She's back!
Despite injuring her neck during rehearsals and being rushed to the hospital on Sunday, Dancing with the Stars contestant Melissa Rycroft returned to the ballroom to perform on Monday night.
And she danced a high-flying team freestyle routine despite having what she called a "herniated disc in my upper neck."
"I'm on a little medication right now," Rycroft said before the performance to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." "[But] I'm officially cleared to dance."
The judges gave "Team Call Me Maybe" stellar reviews but their cheerleader-themed freestyle performance came at the end of an hour that included a routine that had judge Carrie Ann Inaba falling out of her chair – literally!
Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd earned 29.5 points for their rumba to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."
"Let the baby making begin!" Carrie Ann shouted before falling flat out of her chair at the judges' panel.
"It should be Oscar nominated," Len Goodman said. "It had everything."
Val Chmerkovskiy and Kelly Monaco's samba was less exciting to the judges, who awarded the super-tight pair just 24.5 points. "There was too much gyration," Len said.
"I thought you were uncertain and I could see it in your body," Carrie Ann added.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley, who performed to "Mrs. Robinson," came out slightly ahead with 25.5 points for their quickstep, which Carrie Ann and Len called their "best dance" so far this season.
And set to "Copa Cabana" by Barry Manilow, Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke danced a samba, which Len called an "unstoppable performance." They earned 29 points.
The couples who danced individual routines Monday will perform a team freestyle and "Team Call Me Maybe" will do their own thing on Tuesday night. There will be no elimination this week.
source: people.com
