Dancing with the Stars – The Dance-Off

In case you didn’t watch the program over the summer or have been under a rock, Kelly was crowned the champion of Dancing with the Stars despite a less than perfect free-style performance. (Consequently, the judges were given a Hall of Shame Moment.) Many people cried “foul” since she appears on another ABC program, General Hospital. As a result, the producers decided to bring the two celebrities back for one final competition.

Many readers of RNO e-mailed me to express their displeasure with this move and I have to agree. While I personally was rooting for John to win and thought he did a great job, Kelly was named the winner… case closed. Also, considering everything that is happening with our country right now including the war and destruction in the south, it seems ridiculous to get upset over who wins a reality TV program. Besides, we’ll save that for the conclusion of Big Brother. OK, enough of my ranting and raving… let the dance-off begin!

Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning are back. As they tell us that they are going to introduce us to the dancers, the show goes to a commercial abruptly. I don’t know if this was a problem with my local station or what, but I missed a minute or two of the show. When it returns, an explanation of the voting process is being given. I guess I should consider myself lucky; I was spared 60 seconds of Tom and Lisa.

Of course, we can’t progress right into the dancing; we first have to look back at the show’s highs and lows, and weekly eliminations. It culminates with Kelly winning the coveted (a.k.a. ugly) trophy. I wonder if the winner of the dance-off will get a trophy. Personally, I’d rather receive a burrito.

The first performance of the evening is from Kelly and Alec. Kelly says she won the competition fair and square, and isn’t about to back down from this challenge. She does admit to feeling like she is starting all over again though. Alec feels that they have more to lose since their credibility is at stake.

The couple performs the cha cha cha to “Lady Marmalade.” They have a lot of nice arm work and moves, but they do make some obvious mistakes.

The judges who are only providing professional observations and not directly deciding the outcome of the competition are ready with their critiques. Len Goodman says that the routine was fabulous and that Alec pulled out Kelly’s strengths. Carrie Ann Inaba notes that the couple stumbled and that Kelly needs to get her focus back. Bruno Tonioli notes that the lines in her legs have improved. The judges give us their meaningless scores, which include a seven from Carrie, a nine from Len, and a nine from Bruno.

Lisa interviews the couple backstage and Kelly notes that she and Alec are dancing for the Katrina relief fund. Excellent.

Charlotte and John are up next. John admits that he thinks they should have won. I give him credit for being upfront and honest. Charlotte says that John is more serious and focused this time.

Tonight, they are performing the rumba to “The Look of Love.” To begin the routine, they walk onto the dance floor very casually. I love this couple; even if their performance isn’t the best of the night, the routine is still fun and this dance is no exception. It seems very choppy, but is also sophisticated and hot.

Bruno says that John made mistakes and that Charlotte covered for him. Carrie says that she loves their connection and wants them to find it again. Len tells them that they did a beautiful job and that John gets into the character of the dance each and every time.

Backstage, John tells Lisa that they are dancing for Golfers against Cancer. It’s nice that the show is doing something worthwhile. When the judges are ready with their scores, we learn that Carrie and Bruno each give the couple a seven, while Len awards them an eight.

Lisa reminds us that only the viewers will decide the winner; the judges’ votes are only a reflection of their opinion and won’t figure directly into the results. Tom explains how to vote and when, but we won’t get into that since by the time you read this, the voting will have ended.

As an added bonus, Ashly DelGrosso and Louis van Amstel are performing the jive tonight to “Proud Mary.” The performance is very energetic and I like how they sing along to the song. I notice that even Ashly and Louis falter a bit. Nobody’s perfect.

Tom reminds us that he is also on America’s Funniest Home Videos. We are then treated to a series of clips that look like they could come from that show but are really from Dancing with the Stars. It’s humorous, but at this point, I’m ready to get back to the dancing.