Photo Credit Adam Larkey
Last night's episode of Dancing With The Stars set the stage for tonight's dazzling finale. Going into the viewer vote, Nicole and Erin were tied with 55 points each and Evan was 3 points behind with 52. Each couple danced a "redemption dance" chosen by the judges as the worst each couple performed through the season. Evan and Anna danced the Viennese Waltz, Erin and Maks performed the Samba and Nicole and Derek danced the Rumba. Each couple performed well and redeemed themselves. The freestyle dance, which has been known to make or break potential champions, proved to be problematic for Evan, challenging for Maks and provided Nicole with a uncharacteristic stumble.
Tonight's finale provided even more drama as each couple chose their favorite dance from the season to perform and the judges ranked them from 1-3. The highest ranking couple received 30 points, the second couple received 28 and the third received 26. When all scores were combined (last night's scores, tonight's first dance and viewer votes), the top 2 scores advanced to the final round. All three couples chose to dance their Argentine Tango and Nicole and Derek's crisp and precise routine once again came out on top of the leaderboard. Before factoring in viewer votes, the scores were as follows: Nicole 85, Erin 81, Evan 80.
In true DWTS fashion, viewers were left hanging in limbo until the eliminated stars took one last turn across the stage, with the exception of Chad Ochocinco who had to sit out with a training injury. Kate Gosselin got the dubious distinction of the worst argument of the season, causing her professional partner Tony to throw his microphone on the floor and exclaim "I quit!". After watching Buzz and Jake dance their final dances then we learned that Erin and Maks were no longer in the running for the mirror ball trophy.
New for this year was the collegiate finals of DWTS, which pitted the teams of Utah Valley against Purdue, with Utah Valley capturing the mini mirror ball. Aside from the obvious highlight of the show, Kate Gosselin stole the show by finally allowing some vulnerability and personality come through. She finally took a chance and the audience appreciated it. Pam Anderson and Neisey Nash provided the most entertaining dance of the evening in a battle of the "jiggly parts". And finally, the alst dance of the season was upon us.
Nicole and Derek came out and performed a energy filled Tina Turner inspired jive that received a perfect 30 from the judges. Evan and Anna performed a footless and fancy free quickstep that included elements from his figure skating background. They scored 28 points. After 10 weeks and 17 dances, Nicole and Derek were named the winners of the 10th season of Dancing With The Stars and captured the mirror ball trophy.
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