Dancing With the Stars Week 10

All good things must come to an end... until NEXT season, that is! 

Thanks for the memories DWTS season 14 cast!

Oh what a night!  The finals were a splashy spectacle last night, and with that said it is difficult to believe this is our last time together this season.  We have laughed, cried, and guffawed with you as the show rolled out on Monday nights.  As the token DWTS virgin of the group, I want to thank my friends Michelle Bell and Tracie Banister for showing me the ropes, and hanging out at my blog.  Thank you, my sweet girl Gracie, for spending time with your mom, and chatting up all things mirrorball related. I couldn’t love you more.  No matter who wins the competition, it was a phenomenal season and we all thank you for stopping by and spending time with us.  Here we go!

Standout Performance of the week:

Tracie: I LOVED Donald and Peta's country-fied Freestyle!  That was just plain ole fun!  Cowboy Troy did a great job with the song, Peta killed it on the choreography, and Donald looked like he was having a blast.  His musicality was fantastic and he made all of those lifts look effortless.  I especially loved the ending to the routine - "Get you some of that!" indeed! :)  P.S.  I loved that their cowboy/cowgirl costumes were gold and green, the colors of Donald's team, the Green Bay Packers. 

Michelle: There was no question about it - Donald and Peta put 110% into that country inspired freestyle dance.  I have watched it a couple of times so far and it was just perfect!  I was so happy to see Len finally giving up the 10.  I love all three of the final contestants and I will be happy with any of them winning, but I have to admit to pulling a little more for Donald and Peta after that fun freestyle dance.

Jen: I was all over the Cheesehead, Packer, Boot Scootin’ freestyle performance by Donald and Peta.  WOW!  That was amazing; fresh and original.  Cowboy and Cheesehead hats off to the duo for giving it their all until the very end. 

Gracie: I super liked the last dance of the freestyle kind of dancing.  Did you see Donald swinging Peta around like a Lalaloopsy doll?  Man is he strong!  I bet he could throw me up so high I could catch a cloud!  That would be so much fun.  But I might throw up too.

This Was Definitely Not Your Dance - Worst Performance:

Tracie: In theory, Katherine and Mark's swing-inspired Freestyle should have been amazing, but to my eye, it was an awkwardly-executed mess.  Mark threw everything but the kitchen sink in there and Katherine seemed to be struggling to keep up.  It was too frenetic!  There was no fluidity, no joy in the movement, and the lifts just looked arduous. 

Michelle: This was the finals...the freestyle dances should have blown my mind with how creative and risky they were.  I felt that William and Cheryl did a very safe salsa inspired dance that, as Len pointed out, relied on William doing what he does best - shaking his butt. The dance was not a favorite of mine.  And I wasn't overly fond of either dance that Katherine and Mark did tonight.

Jen: I was looking for some serious “out of the norm” dances tonight during the freestyle portion of the program, and sadly I think the mark was missed by two couples.  William & Cheryl’s opportunity to show off some other skills was missed.  Katherine and Mark entertained us previously with a flapper-esque routine.  I was left wanting more from both pairs.  Were they great dances?  Sure.  Were they amazing?  Not even close.

Gracie: I liked all the people who danced tonight.  I think that if you dance really hard to be in the final exams of dancing, then all of the dances are the best!

**Mom’s Note: Gracie’s brothers are studying this week for final exams in school, hence the test reference.  It’s the last week of school!**

The Tina Sparkle Award for best use of sequins and spandex:

Tracie: Peta's skin-baring Argentine Tango gown was a feat of engineering!  It might have been those sparkly gold straps of fabric on the sides that kept the skimpy periwinkle blue number in place, or maybe it was just a ballroom miracle, but either way I was stunned that no wardrobe malfunction took place as Peta was lifted, twisted, and dropped by Donald.  The bright blue was gorgeous on blonde and artfully tanned Peta and the body-hugging design showed her rockin' figure off to its best advantage.

Michelle: Peta's blue Argentine Tango dress was slinky and seductive.  It was perfect for her body type and fit her perfectly. I loved it all except for the gloves.  And Donald is very handsome in blue as well.

Jen: I go crazy for a sharp dressed, bald man!  Oh Donald.  Donald Driver.  You had me at your midnight blue colored suit.  Also, I loved the little “pop” of color that peeked out from the lining of Mark’s white jacket during the first dance.  I thought it was a nice little touch. 

Gracie: Cheryl looked like a rainbow!  I knew that she would get a 30 tonight because she had that beautiful dress on!

This just in . . . the wardrobe department hates you!

Tracie: The 1920s flapper look worked for Katherine once, so I can understand why the wardrobe peeps decided to go back to that well again for her Freestyle.  Her fringey white dress was okay, but like Michelle said, the white granny panties under the costume were fugly and distracting.  And I couldn't take my eyes off of Katherine's sensible white shoes that looked like something a nurse would wear.    They drew way too much attention to Katherine's feet and legs (which were a bit wobbly throughout the routine.) 

Michelle: I thought Cheryl's multi-colored dress for the cha-cha was very unflattering for her. It had a weird cut and weird shape to the bottom of it.  Plus her hair extensions are getting a bit unruly and looking too droopy for her.

Jen: I was not as big a fan as my daughter was of Cheryl’s dress for the Cha-Cha-Cha.  She is so lovely; so beautiful.  For one of her last dances, I would have loved to have seen her in something silky, form-fitting, and sleek.

Gracie: I couldn’t stop laughing when Katherine wore that bull fighter costume when she danced the first time.  She made a left turn at Albuquerque like Bugs Bunny did when he fought the bull and people threw roses at him!  *Gracie cracks herself up* Oh, I will miss you when you do funny things like that Katherine.     

What were the judges' smoking?

Tracie: They always punk out in the final and hand out nothing but 9s and 10s so that it's left up to the viewers to choose the winner and that's okay.  But it did annoy me that they were gushing over dances that were clearly not that great (Katherine's Freestyle) and nitpicking dances that were well-done (see Len's comments about William's Freestyle.)

Michelle: Len has been so tough on Donald and very stingy with giving him a 10.  I think the judges are clearly wanting Katherine and Mark to win as they scored them perfect 30's for both dances, which I felt was too high for both routines.

Jen: Did you see Carrie Ann go all Mr. Roboto scoring William’s freestyle?  What was that?

Gracie: HOW DARE YOU, LEN!!  How dare you give Donald and Peta a “9” for their first dance!  How dare you!!!  Carrie Ann, you should not stand on top of desks, even if you like William dancing for you.  If you did that at my school, you would do straight to the principal’s office, and they would call your mom!  You could’ve cracked your head open if you fell, you know!  That was a bad choice!  If I was your Mommy, you would be grounded from Hello Kitty Bingo for many days.

Tom Bergeron's best one-liner:

Tracie: After William and Cheryl got their Cha Cha scores, the camera cut back to Tom who was standing in the middle of the dance floor holding red and green streamers with a perplexed expression on his face.  I cracked up when he said, "Did we get these at a Christmas sale?"

Michelle: "I think Len might be suffering from bum envy" after Len criticized William and Cheryl for resorting to a typical butt shaking dance in the free-style.

Jen: Speaking to Donald concerning Len, “He’s really starting to annoy me…”  Really?!?  Just now?!? 

Gracie: That Tom was just making everyone talk fast and go fast tonight.  Go up those stairs.  Hurry up and finish your talking.  Get your dancing done.  He sure was in a hurry for something.  Maybe he was going to play XBOX Live with his friends after the show and that’s why he wanted to get out of there so badly.  

The "Oh, Brooke!" moment of the week:

Tracie: Brooke was dying to get Donald to say something rasty about Len after he denied Donald a 10 in the Argentine Tango.  I was glad that Donald laughed it off and said that Len was going to love their Freestyle and would have no choice but to give them a 10 then (he was right!)

***SIDEBAR***Rumor has it that Brooke wants to return to the dance floor as a contestant in the fall's All-Star Season, which means we'd get a substitute celebraquarium interviewer.  I vote for Carson Kressley! **Oh! Jen loves this idea!**

Michelle: Brooke's hair looked atrocious.  I didn't really pay much attention to what she had going on tonight so I missed any moments of rolling my eyes at her Brooke-speak. It does, however, greatly bug me when she asks them what they think about the scores they have received and then doesn't give them a chance to do more than say a word or two.

Jen: I didn’t really listen to Brooke tonight.  Gracie and I were doodling on our score sheet in-between dances and perked up when the scores were about to be given.  Professionals might call that my “coping strategy” to tune things out that I choose not to hear.  I just call it enjoying some moments with my baby girl.

Gracie: Brooke looked like Silver Barbie tonight!    

Time to hang up your dancing shoes:

Tracie: I would be fine with any of the Final 3 taking home that mirrorball trophy as I think they've all done well this season and seem like wonderful people.  But based solely on their performances in the Final last night, I think it's going to be Donald Driver.  I'm not sure about second and third place, though.  That's going to be a tough call and will probably depend on the size of William's and Katherine's fanbases.

Michelle: This is a really close final three.  All three have shown vast improvement and all three have amazing talent.  If it comes down to fan votes, Katherine has been shown to not have the bigger fan base of the three and I feel will be the first one voted out tonight.  Between William and Donald, I am truly torn.  I feel that Donald should win, but I have a feeling William has a huge fan base that may take him over the top.   If it comes down to a judges' vote, it will most likely go to Katherine as they have clearly favored her all season long.  The ballroom is going to be rocking tonight!

Jen: Katherine has a very strong fan base that propelled her to the finals.  I think it may come down to Katherine and Donald.  William has been a huge contender all season, yet I am not sure if he really scored big with viewers last night to secure enough votes.  If we scored the stars solely on last night’s dancing; Donald wins hands down.  Hats off to all of the stars who participated this season!  You were all tops to me.

Gracie: I really do like Peta, and Donald too so I don’t want them to lose their shoes.  I would like them to win.  You know, I just really think they all got to have a lot of fun and so I can’t pick someone to lose.  They all took dance lessons, they put on shiny costumes, and they worked so hard.  I wish they could all have the trophy.  If they all can’t have it then they should share it.  That’s what friends do!

We have had a blast!  Thank you for spending time with us for DWTS!

XOXO

Michelle, Tracie, Jen & Gracie