Aoibhín Garrihy and her dancer partner, Vitali Kozmin, will be aiming to shine as the brightest stars of all on this Sunday night. They are among the three couples who have made it through to the final of Dancing with the Stars, which will be screened live on RTE 1 from 6.30pm.
The three finalists have spent the last few months learning to master the most intricate of footwork from award winning pro dancers. They can foxtrot, jive and cha cha cha. They can tango, salsa and rumba in their sleep.
They all agree that Dancing with the Stars has been an amazing experience. But this is a competition and there can only be one winner. Expect two hours of high octane dancing, tension and drama and of course this week the winner will be chosen by public vote.
Each of our couples will dance a staggering four times, a group opening number, judge’s choice, couple’s choice and a brand new dance which is a bit more freestyle and the celebs can add anything into this number.
The final show will open with a little bit of everything, some Charleston, some ballroom and the pro dancers will be paired with judges Brian, Loraine and Julian, presenters Amanda and Nicky and the three finalists Aidan, Aoibhin and Denise.
From a well-known North Clare family, Aoibhín Garrihy and Vitali Kozmin have delivered outstanding performances week after week and the judges feel she can do better than 28 points she got for her jive to Dead Ringer for Love by Meat Loaf in week six. She has chosen to dance the rumba to Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. For this dance in week four she scored a 26, can she improve on this on Sunday? Her third dance, the showdance to Chandelier by Sia will see a lot of contemporary choreography from Vitali, and coming from Vitali it’s sure to be a show stopper.
Aidan O’Mahony and Valeria Milova have spent most of the week rehearsing in Killarney so Aidan can be near his family. Without doubt Aidan is the most improved dancer of all the celebrities and his journey to the final has had its ups and downs. The judges have picked American Smooth My Baby Just Cares for Me by Michael Buble which Aidan scored 21 points in week five.
Aidan has picked the salsa from week one for his dance of choice. He scored just 19 points for this but his posture has improved so much he knows he can score even more. And finally for his showdance Aidan will play to his strengths and will don a cape dancing to Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler so expect a little bit of the paso.
Denise McCormack has been juggling filming for Red Rock and rehearsals this week and suffered groin strain on Sunday, but this trooper never lets anything stop her from putting in her very best. The judges have picked the Tango to El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge, which she scored 27 points for. For the couple’s favourite Denise and Ryan have picked their Salsa to Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony from Week eight. They scored 27 for this and it landed them in the first dance off. Denise is sure she can do better this time. As the showdance allows the couples to have free reign, Denise and Ryan will be getting up close and personal surrounded by candles for Imagine by Emeli Sandé.
While the public vote for their favourite, viewers at home with be delighted to see all of our celebrities return for a group dance. All eliminated couples will dance to I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.