‘Dancing With the Stars’: Our pro dancer...

‘Dancing With the Stars’: Our pro dancer...

Adam Taylor/ABC

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ last week.

You know how Dancing With the Stars judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman rated the contestants Monday night.

But did they get it right?

With the help of some of the best-skilled dance pros in the city, each week we judge this season's stars solely on how they perform on the dance floor.

Gladys Knight & Tristan McManus, Rumba
TV judges' scores: 7, 7, 7 (21)

Mariana Parma: Great musicality, elegant, and smooth steps. She kept her posture and connection to her partner. I felt Motown just watching her dance. I give her an 8.

Eva Carrozza: Gladys is entertaining to watch, and I enjoyed the opening side by side choreography, but even 7's are high for that performance. Gladys looked a little lost in some of the partnering, especially turning. I didn't see the Latin motion Carrie Ann went on about. I give this routine a 6.

Ney Melo: In my opinion, the big story of the night is how DWTS seems to be trying to sacrifice Roshon Fagen or Melissa Gilbert by awarding them low scores in order to save Gladys Knight for one more week. Think about it: how bad would it look for Gladys Knight to be eliminated during Motown Night? It is difficult for me to say negative things about Gladys Knight because she always puts a smile on my face when she performs. And although she has great presence on stage and her rhythm is precise, did she really dance a rumba? There wasn't much Latin motion nor were there actual rumba steps. It was another week of simple dance movements and Gladys' "cute factor" can only carry her for so long. I would have liked nothing more than to score Gladys a 10, but the best I can do is award her a 7.

Maria Menounos & Derek Hough, Foxtrot
TV Judges' score: 8, 9, 9 (26)

Mariana Parma: Great upper body connection and posture in close hold. Clean footwork although a little slip on the stair through off her footing, she was able to get back to the choreography. I give her a 9.

Eva Carrozza: Gorgeous frame! Derek's choreography did a great job of capturing the playfulness and elegance of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers number, but I thought he could have showed Maria off more if he had stayed in a closed hold and not tried to mimick the music so much -- jumps are out of place in Foxtrot. The choreography on the stai rs caused Maria to fumble. I give them an 8.

Ney Melo: After what I thought was a poor salsa performance last week, Maria and Derek came back, and they came back with style! They danced a wonderful foxtrot that was full of rhythm and elegance. The elegance comes from the perfect posture that Maria is able to maintain when she is in "partner hold". I am awarding them a 9.