Week eleven of competition is also the last week the celebrities and their professional dance partners compete to win the coveted mirror ball on Dancing with The Stars!
The first night of the finale week started with the judges picking which dance the celebrity needed to work on, giving them a chance to redeem themselves. Carlos Penavega and partner Witney Carson earned their first perfect score of the season with the foxtrot, Alek Skarlatos and partner Lindsay Arnold fall short of perfect at 27/30 points with their rumba, Bindi Irwin and dancer Derek Hough earn another perfect score with their quickstep, and after slipping in the beginning of the season during his jive – Nick Carter fully redeemed himself, earning a perfect score as well.
The freestyles are definitely the most anticipated dance of every season. As always, the celebrity contestants did not disappoint. First up was Carlos Penavega, doing what no other celebrity contestants have ever done before. In an effort to finally dance with his wife Alexa Penavega on the ballroom floor, he brought back two other eliminated contestants for his fun freestyle – Hayes Greer and Paula Dean. Next, Alek Skarlatos danced his freestyle with army themed costumes and obstacles that symbolized the obstacles in his life – and this competition – that he had overcome. Bindi Irwin’s dance was in tribute to her father, Steve Irwin, and there was not a dry eye in the ballroom after the surprise picture of her and her father on the screen at the end. Finally, Nick Carter chose the Backstreet Boys song “Larger than Life” for his concert style freestyle dance. All celebrity contestants earned perfect 30 scores for their freestyle dances.
While they were not the lowest scoring couple of the night, Carlos Penavega and Witney Carson were sadly eliminated at the end of the first night of the finale. Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold, Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough, and Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess are competing Tuesday night where they will perform the 24 hour fusion dance, and ultimately one couple will earn the Mirror Ball trophy.
