Partner’s Switch Week: Dancing With The Stars: Season 21- 10/12 #DWTS

It’s partner’s switch week at Dancing With The Stars, season 21, week 5. How did the switch go? Read our recap to learn about it.

So, here we are at week 5 already at Dancing With The Stars, Season 21. There are 9 couples remaining in the competition. There is no elimination this week but will take place next Monday night. The word on the street is that there will be a double elimination but nothing has been confirmed yet. Stay tuned next week to find out more! This week’s guest judge is none other than Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Val’s brother and winner of season 18 with ice dancer Meryl Davis. Also, Alek broke his nose during rehearsal when Emma accidentally hit him with her elbow when he spun her. He is here tonight nonetheless.

So this week at Dancing With The Stars, week6,  is partner switch week. This means that the contestants all get new pro dance partners tonight. Lots of questions for this week. Will Paula improve with a new partner? Will Alexa overcome her mishap from last week? Let’s find out!

Related: Dancing With The Stars, Season 21, Week 4 Recap.

Dancing With The Stars, season 21, week 5 recap

Tamar and Louis– Samba- End of Time by Beyoncé

Tamar was not excited about dancing with a new partner since she was just barely getting used to Val. She did okay with the rumba, but it definitely showed that she misses Val is a bit lost without him.

Carrie Anne: 7- said Tamar owned the dance floor

Maks: 8- said they did better separately than together

Julianne: 7- said Tamar needs to get grounded more

Bruno: 7- said Tamar has balance issues

Hayes and Allison– Viennese Waltz- Like I’m Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor

Allison wants to show off a sophisticated side of Hayes this week. It was cute to see his voice crack at times in the videos. Apparently someone is not out of puberty just yet. He did well with the dance but it was by no means his best dance of the season.

Carrie Anne: 8- said the dance was sweet

Maks: 7- said Hayes’ facial expression did not match the dance

Julianne: 8- she liked the partnership

Bruno: 7- said the dance was messy and jumpy at time

Paula and Mark– Jive- Shake by Otis Redding

Paula said she was actually scared of Mark because he was too edgy. Really Paula? Mark is a big ole soft, cute teddy bear. Mark said he was going to take risks with Paula this week. It is clear to me, however, that no matter who she is paired with, she just isn’t going to do well in this competition. While she didn’t make any mistakes tonight in her footwork, I think the dance itself needed more than she delivered. Heck, in my opinion, if Mark can’t do anything with her, no one can!

Carrie Anne: 7- said it was Paula’s best dance ever

Maks: 6- said the dance was fun but wanted to see more jive

Julianne: 7- said she brought the cookies to Mark’s milk (Mark was a milkman in the routine)

Bruno: 6- said the jive needs to be done on flats and she did most of the steps on her toes

Alek and Emma– Rumba- Let It Go by James Bay

Emma was hoping she would get Alek and her wish came true. This is the first time that Emma does a rumba on the show. Alek is completely distracted and completely smitten with Emma during rehearsals. Alek did an amazing job on the rumba. He and Emma definitely have chemistry and it shows on the dance floor. Emma did such a great job with the choreography on this one.

Carrie Anne: 8- there was no time for her comments (gotta love live shows)

Maks: 7- he called Alek the dark horse of the competition

Julianne: 7- said she “witnesses something on the dance floor” (funny since after getting their scores, Alek gets a date with Emma…cute couple)

Bruno: 7- said next time he needs to watch out for the fact that the rumba requires you caress the floor not step the floor.

Bindi and Val– Cha Cha Cha- Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne

It was funny when she brought in a huge snake to rehearsal. Val was hesitant at first but warmed up to the snake. As always, Bindi gave a great performance. She kept up with Val very well. While her regular partner, Derek, is one of the best, Val isn’t too far behind him.

Carrie Anne: 9- said Bindi learned a lot from Val

Maks: 10- called it the dance of the night

Julianne: 9- said she was a ray of sunshine

Bruno: 9- called Bindi the “essence of joy”

Carlos and Lindsay– Quickstep- Bossa Nova Baby by Elvis

Carlos was scared last week when it was announced that he and Witney were in jeopardy. So, this week he plans to have his breakout moment. And boy, did he ever have a breakout moment. I thought this was his best dance so far this season. Everything was perfect: footwork, holds, all of it.

Carrie Anne: 10- she commended Lindsay

Maks: 9- called it an amazing quickstep (9? Really Maks? UGH!)

Julianne: 10- said partnering with Lindsay was just what he needed

Bruno: 10- loved it

Alexa and Derek– Tango- Pompeii by Bastille

She was upset when Mark told her last week that they might be eliminated. If you remember, last week she missed a step or two. This week, Derek wants to build her confidence back up. Derek is one of the best there is and he always does a great job on the choreography when it comes to the tango so she should do well tonight. Wow! She not only did well, she NAILED IT! Props to her and of course, Derek.

Carrie Anne: 10- gave them a standing ovation

Maks: 10- called Alexa a “leading lady”

Julianne: 10- said she showed her raw side tonight

Bruno: 10- loved the performance

Alexa gets the first perfect score of the season with Derek.

Andy and Sharna– Argentine Tango- Can’t Feel My Face by The Weekend

Andy thinks that Carrie Anne has been a bit tough on him. He is so dedicated to getting as much practice time as possible, he cancels a scheduled concert in order to rehearse. He is definitely doing well on the dance and with Sharna. He performed a flawless left with her. I don’t think I have seen him as comfortable as he is out on the dance floor with Sharna.

Carrie Anne: 9- compared Andy to James Dean

Maks: 9- said it was a great performance

Julianne: 9- loved Andy’s footwork

Bruno: 9- called the dance “steamy and sensual”

Nick and Whitney– Paso Double- Don’t Look Down by Martin Garrix

I think Nick does better with Sharna than he does with Witney. Witney tends to do her choreography a tad different than others. Sometimes this works out well and sometimes it doesn’t work so well. Unfortunately, I, personally didn’t think it worked tonight at all. He did a great job, don’t get me wrong; his footwork was spot on. I just don’t think this was a good pairing.

Carrie Anne: 9- said she wants to see more shaping

Maks: 8- said it was not his type of paso

Julianne: 9- said it went a tad too far

Bruno: 8- said Nick’s hips went further back than what is needed for the paso double

Leaderboard– Combined judge’s scores from last week and this week!

• Bindi- 28 + 37 = 65/70
• Carlos- 25 + 39 = 64/70
• Nick- 27 + 35 = 62/70
• Alexa- 21 + 40 = 61/70
• Andy- 23 + 36 = 59/70
• Hayes- 27 + 30 = 57/70
• Tamar- 27 + 29 = 56/70
• Alek- 24 + 29 = 53/70
• Paula- 18 + 26 = 44/70

Did you watch Dancing With The Stars, season 21, week 5? What was your favorite moment?