Danielle Fishel (28:06)
Another amazing thing about this finale was the instant dance and I gotta tell you, behind the scenes the instant dance. So they started talking to us about the instant dance weeks ago. They wouldn't tell us when the instant dance was going to happen. And they. But they did tell us there's going to be something called an instant dance. Here's how it's going to work. And you don't know exactly when it's coming up, but if I were you guys, I would start prepping those things now. And they said, it can be any one of your first four dances and you're not gonna know the song. And I remember being like, I'm sorry, what we have to do what? And I then was out of the competition. And I was even thinking, like, as far as watching the show, I was like, this feels very stressful and, like, it doesn't really seem fair. And I thought also it's. How good could they possibly be when they are only hearing their song? And I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is, in my mind, I was mentally poo pooing. I was poo pooing the instant dance. I was like, we don't need this. We don't need this. Maybe if it were only two to choose from or something, like, maybe that would make it better. I was wrong. I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I was wrong. As a viewer, as someone sitting up in the skybox watching it, not having to be one of the pros, not having to be one of the celebs, it was the most exciting part of the night. It was even more exciting than the freestyles because we knew, like, none of us had seen them. None of us had seen them during rehearsal. None of us had seen us during camera blocking because there wasn't anything to camera block. There wasn't anything to see. So it had this buzz and this feeling of anything can happen. And the fact that it is less produced and less perfect and you get to see your celeb, your fave, possibly make a mistake where there's not a whole lot of mistakes going on at this stage of the game. And you got to just see them a little out of their element, a little thrown off and a little less polished. It was wonderful to watch. So I'd just like to say not that many people know that I was poo pooing the instant dance, but I'm here to tell you, I was and I was wrong. I thought it was actually really exciting. So I don't know if they plan on doing it every year, but it was. As a viewer, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And you Know, they didn't. They didn't. Nobody scored so drastically different than anyone else that it made it like, oh, gosh, it's really. Could end up hurting somebody. It's not like they gave fours for the instant dance and somebody else got tens. It was like, you know, nines and tens. And I thought it was. I thought it was really great. I do want to share a little story about my boy Dylan, and I'm probably going to start crying telling it. I'm going to try to keep it together. So the day that we all had to pick our. Our paddles up and pick the instant dance, Dylan and I, I also had to do it. I'm telling you, this, this. The prep for these things goes way back. And so Dylan and I were talking on the day that we had to pick our paddles, and I said, what are you. What are you hoping to get? And he said, oh, man, I just really want to get a foxtrot. I really. I just want a foxtrot. I feel like I loved it. I loved that dance. And he's like. So I just, really just started trying to manifest it. Like, I just started thinking, like, think foxtrot, think foxtrot. Think foxtrot. And he's like, you know the table they have in front of you, like, the way the panel, the paddles are. He's like, I really started thinking, like, where. If I were a producer, where would I have put foxtrot? Like, I told them I wanted foxtrot. And so they're. He's like, I'm at them and I'm thinking, like, they probably think I'm going for a paddle that's right in front of me. So I'm not going to pick one of those. I'm going to pick one of these. And he's like. And I just started, like, sending energy of like, foxtrot, foxtrot, foxtrot. And he's like. And I don't know. Like, I just. Gosh, I. I hope I picked foxtrot. And I was like, you did. You picked. Picked Foxtrot? Of course, I don't know. No one knows. We were fully blindfolded. They had one of the lawyers from the show had to be in the room with us to make sure no one could cheat. Like, they were taking this serious. And so I don't know. But I'm just, you know, is my friend and he wants foxtrot. And so I'm going to tell him, yeah, you did that. You got foxtrot. I know it. We're manifesting that for you, you got foxtrot. So I, you know, see him a couple days later, maybe at this point, it's a couple weeks later, and somehow instant dances come up again. And I go, well, you know, you know, you manifested foxtrot for yourself. And he goes, oh, I told Danny that I really wanted foxtrot. And, and. And Danny said that she didn't think foxtrot would have been the best for us. So now I'm really worried about it, because what if I did pick foxtrot? And then it's not. And it's not good. Like, what if it's not the right one? And so then he kind of got in his head and he convinced himself that he didn't want foxtrot. And then when he pulled the paddle and he saw that he got foxtrot tonight, he was bummed. His first feeling was that he was bummed, and he was worried that it wasn't going to be. That he wasn't going to be as prepared for it as he would have been had it been something else. And then just to watch him go out there and absolutely just put on the performance of a lifetime with that foxtrot, it was so beautiful. And when, you know, you talk about the journey of dancing with the stars and all the different types of journeys, you can have Dylan's journey of. Of coming in there exactly like he said to Julianne tonight, coming in there and thinking, I'm not good at this. I'm gonna have to put on kind of a shtick. I'm gonna have to put something on. I'm gonna have to be a comedian. I'm gonna have to go for production value. I'm gonna have to go for comedy because, quote, unquote, I can't dance. I'm not good at this. And then to see him just 10 weeks later get thrown into a situation like an instant dance, and to truly be able to dance from his heart and to do it so beautifully. I spend a lot of my time as a director encouraging young people and actors to trust their instincts, to believe in themselves, and that when their guts tell them something and they. They feel something, to follow it and to. To always stay in touch with what your instincts are telling you. And to see that moment tonight for Dylan where I got to pull him aside and say, your instincts, your instincts were exactly right. You manifested that for yourself. You wanted a foxtrot, you picked a foxtrot, and then you came out there and you killed it. I Never, in my 44 years of life Thought I would be crying about a foxtrot. I'm just gonna say that I'm so. It's what. What is happening to me, but I am just so, so, so proud of him, and I thought it was truly beautiful. So I wanted to. I got permission to share that story because really, that's. That. That's what started my crying tonight, was his. His instant dance. And then. And then after all the instant dances were over, then we got into the freestyles, and, you know, of course, I had to sob through Dylan's freestyle as well. So I want to go into the freestyles. Alex and Val performed a freestyle to Man Eater by Nelly Furtado and Sports car by Tate McCrae. Again, just. These freestyles were spectacular. Val and Alex, I've said it before on the show, and I stand by it, that Alex's transformation on this show might just be my favorite. I think it's so obvious to anybody who watches the show that we have seen her blossom in front of our eyes. If you go back to week one and you watch the packages and you watch her interviews and her otf, you don't see the same woman that you see in the finale. This woman that was in the finale, this woman that did this freestyle, has a quiet confidence about her, a real, just ownership of who she is. And some of that anxiety or nervousness or insecurity that you see at the beginning of the season has thankfully just really faded away. And if it's still there, it's so. It's so deep down that it's not coming through anymore. And what you're seeing is this bright, brilliant, beautiful performer. And her partnership with Val is really special. I know. I know Val pushes her, and he's a wonderful choreographer. He's a wonderful partner. And I also know how much they both benefited from Jenna. Jenna is. I mean, she is an asset beyond assets. She is spectacular. And the fact that they were able to lean on her, I know Val absolutely relied on her for just helping him, keeping him grounded, helping him with choreography. And Alex felt really safe being able to go to her and being like, can you do this move for me so I can see what it looks like when you do it? Can, you know, can you help me make this look great? And she's the perfect person to do that. So watching this performance tonight really felt great, and I was thrilled for them. Robert and Whitney did a freestyle to Black and Gold by Sam Sbarro and the Knights by Avicii. I thought this was so smart. I loved that their freestyle Started off very jazz, but still upbeat and really fun, A little sexy. And then it made this transition where the song changed and the lyrics were, you know, involving a dad and a message from a dad. And I thought, oh, is it going to become very sentimental and slow and emotional? Are we going to get more tears? I had no idea. And then it was still just upbeat and amazing. And when I saw it for the first time during camera blocking, I thought that was the right choice. That was the right choice. You know, Robert is such a dynamic performer and a dynamic individual, and he. He could do anything he wanted. He could go be a movie star. He could go perform on Broadway. He could. If he could sing, he could probably be a pop star. Like he is. He's a star. He is a. He's just a star. There's no other way of saying it. He's got it. And he could do anything he wants in the entertainment industry and. And it would be good, and people would go and see it. And with that said, his family legacy is no longer needs to be his legacy. He can now really pave the way for what Robert Irwin is going. The kind of legacy that Robert Irwin is going to leave and the trail he's going to blaze. And so I was happy that tonight's freestyle felt inspired and fun and youthful and didn't actually make the turn into anything that felt like it was leaning too heavily into someone else's legacy. I just want to see him shine for who he is because he's. He's got it. He's got it. And then Dylan and Danny did a freestyle to Something in the Heavens by Lewis Capaldi. Oh, I love this song. Start crying again. Stop it, Danielle. Stop it right now. This was really, really, really beautiful. Oh, gosh. It was a contemporary. I thought it was so well done to see Dylan, with his height and his manliness perform this really touching, just beautiful, soft, emotional, contemporary was amazing. The choreography was so good. Where it ended in the water. Oh, my God. Also, I don't know what happened in the moment, but where Dylan kind of has to. Where Dylan, like, had to chuck Danny, and thank goodness Pasha was the one catching her. I don't know what happened, but after the dance, while we were all up in the skybox, Dylan was like, sorry, Danny, I really had to chuck you. And Danny was like, you really did. You, like, fully threw me. And she was like, thank God it was Pasha who was catching me. So I don't know what happened that made her need to be thrown so much, But I thought that Was a really. I thought that was an interesting moment. I loved the. I loved the lifts in it. Seeing Dylan do his handstand, I thought was great, but nothing's going to top finishing in that water. I thought the water. I always think water is cool in a freestyle. I think anytime I've seen Water Incorporated, I'm like, oh, my God. Gosh, that just adds such a cool element. And I thought the way they used it was. I had never seen it before. It doesn't mean it's never been done. I don't know. But I had never seen it before. It felt very unique. It felt very special. And I just. I thought it was amazing. Couldn't. Couldn't love it anymore. Absolutely sobbed my way through it. Watched it from the staircase so that nothing could block my way because they had these balloons. I'm sure you guys saw up in the skybox, they had these balloons. And then, like, anywhere I was standing, the balloons were basically blocking my view. I'm like, guys, I am not very tall unless I have the exact spot in the middle where there are no balloons. I was, like, trying peeking up over balloons, so I went down the stairs. I watched halfway down the staircase because I didn't want anything blocking my view. And then Elaine and Alan did a freestyle, too. I hope I get it. From A chorus line by district 7 78. I thought this was the cutest. Like, it was like a. It was a mini movie. I thought it was so cute. I love that they incorporated her, you know, actor performance. Everything about it was great. Using Andy as the director in the middle of it was so fun. Her quick change of having that beautiful dress on underneath her other beautiful dress, I thought that was really fun. I thought seeing her act and perform as this actress, hoping to get a role, all of it just felt so fun. And she's so graceful and so beautiful and so fun to watch. I was. I was really proud of them through this whole experience. And I was really proud of Alan's choreography and the whole thing he put together. And I told him that. I said that was really fun. It was really fun. It felt. It felt like the most whole production. It just. It had everything. It had colors and rolling sets and people coming in and out and, you know, I don't know, I just. I loved it. I thought it was so well done, and I was really, really proud of them. And then Jordan and Ezra did a freestyle to Motivation by Normani featuring Normani in the freestyle. This is going to go down in history as one of my favorite freestyles I've ever seen. I thought it was incredible. I loved every single second of it. I loved her grill. I loved her. I love Jordan's outfit. I loved the steel, the, the fence that they brought in. I loved the reveal of Normani. I loved the two of them doing a no handed cartwheel, whatever those beautiful things are called. I thought that was unbelievable. I thought the hip hop ness of it all was just amazing. I can't say enough wonderful things about it. I, I think it's, it's easily one of the best freestyles I've ever seen. Just absolutely blew me away. And I was, you know, I keep saying I'm proud, I'm proud of everybody, like a, like a team mom, but boy, I really am. I'm just so proud of them. I. And it was, it was amazing.
