Who Will Make It To The Dancing With The Stars Finale?

Olivia Romesburg ‘27 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

A few short weeks ago, Dancing with the Stars season 35 started. With a star-studded two night premiere, the audience was on the edge of their seats with excitement for the new season.

Since the premiere, each week has had a theme as to the dances that the pairs will be performing. These include: NFL Night, Disney Night, Horror Night, and Dedication Night. Now that we are getting into the season, here is some insight as to who you can expect to see in the finale and why you should watch out for them.

The first couple likely to be a shoe-in for the finale is Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. Frech is a Paralympic Track and Field athlete. Karagach is a talented dancer often referred to as the Ferrari, a nickname created by one of the judges, Derek Hough. This season this pairing has been getting really creative with their dances to accommodate Frech’s prosthetic. They have done a variety of things, such as during dedication night, in which they did a lift where Karagach climbed on Frech’s running blade. Karagach has been known to be an amazing choreographer, so her creativity this season comes as no surprise to viewers.

The second couple that will likely make it to the finale is Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov. Amber Glenn is an olympic figure skater. Glenn has strong dance foundations from figure skating and also has a lovable personality that keeps fans voting for her. They have used elements of figure skating moves in their choreography as a nod to this part of her life. They did a beautiful contemporary dance about Glenn’s mental health journey on dedication night.

The third couple that will make it is Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovsky. Dewan is an actor and former professional dancer. Dewan’s dance experience has been a source of controversy throughout the season. Additionally Chmerkovsky has had some drama of his own this season. He made a comment on social media that was mean towards the judge Carrie Ann Inaba after she judged his wife Jenna Johnson harshly. This resulted in one week suspension for him. Jenna danced that week with Alan Bersten in his place for dedication night. This controversy has definitely gotten the pair attention, whether for better or for worse. The pair has been scoring well in their dances, so we will probably see them in the finale.

The fourth couple likely to progress to the finale is Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold. Connor Wood is a stand up comedian and podcast host, who has been slowly climbing the leader board and making major improvements recently. Wood is a prime example of what Dancing With The Stars is all about, he is truly happy to be there every week and is consistently making improvements. He started out struggling to stand out on the dance floor, but has since made a name for himself as a fan favorite. It isn’t hard to see the amount of time and effort he puts into learning this, and how seriously he is taking it.

The final couple that seems to have a chance to make it to the finale is Harry Shum Jr and Jenna Johnson. Shumpulls fans from a variety of audiences from his time on Glee and Grey’s Anatomy. Both of these shows are major hits and allow him to have a strong fanbase. Harry also has a strong foundation in dance from his time on Glee and has a lovable personality.

Overall the cast this season is very promising and at this point it is still anyone’s game. Any dancer has the next couple weeks to work hard and stand out in the bunch. Make sure to tune in each week at 8pm EST to watch the dancers compete and don’t forget to watch the finale on November 24th!