Week eight of Dancing With the Stars was Orchestra week, with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra keeping our stars sweeping around the dance-floor.
Julian Benson was not on air last night due to illness so we had guest judge, Darren Bennett the show’s creative director instead. Host Jennifer Zamparelli wished him a speedy recovery and we should expect to see him back on our screens this week.
The show opened with a group performance of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen with both the celebrity and professional dancers taking to the floor.
Lottie Ryan was the first celebrity to dance with partner Pasquale La Rocca. They danced an American Smooth to Hey Big Spender by Shirley Bassey. Speaking about the impact of a live orchestra Lottie said; “I definitely feel gives you an extra boost, you have to up your game.”
They were just shy of full marks, scoring a 30 from the judges with Darren saying;
“Full on, all out yet again. How you have managed to maintain this level of performance every single week…I watched everything in minute detail and it was foot perfect.”
Mary Kennedy scored a 19 from the judges last night and the judges had nothing negative to say to the TV presenter; “This was subtle, but very nice. Certainly your best dance so far.”
Loraine also added that; “Last week I thought was a good week for you and this week you have upped the stakes and you gave me more content.”
Mary and her partner, John Nolan danced a classic tango to Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel.
Former Kilkenny hurler Aidan Fogarty danced with Emily Barker to Bastille’s Pompeii. They performed a paso doble with an exploding volcano as part of the stage setting.
He said; “I’m enjoying it, even with the long days. To do this tonight in front of the orchestra…just unreal.”
He scored a 21 with the judges, with Loraine commenting that; “You went into more of the military march and put in a lot of paso doble steps.” and Darren describing it as “a little bit stiff.”
Former Miss Universe, Gráinne Gallanagh was the first contestant to score 30 in the series so far. Gráinne and partner Kai Widdrington dances a Viennese waltz to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers.
After dancing she said: “I think it was probably my favourite week, I just felt so relaxed.”
The judges loved her performance and scored her full marks with Darren saying; “This is a game-changing performance for you.” and Brian adding;
“For me, this is probably the best ballroom performance I’ve seen on any season of Dancing with the Stars.”
Fr. Ray Kelly survived another week on the show, despite only scoring a 14 from the judges.
He played the role of tourist with Kylee Vincent as they danced to Hot Hot Hot by The Merrymen. Brian had this to say about his performance;
“You started the piece of playing the lost tourist, you continued to be the lost dancer.”
Ryan Andrews and Giulia Dotta danced a classic ballroom to Life on Mars by David Bowie with Ryan saying; “it was a special night…the orchestra bring it to a different level.”
They were the second couple of the season to get full marks as they scored 10’s from all the judges as well as getting a standing ovation. Loraine said;
“Honestly I’m quivering a little here, this is an extraordinary piece of art form, it really is. It truly is beautiful. For me, the highlight of this is that Giulia put you there in the spotlight. This was absolutely extraordinary.”
B*witched star Sinéad O’Carroll was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated form the show, as her and Ryan McShane danced a tango to Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics. The singer was in the dance off last week but unfortunately scored a 24 last night and was eliminated.
“This has been a dream to actually do the show,” she said. “I’m so grateful for the experience.”
