01:37 PM EDT 05/23/2013
Mark Ballas
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DWTS: Alexandra Raisman Found Her Elimination 'Heartbreaking'
Originally posted 05/22/2013 07:30AM
Being the first one eliminated on the last night of competition was rough for Dancing with the Stars contestant Alexandra Raisman.
"I'm sad it's over," Mark Ballas's partner, 18, told PEOPLE in the ballroom immediately after Tuesday's finale. "Right when they announced [our elimination], it was just heartbreaking. You work so hard and everyone wants to win."
Fortunately, after news of the fourth-place pair's dismissal sunk in, Raisman had a new outlook on the situation.
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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 Winner Is Kellie Pickler!
Originally posted 05/21/2013 09:30PM
On Tuesday, Dancing with the Stars named its season 16 champions.
At the end of Monday night's episode, Zendaya and an injured Val Chmerkovskiy received perfect 30s for both of their full-length routines, and then tacked on an additional five points to their score for winning the cha cha relay.
But only one point below the highest scoring pair were Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough, who earned perfect 30s for their routines, which included a dramatic freestyle number that had viewers in tears. They came in second place during the cha cha relay, and scored four extra points.
Below them were Alexandra Raisman and partner Mark Ballas, followed by Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff.
And the winners are Kellie and Derek!
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Dancing with the Stars: Which Couple Deserved to Win?
Originally posted 05/21/2013 07:15PM
The final four Dancing with the Stars contestants – Jacoby Jones, Kellie Pickler, Alexandra Raisman and Zendaya – and their pro partners have overcome injuries and potential eliminations to make it all the way to the season 16 finale. But only one couple can take home the tantalizingly close mirror-ball trophy.
Pickler's strong performances throughout the season were magnified Monday night, when she and Derek Hough earned a perfect 30 score for a freestyle dance judge Carrie Ann Inaba called "one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." Pickler later admitted "I let all of my walls down" for the fearless show-stopper.
NFL player Jones and pro partner Karina Smirnoff did not have the most stellar performances, getting flak from the judges for an imperfect jive, and later for a super-sized freestyle dance. But Inaba nevertheless dubbed the wide receiver the "number one entertainer of season 16," in the semifinals the previous week.
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Dancing with the Stars Pro Val Chmerkovskiy: 'Thank God the Blood Subsided'
Originally posted 05/21/2013 01:30PM
Zendaya's elbow went flying, and Val Chmerkovskiy's night was suddenly in jeopardy.
But Chmerkovskiy, 27, being the pro that he is, soldiered on after the accident in dress rehearsal for Monday's Dancing with the Stars left him with a deep gash over his right eye that almost sent him straight to the hospital before the first night of the season 16 finale.
"That's what I was worried about," he told PEOPLE after the show. "It's going to keep pouring, pouring, pouring, and I'm going to need stitches. If I was going to have to go get stitches, then I wouldn't have time to make it back. So thank God the blood subsided."
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Dancing with the Stars: Final Four Compete for Mirror-Ball Trophy
Originally posted 05/20/2013 10:30PM
The final four couples performed three routines each on Monday's Dancing with the Stars. By the end of the night, one pair were in the lead with a perfect score for all three dances.
However, the episode kicked off with an imperfect – though energetic – jive.
Karina Smirnoff and partner Jacoby Jones – who judge Carrie Ann Inaba previously called "the number one entertainer of season 16" – were told by judge Len Goodman that they showed improvement, but that "you got excited at times and lost it."
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Dancing with the Stars: The Best Tweets from the Season Finale
Originally posted 05/20/2013 08:00PM
Who's going to take home the coveted mirror-ball trophy?
The top four couples on Dancing with the Stars – Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough, Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas, Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy, Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff – are hitting the ballroom one last time Monday night in hopes of earning high scores from judges and lots of votes from viewers to win the competition.
And the competition is fierce! Kellie and Zendaya have been clear frontrunners from the beginning, while Alexandra has also scored big and Jacoby is finishing strong, charming the judges and picking up enough votes to make it to the finale.
We want to hear from you about Monday's show. Share your thoughts on Twitter @peoplemag and we'll post the best Tweets right here.
Dancing with the Stars Has Made Alexandra Raisman 'Feel Like a New Person'
Originally posted 05/14/2013 01:35PM
Alexandra Raisman has come out of her shell.
The once shy Olympic gymnast, 18, was ever the giddy competitor backstage after Monday night's Dancing with the Stars.
"I've just been having so much fun that I don't think I'm being interviewed right now or I'm on TV," Raisman – who admitted she was previously nervous to interact with reporters – told PEOPLE. "It's just been such an amazing experience. I just feel like a new person. I know I keep saying this, but I've never had this much fun in my life, so it's been really awesome."
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Dancing with the Stars: Alexandra Raisman & Mark Ballas Join 10 Club
Originally posted 04/29/2013 10:30PM
The ballroom heated up on Monday night's Latin-themed Dancing with the Stars.
Seven weeks into the competition, almost all of the remaining couples came up with impressive routines. But it was Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas who landed their first 10s of the season, with a salsa that Len Goodman – who gave the pair a nine – called, "tasty and refreshing."
The pair got 10s from the other two judges, which put them at a total of 29 points out of 30. They also received an additional three points for winning a dance-off against Andy Dick and Sharna Burgess.
Raisman and Ballas tied with regular high-scoring duo, Derek Hough and Kellie Pickler, who wowed judges with their samba to Ricky Martin's "Shake Your Bon Bon."
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Dancing with the Stars: Did Andy Dick Survive Another Week?
Originally posted 04/23/2013 10:15PM
It was another week of low scores for Andy Dick and Victor Ortiz, who performed on Monday's Stevie Wonder-themed episode of Dancing with the Stars.
Dick and partner Sharna Burgess struggled through an 18-point samba and earned 25 additional points for their group dance as part of Team Samba. And Ortiz and partner Lindsay Arnold failed to impress the judges with their rumba, which earned 18 points. They later added 22-points as part of Team Paso.
Did Dick or Ortiz get the boot at the end of Tuesday's elimination episode? Or was there a surprise dismissal? Read on to find out ...
Dancing with the Stars: Why the Show Is Both a Dream and a Nightmare
Originally posted 04/23/2013 02:00PM
The work is exhausting and all-consuming. But it takes you places you never thought you could go.
The contestants on this season's Dancing with the Stars are united on what makes competing on the show so difficult – but at the same time, so amazing.
It comes down to a simple maxim: No pain, no gain.
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