Another celebrity says 'arrivederci' to 'Dancing'

[September 28, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Italian actress who romanced George Clooney has done her last dance on "Dancing With the Stars."

Elisabetta Canalis was dismissed from the show Tuesday, despite her third-place finish on Monday's episode.

She and professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy earned 21 points out of 30 for their quickstep routine -- a six-point improvement over their debut dance. But fans failed to keep the couple in the competition.

"For me, it was a gift every day staying here. It was a great adventure," Canalis said after learning her fate. "I want to thank everybody because they made me come here. Thanks to the public and to everybody who voted for us. Now I am really nervous, but thank you anyway. It was a great experience."

Canalis earned mixed reviews for her routine Monday. Head judge Len Goodman said the dance was "not great but it was better than last week," while fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba told the couple, "You nailed it."

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which celebrity is ousted each week. Basketball star Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace, was bounced from the ballroom last week.

Perhaps the most relieved to be returning was Chaz Bono, who came into Tuesday's episode with the lowest score. He said Tuesday that he was "completely nervous" about the results and hoped he had performed well enough to continue in the competition.

"I did the best I could," he said.

He collected 17 points Monday for a quickstep routine that judges said was just too slow.

"The bottom line is it's a quickstep and I've moved faster through the car wash," Goodman said.

Also back in the ballroom next week will be reality stars Rob Kardashian and Kristin Cavallari; TV personalities Ricki Lake, Carson Kressley and Nancy Grace; actors David Arquette and J.R. Martinez; singer Chynna Phillips and soccer star Hope Solo.

Tuesday's episode also included musical performances by Demi Lovato and rock band The Script.

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Online:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

[Associated Press; By SANDY COHEN]

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy.

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