Behind-the-scenes storm on 'Dancing with the Stars': 'An injustice was done to her'
Summary of the 'Dancing with the Stars' finale, from the energetic performances of Amir Banai to the self-indulgence of Shiri Maimon, the ankle injury of Bar Brimer, and Noa Cohen, whom the audience on the web really wanted to win.
A night of glitter, predictable dramas, and plenty of perfect scores: the finale of 'Dancing with the Stars' has come to an end, leaving us with a feeling of 'it was obvious this would happen' but also with a sea of talent on the dance floor. After a season full of sweat, tears, and withdrawals, the four final couples went up to give the show of their lives.
Whether you were surprised by the result or knew exactly how this evening would end a month ago, it is impossible to deny that the 'Keshet 12' stage looked like a million dollars. Did we really need another finale evening to make us understand what we all already knew? Probably not, but at least the style and choreography were at the highest level.
The first part of the evening opened with a storm as all the couples garnered a perfect 40 from the judges, which made it clear that the real battle would move to the decision of the audience at home. Amir Banai and Romi Nof opened the celebration with a crazy and electric jive to the sounds of Bruno Mars, in golden costumes and with a tailwind from the audience. Noa Cohen and Eitan Cripps continued to prove that she is the queen of shapes of the season with a magical Viennese waltz, although waltz is the most boring dance among all categories, but it was Noa's safe place.
While Bar Brimer and Sana Sokol gave an especially energetic quickstep-musical fusion, let's just mention that Bar Brimer had an ankle sprain that was not felt at all. Shiri Maimon and Raphael Fleischman chose to bring out the heavy artillery when Shiri both sang and danced a freestyle to her song 'Ahava Ktana' ('Small Love'), a move that aroused admiration among the judges but felt slightly less natural for some of the viewers at home. After all, how much self-indulgence is needed to sing your own song while you are dancing? If a dancer had stopped during the dances in the program itself, they would have been corrected, but when it is while singing, is it okay? In any case, the judges liked it very much, the audience at home connected less.
The drama of the evening arrived at the moment of the first elimination, when the couple that finished in fourth place and was eliminated right before the second round were Bar Brimer and Sana Sokol. After Sana took the trophy in the previous season alongside Amir Shurush, many hoped to see a historic double, but the dream ended just before the finish line. Sana kept a smiling face in front of the cameras, but the fans on social networks were already storming: 'It's just not fair, Bar and Sana had to be in the top 3,' wrote one user, while another commenter added: 'Sana is the best dancer who has ever been in this program, an injustice was done to her.'
The second round raised the artistic bar and brought with it exceptional moments. Shiri Maimon and Raphael returned to the floor with a cabaret dance to the sounds of 'My Way' in a dramatic performance by Shiri, who demonstrated huge stage presence but caused quite a few raised eyebrows over the excess of self-importance.
Immediately after them, Noa Cohen and Eitan went up with a spectacular freestyle to the sounds of 'Swan Lake', a mesmerizing and powerful performance that proved what a crazy journey Noa went through throughout the season. But the evening, just as they opened it, was closed by Amir Banai and Romi Nof with a samba-pasodoble fusion to the sounds of 'Volare'. This perfect dance concluded an evening of 120 full points from a couple that proved again that the Banai family is an empire of talent that does not stop providing artistic excellence.
On social networks, the reactions to the expected victory of Amir and Romi were divided between praise and slight frustration from the feeling of 'predetermined'. Comments like 'Amir Banai is simply a phenomenon, the most justified victory in the history of the program!' accumulated by the thousands, alongside users who noted: 'The result was known since the semi-final, why did we need a three-hour drag?'.
In the end, when at 23:30 Amir Banai and Romi Nof were announced as the great winners, Noa Cohen in second place and Shiri Maimon in third, the fifth season officially left the stage. We received a worthy winner, lots of glitter, and above all a reminder that when it comes to ratings and entertainment, the Israeli production knows exactly how to drag the drama until the last second.
