Sultry and ‘super sexy’ samba moves impress ‘DWTS’ judges
THERE was Latin fever in the air in Ardmore last night when musician Jake Carter and Valeria Milova performed a sultry samba.
Sporting an open, tropical shirt that showed off his tanned six-pack, the Liverpudlian pop star wowed both the audience and the judges with the steamy Brazilian dance with partner Valeria.
The pair were awarded an impressive 24 points by the judges, who all gave the dancers a score of eight points in what judge Julian Benson described as “one super sexy switch-up samba”.
“We got nice bounce action. You shined on the floor tonight,” he said.
Judge Lorraine Barry was equally impressed.
“Everyone knows the samba is a difficult dance,” she said.
The remaining eight celebrities swapped their usual dance partners in what host Amanda Byram called ‘a whole new ball game in the ballroom’.
The sixth episode of the series saw the dancers trade places with their professional dance partners to take them out of their comfort zone and attempt new moves in just a week.
As a result, there was no elimination vote last night.
The show kicked off with a high-octane group dance featuring the celebrities and their partners dancing to ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ by The Communards.
Several of the dancers expressed their loyalty to their former partners – despite some impressive new couplings.
“It was a different week, but Valeria’s a great dancer,” said Jake
He added: “I still love Karen... I can’t wait to get back to her.”
The switch up also worked for model Alannah Beirne and Kai Widdrington, who also embraced the Argentinian tango amid an array of green laser beams as they danced to ‘Green Light’ by Lorde.
The judges gave them a top score of 27 points for what judge Benson said was “a dark, dramatic tango”.
Following close behind on the leader board was actress and comedian Deirdre O’Kane, who burned up the dance floor with partner Vitali Kozmin in their ‘American smooth’ ballroom dance to Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’.
O’Kane’s acting skills were evident in her excellent characterisation during her performance, according to judge Brian Redmond.
Judge Benson also showered the pair with praise.
“Never mind .Wuthering Heights’. Tonight you reached new heights,” he said.
Die-hard GAA correspondent Marty Morrissey was lauded for his solid ‘attempt’ at a jive with partner Emily Barker, as the pair bobbed to Elton John’s ‘Crocodile Rock’ after bizarrely emerging from a canoe dressed in scout uniforms.
According to Lorraine Barry, Morrissey’s performance “missed a bit here and there”.
“But I feel you seized the moment,” she said.
“A gold star for your effort,” she added.
Despite the Valentine’s Day-themed performance by athlete Rob Heffernan and Ksenia Zsikhotska, the judges failed to fall for their quickstep to Gregory Porter’s ‘L-O-V-E’, which netted the pair just 16 points.
“I was expecting quite a lot for this,” said judge Brian Redmond.
“I did like it .... but I didn’t L-O-V-E it,” he said.