Tonight is the Dancing with the Stars finale on ABC. The three remaining couples performed two dance numbers on Monday, May 18, 2009. The trio of remaining couple’s participated in a Paso dance-off and then showed the judges their freestyle.
Doing the Paso, Gilles Marini and his partner Cheryl Burke, the strongest competitors this season, earned three 10’s from the judges for a perfect 30. Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani were second with 29 points. They were followed by Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and her pro partner Mark Ballas with a score of 28.
The freestyle dance was a different story. Shawn & Mark impressed the judges with their very lively choreography that capitalized on Johnson’s gymnastics training and earned a perfect 30. Melissa & Tony followed them and seemed to bore the judges with their performance, which earned them 27.
Even the normally ‘spot on’ Gilles & Cheryl were criticized because the judges felt that they didn’t have enough dance moves in their free style interpretation, and it focused too much on Burke, the non-contestant rather than showcasing contestant Marini’s skills. The judges gave them a 28.
Going into tonight’s round of judging, Shawn and Gilles are tied at 58, and Melissa is trailing at 56. We will get a chance to see their performances again and then the judges will eliminate one more couple and the real dance-off will begin.
Lady Gaga will be on hand to perform Poker Face and Just Dance during the two hour finale which begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. If you missed it: check out the Dancing with the Stars Season 8 WINNER HERE.