Season 28, Week 11, the Finale Full of Freestyles and another Bachelorette win

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have our final four for the Finale. The couple I’m really rooting for at this point is Ally and Sasha, though the fact that they keep ending up in the Bottom Two despite consistent perfect scores really boggles my mind. (What is up with that, America? They are fantastic.) To my eyes, they are far and above all the other couples.

We have an opening dance to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” then Ally and Sasha kick off the night.

Sasha and Ally, jive

So, forgive me, but LAST WEEK they did “Redemption Dances” where they revisited a dance they had done earlier and tried to do it better. What, pray tell, is the bloody difference with in this episode starting with another dance from earlier in the season? #Lame. 

And, as I remarked in Week 4, when they did “Proud Mary” previously, it just doesn’t/didn’t match up to the Mark Ballas version (the gold standard). Great song, but jeez.

JUDGES: 30 (out of 30)

Gleb and Lauren, foxtrot

Lauren and Gleb revisit “Jolene,” another great song, but jeez.

Also, this song is directed at a woman who’s her rival, but only she and Gleb are dancing. Is this supposed to be her inner dialogue? I hate dances that don’t make sense.

JUDGES: 27 (out of 30)

Witney and Kel, jazz

Witney and Kel revisit their High School Musical thing, which I hated the first time.

JUDGES: 30 (out of 30)

Alan and Hannah, Viennese waltz

Alan and Hannah redo the Taylor Swift song in a Viennese waltz.

JUDGES: 28 (out of 30)

OK, recaps over. Now we have an all-cast (from Season 28) dance with Pitbull (a #DWTS favorite), then on to the Freestyles! What we’ve been waiting for!

Sasha and Ally, Freestyle: Miami Sound Machine, “Conga”

This was such a perfect song for her to do. She enters out of a giant egg, and first dances with the women of the troupe. 

There was one lift that looked like it went wrong. It was quickly followed up by a signature Sasha Farber move, where he is holding her and beating on her butt like it’s a conga drum. It was truly awesome.

This was a great Freestyle. (Not influenced at all by Sasha removing his shirt at the end, and throwing it into the crowd.) Heh ;-)

JUDGES: 30 (out of 30) Once again making it a perfect score of 60 for the night. Why aren’t they winning this? DAMMIT. ;-/

Gleb and Lauren, Freestyle: Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”

(L-R): Jenna, Lauren, Emma; Val, Gleb, Brandon. Courtesy of ABC.

Oh, man! Do I love this song! And since it’s ABC, it’s actually Luke Bryan singing it (although I do love their singers who do covers, but it sure is nice to hear the Luke Bryan version tonight). 

And Lauren was indeed in her element with this one. It was also great to see the other dancers (like Val and Jenna) do a country line dance thing. Fun times!

JUDGES: 30 (out of 30)

The pro dancers announce their upcoming tour, and dance to Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know?”

(How will they know that  COVID will derail the tour?) I didn’t say that…

Alan and Hannah, Freestyle: Alicia Keyes, “Girl on Fire”/Gwen Stefani, “Hollaback Girl”

This looked similar to some of the other Freestyles, but it did suit Hannah and Alan.

JUDGES: 30 (out of 30)

Witney and Kel, Freestyle: Kriss Kris’s’ “Jump”

Len compares it to “the first number you did,” and since I didn’t like either one, I have to agree.

JUDGES: 29 (out of 30) Rare for anyone to get less than 30 on a Freestyle, I must say.

MICHE’s Favorite Freestyles

1. Sasha and Ally

2. Gleb and Lauren

3. Alan and Hannah

(And this order is how I would rate them in the finals.)

Cher is here to sing “The Beat Goes On,” with backing track by Sonny Bono.

Sadly, it’s Gleb and Lauren who get booted out as 4th. :-(

Third place: (completely unjustly) Sasha and Ally

Second place: (also unjustly) Witney and Kel

And the Season 28 winner is Alan Bersten and Hannah Brown.

Ugh. So glad this season is over.

But congrats to Alan. He has put in a lot of work over many seasons, so it was nice to see him win his first Mirror Ball. And may Hannah Brown never cross my vision ever ever again.

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DTWS S027, Finals: Who Are Our Surprise Winners?

Yes, well, we’ll get to that in a moment... (Personally, I’m still in shock over the fact that the wondrous and amazing (and perfect scoring in two dances) Cheryl Burke and Juan Pablo di Pace went home in the last episode.) So these, then, are the four remaining contestants. And the win was (as you can see) a real shocker to everyone.

Let me also disclose this at this point. Normally, I have all shows taped (recorded on my DVR) and meticulously watch them and rewind and fast-forward them endlessly to write these pithy columns. However, from this point forward, all of Season 28 and this last finale episode, were on my TiVo which died. And since Disney Plus doesn’t offer back episodes of Dancing with the Stars (yet), I have no recourse, and no way to rewatch these episodes.

HOWEVER, at least for the finale, I took meticulous notes, so I'm going to try to wrap up this season as best I can... and somehow take a stab at Season 28, hopefully in time for *JUMPS IN THE AIR* Season 29!!!! to start. (So excited!!!!) Ahem.

Back to the matter at hand. We are just starting the finale of Season 27. Trust me, NO ONE knows where it’s going to end. Truly any of these four competitors (now that arguably the best couple has been eliminated) could win. Who will it be?

How do we kick off the finale of this amazing incredible season? With a parade, of course. On a red carpet. With lots of lights, and well, dancers. Tom Bergeron is in a special float/car. Len and Carrie Ann follow behind, waving. Bruno, of course, brings up the rear.

(I couldn’t tell in the moment where this all was, it looked for all the world like the street by the Oscars, but no, it is clearly the Grove parking lot right there, as you can see in this shot.)

The celebrities from the season, all in a car, waving. (BTW, where is Erin Andrews in this big parade?)

There’s something “all is right with the world” about seeing Sasha dancing with Emma, followed by Jenna leading a line, followed quickly by her hubby Val and Artem. We have a drum line. We have DWTS, spelled out in huge black and gold cards. We have Dancing. We have Stars. (Not just the celebrities, also big gold stars.) Finally, we have our four finalists, and they pull up, amazingly, at our lovely #DWTS studio.

This was MASSIVE, this incredible spectacle. And can I just bow down and become prostate at the fantastic, supremely talented, awe to all people choreographer Mandy Moore, who once again created this fantasmagorical spectacle that makes others weep with envy? Words just cannot describe how much I love her choreography. She is such a supreme part of what makes DWTS the best show on TV, IMHO.

After this incredible parade, they have a bit from all three judges, who basically say: “Anyone can win this.” (aka, now that the best couple is gone, we have no frikkin idea who you guys are going to pick from this lot)



They start out recreating a favorite dance from the season. Alexis and Alan redo their Swan Lake Argentine tango. They get 27 from the judges.

Bobby and Sharna redo their “Can’t Touch This!” and get 24 from the judges. (Wait! Wasn’t this their Trio? Hmmm...)

Anyway... Those are followed up by a break from Dan and Shay. Sharna and Artem dance to it so beautifully. I think the song is called “Speechless.”

Then, “The Bachelor boys.” LOL Oh my. You’ll remember when they originally did this, there was some sensual play happening with a big tire. This was also their Trio dance. Not this time, ladies and gentlemen. This time, we have Jenna full frame, with boys behind her, backs to us.

As they slowly turn around, we see she is dancing with her partner Grocery Store Joe, but ALSO Val! (YAY!) and wait... Nick Viall! LOL and our beloved bartender (from Bachelor in Paradise) Wells Adams! I almost don’t even care about this dance, I am so digging all the people who are dancing in it. It’s an ABC piece of heaven.

Photo courtesy of ABC and Just Jared.

There is a part of this dance, pretty much right after this, where Ms. Jenna has a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. (Who knew she was wearing a glittery bra under this T-shirt?) But it goes by quickly. After all, all the guys are taking their shirts off...

I thought this number was just great. The judges weren’t scoring it.

*Swoon*

Courtesy of ABC, The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Bachelor in Paradise and Just Jared.

Somewhere in here, we have a look back at the whole season.

Then, Evanna and Keo do their tango from Halloween. Judges score them a perfect 30.

One more time: KEO! In the final four. (All of that due to the wondrous dancing by Evanna.)

Robin Thicke performed, as Witney and Milo do one of my favorite dances of the season: their Charleston. It got a 30 then, it gets a 30 now. Loved that dance. Afterwards, Thicke talks about how his home was just destroyed in the Woolsey fire. I remember that being awkward and painful to hear. Poor guy.

Bruno compares Milo to Zendaya (I can see it).

The DWTS Tour continues! YAY! (Such a great idea.)

Then, a recap of the season up to the last four weeks.

Then, the best dance of the season gets danced again for us. *sigh* (“Libertango” from Forever Tango) And this time, it starts with Juan Pablo doing some singing at the beginning. Wondrous.

Oh, but our hot men in overalls (and this steamy Argentine tango) were just warmups. Next, we have (on the outside stage), Val and five other hot men dancing in black shirts (open, of course) and jeans to Tenashe singing “Fever.” Steamy! They said they were doing it “just for Erin...” (cause you know how she--and the rest of America--swoons for this stuff).

Finally: the moments we are all really waiting for. (Point of reference: usually everyone gets a 10 from all the judges in this segment.)

First up, Alexis and Alan’s Freestyle.

I always worry when there are a lot of sets in a dance. It’s usually not a good sign (IMHO).

As Freestyles go, it’s pretty forgettable. Lots of lifts. Danced to an Avril Lavigne song (she is there, singing it). Alexis’s costume is pretty beautiful.

JUDGES: 30 out of 30

Tom gave props to the crew, for that amazing set (and breaking it down for the next one).



Oh, we are still mixing in contestants from the season, cause now John Schneider is singing. Emma and Sasha are dancing. I have a note that Emma lifted Sasha over her head (Oh! I wish I could replay that one!). And Emma kissess Sasha at the end. Awwww.

Next up? An actual real Freestyle. Bobby and Sharna dance to “The Greatest Show” by Panic at the
Disco (who are not there performing it). There was a whole lotta dancing going on. And top hats! And white tails. C’mon!

The number starts with Bobby, standing alone in front of a curtain. Video of the entire season of his dances scrolls backward fast. He tries to tell the audience that he started “clueless,” and “is still clueless.” And then talks about how important “the people are” as his partner, Sharna comes out. (Indeed, because THIS, my friends, is some choreography here.)

And look at this lift! As Grocery Store Joe looks on and laughs.

The refrain of this song (undoubtedly why they picked it) is: “This is the greatest show!” It keeps playing throughout almost their whole Freestyle.

The reason I loved Bobby and Sharna so much this season was how much damn fun they had in their dances (from the first dance to this last). So, at the end, the man who at first went so off script that he was rolling on the floor in his first dance, asks Sharna, politely: “You said we could do the thing.”

You may not remember this, but during this season was when the whole “flossing” dance trend came out. (They did do it, unauthorized, in one of their dances during the season.) But for their Freestyle, they redo the last part, with everyone now flossing. Erin comes out and flosses. Tom comes out and flosses (ahem... with actual dental floss). This IS the greatest show. (LOVE YOU Tom and Erin!)

That was the best. They shoulda gotten an 11 for that. THOSE are the things that make me love Dancing with the Stars so very much.

JUDGES: 30 out of 30

Bobby says: “Mirror Ball Miracle.”

Say what you will about Bobby and Sharna, but their dance did what Freestyles are supposed to: reflected the experience of the previous weeks, and showed where they are now. Other couples don’t seem to have that clue.

After that bubbly sunshine of the last song, we have this from Witney and Milo, danced to the Bill Withers tune: “Ain’t No Sunshine (When She’s Gone).” Complete with umbrellas and water, as you can see. It was a concept piece, which didn’t seem to have anything to do with their season together.

Nice choreography, but not really a Freestyle.

JUDGES: 30 out of 30

This wondrous number starts with Evanna, all by herself, with four other female troupe dancers around her, all in bright colors, and they dance out onto this set. It was a feast for the eyes, indeed.

Have I mentioned this is Keo Motsepe’s first ever Freestyle? (Thank you, Evanna, you were incredible.)

JUDGES: 30 out of 30

These are the four remaining couples. Unlike previous years, they don’t let you know who was fourth, or third, or second. They just put all four in the frame, like this:

As they call Bobby and Sharna’s names, I guess you could say it was a shock to the others.

Well, to everyone.

SHARNA’S FIRST MIRROR BALL!!!!!! Can you believe it???

I was so ecstatic when this result happened. All this time later, I am still ecstatic. This was so joyous and wonderful. So happy for them both.

And now, just some photos of Bobby and Sharna. Enjoy.

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DWTS S024, Splashy Sports Freestyles in the Finals

When last we left Dancing with the Stars, we were sobbing over the fact that our beloved Sasha Farber and Simone Biles did not move on to the Finals. But let me take you back to the moment when Simone Biles lost the Mirror Ball trophy.

It was this one: “Smiles don’t win you gold medals.” An offhand comment after a question Tom Bergeron had asked.

Hard work, in the world of gymnastics, is all that matters. It is not, however, what is necessary in the world of Dancing with the Stars and the mirror ball trophy. Who, for example, did the judges think was going to be bounced out? The person with the lowest judges’ score was actually David Ross (and Lindsay Arnold). Did you see him smiling and enjoying every minute he was at DWTS? You betcha you did.

Now I am NOT saying that gratuitous smiling will get you everywhere (although in Hollywood, it does get you far). What I am saying is that THE PEOPLE of America are what determine 50% of this decision. And, as long as I’ve been watching this show, the people are 90% right.

And the people will vote for someone who deserves it technically, yes, but also, more likely, someone who MOVES them. With their story, with their circumstances, with how much they enjoy to be there, or don’t.

Simone Biles, even in her last package, was frustrated, and frankly, whining, about how she works so hard, and still can’t get further in the competition. She should’ve seen the writing on the wall then. Dance comes from your technical scores, yes, but on this show, it just as much comes from your heart and your emotions, and that’s where Simone was really working with a locked cupboard.

Sasha Farber is amazing, and he really tried to save poor Simone, with a bouncy, smiling upbeat jive in the Semifinals, but it was already too late. The people had already spoken.

And so, we end up with these. And I still think, at this moment (as the Finals begin), I am believing that Val and Normani have this thing locked up. But, you know, I think we do get lulled into thinking what the judges think is best is what’s going to happen, and forgetting the part about America voting. Oh, and also how much each specific dance contributes to the final choice.

In this case, the final dances mattered immensely. So let's take a look.

First up, the “Redemption Dance,” so named because it is a redo of a dance done earlier in the season (in hopes of gaining a better score).

David and Lindsay, the ones the judges wanted out, and who they now refer to as the “fan favorites,” give us a beautiful Viennese waltz. Carrie Ann, while mentioning that David has "beaten all the odds to be here," also gives him props for "making the best connection."

JUDGES’ SCORES: 33 (out of 40)

Val and Normani dance a quickstep. In their package, they watch back their earlier quickstep, which Val admits “wasn’t all that quick.” They also show Normani incurring an injury while rehearsing that sounds painful.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 38 (out of 40)

So, we’ve had the fan favorites who performed less than the best, the presumed favorites who perform with an injury, and the judges believe didn’t have enough body contact. What’s left?

Well, this.

Rashad talks in his package about how in his whole life, he’s “never won anything,” always come close, but never won. It wasn’t said, but the audience is also painfully aware of how many times our dear Miss Emma has come close to the Mirror Ball, yet never won it.

Watching this Viennese waltz was when I knew and believed that Emma and Rashad were going to win this thing. They so elevated everything that had come before. It was so beautiful.

You know when Bruno starts out with “refined, polished, majestic,” that these scores are going to be good. Carrie Ann: “We have magic happening. This is what makes winners winners.” Len, speaking to the Redemption part of the Redemption dance: “We’re looking for improvement. I saw improvement in every level of that dance: face, body, fluidity.” Julieanne: “When people reach this point of the competition, we’ve seen all that they could do. Not you. I’m seeing the hard work that you put in. We haven’t seen the best. We just saw the best. That was amazing.”

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40)

MICHE’S FAVORITES OF THE REDEMPTION DANCES
1. Emma and Rashad, Viennese waltz
2. Val and Normani, quickstep
3. Lindsay and David, Viennese waltz

But the Mirror Ball is won and lost on what couples do for their Freestyles. Let me say here that I think the best Freestyles reflect all that has come before in the season, with elements of choreography harkening back to key moments throughout. And, ideally, they also reflect who the star is, and what he or she means to us, the public. And the most memorable ones show us something we haven’t seen before.

Lindsay Arnold, who also has come very close to winning a Mirror Ball, yet not won one yet, knows about pulling out all the stops in her Freestyle choreography. (Remember that walking on moving walkways thing?)

Well, this one is pulling more on the Cubs’ win (still fresh in people’s minds) than their current dancing season, but no matter. They try to couch it as “going from baseball to dance,” but there’s a whole lotta baseball in this dance.

We had baseball, we had an American flag. The only thing missing was some apple pie. A little too much rap music for my tastes, but when they hoisted David Ross up at the end, it was very good for me, too. It was fun, it was entertaining.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40) (and if you get anything less than a perfect score for your Freestyle, you’re doing something wrong)

Now, Lindsay has tended to pull out all the bells and whistles for her Freestyles (to great effect). Val, lately, has tended toward the quieter Freestyles. Personally, I don’t think they work as well. This one certainly didn’t.

They danced to “What the World Need Now (Is Love),” which is a good song, but quiet. When they brought out the kids is when this dance was over for me. I pretty much hated this Freestyle. It was ok, maybe, as a dance, but not as a Freestyle.

Hey Val, THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF THING THAT WINS MIRROR BALLS. Just in case you forgot that. *shakes head*

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40)

So Rashad (who’s never won anything) and Emma (who hasn’t yet won a Mirror Ball) decide to do a big, splashy Freestyle, this one more focused on football. Specifically the marching band part of football, which apparently is a strange concept to Emma (hey, Emma, go watch “Drumline”). But, in any case, they do an amazing Rashad-inspired marching band type freestyle with a whole lotta swagger in it. It was just wonderful. I loved it.

Whole lotta fun. Crowd is on their feet at the end. Judges (save Len) are on their feet at the end.

How could you not love this?

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40)

Emma and Rashad end up with a perfect score of 80 for the night. Val and Normani are in second place, David and Lindsay in third (per judges’ scores).

Wonder who’ll win?

MICHE’S FREESTYLE FAVORITES
1. Emma and Rashad
2. Lindsay and David

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