We’re not going to lie, we were absolutely devastated when Suzy Cato was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars last night. The emotion on set was palpable and people will be talking about it for days and weeks to come. She could have been a contender. But let’s get over our heartache for a moment to appreciate the sheer fire and passion that was delivered in one of the performances last night.
The judges have been urging newsreader Sam Hayes to push beyond her comfort zone when it comes to her dancing, and she certainly delivered last night. In spades.
She and dance partner Aaron Gilmore pulled off an incredibly steamy routine – with quite possibly the hottest move we’ve ever seen on Dancing With The Stars NZ (which you can watch in the player above).
The Paso Doble is a dance of passion and role play, and they played their parts extremely well, leaving viewers and even the judges more than a little hot under the collar.
“Hot and steamy!” judge Julz Tocker exclaimed, while Rachel White called her a “passionista”. The crowd, and the internet, agreed. Sam and Aaron scored 25 which put them in first equal standing with Chris and Vanessa.
After initially thinking of rejecting the offer to be on the show, Sam has called her journey “transformational.”
“I’ve had to cede control to someone else now. And I find that very difficult,” she recently told The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“I keep telling myself throughout the process: I just have to let go, and have fun. So I’m putting on the sequins and I’m going with it. There is an amazing team of people working on this and I am just trusting them. I trust them! I mean, the whole point of the show is to have a good time.”
And a good time she’s certainly having.
As for her master dance partner Aaron, this is his fourth appearance on Dancing With The Stars. Having won the series with Lorraine Downes in 2006, he’ll be hoping to dance Sam all the way to the top. But as the show has proved time and time again, no one is safe, and even the best dancers can get voted off (yes, Suzy, we’re still upset).
Here’s hoping they manage to stick around a little longer, because we have a feeling they’re going to turn the dial up even more after that performance.
