By Tracy Phillips
As Seen On TV
Comcast.net
It was a “Thriller” of a night on the “Dancing with the Stars” results show, from a thrilling Michael Jackson tribute to a trio of tiny dancers who blew everyone away, and, oh yeah, a final elimination before the finale...and I had the chance to watch it all from backstage. After riding the Winokur wave, the bubbly one finally said buh bye. Some may believe it’s long overdue, but Marissa Jaret Winokur certainly won over a lot of fans.
Week after week, Marissa held her head—and her spirits—high after receiving harsh critiques from the judges and landing in the Bottom 2 more than once. Whether they loved her for her size or her laugh or her perseverance, viewer votes kept Marissa on the dance floor longer than she ever imagined possible. Partner Tony Dovolani said he couldn’t be more proud.
Now it’s down to Kristi and Mark, Jason and Edyta, and Cristian and Cheryl to shake, shimmy and saunter their way into winning that mirror ball trophy. Before she took her final bow, Tony-Award winner Marissa enthusiastically advised the crowd to “Shake what your mama gave you!” But the best quote of the night still goes to ballroom kid Aaron, who’s competing in the show’s first “juniors championship”: “No matter if we lose or win, we were still on TV.”
