Injured Cristian De La Fuente Takes The Lead On ‘Dancing’

 
 
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  • Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)
  • Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)
  • Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)

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  • ABC

    Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)

  • ABC

    Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)

  • ABC

    Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (May 5, 2008)

 
 

FIRST PUBLISHED: May 5, 2008 9:50 PM EDT
LAST UPDATED: May 6, 2008 10:28 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

He may have suffered a severe injury to his arm last week on “Dancing With the Stars,” but nothing stopped Latin heartthrob Cristian de la Fuente and partner Cheryl Burke from setting the ballroom on fire Monday night.

In fact, after two rounds of competition, Cristian and Cheryl moved to the top of the leader board.

Going under the motto, “no pain, no mirror ball trophy,” Cristian and Cheryl took to the dance floor, and though the choreography for his left injured arm was limited, the actor’s fast footwork thrilled the judges on the couple’s first dance – a tango.

“In spite of your injuries… I tell you, you are the man with the golden arm. There was absolutely no way you could see any problems with your tango,” judge Bruno Tonioli noted.

“I saw nothing at all wrong with that tango. Great job,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba added.
And the couple’s scores reflected the good news as they netted their first ten of the season – from Carrie Ann, followed by nines from both Bruno and Len Goodman.

Round two for Cristian was even better as he received tens from both Carrie Ann and Bruno for his sexy samba with Cheryl.

“The things you could do with one arm! It was magic,” Bruno said. “I was dizzy.”

And while Jason Taylor dropped out of the top spot, there was clearly no ill will towards Cristian, as the entire cast gave him a standing ovation backstage.

So where did Jason end up on the leader board? Despite a strong first dance – a tango with partner Edyta Sliwinska, which netted him 29 out of 30 — his second dance let him down, giving him just 23 out of 30 and dropping him to fourth place.

The leader board tally for Monday night was:

Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke 57/60
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas 55/60
Mario and Karina Smirnoff 53/60
Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska 52/60
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani 50/60

Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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