Hines Ward brought his serious side to the dance floor this week and proved he doesn't need that ever-present smile to light things up as his performanced helped him advance on the show for another week.
Ward, dressed in black and gold matador attire, danced the paso doble with partner Kym Johnson on Monday's episode of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. The couple danced to a violin performance of "Explosive" as part of the show's "Classical Week."
Ward admitted that this was a tough week of preparation for him, as he had a busy schedule that brought him back to Pittsburgh to be honored at the Catholic Youth Association dinner with the Art Rooney Award and attending the Mel Blount Youth Home Dinner. And the musical selection didn't help either.
"I really don't know what classical week means," said Ward during a taped interview during the show. "Not having lyrics is going to be a challenge for me. I time all of my steps based off of the lyrics. This is by far the hardest dance."
But it didn't seem to have an impact on his dancing.
Ward's performance was electric and explosive, bringing out the aspects the paso doble should. When he finished the crowded erupted into the longest ovation of the night, with the loudest cheers and Terrible Towel waving coming from four of Ward's teammates – linebackers James Farrior, Keyaron Fox and James Harrison and tackle Max Starks.
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who joked about being intimated by Ward's teammates sitting to her right, gave Ward and Johnson a nine out of 10 for their performance while fellow judges Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman both gave them an eight out of 10, scores that were met with boos by the studio audience. It's the second week in a row Ward and Johnson scored 25 out of 30 for their performance.
What The Judges Said during the show:Carrie Ann Inaba - "You were in the zone my friend. Touchdown on the paso doble You nailed it. You were in control."
Len Goodman – "You are the most determined of all of our celebrities. You come out every week 100 percent. Keep it up. This competition the longer it goes the tougher it gets, work hard because you are really doing great."
Bruno Tonioli – "Oh yes, you do have the killer instinct and we all saw it. As the song says truly explosive."
What He Said:
Hines Ward – during the show immediately following the dance
"It was very tough. I never listened to classical music before but it was awesome. I got that in my IPod now."
