(S09E20) It's the finals of Dancing with the Stars and the trophy was placed in front of the judge's table. Tom announces that three couples have three new dances; technically Mya was part of Team Paso Doble in week seven. The second round was the megamix, and I would rather have them return to the group dance-off format. The three couples dancing at the same time was too much to handle. I missed individuality.
I was very disappointed with the Freestyle round. There's free reign and it didn't seem like anyone even took it. I was expecting Kelly to rock out and Mya to pull off a tasteful hip-hop piece. Alas, I got neither.
Round One
Kelly & Louis - Argentine Tango - Kelly had her doubts from the beginning, and while she stumbled in some dances, it made her grow stronger. Carrie Ann visits to give pointers and help with passion and emotion. After having such a disastrous Tango, Kelly has grown a lot. The dance is in her advantage because she's in hold for the whole dance. I'm impressed by her legwork, because I imagine a chubby teenager. Her face showed confidence and no struggle.
Len tells Kelly how she is the epitome of what this show is, growing week after week. He thought she danced wonderfully. Bruno agrees with Len; she had intricacy. But he suggests working on her free hand and her sensuality. Carrie Ann is proud of what she did because she saw an intimacy. She calls the dance sophisticated. Score: 26 (9,9,8).
Mya & Dmitry - Paso Doble - Mya started off nervous, but after Len's criticisms, Dmitry adjusted the choreography. Len visits the two and said they need both passion and aggression. While I saw weaknesses in Mya's steps the speed to the paso was the problem. It seemed almost too hectic and frazzled. They recovered when they returned to the hold and ended off very synchronized.
Bruno thought the dance was fearless and they understood the beauty of the paso. Carrie Ann calls her the "Queen of the Paso Doble." Len thought they didn't look stressed while dancing and compared it to Mel B. and Maks. Score: 30 (10,10,10).
Donny & Kym - Cha-Cha - Donny has always been the performer, but he's struggled with technique and posture. Bruno visits and reminds Donny that even though it is a popularity contest, he should be a good dancer anyway. Bruno points out several of Donny's problems and he quickly fixes them. The dance has a lot of fun incorporated, but the technique was strong. While I didn't like the promenading section, Donny may have gotten too into the dance and forgotten some of his steps.
Carrie Ann compliments Donny's hip action and the energy. She points out some hand holding problems. Len thought that it was a real Cha-Cha and he coped well. Bruno wanted to point out how much of a professional he was during Bruno's visit. Score: 27 (9,9,9).
Round Two - Mega-Mix Challenge (Viennese Waltz, Samba, Jive)
The groups learn their choreography from Nick Kosovich. The groups will be ranked first, second, and third. Kelly freaks out during the first rehearsal and Nick tries his best to console her. Mya wants redemption from the Viennese Waltz. Kelly decides that she will fight for first place.
The thing about the whole group performance was that the distance from the judging table gave Mya the biggest advantage. The dance begins with the Viennese Waltz and from the beginning while Mya was a little behind, they managed to survive to the Samba. During the transition, Kelly had some wardrobe problems but recovered. Kelly loses it during the Jive section, but Donny kicked on the wrong foot and struggled with turning Kym near the end.
Len thought it would be easy to judge, but he found it really difficult; he claims there was no clear winner. Bruno thought Mya was great with the Samba, Kelly with the Waltz, and thought Donny looked like a professional. Carrie Ann agrees with the two, she was impressed with how Donny kept up, Mya had the best hips, while Kelly had the best posture in the Viennese Waltz.
Ranking
1st - Mya & Dmitry (30)
2nd - Donny & Kym (28)
3rd - Kelly & Louis (26)
Round Three - Freestyle
Kelly & Louis - Kelly chose "I Will Survive" because it represents her journey. She tore the cartilage on both big toes. Louie tries a handstand, but Kelly thinks she would look like a beached whale. As they dance, Kelly starts off with a long jacket dress and is all smiles. Kelly's posture seems a little too high, but it could be the shoulder pads. She struggles with one lift and it never recovers from there. For me, Kelly's freestyle looked like something I would see at a wedding; that one crazy aunt who grabs some random man and drunkenly laughs the whole time. Just like at a wedding, I cringed, but continued watching in what I would call "enjoyment."
Bruno calls her beautiful. He tries to compliment the fall. Carrie Ann knows that she's a survivor who gets back up and laughs about it. Len thought she smiled her whole way through and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Kelly in the red room thought that one lift looked like Louis pooped her out. Score: 24 (8,8,8).
Mya & Dmitry - Mya wants to do something fresh. Dmitry suggests Hairspray, but Mya wants to do Vegas. They decide to go with Dmitry's idea. Other than the one flip, the dance was mediocre. The choreography felt like a high school musical; watching High School Musical would be better. They looked like the backup dancers to a lead singer. Either way, the choreography was clean.
Carrie Ann saw the high energy, but it wasn't outstanding. She compliments Adam Shankman for his work on Hairspray. It didn't showcase Mya. Len saw the talent, but agreed with Carrie Ann. It was too much of the same. Bruno knows there was vibrancy, they were on beat, but he expected "spectacular." Score: 27 (9,9,9).
Donny & Kym - Kym decides to invite Marie & Jonathan to see if Donny will get distracted. Kym decides that they will do a Broadway-inspired dance. Kym and Donny attempt some lifts and Kym kicks him in the head; it never shows up in the final product. I loved the shtick in the beginning with the boa and hat. The jumping lift goes well; the dance is well paced and though Donny's posture is still poor, it doesn't matter. I loved the end sequence with the kicks and flip. It was the only freestyle I liked.
Len thought it was an absolute showstopper. Bruno called him Mr. Show Business at his best and a master. Carrie Ann invites Donny to the hall of fame for the freestyle. Score: 30 (10,10,10).
Final Scores
Mya & Dmitry - 87 (30 + 30 + 27)
Donny & Kym - 85 (27 + 28 + 30)
Kelly & Louis - 76 (26 + 26 + 24)
Mya should have listened to her gut and told Dmitry that he was stupid to think of Hairspray for their freestyle. With their scores so close, she just handed Donny the trophy. Kelly is too far away to win, but if America's half of the votes is scored the same way as round two (90, 88, 86 for the voting ranks) and Kelly is first and Donny is second, it would cause a tie between Mya and Donny. It probably won't happen. In the end, I can only wonder how Joanna would have fared instead of Donny or Kelly.
Tomorrow, two hours of fluff until we watch which of the final three will win the mirror ball trophy. Among the fluff, a dance-off between Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin or what I like to call the battle of the Annas, a battle between Mark Dacascos and Chuck Liddell, and Whitney Houston.
Who will win? Leave your comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-24-2009 @ 7:31AM
Cindy Gibson said...
I was completely bored to death with the whole thing.
The first dances were fair at best. Comparing Mya's paso with Max and Mel B was insulting. I think Kelly won the first round hands down. The group dance was useless because you could not compare them because there was too much going on and the camera went from one to the other and you lost alot of the others. The Freestyle dances were so disappointing. I wanted to be blown away and I was bored with all of them. there was no good lifts, no themes or stories to the dances and technique was just awful. It was like mid season form. I blame the pro's for that. They are the ones that make the choreography and they all failed miserably. Over all this is the worst season for talent that I have watched. Tonight will be a mess and at this point, who cares who wins. None of them deserve it. Very disappointing season.
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11-24-2009 @ 8:14AM
peter said...
yeah,but it can help us kill the time,i love see the soaf dance,this girls looks pretty good
peter
http://ertweryt.journalspace.com
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11-24-2009 @ 8:38AM
Saya said...
But Donny's posture is much improved... and I guess I'm just not one for perfection as much as showmanship in dancing (I vastly prefer Danny Kaye dancing in White Christmas, to Fred Astaire in Holiday Inn, despite the fact that I know Fred Astaire was quite obviously the better dancer)
Then again - I'm only even watching DWTS because of Donny - I'd otherwise prefer to watch professionals (or even amateurs who aren't celebrities) dance...
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11-24-2009 @ 9:03AM
John Okulski said...
We've watched Dancing with the Stars from the beginning. This was the worst season ever. I was very disappointed with the final. I hadn't expected much but got even less. They should just retire the trophy and give it to no one. No one deserves it - Maya played it safe - Donnie is a showman but doesn't dance - Kelly tries but can't do it. I wish Joanna had been it just to see Derrick develop the dances.
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11-24-2009 @ 9:10AM
lauren said...
I defintely agree. I think Derek would have put on an amazing performance with Joanna!! The final three were terrible with all of their dances. Sloppy, unoriginal, and just plain boring.
11-24-2009 @ 9:12AM
Hilary said...
Dmitry screwed Mya. It was hers to lose, and he lost it for her. He's let her down all season. It's amazing the difference in choreography skill between the pros. At this point, I want Donny to win it for Kym. She's the pro that deserves it.
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11-24-2009 @ 9:30AM
Mike said...
Even the show producersknew Derek shoulda been there for the wow facotr. They had them dance the week of the future's debut despite not being the higehst rated dance that week. They had them on the CNN weekend special despite not being in the final three.
Donny will win. I hope Kelly is second.
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11-24-2009 @ 9:35AM
lupita said...
I've been rooting for Mya since day one and I was very dissappointed by her freestyle...she should've gone with her gut. Dmitry has definitely let her down by playing it safe. I was hoping to see Derek's freestyle with Joanna. Cheryl, Julianne, and Mark have had the best freestyles (they've all won twice!)
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11-25-2009 @ 3:35PM
Gwen said...
During the MegaMix, I found it easier to see that Donny was completely staying in sync with the male pros. The girls just kinda got lost in the shuffle, so to speak.
I agree about Mya's dance being good but it wasn't anything spectacular. I wasn't really impressed by the speed of dancing.
I felt so bad for Kelly losing her grip on Louie's hand but I still think she did a fantastic job. She was dancing the dance without watching Louie for what she should do next.
Donny remained my favorite on all the dances though and that's who I hope will win.
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11-24-2009 @ 12:03PM
Michael said...
Personally, I liked Kelly's freestyle. Except for the messup on the lift, I thought she did really good. But I haven't really watched this show since the year Mel B. and Max lost.
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11-24-2009 @ 12:30PM
Craig said...
The group dance was not judge-able. I couldn't help but compare Kym to the two women rather than Donny. And when I watched Donny, I was comparing him to Dmitry and Louis. The judges seemed confused when they wrote down their scores, and when they were done with their comments.
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11-24-2009 @ 1:59PM
Debbie said...
I agree that this has been one of the weaker season's for talent. And I also agree that if Joanna & Derek were in the finals, last night's performances would have been a lot more exciting. Although Kelly & the judges admit to her working so hard & becoming a lady, she is a joke & still looks as if Louie is pulling her around the floor. Almost reminds me of a young Cloris Leachman, hah! A definite 3rd. Then there's Donny who should take 2nd, only because Mya should take 1st. Compare Donny to last season's Gilles, really. Is this a dance contest or is it America's Got Talent. And with him getting 2nd, he can finally shut up about beating Marie. And Mya, although Dimtry's choreography wasn't top notch, is still the best of the 3 in talent.
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11-24-2009 @ 2:47PM
Joyce N. said...
Joanna and Derek were cheated out of the finals to keep the judges favorites there. They spent the whole season trying to inflience the call-in votes and pick at every little thing that J&D did. Mya has absolutely no pizzazz when she dances. I love Donny but he's really not good enough to win this. Kelly is a joke. She is one of the least graceful dancers ever on DWTS. Last night the judges gave Kelly kudos for "smiling" thru her last dance and totally overscored her. I don't give a crap anymore who wins this time around. I agree that it's the worst season ever.
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11-25-2009 @ 3:15PM
Ann said...
I lost all interest after it was very apparent that Joanna and Derek left. This means that the fans should not have as much influence, because all this was is a popularity vote.
I don't care. I actually think now, even though Donny won, that Kelly should have won for most improved, as there was no talent. Mya reminded me of Gilles, a good dancer, but with tons of history to the sport. So, I think they need to really start this thing fair. I was so disappointed when Joanna left, I shut off the t.v. They really need to rethink what they are doing, otherwise they are going to lose all their viewers.
It was really embarassing to see Kelly, even though she is the most improved, she is no where near the level of competition that you need for the final season. That was not her fault, and I admire her for the courage to get out there. For that she should win.
Donny won, why? of course he has been in the business since he was 5............. does that give anyone a clue? He is 52 now, so that gives him about 47 years of experience above Kelly, and I don't know but it sounds like Mya has been tap dancing all her life.
Very very disappoint. Terrible talent, not terrible people. I wanted Joanna and Derek to win, and Dmitry should be penalized for not allowing Mia to have her program, he was wrong and gave the trophy to Donny. How disappointing.
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11-25-2009 @ 12:05AM
starky22 said...
Hey, Ann, thanks a bunch for spoiling it for those folks who haven't even watched the finale yet. THis post is about the PERFORMANCE show, NOT the finale. Maybe you could have waited for the finale post -- but that would make too much sense. Real smart! Sheesh!
11-26-2009 @ 10:10PM
Rosemarie Mainieri said...
I will never watch Dancing with the Stars again. This was my last season. Donny the winner, what an absolute joke and insult to Mya. Everyone knows she deserved it. The ratings next season will suck because we are fed up with the lack of determination of talent. It is just a popularity contest. I am done!!! Take the show off the air, please spare us!!!
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11-25-2009 @ 2:31AM
Ann said...
Starky22... did you get my mail? This was an absolute error. I am on the West Coast and the results were ruined to me on AOL and I was responding to that post. Please forgive me. Never did I intend to purposely ruin anything. I understand that you would be mad, but honestly it was an error. I was really upset, but was responding to the fact that Donny won, and that is what I was responding too. I am really really really sorry.
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