The battle of the married couple continued on the dance floor Monday night, with Alexa PenaVega bringing in the heat in hopes of besting her husband, Carlos.
The former “Spy Kids” actress took to the ballroom floor on “Dancing with the Stars” with a new fire lit under her after husband beat her by one point last week.
“I was just disappointed with my performance,” Alexa, 27, said in a pre-recorded interview on Monday’s show, adding that she was bummed that her partner Mark Ballas thought she was not in it to win. “It’s a little distracting having my husband on the show and being here with Mark… This week I want Mark to know that I am in this.”
And she proved it. The Colombian-American actress, dressed as a cougar, showed that salsa is in her blood with a sexy and improved performance that had the judges raving.
Judge Bruno Tonioli said it was “wild and wonderful,” while Carrie Ann Inaba said Alexa “set the floor on fire.”
“There was no denying the connection this week,” judge Julianne Hough added. “You were strong, you were sexy… that was a whole other level of commitment.”
The praise continued for Carlos, who danced a foxtrot with Whitney Carson in honor of his hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
“(My life there) was really simple,” he said before his dance. “I am a Latin boy from the Midwest.”
Inaba said Carlos was a “contender” with very delicate and incredible posture.
“Carlos, the Latin lover sets the mood for a night of romance,” Tonioli added.
Both received 24 out a possible 30 points from the judges.
However, the praise for technique was not as high another Latin lover on the show, but Inaba said she would definitely give Triple Crown winner Victor Espinoza a 10 for “enthusiasm and cuteness.”
Espinoza and partner Karina Smirnoff danced a jive with a Mexican theme that was all over the place, but the judges had to give him credit for having fun on the dance floor.
“Most festive jive I’ve ever seen. Dance is supposed to make people feel something and that was so much fun,” Hough said, while Bruno called him a “jumping bean.”
Espinoza received 17 out of 30 points, a step up from last week.
“I come here to ‘Dancing with the Stars’ to have a lot of fun, learn new things and enjoy life,” he said after his performance.
In a night paying tribute to hometowns, Australian native Bindi Irwin dedicated her tango with AC/DC to her dad Steve Irwin, getting on the top of the leaderboard with 25 points.
At the bottom was singer Chaka Khan and partner Keo Motsepe, who received 15 points for their foxtrot. Unfortunately, their journey on the show was cut short Monday night as they were the first couple eliminated.
A second dance (and elimination) plague the couples as they hit the ballroom once again tonight at 9 p.m.
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