After four weeks of thrills – and some spills – on the dancefloor, the first three couples to go through to the Grand Finale were revealed on Sunday night’s episode of Dancing With the Stars.
It was a night of tough competition, entertaining performances and fabulous outfits as the first semi-final of the popular Channel 7 show had the audience enthralled.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dance-off decided as three go through to Dancing With the Stars finale.
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There were some clear standouts, from those who showed technical accomplishment to those who were all about heart and personality, even if they weren’t the best dancers on the floor.
Falling into the first category was Home and Away star Emily Weir, who tore up the floor doing a quickstep with partner Lyu Masuda.
Sharna Burgess called her a real dancer, and the pair scored 8s and 9s across the board.
Also wowing the judges was Mary Coustas – or should we say her comic alter-ego Effie, which is who she brought to the dancefloor on Sunday night.
With her high heels and even higher hair, Effie had the crowd in stitches as she piled on the drama dancing to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.
Both celebrities were sent straight through to the finals, but one more spot was up for the taking.
Going home, however, was former AFL player Gavin Wanganeen, who hadn’t managed to make the transition from the grit of the footy field to the glamour of the dancefloor.
That meant The Chase Australia’s Issa Schultz, Olympic swimmer James Magnussen and Australian Idol singer Paulini had to battle it out in a last-chance dance-off – and only one celebrity would be staying on.
Issa had quickly become a fan favourite, but could popularity and personality overcome lack of technical accomplishment?
Athlete James Magnussen had strength and technical ability, but appeared to be treading the middle ground.
Judges had told Paulini, a talented dancer, that she needed to do more than “coast through” during her first performance, so could she pull out all the stops to truly impress the judges during the dance-off?
“I hate this part so much, I don’t want to see any of them go, I love every couple standing there for so many different reasons,” Sharna said after the dance-off.
“I had to look at the technique, the execution, the commitment, were there mistakes, was the timing right – there was one couple that nailed that for me tonight, and that is Paulini and Igor.”