Dancing With the Stars Set to Dance Off in Week 3
Could this be happening?
Is this an early preview of the finale, or are the producers of Dancing with the Stars making America choose between these two pairs of favorites?
Here's the Scoop
On his blog, Derek Hough shared that this week he, and his celebrity student Marilu Henner will be facing off against Season 23 favorites Laurie Hernandez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy in a special one hour format of the show.
Here are the details according to Derek Hough's blog on TvGuide.com:
"Everyone is paired off, so one person will dance and the other will go on stage and dance right after. Everyone will be scored and whoever scores highest in each pair will be immune from elimination. So, six people will be immune and six people will be up for elimination" says Hough.
Derek continues to mention who he and Henner are paired up against, "we are paired opposite Laurie and Val--- the leaders! So we've got our work cut out for us."
Their Dance for Week 3
According to PureDWTS.com, some of the celebrities have already shared via social media what their dances will be - Babyface and Allison are dancing a Jive, Lindsay and Calvin are dancing a Viennese Waltz, and Derek and Marilu are dancing a Tango.
"I do love our music this week for our tango. It's awesome and I think it's going to be good" says Hough, via TVguide.com. So does that mean that Laurie and Val are also dancing the Tango?
Another one of the pros, Maks Chmerkovskiy, cleared things up via his blog on Entertainment Weekly:
"They split us into six groups of two pairs, and each pair has the same style of dance. So we’ll each dance, and then we get a score, and whoever has the higher score will have immunity from elimination."
Recapping What We Know About Week 3
1. Due to the Presidential debates, it will be a one hour show.
2. Each pair will be matched up head to head with another couple dancing the same style of dance.
3. The Top Scoring couple in each pairing will be immune from elimination.
The Dance Off Matchups
The Matchup: Amber and Maks VS. Artem and Maureen
The Dance: The Salsa
Who Has the Edge?
Had this been a Rumba, we think Amber could have an edge based on slow, sexy movements, and sustained sex appeal. The Salsa is a hot and exciting dance, and as a performance, needs the charisma that Maureen has, and what Amber has yet to show. Prediction: Artem & Maureen
The Matchup: Rick and Emma Vs. Vanilla and Witney
The Dance: Paso Doble
Who Has the Edge?
This is an important week for both of these male competitors. For Rick, people saw him as a sure fire elimination, and for Vanilla Ice - Paso Doble isn't the type of dance that you can show a casual commitment to. Prediction: Draw 
The Matchup: Calvin and Lindsay Vs. Terra and Sasha
The Dance: Viennese Waltz
Who Has the Edge?
This is the classic version of the Waltz made famous by the galas in Vienna. It is a much faster version of Waltz its main characteristic is sweeping smoothly around the ballroom. Based on sheer volume of dance frame and movement, it would be easy to give the nod to Calvin, but this is a TV show with drama, camera angles, choreography to fit those moments. Look for Terra to utilize her ability to add drama to her dancing to give her a slight edge. Prediction: Terra & Sasha
The Matchup: Gleb and Jana Vs. Allsion and Babyface
The Dance: Jive
Who Has the Edge?
Jive is a fast moving, knee pumping, carb shredding cardio machine of a dance. These fast moments help make pauses, asides to the audience, and sassy elements stand out like the acapella portions of Jerry Lee Lewis playing "Great Balls of Fire". With all that in mind, this will be a tough task for team Babyface. Prediction: Gleb & Jana
The Matchup: James and Sharna Vs. Ryan and Cheryl
The Dance: Cha Cha
Who Has the Edge?
James has had a sizable advantage over all the men in the competition thus far. Then again, he hasn't danced anything where Latin Hip motion is important. We feel like that could be the thing that could vault James into title contention, or paint him into a Ballroom typecast. Nevertheless, this is Hinchcliffe's round to lose. Prediction: James & Sharna
The Main Event: Laurie and Val Vs. Derek and Marilu
The Dance: Tango
Who Has the Edge?
This will match youth and athleticism versus character and choreography. Were this a Cha-Cha, Salsa, or Samba - Laurie Hernandez takes it without breaking a sweat. Since the Tango is a dance of drama, bold movement, and sophistication - the edge for this week, even by a point or two, goes to Derek and Marilu. Prediction: Derek & Marilu
Read more about our DWTS Season 23 Predictions
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