Yet another dancer had to withdraw due to injury on Dancing with the Stars last night.
Torah Bright left Dancing With The Stars with the same grace and effervescence she displayed throughout the competition. Ever-smiling, the sunny sports star was still grinning despite the pain of an injured toe she’d sustained during rehearsals. Dancing for Free to Shine, Torah not only raised money for her chosen charity but she also learned a new skill with dance partner Robbie Kmetoni. “This journey has been absolutely incredible. I’ve loved bringing awareness to Free to Shine.”
AFL legend David Rodan is firming as odds-on favourite after finishing in the top spot for the third consecutive week. He burst out of the gates with a playful Jive to Pharrell Williams’ Happy scoring 36. “I’m going to have to start calling you Twinkle Toes,” judge Kym Johnson said. “There is nothing you can’t do!”
Ricki-Lee continued to impress with her passionate Viennese Waltz earning 33 points. “That was one of your best performances,” Todd McKenney said.
Despite an injury, the show went on for Lynne McGranger who wowed with a lively jazz routine. “It’s a sign of a champion when you work through an injury like that,” Todd said, with the judges awarding the performance 30 points.
After blitzing the ballroom last week, Tai Hara left the judges underwhelmed with his Viennese Waltz to Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah earning 26 points. “You are the most frustrating character,” Helen Richey said. “Some weeks you can be absolutely fabulous but other weeks you drop your bundle.”
While Helen called Matt Cooper “the best rugby league player we’ve ever had in this competition,” his Rumba wasn’t a winner on 24 points. “The emotion was there but it didn’t translate to your body,” Kym said.
The couples also took part in the Team Dance, where they joined forces and faced off for crucial points. They split into two tribes – Team Rock (Matt Cooper, Lynne McGranger and Tai Hara) and Team Pop (David Rodan and Ricki-Lee) – and went to war on the dance floor.
They were sored as a group out of 40, and those points were added to their individual scores. With a Cha Cha/Samba fusion, Team Pop crushed Team Rock 35 points to 32.
Torah might have missed out on the shiny mirror ball trophy but she now has her sights set on gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics. “It’s not the way I saw my dance journey ending but I have to make sure I’m ready to get on my snowboard as soon as I can.” Torah is the second star to exit the competition due to injury, following Kyly Clarke’s withdrawal in episode three.
Following Torah’s shock departure, there was no elimination tonight. The judges’ scores and viewer vote will roll over to Tuesday night’s show, to help determine the next couple to leave the dance floor.
The final scores:
DAVID RODAN & MELANIE HOOPER – 36 + 35 bonus points = 71
RICKI-LEE & JARRYD BYRNE – 33 + 35 bonus points = 68
LYNNE McGRANGER & CARMELO PIZZINO – 30 + 32 bonus points = 62
TAI HARA & JORJA FREEMAN – 26 + 32 bonus points = 58
MATT COOPER & MASHA BELASH – 24 + 32 bonus points = 56
Now it’s up to the public to vote for their favourite celebrity to keep them dancing. For voting line information, visit the official website www.yahoo7.com.au/dancing
Dancing With The Stars is live Tuesdays at 7.30pm on Channel Seven.
