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Week 8 of Dancing with the Stars showcased the future of the paso doble, and in the future, the paso doble will be known as the Krupa Hough! This week started the two dances a week for the five remaining couples.

Technically, Mya and Dmitry ruled week 8. Only a 9 by Carrie Ann Inaba prevented perfection. Yes, even Len Goodman was converted. For me though, Mya’s dancing is good but not memorable. I keep waiting for the funk and am still waiting.

Aaron Carter might have seen his last week. Though in the top last week, he had to dance his way out of elimination. With a shaky foxtrot this week, that’s probably enough to send him home. If that ain’t then that unbelievably popping vein in his forehead will shun voters. Each week I’m grotesquely mesmerized by that brain vein.

So if Mya doesn’t have the funk, who does? It ain’t Joanna Krupa, but it is her partner, Derek Hough. That boy is genius as Bruno and Len pointed out. The futuristic paso doble? Out of this funk’n world! Check it out.

Mya and Dmitry are lucky they danced before Joanna and Derek. Otherwise their perfect score may not have been so perfect after Joanna and Derek’s performance.

I haven’t yet watched Kelly Osbourne’s dolly jive in real time yet. I saw snippets but not the entire performance. Still though she’s safe for another week.

And so will Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson. I haven’t watched this freaky paso themed in the 90’s yet, but it must have been just okay with scores of 8, 8, 8. I think Donny will be in the DWTS Finals with Mya and Joanna. From a voter’s point of view, I doubt if either Aaron or Kelly can knock Donny out. Sad but true.

Can Joanna and championship partner Mr. Hough overcome Mya and newbie Dmitry? It’s quite possible. Derek’s choreography and strategy is unparalleled in this competition, and Dmitry is showing cracks in his confidence. Both Mya and Joanna can only perform to the levels set by their pro partners and to me, Derek can set the bar much higher than Dmitry.

Does it seem like the newer dancing professionals on Dancing with the Stars are struggling a bit, especially choreographing the new dances? Already on Season 9 of DWTS, many dancing veterans have been eliminated (Edyta, Cheryl, Maks, Anna, Tony, and Jonathan) and fan favorite Julianne Hough wasn’t in this year’s lineup . Veterans who continue on are Karina, Kym, Derek, Louie, Mark, and Alec along with “newcomers,” Anna Demidova, Chelsie Hightower, Lacey Schwimmer, and Dmitry Chaplin.

Anna Demidova is on the brink of elimination with Michael Irvin, and while Michael’s dancing skills aren’t on par with his receiving skills, Anna hasn’t been able to choreograph for him. Chelsie Hightower, in her second year, had a troublesome Country Two-Step with Louie Vito. She did most of the dancing to compensate. Lacey Schwimmer in her third year is having more success with Mark Dacascos, and while Dmitry and Mya have gotten 10’s in the past two weeks, good old Len Goodman is calling out the pair with his down-to-earth scores of 7 and 8.

It’s these newer pros who can’t seem to bring out the best with their dancers. As a comparison, look at Derek Hough and Joanna Krupa. There’s no question Derek’s choreography was great, even doing a new dance of the week, the Lambada.

Mark Ballas too shone in Week 4 with his Charleston with Melissa Joan Hart. Karina will break Aaron Carter and get him in line. Kym is getting Donny Osmond there. Louie is working on Kelly’s confidence, and Alec is turning a swimmer into a dancer.

As the weeks go by, will the veterans have the edge or will the newbies pull through?

This week three-time DWTS dancer, Anna Trebunskaya, and partner Chuck Liddell was eliminated from the competition.

For her DWTS rumba, Natalie Coughlin got the go-ahead to go all out with partner Alec Mazo.  Who gave this approval of sensuality? None other than Alec’s wife, Edyta who was eliminated in Week 1.

The show’s producers had to find ways of getting Edyta more airtime, and the performance introduction was the perfect venue!  Can this swimmer be the next Dancing with the Stars champion with Olympic ties?