Monday's Dancing: What You Didn't See

Photo: Kelsey McNeal/ABC

Lip Service: Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke wowed the crowd and the judges with a saucy salsa performance that earned them their highest score of the season. “I wanted to come out and own the dance because the judges felt I wasn’t owning my dances and taking charge,” said Greene, explaining why he threw a smooch in the judges’ direction during his dance number. “That was when I just looked at them, blew them a kiss to tell them I’m in control with this. I got this!”

What Foot Injury?: Despite a foot injury, Brooke Burke performed her routine without incident–even topping the leader board again this week. “I didn’t want to alarm anybody… I didn’t even tell Derek,” Burke said, downplaying her injury. “I have been icing it and I went to the hospital for X-rays today. I got checked out by the doctor this morning and responsibly, I did get an okay.” With Burke’s newfound love of dance, she says, “I had so much adrenaline in me, I just wanted to dance. I didn’t even think about it … that dance was so much fun and so high energy.” Game On: Last week the judges chided Warren Sapp for what they felt was a lackluster performance. Sapp didn’t appreciate the insinuation that he was phoning it in. So this week he stepped up his game with a crowd-pleasing hustle. Can you say Disco King? “It felt amazing,” said Sapp. “I told Kym I had a bunch of sleep last night and I woke up and everything just clicked with me. We walked onto the stage and I said let’s tear the roof off this mother!” Added Sapp, “I’ve got my ‘Sheila’ Sapp’s nickname for his Aussie partner Kym Johnson here and I’m good.”

Derek’s Hair-Raising Night: While the ladies usually outdo the guys in the costume department, Burke’s partner Derek Hough was hands-down the man with the craziest hairdo on Monday night’s show. “I’ve never let the hair department touch my hair before, but I let them rock and roll today and I loved it,” Hough said of his piled-high pompadour. The do was courtesy of “lots of hairspray and a blow dry.” It was a very momentous occasion for me,” added Hough. “People were going all day, ‘Is that a wig or extensions?’ And no, it’s all my hair.”

More from Inside the Ballroom: • While Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer talked to host Samantha Harris in the red room following their West Coast swing number, Tom Bergeron grimaced at the judges for their harsh criticism of Schwimmer for showcasing her own skills instead of her partner’s. Bergeron shook his head and mouthed “wow” to Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli as if to say “that was harsh.”

• Two Dancing moms went the distance for their kids. Schwimmer’s mom Laurie drove to L.A. from Arizona for the fifth week in a row to see the show. Meanwhile Mark Ballas’s mom, Shirley, flew in from London. Though Mark and his partner Kim Kardashian were eliminated in week two, Shirley was on hand to cheer her “almost kids,” former dance pupils Julianne and Derek Hough, as well as her ex-husband Corky Ballas.

•As soon as Monday’s show ended, Julianne ran into the audience and smooched her boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks. Hough gushed to PEOPLE, “Isn’t he gorgeous? He’s been to almost every show (this season). He’d never seen the show ever until this season. He didn’t know me as a dancer, he knew me as a singer,” said Hough, who toured with Wicks and Brad Paisley over the summer. “He’s the best.” –Monica Rizzo

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