‘I have had the time of my life’ – Kevin
“I feel great. I’ve had the time of my life. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know this lady—she has the patience of a saint, our Rebecca!” said Clondalkin chef Kevin Dundon about his time on ‘Dancing With The Stars,’ having become the sixth celebrity to hang up his dancing shoes and Stetson hat after being voted off last weekend.
He and his pro partner Rebecca Scott ultimately lost out in the dreaded dance-off against Aishah Akorede; afterwards, Rebecca said of Kevin, “He’s so kind, so generous, and a ray of sunshine!”
It came at the end of a first for the series with the introduction of an exceptional theme: Country Week!
The six quarter finalists danced a series of toe-tapping, country music-themed performances in honour of one of the most popular music genres in the country, transforming the dance floor into a Nashville-style honky-tonk for one night only!
Tallaght Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley opened the show dancing a Quickstep to Dasha’s 2024 top five hit ‘Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)’ alongside his pro dance partner Alex Vladimirov, scoring a total of 35 points.
Jack Woolley
With a string of entertaining performances under his belt, Kevin and Rebecca glided into week nine with a Charleston to ‘Rompin Stompin’ by Scooter Lee, walking away with a score of 21 points.
Following on from their leaderboard-topping dance the week before, Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Rhys McClenaghan and Lucan pro partner Laura Nolan performed an American Smooth to Nathan Carter’s classic version of ‘Wagon Wheel,’ to which Ballyfermot judge Karen Byrne responded, “It’s roasting in here, but you give me goosebumps. You’re such a joy to look at. You make it look easy.” Rhys and Laura earned the highest score of the night two weekends in a row, with an almost-perfect 39 points.
Week nine also saw the annual Team Dance challenge return! After their individual dances, the final six couples were divided into two teams of three. The couples performed again in their teams, hoping to increase their judges’ score.
Whatever points they earned in the Team Dance were added to their individual score, meaning everything was to play for.
Team Footloose consisted of Kevin, Jack, and lip-syncing social media star Kayleigh Trappe dancing to ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Loggins. Brian praised Kevin for being a “true leader,” and Arthur admired Jack and Ervinas’ helicopter lift, saying how “versatile and powerful” they were; they scored 35 points.
