Trav's Thoughts

It's the performance finale and it's live from Hollywood!



It's a Paso Doble dance off and free style!

The judges visited each pair this week in a bit of a master class. Usually it's just Len spending time with each couple.

Bruno suggested to Shawn that she needed to bring something surprising to the choreography. He also coached her about extension and reach.

Carrie Ann told Melissa she needed to punch up the aggression and passion in the Paso, and bring that fire to the dance.

Len helped Gilles tone down the tendency to be hectic with his movement.

And here we go with the group Paso Doble. Shawn and Mark are first with the solo. They are crisp and precise, with great drama. We thought we saw some footwork bobbles, but it was hard to tell with her dress. Melissa and Tony are next. She was really doing well with the drama and passion, bringing the aggression while maintaining her poise, but I thought I saw another bobble toward the end of the solo. Gilles and Cheryl hit on every move. They were controlled and intense. They dominated the solo. The unison at the end was outstanding between the three pairs. As a whole, that dance was excellent.

Judges say 9,9,10 for Shawn and Mark.
Judges say 10,9,10 for Melissa and Tony.
Judges say 10's across for Gilles and Cheryl.

I'm not sure about the 10's for Shawn and Melissa because of the bobbles. Watch for these scores to stay very tight through the free style.

Here's the leader board so far:

30 Gilles and Cheryl
29 Melissa and Tony
28 Shawn and Mark

Anything goes in the free style round.

Shawn and Mark decided to keep the gymnastics to a minimum and incorporate what she has learned during the show. I love it when the free style still has the ballroom and Latin elements to it. This dance had all that stuff and more, taking them to another level. It was upbeat and fun. The lifts and tricks were outstanding. That last trick was way cool! And her personality was front and center. They really went for it. The choreography was creative, it was youthful, it was fast. And they got all around praise from the judges. Well done! Judges say 10's across for a total of 30. We knew that was coming!

Melissa gave Tony a shiner during rehearsal for this free style. And it's a hip hop. They went for it with plenty of well done big tricks. The dance steps were pretty tame and designed mainly to get from trick to trick. The dance had high energy and although the tricks were outstanding, we were surprised that Tony went away from Melissa's strengths, which have everything to do with elegance and class. It would have been great to see a full on ballroom show dance with the best of every style. We did the dance. We just wanted to see more dancing. And if I'm being honest, it wasn't as good as Shawn and Mark. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Gilles and Cheryl give us a bit of Flashdance. This is actually what a real show dance can be like. The lifts flow from the steps, and the steps are danced. This routine had changes of pace and controlled tempo. We thought it was a bit of an unusual choice, but the performance was terrific. Still, we thought through the whole season that his biggest strength was in the Latin styles and we were a bit surprised that Cheryl didn't capitalize on that and create a show piece in that style. That would be a similar criticism as with Melissa and Tony. Cheryl had the Latin dancer of the season, and she discarded that. Judges say 9,10,9 for a total of 28. And being honest again, we thought Shawn and Mark were better.

And our leader board now looks like this:

58 Shawn and Mark
58 Gilles and Cheryl
56 Melissa and Tony

I admit it. I wavered. I had 5 votes for my phone. Shawn wowed me last night. That free style was really good. And I was splitting between Shawn and Melissa for a long time earlier in the season. How can I choose????



But I must choose! And choose I did. I loved Shawn last night, but I went with Melissa for her body of work and consistency throughout the season.

Pam held fast and her votes went to Gilles. Although she did frown that there was no sexy Latin style dance medley.

So one pair will come in third, leaving the final two couples to dance once more for scores. And then we shall have our winner!

Tune in tonight!