Dancing With The Stars 2012 finalists did two dances on Monday May 21st. The first was one that the celebrity judges asked them to re-do so they could look for signs of improvement. The second was a Freestyle round. The reality television show competition was only an hour-long program so things moved very fast all night long — faster than the dancers themselves at times. Which celebrity couple was the most entertaining? Who got the highest scores of the night? More importantly, what was Peta wearing? And who is most likely to win the Mirrorball Trophy Tuesday night? DWTS finals spoilers revealed…
Dancing the Cha Cha Cha, William Levy and Cheryl Burke took to the dance floor to dance to a rendition of the Pink song “Raise Your Glass”. Cheryl certainly enjoyed dancing to the tune appreciated by dirty little freaks as William is one of the hottest looking dancers on the program. Len told him it was one of the best looking Cha Cha’s he’d seen in fourteen seasons. Bruno said his hip action left him green with envy. Carrie Ann said he had grown miles and really refined his talent. Adding sophistication to his steps, the naturally athletic Latin star from Cuba really impressed the judges and the fans. All three of the judges awarded him a 10, giving him a perfect score to kick off the first night of the finals.
Next on the floor were Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas. For the first eight weeks of the competition she had racked up the most points with the judges, but a near fall last week when her back torque muscle spasm caused her scores to fall. She still made it to the finals, however, and the celebrity judges wanted to see the couple do another Paso Doble. She had never had a 10 from Len Goodman before, so she was trying her best to earn his respect by striving to be technically perfect. The crowd gave them standing ovations, but it was hard predicting what the judges would say. Bruno said it was a Paso Doble full of vivid, lush, technical brilliance. Carrie Ann called her the Prima Diva. Len said it was very satisfying like a plate of Spanish Tapas. Talking to Brooke Burke, she asked about a previous wardrobe malfunction and then the back spasm, and Katherine said she is doing her best to try to forget these things. Scores were 10 – 10 – 10. They were elated to finally get that coveted perfect score from Len.
Closing out the first round was Donald Driver and Peta Mergatroyd with an Argentine Tango. in the Semi-Finals week he scored a crazy 10 – 8 – 9 on one of his dances, the Argentine Tango to be exact, so Carrie Ann coached them to make his movements bigger. Hoping to peak in the finals, the Green Bay Packers football player and the beautiful blonde in the blue “almost an entire dress” sizzled. Carrie Ann thought it was more light and crisp. Len said for him it was a tad careful for his taste, but he claimed it was a vast improvement over the last time. Bruno said he had been very clever by going for the subtle and intimate details and he claimed it was, “very, very effective”. This time, they scored a 10 – 9 – 10. But really, did it matter? After all, Donald got to dance with Peta while she was wearing that incredibly sexy dress.
Moving on to the Freestyle Dance, William Levy and Cheryl Burke bought in a Latin beat and used red lighting to simulate a red light district. Their dance was predictable (our word), had a wardrobe malfunction for him (when she tried to tear off his shirt and it failed to come undone), and all the usual shoulder shimmies and butt shakes. Len said what he does, he does well, but for him it was too predictable (his word). He said he shakes his butt and gets the women screaming. Saying he did not want a Salsa with lifts, he expected more. Bruno said he was sinful but ever so good. Carrie Ann did the robot to show her approval and argued with Len that she loved it because no one else had done a salsa dance in the finals. The judges scored him a 10 – 9 – 10, but the crowd impression while monitoring Twitter? Disappointment, a little bit from some, as Cheryl failed to really make her star look like a ballroom dancer. Instead, he looked like the hot Latin star he already is (something that might not win him points with the regular viewers of the program who might be voting based on improvement, challenging routines, and dance style). Had he waltzed or done a fox trot with better choreography, he probably would have been more interesting to watch. But host Tom Bergeron joked that Len suffers from, “bum envy”.
Dancing Freestyle, Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas started their number with her singing and from there the energetic dance routine really impressed the crowd. At times it was hard to hear the music over their cheering the dancers on while the ballroom was transformed to a hip flapper club. Tom complimented her, calling her, “Katherine the Welsh wiggler!” Through all the ages of swing, Bruno said she was on the money all the way through. Carrie Ann thinks that they did the dance of a champion. Len said if he was asleep and dreaming, please don’t wake him up. The celebrity judges scored the couple a 10 – 10 – 10. Fantastic as a Freestyle choreographer, Ballas made her do a little bit of every type of step. Looking forward to doing the final dance tomorrow night, they could not stop bouncing and hooting with delight that Len, Bruno, and Carrie Ann had enjoyed the dance.
Last up to do the freestyle was Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd. Host Tom Bergeron kept teasing the new dance pro about her lack of dress, as her wardrobe choices were stunning because so much was cut out and away to reveal her beautiful figure. For their second routine, they took a risk. Since he is from Texas, they came out and did a country music dance. Working through challenges of blood and sweat, they had Cowboy Troy sing live for them. Their dance routine was so fun, Carrie Ann said this was by far her favorite dance of the night. Len even loved it. Bruno said that as rides go, this was aces high — a country inspired triumph. The celebrity judges gave them a 10 – 10 – 10 — a score that all of them looked delighted to give. Hopefully, their green and yellow outfits will entice Packers fans to vote for them and they will be able to at least pull off second behind Katherine.
Heading into the last night, Katherine and Mark were “technically” in the lead, with Donald and Peta and William and Cheryl tied for second. But Donald and Peta doing the cowboy up routine was definitely a ballroom dance crowd favorite. So, dancing in the DWTS 2012 finals won them both the fans respect if nothing else.
READ MORE: Dancing With The Stars 2012: How Donald Driver really won the Mirrorball Trophy as the underdog