Olympians have a stellar track record on Dancing with the Stars, especially ice skaters from the Winter games. Apolo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Meryl Davis have all won the Mirror Ball, and now Nancy Kerrigan is trying to follow in their footsteps.
For the first two weeks, it looked like Nancy was a bust. She was middle of the pack, showing some promise, but with obvious mistakes and a clear lack of confidence. But all of that changed with Vegas Night in the third week of the competition.
DWTS Recap: Vegas Night>>>
Nancy and Artem Chigvintsev performed a Samba to Ricky Martin’s “Shake Your Bon-Bon,” and the result was magical. From the opening booty shaking, Nancy emerged with confidence, sass and killer moves. What followed was a performance that never died down and offered plenty of Latin ballroom content.
The judges raved about the dance, taking note of how much more confident Nancy was and commending the pair for a true Samba routine that didn’t rely on gimmicks or tricks to wow the audience. The routine was so good that it earned a 9 from head judge Len Goodman, who is notoriously cranky and stingy with high praise in the early weeks.
In fact, the last time Len handed out a 9 in the first three weeks of the competition was in season 20, and that went to eventual winner Rumer Willis.
The competition on Dancing with the Stars season 24 is undeniably stiff. Simone Biles, Rashad Jennings and Normani Kordei have all topped the leaderboard while Heather Morris has delivered consistently strong scores. Nancy’s Samba may have turned a corner for her and, if she can keep it up, she is hot on the heels of those other four stars and could make a serious run at the Mirror Ball.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.
(Image and video courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
