It’s the final week of competition on Dancing with the Stars! Will it be Hines? Will Kirstie rally her followers to a win? Will Chelsea pull off a surprise victory? The finale dances tonight will help to give us and answer.
The remaining three dancers will take on each other and the dreaded/anticipated freestyle dance at this moment when the Dancing with the Stars Mirror Ball is only a few steps away. And yet, it will remain infinitely far for all but one dancing couple.
In order to take hold of that Mirror Ball, each pair must perform a freestyle dance in addition to one of the set ballroom dances.
If the past makes any difference (it doesn’t really), here are the standings before tonight’s festivities begin:
- Hines and Kym: 328 points overall
- Chelsea and Mark: 319 points overall
- Kirstie and Maks: 302 points overall
The past got them this far, but the future depends on tonight. So let’s get to it!
With that long an introduction, they’re never going to be able to fit all of this into a single hour. Ooh, Hines has a top hat on! (Yes, I’m easily distracted.)
So it’s the Judges’ Choice first of all. This could get interesting. Of course, none of these finalists had any particularly horrible dances. Except for maybe Kirstie’s jive. And that was just because she forgot to dance.
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Dancing the samba
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “Every rule you break, I’ll be watching you. And I’ll tell you, I liked what I was watching.” “I wasn’t over-keen on the flailing arms section…”
Bruno: “And the rhythm, it was flowing through your body like I’ve never seen before.”
Carrie Ann: “Hot! Hot! Hot!”
My Comments: This is an odd song for a samba. At the beginning anyway. It’s sort of getting into it now. They’re moving as well as usual, but I’m not exactly getting “sultry” out of this. The choreography seems a little too modern-dance and jerky to manage any of the moves that it sounded like they should have. Good dance though, once you get past the music and choreography.
Scores: 10+9+10 = 29
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the samba
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “It was less-aggressive, less full-on, but it had a lovely naturalness about it, which I loved.” “Lovely job and deserving of being in this final.”
Bruno: “At time you were still looking at the floor!”
Carrie Ann: “I love what you did, I love your movement quality.” “That was a really great samba.”
My Comments: Heehee… Orange costumes… Anyway. This looks more like a samba than the last one, although it’s nowhere near as fast. Kirstie maybe has a little bit of a tentative look about her while she dances, but she’s certainly keeping up and looks good. The further Kirstie gets into the dance, the more comfortable she looks. They may have finished a wee bit ahead of the music.
Scores: 9+9+9 = 27
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Dancing the quickstep
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “The best dancer is going to win a Mirror Ball.” “As good as that was, for me it’s not quite there yet. This competition is still anyone’s to win or lose.”
Bruno: “You got it for me. Because it was like watching a mega-production on Broadway — full of excitement!” “You connect with the audience like anyone!”
Carrie Ann: “That was so much fun!” “It was like, pzaddle-doodle-pzaddle-addle-dee…” (or something like that)
My Comments: I have to say that I loved Hines’ first quickstep. It probably helps that I can’t even see his feet on the TV screen. And the dance was just so fun, even way back at the beginning of the season. And this time he’s in a top hat!!! Cute start. And they’re having ridiculous amounts of fun again. I can’t tell if the footwork is perfect or not. But I’m loving the dance anyway. Very old-fashioned and classic. Did the singer just get off the beat there? Because the dancing seemed to match the music, but not the words. That was kind of awesome.
Scores: 10+9+10 = 29
Here come the freestyles… Woo!
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Dancing the freestyle
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I know people think I’m a fuddy-duddy old guy, but this was so full-on, it was so much attack, I loved it.”
Bruno: “Look, you were plugged into the national grid.” “The way you interpreted all these Latin rhythms… that’s what it’s all about.”
Carrie Ann: “I can’t find the words for what I’m thinking, but it’s kind of like, ahh-ahh-ahhh-ahhh!” (What’s with the made-up words, Carrie Ann?)
My Comments: You’ve got to love a dance that starts on a bicycle. And then just goes kind of crazy. They’re definitely going the athletic route here, which is probably a good choice. And now they’re dancing in the dark with shiny things. Honestly, this is fun, but I’m wondering how on Chelsea is able to be. Also, I hate that the dance spent about half of its time in the dark. How am I supposed to know what’s going on if I can’t see it? Overall, it was an enjoyable dance.
Scores: 10+10+10 = 30
I guess what we couldn’t see was pretty good.
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the freestyle
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “You took risks. And you’ve got to risk it if you want the biscuit.” “I commend you, well done.”
Bruno: “10 weeks ago, I would never have thought of you even attempting to do lifts… You have to really appreciate what you’ve achieved.” “Some of the lifts could have been smoother, but I’m telling you, respect girl, respect!”
Carrie Ann: “That dance sort of embodies what you’ve become, which is the poster child of how life should be lived at 60 years old.”
My Comments: I can’t do cartwheels either. Never could. Except that one time when I was 7. Otherwise, nope. Oh, right. Dancing. Oh please say she’s talking that monk’s robe off soon! Yay! There it goes! Kirstie looked pretty awesome in the slow part. Now that it’s faster, some of her tentative moves are back. Pretty good cartwheel there. I’m jealous. They’re certainly pushing the envelope on moves there. Overall, I liked it, although it didn’t quite have the passionate whatever of the last dance.
Scores: 9+9+9 = 27
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Dancing the freestyle
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “The more you give, the more points you take. You’ve just given your all!”
Bruno: “You’ve pulled all the stops and created a crowd-pleasing event!”
Carrie Ann: “That wasn’t really half-time show. That was the whole damn SuperBowl!” “Those lifts were insane. Kym, I love you for still going for it.”
My Comments: What are they wearing. Seriously. What are they wearing?! I vaguely remember a passing comment about half-time shows, but I didn’t think they’d take it so literally. But, as an ex-marching-band member, awesome. Although I seriously can’t stop giggling at the costumes. Hey, there are more people in the band! Hines definitely hasn’t seen a half-time show. Not any of the shows I’ve seen anyway. For one thing, this is way better than any of those. Also, it’s obvious that they’re having fun. We were rarely having that much fun. Very cool interpretation of freestyle!
Scores: 10+10+10 = 30
And that’s it for the show. Wow, one hour goes quickly. And we finish up this finals night with two pairs (Hines and Kym, Chelsea and Mark) tied. Kirstie is only a few points behind…
Who will win it all? We’ll find out tomorrow!
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Which dance was your favorite? Who’s your pick to win? Did you agree or disagree with the judges? Leave your comments and opinions 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.
