Finals night came in the blink of an eye on Dancing With the Stars last night. In fact, I was in the middle of a rousing rendition of “Ring My Bell” from the Wii game Just Dance with my family (we’re at a reunion) when I panicked and realized I was missing the show (DVR, I love you).

For the finals this year the stars need to perform an unprecedented FOUR dances (two on Monday, two on Tuesday). Tonight they must do a Redemption Dance, where they will attempt to redeem themselves for a dance the judges say they should have done better on, and the infamous Freestyle, who everyone says locks in the trophy.

SO! Were they redeemed or not? Let’s see…

First is Erin and Maks, and they must attempt to redeem themselves on the Samba. Ooh, tough one for the judges to pick for them. Bruno stops in to help her with her hip action, which (along with your arm work) is really the most important thing in the Samba (oh, along with the Par-Tay!). Bruno likes what he begins to see: “Look at the ass! So much better!”

As they begin the dance, Erin and Maks button UP Maks’ shirt. Very cute. Erin’s dress is fabulous, love the red flutters and her necklace. They did very well, but I feel this was not as earth-shaking as it needed to be. Improvement, yes, fantastic, no. Judges’ Scores: 10-10-9 (which will turn out for me to be the most surprising score of the night).

Evan and Anna is next. They get help from the Great Len Goodman for their Viennese Waltz, which they did all the way back in week one. Chemistry is what is needed here for the two of them here. Evan needs to put more focus and love on Anna, rather than thinking and going to the next move (yeah, Olympian).

Anna choreographed a really, really lovely intro for this Viennese Waltz (her dress is fab), and they kept the connection the entire time when not in hold. Truly lovely. Probably the best Viennese Waltz I’ve ever seen on DWTS. Great work and absolute redemption. Judges’ Scores: 10-9-9

Nicole and Derek have Carrie Ann come in and help out with their Rumba. When they did it the first time, Nicole’s nerves got the bes of her and it was probably her worst meltdown (among quite a few). Carrie Ann really pushes her to take the meltdown and convert it into vulnerability (so use it before rather than after). Really let go and show she’s more than a pretty face and a dancing machine.

Their Rumba is sensitive and beautiful. Nicole is vulnerable and connected to Derek, and Derek himself is more connected to any partner than I’ve ever seen. The choreography is solid and that hold at the end is new and very interesting (she wraps her leg around him and holds herself up, whew). They are completely redeemed here. Carrie Ann’s lift police rant is absolutely necessary here, and I wish she would have just shut up. Judges’ Score: 9-9-10

Freestyle: POP! or fizzzle…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is the most highly anticipated dance of the entire season, and somehow it is always a disappointment. Either the couples go crazy and do stuff that is just “not them”, or they play it safe and do stuff that they would normally do (like a pop star does hip-hop). What will happen for season 10?

For the first time ever, there is a Contemporary/Lyrical freestyle on DWTS. WHAT?? Erin has decided to do something different, and more of what she would do (she had years of ballet and jazz). They even call the lovely Ms. Mandy Moore (woo hoo) in to help out with the choreography. This is unprecedented (there’s that word again, she keeps on using it), and I am anticipating the performance highly.

I expected to love it, but I just…didn’t. And I’m really sorry I didn’t. Erin took a real risk with this and really showed what she wanted to do. I suppose it just looked too odd to me on the ballroom floor, and I felt that contemporary should just stay over on the Fox So You Think You Can Dance set. Plus, there was a bed AND a sofa. Too much, even for a contemporary piece. Off the mark for me personally. However, this dance gave us the best Tom Bergeron moment of the entire season: “In ten seasons, ‘It’s not the bed I rehearsed on’ is the my favorite excuse ever!” Judges’ Scores: 9-8-9

We see Evan and Anna butt heads for the first time this seaon, over the steps for their freestyle. Evan wants to take more chances, and Anna wants to stick to what they do best. They both really want to win, you can tell. Things smooth out when they bring in a choreographer in to help out and be the go-between.

Their freestyle is a prom theme from “Footloose” (this made me think what a great freestyle the prom scene from “Grease” would make). Lots of fun and a huge crowd please. They looked like they had a great time. Technically speaking (except for the impossible lift at the end) that the choreography was a little light, but still super fun. The judges, however, were uniformly disappointed. Judges’ Scores: 8-8-8 Boo.

What, oh what will Nicole bring? Her Pussycat Doll card or something new? I adore their sparkle-y tux outfits with the chartreuse shoes and ties. Really popped. They chose “Little Less Conversation” by Elvis (love it) for their song and they just brought it ALL. This was super-fantastic and absolutely perfect (with a slight hesitation on the lift at the end). Clearly the Winner of the Freestyle Round, and Len hit it right on the nose: He saw all different styles of ballroom dance used together in a new and inventive way. Now THAT’S a freestyle! Judges’ Scores: 9-9-9

So in a surprise on the leaderboard, Erin and Nicole are tied for first with 55 out of 60 points. Evan is second with 52 out of 60 points. The stars and their partners will do their third and fourth dances on the Results show. What will they do? My money is on one dance will be the stars pick and the other will be the judges’ pick. We’ll see. It’s shaping up to be an exciting and very interesting show Tuesday night. My early pick for the winner? Nicole Scherzinger. And she would deserve it. Tune in tonight!

BTW, Spoiler Alert for Season 11: Hugo “Hurley” Reyes wins!!! (thanks to Jimmy Kimmel’s Aloha to LOST show, which helped stop my tears over watching the final episode ;o)

Tonight on Dancing With the Stars, the judges submitted a NEW challenge to the stars and their pros: Telling a Story! This is so up my alley I can barely contain myself. Dance as a Story is MY BAG.

Whew! Let’s start the show.

Ooh! We get examples of the Waltz, the Paso Doble and the Quickstep from our beautiful pros, what the stars should aspire to do. And THERE’S Lacey Schwimmer! So fantastic to see her on the DWTS floor.

First up is Evan and Anna, doing the Quickstep to the “Hot Honey Rag” from Chicago. OMG the Quickstep is really a super, super hard dance and Evan did wonderfully. I didn’t see a tremendous story except in the very beginning. The lady kept the man waiting. But then they just danced. Ok, not an A+ in my book, but really great on the dancing! OH, and just to add to that: THEN we find out in the fishtank that Evan has two broken toes. Cripes boy, what a pro! Judges’ scores: 9-8-8

Before we go to commercial, they give us previews of what’s to come in the rehearsal rooms: stress stress stress, drama drama drama, tears tears tears. Looks like we’re in for it, folks!

Next is Buzz Aldrin, who is hangin’ in there and promoting the space program, by gum! They have a story that could really be a tear-jerker; a daughter greeting her father back from war. Ashly his pro is so really sweet to him and just keeps him on the right track. He did a great job and he looked good. The judges try to be as kind as possible, but he knows that he’s not really that great and it’s all good. Judge’s scores: 5-4-4

Jake and Chelsie are up after the break, and they’re doing the Quickstep to “Walk Like an Egyptian”. What? Ok, gotta see if this can work. And there is stress in the rehearsal room. Frustration! Put it into the dance, folks. Seems like the frustration paid off, they do very well. Lots of props, too, which I thought they weren’t supposed to use. Anyway, they are super fast across the floor and the performance and storytelling is good. The judges pick at his frame and legs, which are a bit soft. Judges’ scores: 7-7-7

Nicey and Louis are next and they choose a story that is close to both of them (if I’m not mistaken, Louis is gay), a interracial couple falling in love in the 60′s, a time when in some places it was actually still illegal. This is a different side to Nicey, and very genuine and sweet. It affected her to put herself in the place of the role she was playing. ACTING! BRILLIANT! Louis did a fantastic job on choreography, and her ivory dress with the various panels really brought the most out of it during the spins. I felt that she was very graceful, even in the face of a stumble at the beginning. Their song was a world class duet from Billy Preston and Syreeta (“With You I’m Born Again”) and really added to the story. The judges really love Nicey, but were picky about the stumble and her technique, which she needs to work on. I disagreed with Carrie Ann that the story was confusing, and it didn’t have a happy ending. But that wasn’t the point of the story. I felt Nicey’s intoxication with a love that fills her heart, but the danger of knowing how society will react and possibly retaliate. She was super vulnerable, and Louis, too. This is first-rate dance as a story. Judges’ scores: 7-7-7

Mr. Ochocinco and Cheryl are next with the fiery Paso Doble, set to this fantastic song sung by Antonio Bandaras in the beginning of the movie “Desperado” (love it). Chad does pretty darn well with it (even after the rehearsal drama). Very powerful and dynamic. He really focused on Cheryl and wanted the girl. Great comeback from last week! Judges’ scores: 7-6-7

Miss Pam and Damien are next. They were the surprise in the bottom two last week, since she was such a crowd-pleaser. This week they’re back with the Paso Doble–their story is of a woman and the bull-fighter. She loves him, but she hates what he does as an animal activist (they are very cruel to the bulls in bullfighting). She looked fabulous and did a great job telling the story. She’s not just a blonde bombshell, that’s not all she can do. The routing seemed at times a little sloppy, but I think that was just her passion. She did great. Judges’ scores: 7-7-7 (lots of 21s tonight)

Aiden and Edyta are next and we see that even though he had a comeback last week, he was super nervous and actually vomited backstage (thanks ABC for blurring the gross stuff out). They are doing the Quickstep tonight and things are lighter for the two of them as they celebrate his birthday and his wife and beautiful 7 month old girl come in with cake (Edyta eats cake?). Their dance is pretty good, but I realize that I completely missed what their story was supposed to be. Len says that he was a bit careful, and I didn’t see that, but I did see his shoulders way up by his ears. I’m sure he’s nervous as hell, with a stomach to match. Judges’ scores: 7-6-7

Erin and Maks are next with a Waltz telling a story of trust: Erin has to dance over half of their waltz while BLINDFOLDED. It was pointed out to me by a reader that Erin actually does have prior dance experience, so I’m not looking at her in quite the same way this week, but she really is graceful. I thought it was a really beautifully done by both of them. Judges’ scores: 8-7-8

Kate and Tony are next with a Paso Doble done to “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga, a song that speaks directly to Kate, because they follow her wherever she goes. Kate can’t seem to connect with Tony for the passion and anger, and he calls in an acting coach. She sees a lot of emotion that is bottled up inside, and it needs to come out. Do we really want Kate Gosselin letting all her emotions out? Hmmm…During the dance she comes at Tony with intention and anger, but she steps around the floor like she has clogs on her feet. Not a lot of grace. Tons better than last week, though. Carrie Ann said it was “odd”. Judges’ scores: 5-5-5

Nicole and Derek have the Quickstep and their story is two sailors slacking off to “Anything Goes”. Nicole freaks out a little at the difficulty of the dance, she’s scared. The dance is A-MA-ZING. Really first rate. And I love that this wasn’t Nicole’s “Pussy Cat Doll” card. It was completely opposite of what she is used to doing. Super cute and technically hard as hell. And…not a Quickstep, according to the judges. Too bad. But true. Loved it. Judges’ scores: 8-6-9

And who will be the surprise elimination this week? Tune in tonight to ABC and find out! (then be like me and watch LOST, because you just can’t get enough suspense) ;o)

Supposedly ABC picked the wrong Olympic figure skater for Dancing With the Stars. I was cruising the interwebs and found a fun article about the top 10 athletes who should be on DWTS. I didn’t know probably half of them, but the video they put up for sixth-place Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir was completely amazing. I mean, so much so, I’m looking at it and wondering why Johnny didn’t simply become a dancer. He would have been a fantastic one.

I guess you can’t do triple toe loops and double axels on a dance floor (but you sure can do other things). Maybe it’s just the costumes he gets to wear…

Watch this video of Johnny skating to Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” at a skating benefit last year. You’ll see what I mean.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a figure skater shake his hips so much or so well, and that includes former Mirror Ball winner Apolo Anton! Let’s hope that Evan Lysacek has as much potential. It will make for a fantastic season 10 of Dancing With the Stars!

You can read the Top 10 Athletes article here if you’re curious.

Even though Nancy O’Dell was forced to step out of the 8the season of Dancing With the Stars (due to serious knee injury), it looks like she may be back! But not as a contestant. E! News reported recently that she is being considered to replace Samantha Harris, who resigned her co-hosting position a couple of weeks ago.

I think this would be a good addition to the DWTS team, I think she and Tom Bergeron would look good together and I absolutely think she’s a better interviewer than Samantha.

There’s no confirmation from ABC yet, so we wait and see!

Even though I’m pretty sure that the pros do NOT get to hand pick their partners, Dancing With the Stars pro Karina Smirnoff has been very vocal lately about someone she would like to dance with in this upcoming season: John Stamos!

I have to admit, this would be a great pairing. I don’t know how adept Stamos is at dancing, but he just finished a run of Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway (perfect role for him), so he has at least some ability.

This would be a nice addition to the Season 10 cast. John Stamos is a pretty darn talented entertainer who seems to have a lot of staying power. If you turned on the TV at all in the last decade, you have seen John Stamos, either on a stint on the always popular ER, or on his own shows (like Jake in Progress). Not to mention his past hugely popular shows Full House and General Hospital. It’s as though it’s not the entertainment industry without John Stamos.

There’s no official word from ABC on whether or not Stamos was offered a spot in the Season 10 cast as of yet. Well, guess we just have to wait for the announcements on the season finale of The Bachelor March 1st!  I’ll be there taking notes and letting you know ;o)

The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers’ director Jon M. Chu, along with choreographers Harry Shum Jr. and Chris Scott made a video announcement today on their YouTube page that they have officially been invited to perform on the telecast of the 82nd Academy Awards March 7th on ABC. Sa-weeeeeeeet!

Thank gawd for Mr. Adam Shankman, director of the presentation this year. Seeing as he has a vested interest in dance, he is certainly making it way more interesting for those who love dance. Can’t wait to see what he’s concocted for the viewers.

Meanwhile, Jon also said the LXD had been invited to perform on Ted Talks (ted.com) next week. Tune in for that online!

Here’s to a fantastic Oscars 2010!

So it’s all over the place that Olympic swimmer Greg L0uganis wants to be on Dancing With the Stars. “It would be such a blast.” Louganis has said. It appears that he was a dancer as a child and wore “sequins, headbands and poofy sleeves” for dance routines. Sounds like it’s a perfect match! “I’ve never done ballroom but I want to try. Dance really captures something you just can’t put into words.” he stated. Well said.

Will he be one of the names announced on The Bachelor finale? And if he is will he join the lexicon of Olympians including winners Apolo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson??? We’ll see March 1st–I’ll be there watching as the contestants are announced. ;o)

In a genius turn of cross-promotion, ABC will be announcing the Dancing With the Stars Season 10 cast during the March 1st season finale of the latest Bachelor show (kookily titled “On the Wings of Love”–he’s a pilot, get it??). You must, you will tune in if you want to know, and I WANT TO KNOW!!

So, I will dutifully be tuning in (to that show I don’t want to watch) in order to see host Tom Bergeron announce the season 10 cast and blog about it immediately after so YOU don’t have to ;o). Do I luv ya or what?

Stay tuned!

In an interesting turn of events, co-host of Dancing With the Stars Samantha Harris (she’s the back red room, wonderful Tom Bergeron is the front stage host) will NOT be returning when DWTS starts it’s 10th season March 22nd. She will be taking up a position as a correspondent on The Insider. Hmmm…while they dress Samantha to the nines and I love seeing her new outfits every week, I will not miss her interviewing style. Safe to say she can give backhanded insults better than anyone that I’ve ever seen. It seems she’s being straightforward, then you go “did she just dis Kelly Osbourne?”

So, it will be fun to anticipate who they will pick to fill the role of human clothes hanger. Any guesses? If I hear who ABC has chosen, I’ll let you know!

There are bits and bobs floating around the interwebs about the upcoming 10th season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, premiering March 22nd (only 9 weeks away, an eternity). The first one is that there will be less couples this time around. In season 9, there were 16 couples and they did a bunch of double eliminations. What’s better than dancing–more dancing, of course! But, whatever, less couples are fine, just find me some juicy stars!

Speaking of juicy, here’s the low-down on some of the stars who are rumored to be coming on season 10:

1. Jonathan Frakes: He-llo, former Star Trek: The Next Generation hunko and director (yes, I am really a geek at heart).

2. Genie Francis: lovely Laura from General Hospital (and incidentally, Jonathan’s wife).

3. Bethany Frankel: Real Housewives of New York City star. I prefer my drama to be well-written and I’m not into those shows, so I’m not familiar with her.

4. Suge Knight: Wow, co-founder of Death Row Records???  Interesting…

5. Danny Gokey: former American Idol contestant and really awesome singer. I wonder if he can move as well as he sings. And will he wear contacts or his famous glasses?

6. Erin Andrews: ESPN reporter. I don’t watch a lot of ESPN, so I don’t know Erin.

7. Kurt Angle: Pro wrestler from the TNA wresting show. Well, last season we had Chuck Liddel and I was a big fan of his (my husband is an avid MMA follower, so I was pleased to see him do as well as he did).

8. Dominique Moceanu: 1996 Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast. Olympians tend to do very well (Apolo Ono Anton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, all past winners), so if she’s for sure cast she may well be a contender.

9. Vera Wang: Designs beautiful wedding dresses. Can she dance?

10. Lou Ferrigno: Mr. The Hulk himself. Will the big guy be able to move that bulk around with the greatest ease?

11. Danielle Fishel: Former Boy Meets World star and current host of The Dish.

12. Leslie Jordan:  a southern comedian I’m unfamiliar with, but apparently he’s won an Emmy award…

13. Greg Louganis: Another Olympian, but a swimmer. That could be very interesting.

14. Jordan Knight: I was never into New Kids on the Block when I was younger, but so many of my friends were. The boy band record is good so far (Joey Fatone is still one of my faves), so he could do well.

15. Dean McDermott: Mr. Tori Spelling, very cute, very rugged.

16. Beth Horn: American Gladiator’s Venom yeah! She could kick a$$ in more ways than one…

17. Jennifer Grey: NOBODY puts Baby in the corner!!! I’m just sayin’, is all.

As I stated, these are all just rumors, but I’ll be on the lookout for an official list as soon as it comes down the line. Should be a verrrrry exciting Season 10 for Dancing With the Stars!