Watching "Dancing with the Stars" used to be my guilty pleasure, but now I'm not ashamed to out myself as a DWTS fan through this article.
Opening the night was Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess. They danced a salsa dedicated to his supporters and the people who have helped keep him in the competition. Although Bobby claims that he hit all the steps, he just looked a little behind compared to the pros. His second dance was a redemption jive. Although it was full of jive content, his kicks and flips were a little too high for a conventional jive. Bobby isn't the best dancer in the competition, but he sure can entertain with his dances.
Alexis Ren dances with so much elegance that she can be mistaken for the professional dancer. The chemistry between her and her partner, Alan Bersten, is undeniable considering the fact that they have confirmed they were dating last week. Alexis's first dance of the night was a Waltz dedicated to her partner. Although she joined DWTS to honor her mother who was an avid fan of the show, she chose to dedicate the dance to Alan since without him, they wouldn't have gone this far. Her waltz almost scored a perfect score except a judge caught a lift which lowered her score. Her second dance was an energetic jive that received a perfect score. Like I said before, Ren dances so well that she looks like one of the pros. There are rumors saying that she will be joining the pros on tour, which is exciting news!
Joe Amabile, better known as Grocery Store Joe from "The Bachelor," is still struggling despite it being the semi-finals. Joe's first dance was supposed to be dedicated to all the women in his life, but the choreography wasn't appropriate to dedicate to his mother and grandmother. He ended up dedicating his dance to his girlfriend. The spotlight was more on his partner, Jenna Johnson, rather than on him. Len, the head judge, even told him, "You didn't do much, Joe, but you didn't do much very well." His next dance was better because he actually danced with his partner. Their redemption quickstep showed that he did improve throughout the season, but in my opinion, it wasn't enough to get him into the semi-finals. Like Bobby, Joe was able to get this far from the viewer votes.
Semi-finals night was Juan Pablo Di Pace's night! Juan's first dance, dedicated to his mother, was a fierce Argentine tango that parallels to the strength of his mother while she was recuperating from cancer. Cheryl Burke's choreography highlights Juan Pablo's strengths and is extremely entertaining. They earned the first perfect score of the night. The judges thought that his tango was the best dance of the night, but his redemption salsa made them believe otherwise. His salsa heated up the dance floor earning him another perfect score for the night. After his performances, I thought Juan Pablo was in the front-running for the mirror ball trophy!
Evanna has made a lot of progress throughout the season. She was never really a front-runner in people's minds, but when she had the revelation that she should dance to please herself and not others, the tables turned. Her contemporary was dedicated to her friend Simon Fitzmaurice, who died of ALS a year ago. She wanted the dance to be her way of saying goodbye to her friend. Her dance was a beautiful tribute and earned her a perfect score. Her redemption foxtrot was also beautiful, but the judges caught a small mistake that loss her a few points. Her partner, Keo Motsepe, has been a pro for eight seasons. Keo broke down in tears after receiving a perfect score since this season is the furthest he's ever made it. Keo hasn't had much luck with partners in the past season, so it's nice to see him make it to the finals.
Milo Manheim's Argentine tango was terrific! The dance was dedicated to his mother, Camryn Manheim, as a way to say thank you to her. She's an Emmy-winning single mother who raised Milo all by herself. Although all of the comments from the judges were positive, Milo received a less than perfect score. I feel that Milo was underscored probably since the judges still had Juan Pablo's Argentine tango in mind. His redemption cha-cha received positive comments, but the judges felt it was still "a bit wild." The height difference between him and his partner, Witney Carson, makes it difficult for Milo to keep frame. I thought that his dance was just fine and that the judges are too harsh on him.
After weeks of intense competition, it all comes down to Alexis Ren, Milo Manheim, Evanna Lynch, and shockingly Bobby Bones. The episode was full of drama as Juan Pablo Di Pace, who had a perfect night, was eliminated. The judges and the audience was clearly upset as the whole studio booed at the results. Joe's elimination was expected, but Juan Pablo's was a real shock.
In my opinion, I feel that the mirror ball will go between Milo and Evanna. Both of them receive great scores and have a solid fan base. Bobby is definitely the underdog in this situation, which the public loves about him. Honestly, it's anyone's game, so it's hard to say who will win. We'll see next week who will get the mirror ball trophy
