Ricki Lake nabs the season’s highest score so far with emotional rumba. By Kelley L. Carter Karina Smirnoff and J.R. Martinez Photo: ABC Networks Monday night’s “Dancing With the Stars” evoked emotion from most of the contestants. The third round of performances challenged the celebrities to dance to a song of their choosing that reflected the most memorable year in their lives. There were many moist eyes in the audience as people heard stories of tragedy and heartbreak that were close to the hearts of this year’s cast. Former talk-show host Ricki Lake scored the night’s highest scores, once again impressing the judges with her technique and execution. Here’s how everyone fared: Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke The reality star danced the foxtrot to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” in memory of his father, O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Kardashian Sr., and the judges found it to be very emotional. Said head judge Len Goodman: “You just put the dash into Kardashian, I’m telling you! Posture was good. Footwork was good. I hope your dad is looking down and saying, ‘Rob, you did good,’ because you did.” 24/30 Chynna Phillips and Tony Dovolani Phillips picked the moment in her life when she was sobering up and danced to “Hold On,” a song she sang with her group Wilson Phillips that she says is therapeutic for her. In her rehearsal, she cried and had a few breakdowns but said she hoped people would see in her rumba routine (and the song’s message, of course) that there was always a way out. “I knew you could do it. You are a smoldering siren. Seductive, intriguing, stylish, always so expressive. You belong in a museum to admire, my dear,” said judge Bruno Tonioli. They scored the first pair of 9’s of the season. 26/30 Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer Bono was charged with dancing the rumba, and he picked a song that his dad, Sonny Bono, wrote, called “Laugh With Me.” Bono, who is the competition’s first transgender contestant, said this was his best year ever and the song meant a lot and is about being a different kind of man. The judges didn’t think Bono kept focus during the dance but praised his willingness to come back week after week in spite of being heavily criticized for his dancing skills. “Every time I watch you get out on this dance floor, I’m so impressed by your real courage,” Carrie Ann Inaba offered. “Because what you do just by showing up here takes incredible amounts of courage. I’m always touched by that. Tonight you looked really distracted. You seemed not quite focused into the dance. I felt like you didn’t dance enough in this rumba. It’s breaking my heart to say this, because I find you to be such an inspiration.” 18/30 Kristin Cavallari and Mark Ballas Not every story was forlorn. The former MTV reality-TV star picked Beyonc
