This is it. The final week of Dancing with the Stars; All-Stars. The week in which the champion of champions will hoist aloft the Mirror Ball Trophy. The week when Shawn Johnson, Melissa Rycroft or Kelly Monaco will be the All-Stars champion.
But they still need to get through a few more dances before there can be a winner. See how they all do in this DWTS recap!
Each remaining couple gets two dances over the course of this one-hour performance show. After that, viewers will have one more chance to pick favorites before the final results on Tuesday night. One dance will be an encore performance from earlier in the season. One will be a “super-sized” freestyle.
Let’s get to it!
Oh yes… Shawn and Derek are doing their crazy quickstep again. That was awesome.
Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the paso doble
My Comments: Kelly looks nervous. That’s fair. Val looks half-naked. That’s more than fair.
This is a good choice for an encore — definitely one of the best performances Kelly and Val gave all season and a crowd-pleaser. They’re dancing well in this, possibly even better than before. There’s a lot of flare, and everything is fast. There was one moment toward the beginning when Kelly may have made a mistake, but otherwise, this is a good start.
Judges’ Comments
Len: “I’m saying it again, your best dance to date.”
Bruno: “Fueled by passion! Driven by desire!” “What I saw tonight was artistry and polish.”
Carrie Ann: “I’m so proud of you — you’ve had to struggle the most to get here tonight.”
Scores: 9.5+10+10 = 29.5
Yes, there was a mistake. Carrie Ann and the director confirmed it. Not that it apparently mattered to Len and Bruno.
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani
Dancing the samba
My Comments: “I waited 14 seasons for this chance.” Oh, Tony… You’ve had a lot of useless partners, haven’t you?
Oh, right. This is the dance with those weird moves that make it look like Tony is using Melissa like a human hacky-sack. The dancing looks great, much like before. Possibly because of the speed of the song (“Conga”), they didn’t seem quite on with the music. But because it was throughout the whole performance, I could be wrong.
Judges’ Comments
Len: “Great technique, great rhythm. Fabulous!” (Tony’s overheard response: “Wow…”)
Bruno: “What a wonderful blend of moves! Your technique is great.”
Carrie Ann: “Woman to woman, I just have to say: Your abs, honey, are ridiculous.”
Scores: 10+10+10 = 30
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough
Dancing the quickstep
My Comments: Uh oh. They’re going to break the rules again.
At least this dance is awesome enough to possibly make up for it. Of all the fast and crazy dances this season, this really could be the fastest and craziest of them all. There’s a certain aggression in these two that no one else seems to have.
And falling into the abyss at the end is always cool. What can I say — this still might be favorite dance.
Judges’ Comments
Len: “Unfortunately, it is a fantastic routine — you’re not allowed to break hold, which you did. You’re not allowed to do lifts, which you did.”
Bruno: “What you have achieved is truly sensational, but our scores are bound by the rules.”
Carrie Ann: “I’m sad that you didn’t choose to follow the rules, because at this point, it matters.”
Scores: 9+8.5+9.5 = 27
Do they actually not care about winning? I could actually believe that. Also, as I always am at some point in a DWTS season, I am reminded of the film Strictly Ballroom. If you watch Dancing with the Stars and have not yet seen this movie, you need to fix this.
Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the freestyle
My Comments: All of you fans who wanted “The Time of My Life” from Jennifer Grey a few years ago: This is for you.
The beginning starting on wires was actually pretty cool. Still not sure why Val was playing the violin though. Whatever.
Kelly and Val are definitely having fun and romance with this one. I’m not sure if I agree with the use of the extra dancers — they more distract from the central performance than enhancing it. Nice lift at the end though!
Judges’ Comments
Len: “It lacked a little bit of originality for me, but the actual dance was spell-binding. I thought it was great.”
Bruno: “I loved the blend of Cirque du Soleil with Dirty Dancing.” “You were two people totally in tune.”
Carrie Ann: “We’ve all seen you as a couple grow — I don’t know if it’s a real couple…”
Scores: 10+9.5+10 = 29.5
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani
Dancing the freestyle
My Comments: I didn’t watch Melissa’s earlier season, but that freestyle does sound like a bit of a fiasco.
Whoa. Cool beginning! Sometimes, not moving is even more amazing than moving. That was amazing. And this really is a contemporary dance. They’ve got a a whole swan thing going on, posing in beautiful positions all over. And they’ve got something cool going on with acrobats in wire cubes above them too.
This is incredible. Truly incredible. If Melissa and Tony don’t win the season after a dance like that, there is no justice.
Judges’ Comments
Len: “That had passion. It was wonderful. It was truly… It was wonderful.” (Len was almost crying at this point. Seriously.)
Bruno: “That really was the perfect setting to showcase all of your extraordinary qualities.” “A gem! You were a gem!”
Carrie Ann: “You took such humungous risks. And with great risks, comes great rewards.”
Scores: 10+10+10 = 30
Len: “I wish I had an 11.” That pretty much sums it up.
Shawn and Derek are dancing with the US women’s gymnastics team. McKayla Maroney is not impressed.
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough
Dancing the freestyle
My Comments: With the music and the gymnastic opening, this sort of makes me think of an old-time circus routine.
Or at least it did. Now that the dance is happening, I’m honestly not entirely sure what I’m even watching. It’s good. But it’s… whatever it is. Crazy dancing and tumbling happening all over the stage. At least Shawn and Derek managed to not be upstaged by their backup dancers.
That was, whatever it was, very fun.
Judges’ Comments
Len: “This was totally unexpected. It was a medley of Derek and Shawn’s greatest hits.”
Bruno: “Fierce! Flawless! Exciting! Explosive brilliance!”
Carrie Ann: “You were incredible. That was super-sized and sensational!” “I mean, you’ve been doing freestyles all season…”
Scores: 10+10+10 = 30
And that’s it. All that’s left for the night is the voting. Tomorrow, we get Instant Dances! And DanceCenter! And all those celebrities you forgot were on this season!
Who was your favorite tonight? Who is the most likely to win? Who should win? Leave your comments below!
(Images courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
