The celebrities got back into the spirit of the ’80s with a vengeance on Sunday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars NZ.
With everything from mullets to mesh shirts making an appearance on the dancefloor (and that’s just on Simon Barnett) the performances definitely paved the way for an ’80s themed nostalgia trip!
Simon Barnett and Vanessa Cole opened the show with a rock-infused samba to ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’, giving Simon his second perfect 10 of the season. Candy Lane thought he “soft-rocked that samba” while Hayley Holt called him “every bogan’s dream guy tonight”, and Simon finished up with a very respectable 28.
Next up was Ben Barrington, who seemed to be improving after last week’s romantic Viennese waltz. Unfortunately, this time his Freddie Mercury-inspired paso doble (which Ben dedicated to his ’80s idol George Michael) failed to fly high with the judges.
Candy, Hayley and Stefano Olivieri agreed that while it was his “best Latin dance” to date, Candy also said he was “quite awkward” at times. Ben and his partner Krystal Stewart scored 20, down two points from last week.
Jay-Jay Harvey and Enrique Johns were up next with a cheeky cha-cha, which the judges liked but still found a few flaws with. Hayley thought Jay-Jay could work on her timing, footwork and “strutting”, and the duo scored 23 points.
Shane Cameron and Nerida Cortese, the only team to keep improving their scores each week, unfortunately hit a pleateau with their fast-paced samba. Candy called the lifts impressive and praised him for keeping up with the quick footwork, but said he needed to work on his characterisation for next week.
Meanwhile, Chrystal Chenery and Jonny Williams hit another high this week with their cha-cha to Prince’s song ‘Kiss’.
Stefano said Chrystal had the personality, technique and “wow factor” while Candy called it the “best routine of the night so far”.
The judges rewarded Chrystal with two perfect 10s, giving the frontrunners a score of 29.
Last but not least, Siobhan Marshall and Charlie Billington closed the show with an irresistibly infectious salsa set to the Whitney Houston classic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’.
Candy said Siobhan was the “sexy vivacious party girl” perfect for the salsa, and Hayley said she was “magnificent” on the dancefloor – she even gave the duo their first 10!
Week Six scores:
Chrystal Chenery and Jonny Williams (29)
Simon Barnett and Vanessa Cole, tied with Siobhan Marshall and Charlie Billington (28)
Jay-Jay Harvey and Enrique Johns, tied with Shane Cameron and Nerida Cortese (23)
Ben Barrington and Krystal Stuart (20)
