"Dancing With The Stars" Season 6
Who Will Dance Away With the Title of Champion This Season?
May 18, 2008
On May 6, 2008, "Dancing With The Stars" celebrated its 100th episode with a special that featured a Top Ten countdown of the judges' favorite dances from the first five seasons that received perfect scores of 30 points each. The countdown was followed by the usual hour-long results show, which included performances by former competitors Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner Julianne Hough (Season 4 champions), and Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Season 5 runner-ups). The Season 6 contestants are neck in neck with each other and as a result, the judges and the fans are faced with what is possibly their hardest decision yet: choosing who deserves to win the coveted mirrorball trophy and the title of champion.
The Players
On the first night of competition, Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins surprised and impressed the judges with his gracefulness and agility on the dance floor. He moved with a lightness that is often hard for men half his size to accomplish. His combination of grace and natural rhythm allowed him to improve on a relatively consistent level and win the hearts of the judges and fans.
Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is undoubtedly the one to beat. Since the very first night of the competition, she's wowed the judges and the viewers with one nearly flawless performance after another, rarely earning a total score lower than 27 (keeping in mind that the highest you can score for each dance is 30 points). However, the judges sometimes criticized her for being too technical and encouraged her to put more emotion into her dances.
Chilean actor Cristián De La Fuente started off in the middle of the pack; he didn't quite wow the crowd as much as Yamaguchi and Taylor did, but he wasn't awful either. Nevertheless, he moved very well and was entertaining to watch since Day One. He continued to improve and his fans voted enough to keep him in the game.
De La Fuente's turning point came on April 28, 2008, when he injured his arm while performing the samba with his professional partner Cheryl Burke. The couple received a low set of scores and it seemed that their future in the competition was hanging in the balance. But his fans voted and his doctor gave him the green light to continue competing. Since then he has stepped up his game, resulting in his best performances so far in the competition. Performing with one good arm is no easy task, but he's managed to do it and do it well.
What It Will Take to Win
On Monday, May 19, 2008, the three remaining couples will perform two dances, typically one chosen by the judges and one freestyle dance. In the freestyle round, the rulebook gets thrown out the window and the contestants are allowed to incorporate any kind of choreography they choose into the dance and perform an unlimited number of lifts, which are usually prohibited. On Tuesday May 20th, one couple will be eliminated and the two remaining couples will perform one last time and earn a final set of scores from the judges. That score will be added to the judges' scores and the viewers' votes from the previous night and the couple with the highest combined score will be crowned the champions.
Jason, Kristi, and Cristián all have the dancing abilities to take away the mirrorball trophy. Ultimately it is up to the fans. No matter the outcome, all three will undoubtedly dance away with the hearts of many "Dancing With The Stars" fans.
