[Order of the Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli]
24-Hour Fusion Dance Challenge
Ginger Zee and Valentin Chmerkovskiy 3rd Place
Argentine Tango/Foxtrot Fusion: Just Like Fire by P!nk
Judges’ Scores: 9, 9, 9 (27/30) Lowest Fusion Dance Score
#TeamGinAndJuice 1(800)868-3404
Surprisingly enough, I found this performance— a dance that Ginger had less than a day to complete— to be Ginger’s best ballroom dance. She improved on her Foxtrot from Disney Night, and even polished a bit from the Foxtrot section in her Freestyle. Her Argentine Tango from week eight was already perfection, so there wasn’t much needed improvement in that aspect! Her rise-and-fall and in-hold sections with Val were out of the park! She matched him really well, even though she did mess up halfway through (which I can’t really blame her with the content that Val put in a dance when they had little time to rehearse, but I appreciate the effort), but it was barely noticeable (mainly because of the camera angles), and she jumped right back into the swing of things. Ginger and Val were in third overall, but I still think they made a great comeback on the show. Sure, ABC got annoying with all of the constant plugs for Ginger, but I think all of the hate towards Ginger this season was unnecessary. Ginger sure seemed to have fun, so I hope she cherished the wonderful experience that she got from the show, and from the unique choreography that Val gave her this season!
Ginger’s fusion dance was exactly what I’d predicted it would be (Foxtrot/Argentine Tango) and I really felt like she would knock it out of the park. She sort of did, but there was that one bit that just felt awkward. Ginger and Val claimed it was a planned part of the routine, but even if it was it just didn’t work well in this performance. In the end, she recovered well and finished strong. I’ve noticed that third-place finishers on Dancing With the Stars have more often than not fallen into one of two categories, especially as of late. They’re either the person who is a fan-favorite despite being a mediocre dancer (or just not on the level of the other contestants in the finale) or the ABC/Disney employee who gets a lukewarm response from the audience but the producers/network executives really want to be in the finals. In a way, Ginger actually falls into both categories because she appears on an ABC morning show and the producers clearly wanted her to be in the finals and she also seemed like a middle-of-the-pack dancer (which is actually a huge testament to how much talent Season 22 had).
Ginger was an amazing dancer from the start of the show, I always knew she would make it to the finals. I was so proud to see her come out with this dance it was really good. There were some iffy parts but for a 24 hour dance it was really good. I want to commend Ginger on her strength and perseverance this season.
Bentley’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Angelina’s Score: 9
Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd WINNER (FIRST PLACE)
Cha-Cha-Cha/Tango Fusion: Summer by Calvin Harris
Judges’ Scores: 10, 10, 10 (30/30) Highest Fusion Dance Score
#RedefiningDance 1(800)868-3409
This dance was pretty much just a rehash of Nyle and Peta’s original Tango and Cha-Cha-Cha, but the Fusions dances are sort of just a throwaway anyway, which is why I didn’t really care about the minor technical mistakes in this dance, or in any of the Fusion dances for that matter. I love how Nyle was able to able to match the flavor of the Cha-Cha-Cha with the sternness of the Tango, which is perfect for the upbeat song that he was dancing to. After the dance, I wanted to cry just like Nyle when Carrie Ann started signing in ASL; it was one of the most simple, yet touching moments on this season. Nyle really appreciated that, and even though I am not deaf myself, I appreciated that as well. Nyle is not just a good deaf dancer- he is an inspirational human being that is able to just live, and be happy and caring to the people around him. Between he and Paige, I didn’t know who I wanted to win (even though I was slightly leaning towards Paige), but I think his win has had a huge effect on all of the people who think they have limitations in life, allowing them to realize that their supposed limitations can actually be used as assets to take advantage of. And you know what? It’s about time a male celebrity and a female pro won the Mirror Ball Trophy-- that doesn’t happen too often! Nyle redefined dance this season, and asserted what it means to be human by showing his heart and determination.
With Nyle and Peta’s victory, there have been nine winning partnerships that have consisted of a male celebrity and a female pro (and twelve that have been a female celebrity and male pro). So it’ll be tied up if we have male celebrity winners for the next three seasons! I guess it seems like it doesn’t happen very often because most of those wins happened in the earlier seasons. Anyway, I know we’d already had a straight-up Tango to “Summer” from Nastia and Derek last spring, but I’d been hoping for this song to be used for a 24-Hour Fusion routine for awhile. It’s just the perfect song to end a season on, even if it was yet another recycled one (more on that later). I thought this was probably Nyle’s best dance of the season next to his Freestyle the previous night, but it wasn’t really a Fusion; they just did Tango steps for the first half of the dance and Cha-Cha steps for the rest of it. He still had some minor posture issues and it bothers me that Peta never fixed them (and that the judges didn’t call them out on it much for most of the season) but it was a beautiful routine. Even though I liked the breaking of the “person who dances the last routine of the season is the winner” trope (though according to Sharna they chose the order at random the two seasons she did this challenge) I really wish they’d had this number close off the season, regardless of the winner. Even though it wasn’t quite technically performed as well, this fusion just kind of packed more of a punch than the one that followed (though that was probably because of the song choices). And there was just no way anything else was going to top Carrie Ann signing to Nyle. I hate to be That Person, but that moment just might be what will stick out in my mind the most from this entire season. I’d even go so far as to be That Person and call it as series highlight.
Nyle is an absolutely amazing human being and dancer.
Bentley’s Score: 10
Julia’s Score: 9
Angelina’s Score: 10
Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas Runner-Up (2nd Place)
Jive/Salsa Fusion: Little Bitty Pretty One by Thurston Harris
Judges’ Scores: 10, 10, 10 (30/30) Highest Fusion Dance Score
#PowRightInTheKisser 1(800)868-3410
I feel like if this season of Dancing With the Stars kept continuing, Paige would just keep getting perfect scores. She has become such an amazing dancer- the best dancer of the season in my opinion- and has grown so much throughout the weeks. She sends a great message of rising up against others that put people down, and taking that hate to turn it into something against them in a “killing with kindness” sort of way. Paige is such a sweet girl. I couldn’t imagine her doing this season with anyone other than Mark since their partnership was so strong, and always will be. Their Fusion was the most entertaining and technically impressive performance of the night, combing the Jive and the Salsa in such a creative way, which is the only way that Paige and Mark have danced this season! Those are very weird styles to put together, but Mark made it work with the ease of transitioning in timing between the two styles. Not only that, but the styles were actually cohesively combined, and not just alternated between. This couple just couldn’t be stopped! I was worried at the beginning of this season that Paige and Mark might be eliminated a few weeks earlier, and I am so happy that I was wrong. Paige is one of Mark’s most memorable partners from his time on the show!
Paige and Mark had a very strange combination of dances to tackle and they did the best out of everyone! The song seemed much more suited to Jive than Salsa, but they made it work very well for both! I heard that Mark put extra focus on including lots of hip action in the routine after Len’s comment the previous night which I thought was great. I thought Paige and Mark would be eliminated earlier than this as well, and I consciously tried not to get too attached to them so I wouldn’t be as disappointed when they left! Considering who was in this cast, it does seem incredible that they got as far as they did, but it was still sad for me to see them fall short of the trophy. I’ve noticed that on this show the person who was technically the “best” dancer has often juuuuuust fallen short of the trophy, so Paige is in good company there. And I agree that I couldn’t imagine these two doing this season with anyone besides each other. A lot of this season’s celebrities could have been with a number of pros other than the one they had and I would have been fine with it, but Paige was always going to be with Mark and I was very happy with their partnership.
It is very bittersweet for me to write this. I loved all three of these couples and can’t believe this amazing journey is now over. This dance brought so much joy to me and I loved seeing how much Paige has evolved as a person and a dancer. This was a great dance especially one with only of 24 hour prep!
Bentley’s Score: 10
Julia’s Score: 10
Angelina’s Score: 10
Bentley’s Ranking of the Finale Fusion Dances
1. Paige & Mark
2. Nyle & Peta
3. Ginger & Val
Julia’s Ranking of the Finale Fusion Dances
1. Paige & Mark
2. Nyle & Peta
3. Ginger & Val
Angelina’s Ranking of the Finale Fusion Dances
1.Paige & Mark
2.Nyle & Peta
3.Ginger & Val
Total Combined Finale Scores
Paige & Mark 29/30 + 30/30 + 30/30 = 89/90 RUNNER-UP
Nyle & Peta 27/30 + 30/30 + 30/30 = 87/90 WINNER
Ginger & Val 28/30 + 30/30 + 27/30 = 85/90 THIRD PLACE
Thoughts on the Other Live Performances:
- I liked that they included more new material this time than they have in the recent past. However, I did love the choices for the previously-performed routines that were selected for encores. The “Sax” number was especially good because it was revamped and included Fleur East herself this time around! And also became Kim totally held her own amongst the female pros! That was probably the only guest performance on Tuesday I cared for other than Aloe Blacc singing what the fandom often refers to as the “emo song” they always do during the big montage after the final dances of the season (even though I’d had my fingers crossed for Pitbull! XD)
- I’m a little conflicted over the Fifth Harmony Performance. I know that the Fifth Harmony fan base is huge and passionate, so I better choose my words carefully here so nobody threatens me over an opinion, LOL. But, I honestly thought it is a little too weird. And all of the clueless movements that the girls did were just cringey to watch. It was like an acid trip, and it wasn’t all that good. I liked some parts of it, but overall. . . eh. I’m not really a big fan of their music anyway, so maybe if I actually listened to them regularly, I would have liked it more. But barely.
- Them being there seemed random and pointless since their performance had nothing to do with what was going on and had no one actually from DWTS in it.
- They did a dance to highlight the female pros and I just found it to be incredibly sexist. They had them act like they were doing housework and then a bunch of “bump and grind” moves. I don’t think it was a good showcase for them and I think this show needs more choreographers for pro numbers besides Mandy Moore because I find a lot of her routines tend to be like this and it’s getting pretty old.
- The male pro number on the other hand was excellent! The dance a lot less sexual content just for the sake of having sexual content in a performance (they actually didn’t rip their shirts off until close to the end of the number, which showed a lot of restraint considering what show this is) and there was more variety in what moves they did. I liked that Antonio and Von were included in this number, especially since Von didn’t get to reprise one of his own, but to be honest I was just a little disappointed they didn’t have Wanyá in there too, especially because I thought he was the best male dancer this season and yet for some reason they utilised Antonio in the Finale more than him.
- Well I personally liked both pro numbers. Both were good. Not really memorable, but good. The guys had some cool tricks, and the girls had a lot of oomph in their execution. Although I love Mandy Moore, I do have to say that I also think that there should be some other choreographers as well to spice things up. For the female, though, I thought it was actually the complete opposite of sexist. The lyrics, the transitioning from 1950s clothing to dance attire, and actually being more covered than usual (by DWTS standards), I think it was more of an empowering performance for women, showing how society has changed, and women are no longer the stereotypical housewives that make brownies for their sons’ soccer teams. The transition from the housework to the dancing actually had a “girls rock” vibe to it. And for the guys, I knew those shirts would rip open sooner or later. It was fun, and I liked the Antonio and Von cameos in it!
- Hmmm maybe you’re right about the ladies’ number!
- As I have said multiple times before, I love it when the celebrities are incorporated into pro numbers, so I of course loved the opening number and the Summer routine towards the end. But the episode as a whole was lacking. Like, where the hell was Mischa? Even Geraldo, who just sat in a golf cart for one part and a lifeguard post for another, got more airtime than her. And how about Doug? I like the big, cohesive numbers, but I like to see some returnees who were out early redeem themselves during the finale.
- Mischa was there. She missed the rehearsals leading up to the Finale show because she was at a festival somewhere in Europe over the weekend but she did appear very briefly in the opening number.
- I loved the “Summer Thing” performance too. It was probably my favorite out of all the group numbers this season. There was so much going on but it wasn’t out-of-control and it was just so much fun! Last week on All Access they made a big show of telling Sasha he would be in the crab suit again for the Finale and I was pretty sure they were joking but that actually happened for that number! They’d been teasing him about the crab suit all season and I guess this was the payoff? But at being “the guy in the crab suit” had to be better than being “the guy who’s always eliminated first” (more on that below). Anyway, #LongLiveLeftCrab!
- This isn’t about any of the performances but I hope they never announce the winner on that small outdoor stage again. It was a nice idea for something different but that stage didn’t seem big enough to accommodate the swarm of people that were on it at the end. The ballroom is a much better environment for the cast to “mob” the winners!
Bentley’s Ranking of the DWTS Season 22 Couples Overall
1. Paige & Mark
2. Nyle & Peta
3. Wanyá & Lindsay
4. Ginger & Val
5. Jodie & Keo
6. Antonio & Sharna
7. Kim & Sasha
8. Von & Witney
9. Marla & Tony
10. Doug & Karina
11. Mischa & Artem
12. Geraldo & Edyta
Julia’s Ranking of the DWTS Season 22 Couples Overall
1. Paige & Mark
2. Wanyá & Lindsay
3. Nyle & Peta
4. Jodie & Keo
5. Kim & Sasha
6. Ginger & Val
7. Marla & Tony
8. Von & Witney
9. Doug & Karina
10. Antonio & Sharna
11. Mischa & Artem
12. Geraldo & Edyta
Angelina’s Ranking of the DWTS Season 22 Couples Overall
1. Paige & Mark
2. Nyle & Peta
3. Ginger & Val
4. Wanya & Lindsay
5.Jodie & Keo
6. Von & Witney
7. Kim & Sasha
8. Antonio & Sharna
9. Marla & Tony
10. Doug & Karina
11. Mischa & Artem
12. Geraldo & Edyta
Final Thoughts on the Finale and Season 22 as a Whole:
- Can we just stop with the 24-Hour Fusion Dance Challenge already?! It seems like Dancing With the Stars is running out of ideas, so they just repeat themes, but if they were to listen to fans, they would be able to get some really great ideas! For instance, I think there should be an Around the World Night, kind of like Eras Night, except it is about the location of the setting instead of the time of the setting. And how about Product Placement Night? I know that a lot of people would be annoyed by that, but I love shameless advertisements (when it is done in a fun way)! The couples could dance to different product jingles, and maybe the red and yellow M&Ms can show up, or have the judges purposely drink out of cups that say COCA-COLA on it, just so they could advertise Coca-Cola (just for one night only, though!). It would allow the show to get more money from sponsors, but I guess that is a very hard thing to set up.
- They did an “Around the World” segment on the most recent tour and that was pretty good so I think it’d make for a fun theme night.
- This season did have its fair share of dances that lacked content, but it was a big step up from the amount of off-course performances we had last season. The number of themed dances were kept to a minimum, and that is refreshing to see. Although I would be lying if I said I don’t like seeing a Disney Night or Famous Dances Night every once in awhile. Speaking of which, wasn’t this season’s Famous Dances Night much better than last season’s? Last season was just a clusterf**k of barely dancing, with the exception of a few celebrities. This season, though, it was both entertaining and stayed true to the dance styles (for the most part).
- I agree this season’s Famous Dances Night was way better than Season 21’s but that doesn’t change the fact that I never want to see that theme on this show again. I’m all for another Disney Week, but
- Dancing With the Stars is returning with its twenty-third season in September, so I’m just going to throw about a bunch of names of people I want to see on the show, even though most of them seem unlikely: Ellen DeGeneres, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy (I like a lot of daytime TV, lol), any of the Impractical Jokers, Rebel Wilson, Kelly Ripa (maybe not, considering we just had an ABC person on this season, and that didn’t go so well with the fans), Melissa McCarthy, Karen Gravano (Mob Wives is a guilty pleasure of mine), Renee Graziano (I think she will be on Celebrity Big Brother next year if I am not mistaken), the Chewbacca Mask Mom (this doesn’t sound too crazy when you consider that Charlotte McKinney was on the show), Steve Zaragoza (maybe there can be another YouTuber on the show!), Lee Newton, any politician that ran in the 2016 U.S. presidential election (I mean, hey, the next season looks all patriotic and stuff. It seems like a long shot, but I want this so much), Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Aniston, the guy who plays Phil on Modern Family, Lady Gaga, James Bay, and somebody from American Big Brother (which is my second favorite TV show next to DWTS). That’s such a random list, and I doubt that any of them would ever be on.
- NO MORE ABC PEOPLE ON DWTS! Well, no more from a show that directly promotes DWTS, anyway! I’m all for Dr. Phil though! I do think we’re probably getting another YouTuber in the fall as well as someone from the US 2016 Olympic Team. Not sure what sport but it’d be nice if it were someone from one that’s never been represented on this show before, but if they want to have yet another gymnast in the cast I think Gabby Douglas would be a lot of fun, especially considering she now has her own reality show. Some other (realistic) names I’ll throw out there: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Cesar Millan, Roseanne Barr, LeVar Burton, Will Friedle, Rob Mariano, Tara Strong, Josh Peck, Fleur East, Amy King, Jazz Jennings, Andra Day, Colin Mochrie, Jamie Lynn Spears, Alyssa Milano, Emily Osment, Ashley Tisdale, Reba McIntyre, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Keke Palmer, James Bay, and one of the Mowry, Kratt, or Hanson siblings! But seriously, we literally just saw three people I really wanted to see on DWTS as part of the Season 22 cast so I guess I can’t complain about what happens with the fall cast.
- I can’t believe that season 22 of Dancing With the Stars is over! Once again, congratulations to Nyle and Peta for winning, and also another congratulations for Peta’s expected baby with Maks! That kid is going to be awesome. . . I just know it! This season had so many great dancers, and they were all so fun, too, that made the season very enjoyable!
- I think am speaking for both Julia and Angelina as well as myself when I say that we appreciate you guys reading our blogs, stating your opinions, and sharing things such as information and other blogs with us! Without you guys, making these blog posts would not be fun! I can’t believe that this our last weekly breakdown blog until the Autumn, but just because these posts are on hiatus, does not mean that the blog will be desolate all Summer! Blog posts will still be posted throughout the next few months until season twenty-three, and they will all be about this wonderful dance competition show that we watch! You guys are some of the nicest people I have ever talked to online, and truly make my day whenever you like a tweet or reply to one of my polls! Our Twitter friends are pretty fantastic!!
- And there is still some more business to attend to as we wrap up the season! I have my last three “Thoughts On” posts coming up soon, and just in case you weren’t already annoyed enough by my opinions I will also be doing a Season 22 Pro Ranking after those are done! I’ll also be posting more here throughout the summer, though not on a strict schedule or anything. I’m going to Maks and Val’s tour in July so I’ll probably report on that (though I’m sure the whole show will be all over the internet long before then) and there’s a chance I’ll be at one of Alexander Jean’s tour stops this summer as well! I was also thinking I’d take requests for Thoughts On posts about couples from previous seasons, so start thinking of some so you can be ready when I ask for them!
- And last but not least, my biggest shout outs go out to Julia and Angelina, for contributing to this blog, sharing their insight, and always being respectable and reliable! Those two were phenomenal bloggers this season, so they are always welcome to continuing posting blogs on this blog, and join in next season for some more breakdowns! Without them, my blog would be boring and not that fun. Trust me, for the first two seasons of DWTS that I blogged about on my own (seasons 20 and 21), something felt missing. And that missing thing was interaction with others and variations of ideas. I found it really interesting how much we disagreed this season, yet still somehow agreed at the end of the day! This is an amazing blog, and that’s because of everyone around me! That being said, if any of you reading want to join the DWTS 2016 Community Blog, you can DM/tweet the @DWTS2016 fan page or E-Mail thebentleyninja@gmail.com to join in on the conversation! You guys rock! Keep dancing! (Side note: New blog next week about which one of us three bloggers is the the harshest, LOL!)
- Thank you Bentley! I will miss our weekly posts with Julia and I am so sad to be finishing this one up. I am so excited to continue though and the return of the weekly blogs will be back in September guys! Thank you all for your reading and feedback!
What did you think of the second night of the Finale on Dancing With the Stars? Who do you think had the most cohesive Fusion dance of the night? What did you think of the other live performances of the night? Which couple did you want to win season 22? What did you think of Ginger & Val as third place, Paige & Mark as the runners-up, and Nyle & Peta as the winners of this season? Who do you want to see dance next season this Fall on season 23 of DWTS?
The new patriotic season of Dancing With the Stars returns this September for its twenty-third season, featuring a whole new cast of celebrities!
For more about Dancing With the Stars, follow the DWTS 2016 Twitter page at @DWTS2016. Also, follow Paul Bentley on Twitter at @TheBentleyNinja, follow Julia Delbel on Twitter at @juliadelbel and on Tumblr at forevertrueblue, and follow Angelina Mikheeva on Twitter at @angelinarose42!
Thank you all for an incredible season!
#DWTS #DWTS22
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