman thought she was hot. And Inaba noticed her movements have grown while her body is shrinking!

Scores: Inaba – 9, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 10, PH – 8

Insta’ Dance – She kept up with the music well, until the end. Tonioli noticed her timing loss three or four times. Inaba just oozed about the chemistry between Alley and Chmerkovskiy. Goodman thought Alley’s hips were working very well.

Scores: Inaba – 8, Goodman – 9, Tonioli – 8, PH – 8

Total – 53

Who’s going home? As I stated earlier, it will be a miracle if Macchio isn’t sent packing. His fans need to rally for him and if they do, maybe, just maybe Romeo will be ushered off the dance floor.

Who has the legs to take home the mirror ball? At this point it looks like a race between Ward and Kane. The judges loooovvvveee them! And the audiences seem to not get enough of Ward’s caboose! Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Who got voted out this week – CLICK HERE

Click on any photo below to see the gallery of tonight’s dances and performers.

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CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 7

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 6

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 5

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 4

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 3

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 2

CLICK HERE for AX’s rundown of DANCING WITH THE STARS – Season 12 – Week 1

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