Last night marked the final round of the season 12 DWTS competition. The evening actually seemed like a ho hum kind of night with not much glitz or production made out of the evening. The two hosts weren’t dressed any differently than they would be any other night, and the studio looked the same as always – but maybe the network is saving all of that for tomorrow night’s results show. Each couple had two dances to perform for the evening – a judges choices and a ‘freestyle’ dance. The judges choice dance would also feature one judge in particular advising them. Let’s get down to business.
Dance #1: Quickstep
Lead-in
Len picked the Quickstep for Hines and Kym and was their advisor. Len said that the first time he saw Hines dance the Quickstep earlier in the season he couldn’t bear to look at Ward’s feet. He said that he needed to improve his footwork – make them sharper and continually point them downward. During their practice, you could see that Kym is still recovering and taking precautionary measures from her neck injury by wearing a neck brace. Ward said that he was hoping to go out and score a TD with this dance by using Len’s help.
The Dance
The song was Puttin on the Ritz. Ward was dressed in tux and tails. It was a nice and easy dance on Kym’s neck. The movements were very fluid by both. From what I could tell, Ward’s toes were down most of the time. As always, he never looked like he was concentrating on the steps. His execution was very smooth and it became a very fun dance. Swann, Franco, Bettis and Hines’ mom were in attendance. There could have been more people affiliated the team, but it was tough to tell from the camera angles.
The Judges
Carrie Ann (10) – So much fun, this dance is where I first called you ‘Twinkle Toes’ and you just added to it with some ‘Pzattle doo and Pzattle dee,’ when you are dancing it’s like you are running for a TD and the audience follows you up and down.
Len (9) – The best dancer is going to win a mirror ball, not quite there yet for me, competition is still anyone’s to win or lose.
Bruno (10) – like watching a mega production on Broadway that is full of glitz, you just connect to the audience like no one, not a competitor, you are simply an entertainer.
Total: 29 out of 30
My Take
I figured that the judges would make sure that Chelsea and Hines would stay close in the first round of dances – which they did. Chelsea scored the same with the first dance of the evening. I thought Hines did extremely well. I thought his 2nd go at the quickstep was much better than his first – even though Len still thought he ‘wasn’t quite there yet.’ As I stated in The Dance section earlier – Hines never looks like he is concentrating on the steps. His execution is very smooth and so it becomes very fun to watch him dance.
Dance #2: Freestyle
Lead-in
Ward decided to use a song from the movie ‘Drumline.’ With that as the song Kym decided to turn the dance into a halftime show and create an act that’s never been done before. Ward, during practice, used a bit of his mantra while getting ready for a game. ‘I envision myself scoring that TD, so now I envision winning the mirrorball trophy.’
The Dance
Ward was dressed in a marching band leader outfit – black and gold with a giant ‘S’ in the middle. :Sigh: Always staying true to his team and the Nation. Love it. There were a ton of lifts in this dance – I counted 8 and there could have been more because I counted late into the dance. The dance had several ‘sections’ to it, and each section had its own little surprises in step or in feel. Ward even put in a Moonwalk. He ended the dance with throwing Kym up in a spin as she laid horizontal across his arms. Awesome stuff.
The Judges
Carrie Ann (10) – Risky, not easy to dance with that music, that wasn’t a halftime show, that was the whole damn Super Bowl, those lifts were insane, an amazing couple.
Len (10) – The more you give the more points you take, you’ve given it all
Bruno (10) – You pulled all the stops and created a crowd pleasing event
30 of 30
Total for the night: 59 of 60
My Take
I will say Ward’s dance was not as electrifying as Chelsea’s and Mark’s freestyle. Chelsea’s had better music and a sexier feel to it. But (and a huge one), a guy doing the lifting is much more difficult than the girl being lifted. So he gets major props for being able to do so many lifts in one dance – that takes a ton of strength and stamina. And let’s not forget that Kym was just coming off of a neck injury that was caused by Ward mishandling her on a lift from last week. These two went all out, and it paid off with the judges and studio audience. Let’s hope that it pays off with the voters.
Tomorrow night will be a tough call. I talked to my dad after the show and he said that it was ‘in the bag’ for Hines. And while there is a part of me that totally agrees with him, I’ve watched enough of these reality talent shows to know that the clear favorite and more talented one out of the bunch does not always walk away victorious. In all honesty, I can see Kirstie taking the mirror ball trophy when it’s all said and done. She has a huge fan base (how else is she in this damn thing then?!), and it could trump Ward’s and Chelsea’s. My wife and I have voted – it’s time Ward walks away with the hardware tomorrow night.
One side note for tomorrow: There will be one dance to perform during the results show by each couple. The judges will score that dance and it will go towards the final tally in crowning the winner. The results show is tomorrow night starting at 9pm Eastern. So be sure to watch – Idol is really boring anyways.