The Jitters Bug: Before Monday's show there was a sense of tension in the air. “It’s weird, tonight is one of the last times I’m going to get to dance with Tony,” Melissa Rycroft said. “It’s very bittersweet. But we didn’t focus on that. Instead we said it’s the finals, it’s fun. We fed off of all the energy backstage and all of the energy from the audience.” Cheryl Burke found comfort in her old friend and former partner Emmitt Smith. “It was so nice to see him here,” Burke said. “It’s been so many years. He was like, 'Cheryl, go out there and good luck. You’re nervous' -- he always knows I get nervous, so he calmed me down a little bit.” And minutes before show time Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas bowed their heads in a prayer of thanks. “We know how great it is to be here and have the honor to perform in front of millions of every Monday and Tuesday,” Ballas said. “We’re very grateful.”
To Catch a Thief: Bruno Tonioli likened Shawn Johnson’s aggression and "killer instinct" during the paso doble to that of TV serial killer Dexter. But a more appropriate label would be that of a thief, because the 17-year-old Olympic champ and Mark Ballas stole the night. And it was their energetic, no-holds-barred freestyle -- with sequined masks and, yes, jazz hands -- that sealed the deal. Though both Marissa Jaret Winokur and Jane Seymour pledged allegiance to their former DWTS partner Tony Dovolani, neither could deny that Johnson was the night’s big winner. “I think Shawn was the best dancer out of all three,” Winokur told PEOPLE. “I agree,” Seymour said. “Shawn was a huge surprise. I don’t think Gilles did near as much as either women, but then that’s always the case with the men.” Judge Bruno Tonioli exclaimed, “Shawn’s freestyle was IT! The others didn’t quite get it together as well.” Still, Tonioli said, “It’s going to be a close call for a winner.”
Bruno's New Suit: During Monday’s show, the judges took part in a segment where they were tasked with training the three remaining couples. Len Goodman called Carrie Ann Inaba, who was having lunch, and then he called Bruno, who was wearing a Speedo and sunning himself by a pool. The crowd went wild -- and so did the dancers! “Oh man! Bruno in a Speedo -- he was tan and he looked good,” Gilles Marini gushed. “Congrats, Bruno. You look awesome!” Maksim Chmerkovskiy teased Tonioli after the show, “That’s an amazing Speedo you have. You are nicely shined and buff.” All of the compliments went, you guessed it, right to Tonioli's head. “I decided next season I’m going to do the whole season in Speedos,” Tonioli said. “I’m going to get even tighter, more tan.”A Dancing Who's Who: Commercial breaks at Monday night’s show were a veritable schmooze fest among former contestants like High School Musical’s Monique Coleman, who chatted up Vivica A. Fox and Marissa Jaret Winokur, whom she said was "her new best friend." Warren Sapp caught up with fellow NFL pal Emmitt Smith and season 7 champ Brooke Burke, while Tia Carrere talked with Leeza Gibbons and Jane Seymour. All of the famous faces in the house were a little bit intimidating to Melissa Rycroft, especially former Dallas Cowboys Smith and his wife Patricia, who were sitting in the front row just a few seats away from her parents. “I was bowing,” Rycroft said. “Oh my gosh! I literally bowed and I said ‘Mr. Emmitt.’ I love him. He is a major hero from where I’m from.”
Papa's Boy: Before his freestyle dance Gilles Marini trotted over to the front row where his wife, Carole, and son, Georges, were sitting. Marini talked closely with Georges for a moment before taking his place on the dancefloor. “My baby was in the audience,” Marini said of his 10-year-old son. “I could not let him down.” What was their father-son pre-performance chat all about? “I told him I love you and I told him I’m going to make you proud,” Marini said. “I have given him so much more game in school!” -- Monica Rizzo
MORE: • Dancing Recap: Top Three's Tight Finale Fight• Dancing POLL: Melissa, Gilles or Shawn -- Who Has the Winning Edge?ABC
