Dancing With Stars Has Its First Perfect Score!

Aside from Karina Smirnoff almost falling down the stairs during the intro, most of the disasters were relegated to the dance floor tonight.

And even then, abominations were few and far between Monday as the 11 remaining contestants on Dancing With the Stars performed the show's inaugural Lindy hops and Argentine tangos.

Some had trouble with the sprightly Lindy and the sensual tango, but scores continued to tick upward—although there were some downswings that may surprise you.

The ban on lifts was temporarily lifted, as well, which made for more automatic excitement than usual and helped make the routines more impressive overall.

But the couple who earned the first 30 of the season were perfection even when their feet were planted firmly on the ground...

David Alan Grier: The comedian knows how to bounce. Despite being a little bogged down by a white dinner jacket and full tux regalia (and age, perhaps?), the 53-year-old managed most of the throws and flings of the show's first-ever Lindy hop like a swing-dancin' fool. He even pulled off a rather straight-legged cartwheel. Len Goodman liked that David "captured the flavor of the dance," but both he and Bruno Tonioli noted that the In Living Color star lost the rhythm here and there. "I actually thought it was great," praised Carrie Ann Inaba.Score: 22

Lil Kim: The superbly agile Lil Kim (and, alas, her odd facial expressions) continued to surprise with the sophistication and grace she brings to the floor. Derek Hough made the most of the lifting of the lift ban and the pair's Argentine tango was a series of impressive lines and sensual holds. One overheated Italian let loose: "That was a tale of a fatal beauty, enticing strangers with the promise of forbidden pleasure!" Carrie Ann told the diminutive rapper she looked 4 inches taller than she is. But Len wasn't feeling it.Score: 27. "The fire department is parked outside," Bruno insisted to Len before raising the first 10 of the season in Lil Kim's honor.

Chuck Wicks: At least Julianne Hough didn't seem afraid of being dropped on her head as her country-singer beau threw her around and flipped her over again and again in their 50s-diner-inspired Lindy hop. As far as Chuck himself was concerned… he did a good job, but we didn't see a whole lot of difference between the 29-year-old and David Alan Grier in terms of level of spryness. "You're a young guy," Bruno pointed out. "It's all there, but I have not seen it yet."Score: 22

Lawrence Taylor: The retired linebacker was all man and a half doing the tango with Edyta Sliwinska—who opted to lose the back of her dress rather than the sides, looked absolutely stunning and ultimately stole the show. Taylor was able to lift her really high, though. Len thought he "looked uncomfortable throughout" and spent most of the time stomping around, but Carrie Ann and Bruno agreed that he "exuded power."Score: 19. Len seceded from the 7-wielding pack and offered up a 5.

Ty Murray: We'll be darned! Who knew this rodeo cowboy was just one Lindy hop away from being enshrined in the Adorable Hall of Fame? Still keeping that young-colt vibe about him, Ty bounded out of the gate and bounced (and kicked, lifted and jaunted) his way into our hearts. Chelsie Hightower is some sort of instructor savant. The judges were, to say the least, pleasantly surprised. "You're coming up by leaps and bounds," said Bruno. "Hot dog and darn my britches!" added Len.Score: 25

Steve Wozniak: The geeks aren't inheriting the Earth just yet. As Edyta did before her, Karina stole the show from her obliging but struggling partner, who at least ably held her aloft, even if he didn't look that great doing it. Well, at least Steve-Dub pulled the tango and not the Lindy. "That just felt really long," Carrie Ann lamented. "There is an improvement from last week," Len said, though he quickly added, "however, improvement is relative."Score: 12. Sure enough, he improved from last week's 10.

Melissa Rycroft: It's nice to see Tony Dovolani really enjoying himself. And why shouldn't he—Melissa's got mad skills. We were sure she was about to fall smack on her head during one particularly death-defying lift in their Lindy hop, but she didn't, and the routine was an overall success. High fives all around from Carrie Ann, while Bruno said Melissa had the potential to make it to the finals.Score: 29. Utilizing 10s from Carrie Ann and Bruno, the highest score of the competition at the time.

Holly Madison: Tangoing through the pain of an injured rib, she easily danced her best routine to date, even if she still went into lockdown mode any time sultry Latin hip action was required. And she fell off the stool at the beginning. But here's to Dmitry Chaplin's choreography, for putting the gloss on what could have been a really drab 60 seconds. "Drop the Barbie and bring out the vixen," Bruno implored Holly, while Len, despite his acknowledgement that it wasn't great, saw "a light at the end of the tunnel."Score: 16. Doesn't bode well for tomorrow's double elimination.

Steve-O: It seemed that every time Lacey Schwimmer stayed on the ground long enough to do some Lindy hop, Steve-O was doing something else. At first it seemed as if this would be the energetic dance for him, but the Jackass player was a step behind his partner nearly every step of the way. "You put a barrier between you and the orchestra, like they're in the other room," Bruno complained.Score: 15

Gilles Marini: Yeah, we were shocked to see Gilles excel at a sultry, passionate dance like the Argentine tango. Cheryl Burke crafted one heck of a routine that played to both of their strengths—technical precision and unadulterated sexiness. "I could not tell who was the professional and who was the celebrity," Carrie Ann said after catching her breath. (You can imagine what Bruno said.)Score: 30. There you have it.

Shawn Johnson: Did someone say flips and tricks? The Olympic gymnast outdid herself (although Mark Ballas' red short-shorts and sport socks did their best to steal her thunder) with all the jumping around, but she went from blossoming woman to junior-high cheerleader—albeit an incredibly accomplished one—in the sports bra and shorts combo. "A bit heavy on the footwork," Carrie Ann said solemnly, though all three judges agreed that Shawn had no equal when it came to fancy flip work.Score: 25

Two stars will leave the show tomorrow night. Do you think it's all in the scores or will Wozniak pull another rabbit out of his hat? Based on these performances, Holly is a 2 to 1 favorite to get booted, followed by Steve-O at 3 to 1 and the Woz at 5 to 1. Quite the longshot to go is Gilles, at 500 to 1.

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