There were tears, there were tantrums and there was triumph in tonight’s Dancing With The Stars grand finale, Celia Pacquola and partner Jarryd Byrne emerged victorious, scoring some pretty snazzy silverware and a $50,000 donation to Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre in the process.
On her win Celia said: “I really think it will be a few months from now before I realise or understand what this all means.
For right now, I’m so happy for Jarryd, he deserves this so much. It feels great to be on a show that’s inspirational and aspirational, it feels like we did some good.”
Even though Claudia Karvan was on the top of the leaderboard it was Celia who took home top prize when the viewer votes and judges’ scores were combined. Christian Wilkins danced his way to runner up ahead of Claudia who placed third and Ed Kavalee who placed fourth.
The Dancing With The Stars grand finale didn’t disappoint showcasing the most spectacular routines and boasting a high energy opening dance featuring our wonderful pro dancers and judges Sharna Burgess and Tristan MacManus. With Craig Revel Horwood coming to us from his home in the UK, it was business as usual with his judges paddles at the ready.
After facing their redemption dances, the first round saw Claudia and Aric clear the floor with a score of 30 followed by a three-way tie with Celia, Christian and Ed who all scored 24 points.
The fusion dances were showstopping in every sense of the word with Claudia and Aric once again scoring top marks. Celia left everything on the dance floor with an emotional fusion of Viennese Waltz and Contemporary scoring 28.
On Celia’s win Sharna Burgess said, “What I love about Celia winning this competition, is that she is every woman. She had the ups and the downs, she showed her vulnerability and her strength. It was a gift to watch her blossom and she truly deserved the win.”
