For the third week of Dancing With the Stars there were human statues, chess pieces, a heckling mariachi band and a shy donkey. This is what happens when the celebrity dancers have full creative control.

Last night the celebs took charge telling their professional dancing partners what to do. They were also asked to choose a dance routine from a past season and add their own flair in hopes to improve it.

Though this could be a scary thing—especially with tonight’s double elimination looming—the stars were up for the challenge. 

Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy took on his brother, Maksim’s paso dolble with boxer Laila Ali. “I think you can do better than your brother,” Kelly said. It turns out he could. Carrie Ann Inaba even called them the couple to watch.

Melissa Rycroft and partner, Tony Dovolani also brought out all the stops with their samba, which had Melissa showing how flexible she is and Tony showing how good he really is with his feet. The tricks won over the judges with Bruno Tonioli saying their dance was like a can of soda: “fizzy, refreshing and satisfying.”

Though she was tied for the top spot with Kelly, earning a score of 27, she still showed her love and support for all the other talented ladies on the show.

Love these ladies! @ShawnJohnson @PetaMurgatroyd @KarinaSmirnoff @BristolsBlog http://t.co/A5qLwejo

—
Melissa Rycroft (@MelissaRycroft) October 09, 2012

It was definitely ladies night with Shawn Johnson and Sabrina Bryan also storming the top of the leaderboard. 

Shawn and partner Derek Hough, who were nearly flawless last week, came in third but were given high praise for their gymnastics-fueled quickstep from the judges who all called the dance the best they’ve ever seen in the history of the show. The two lost points though for breaking the rules when they changed up the moves of the traditional dance.

But Joey Fatone, who was forced to say goodbye last week, certainly liked Shawn’s rule breaking

Every one did an amazing job but @ShawnJohnson awesome !!! Proud of u !

—
Joey Fatone (@realjoeyfatone) October 09, 2012

One lady who didn’t have the best night, or possibly the best week was Bristol Palin. The reality star broke down in rehearsals accusing her partner Mark Ballas of not wanting to work with her, but instead wishing he had been paired with Shawn or Sabrina again. In the end, she stormed out of her training, but the two managed to make up before hitting the floor for their paso doble on a life size chess board.

The two ended up in last, but Ballas showed his support for Bristol congratulating her on her highest score in the competition, a 22.5.

Gilles Martin was the lone male in the top five channeling Fifty Shades of Grey with his harness, which helped him fly across the stage literally. The first time that had been done on Dancing With the Stars.

Drew Lachey, who has had trouble getting out of the bottom three, ended up there once again for his sexy cha-cha. But he’s hoping his fans can lift him up once again.

Ok everybody, u have all seen the show by now and the scores. We need a serious Team TreLachey push. Please help us out and vote. Rally!!!

—
Drew Lachey (@thedrewlachey) October 09, 2012

The show also announced two big bombshells that will change things for next week’s episode when Paula Abdul joins the judges table.  The dancers, for the first time, will choose what dances their competitors will perform for week 4. The dance choices will even include a few styles that have never ever been performed on the show.

Here’s the list of the scores from last night. What two couples do you think are going home this week?

Melissa Rycroft – 27

Kelly Monaco  -  27

Shawn Johnson – 26.5

Sabrina Bryan – 25.5

Gilles Marini – 25.5

Apolo Anton Ohno – 25.5

Helio Castroneves – 25.5

Emmit Smith – 25

Drew Lachey – 24

Kirstie Alley – 24

Bristol Palin – 22.5

Voted off:
Pamela Anderson (week 1)

Joey Fatone (week 2)

- Shannon Carlin, CBS Local