by David McAlpine

 

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, it was the semi-final competition where the favorite four pairs were competing for just three spots in the last dance-off of the season.

 

Tonight, it's part one of the two-part dance extravaganza as ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews, Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger and Olympic Champion Evan Lysacek battle it out for America's votes and the mirror ball trophy. For the first dance of the night, the theme was "redemption," as each pair was given a dance by the judges that they had performed before. The performances were:

 

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Samba (Bruno's pick)
Breakdown: Bruno pays the pair a visit and gives Erin a ton of encouragement, as well as some helpful tips to perfect her samba. You can tell he gave her a lot more confidence, because she's much more out there and willing to have fun. She's shaking her hips and really getting into it with Maks, creating a huge boom of energy. Len is super impressed and Carrie Ann can't believe the leaps and bounds she made (which, I must say, were astronomical from the Raggedy Ann feel we got last time). She actually looked like a real, confident, sexy dancer that has a shot at winning this competition. I'm a little confused as to why Bruno didn't give her a 10, but I guess she'll have one last chance for that evasive 30.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 10  Bruno: 9
Total: 29/30

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Viennese Waltz (Len's pick)
Breakdown: Len's goal this week with Evan and Anna is chemistry. Last time, it's definitely what they lacked and it made their Viennese Waltz more blah than anything else. Len works a lot with eye contact and pausing, something that Evan carries over very well into his performance. You can feel a spark between the two now--something that definitely should have been felt a long time ago. One little slip up on Evan's part, however, also ruined his chances at a 30.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 28/30

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Rumba (Carrie Ann's pick)
Breakdown: This was Nicole's worst dance by far all season, to the point where she had trouble executing the moves because you could see the absolute fear in her face. She was terrified that something was going to go wrong or that she was going to make a misstep--something judge Carrie Ann Inaba said she needed to let go of. Not only was Nicole vulnerable, but she was ready for Derek to completely lead her, which results in a fantastic dance and a spectacular, PCD-appropriate ending that only she could pull off. Carrie Ann and Len still had small problems with it, but Bruno ate it up.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 10
Total: 28/30

For their final dance before America's vote (they'll be dancing twice more on tomorrow's grand finale results show for more judges' points), each pair performed a freestyle dance, completely choreographed by the pros to showcase one last hurrah.

 

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Freestyle
Breakdown: Erin's dance is slowed down and very temperate, something that I didn't expect at this stage of the competition, but is definitely refreshing to watch. So You Think You Can Dance's Mandy Moore makes a guest appearance to help them out with the choreography and, on the dance floor, it's the ultimate display of hot, hot, hot chemistry. It was a very good choice, showed an otherwise never-seen vulnerable side of both of them and showed that Erin really does know how to dance.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 8  Bruno:9
Total: 26/30
Grand Total: 55/60

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Freestyle
Breakdown: From the get-go, Evan and Anna are totally on board with their freestyle routine until they get to rehearsals, where they start to fight over it. Evan thinks Anna is being too cheest and won't do enough for them to separate them from the other two couples. After some help from another choreographer, their dance looks incredibly polished and much more fun than cabaret, especially since it was to "Footloose," one of the ultimate cliches for cheesy, Broadway routines. The judges, however, were not fans because it was just...odd. And in a sense, they're right. In between fixing the dance, it seems like they lost their personalities.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Total: 24/30
Grand Total: 52/60

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Freestyle
Breakdown: Unlike the other two couples, Nicole and Derek are going all-out energy, something that only Nicole could pull off at this point. On the dance floor, where Evan and Anna may have looked a little desperate and crazy, Nicole and Derek looked quick and sharp. It was definitely perfect 30 material until a slip by Nicole at the end, which ruined her upside-down split lift. So close! Come on, this is the finale! Aren't there supposed to be 30s all around?
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27/30
Grand Total: 55/60

 

Tune in tomorrow to the LIVE grand finale of Dancing With the Stars, only at 8/7c on ABC.

 

(Image courtesy of ABC)

 

 

Follow David on Twitter: @DavidMcAlpine

 

For more Dancing With the Stars links, visit SirLinksALot.net.