Stephen Nedoroscik Finishes In Fourth Place In ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Finale
It’s finally here, folks. Summer fan-favorite Pommel Horse Guy has reached the finale of “Dancing with the Stars.”
The Penn State alumnus narrowly made it through the semifinals after a shocking decision to send all five remaining couples to the finale, and Nedoroscik ended in fifth place last week after scoring 53 points.
The finale started with redemption dances as each couple was challenged to perform a new routine in a style they previously performed but the judges felt had room for improvement. Nedoroscik and his partner Rylee Arnold kicked off the dances for the night.
This was Arnold’s first finale and her second season as a pro dancer, something Nedoroscik was happy to be a part of.
“Getting Rylee to her first finale means so much to me. We’ve developed such a great relationship and getting her to this point feels amazing,” the gymnast said.
Before hearing from a recording of judge Bruno Tonioli what their redemption dance was, the pair known as Arnold Pommel reminisced on their past dances and how Nedoroscik quickly learned the differences between dance and gymnastics.
“Looking back, I didn’t dance at all and that week one was so memorable. But then I learned being powerful is really good in gymnastics, and it’s really bad for dance,” Nedoroscik said.
“Show three we had a quickstep, which is when you really started to get that musicality comment, and that was something that stuck with us all season,” shared Arnold.
Nedoroscik shook it all off though and was ready to lock in for the finals.
“Last week was a really tough week. We got the lowest scores of the night. But we’re here at the finale, and we’re gonna turn that all around,” he said.
In the video, Tonioli revealed the pair’s redemption dance: a quickstep. He said Nedoroscik’s musicality and timing were a bit off in the original performance, giving Arnold Pommel a list to work on.
“This is really testing me. I’m at the bottom of the leaderboard now, but if I want a shot at that Mirrorball, I know what I have to do. Perfect scores. When I was at the Olympics, I had a ton of pressure on me, but I handed it perfectly. And tonight, I’m gonna handle it perfectly again,” Nedoroscik said to end the rehearsal video.
The pair stood at the top of the steps on the stage in matching orange outfits to start the dance with Nedoroscik ditching his glasses once again as “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts began to play. They ran to each other before Nedoroscik spun Arnold and they let off a flurry of quick kicks. The pair did a handshake before dropping to the floor and jumping back up, jumping around each other and heading down the steps.
They took off down the stage with a few little jumps before jump-stepping backward toward one of the corners and heading across diagonally. Nedoroscik spun Arnold before they twirled to the center. Still holding hands, the pair leaned up and down to the beat before strutting out again.
Arnold stood in front of Nedoroscik as he led her across the stage before she spun out herself while he did a few quick solo hops before reconnecting and taking two big strides. They then resumed the hops and energetic quick steps.
As the song ended, the pair spun away from each other, skipped to the front of the floor, and jumped around each other, hitting their handshake one last time before ending in laughter, posing back-to-back with their arms crossed.
Tonioli started the comments, ecstatic at the new performance they showed him.
“The final sprint!” Tonioli exclaimed. “Stephen, look at me. You were riding in top gear! Fast, smooth, clear. And your timing, you’re turning into a Rolex.”
Carrie Ann Inaba said it was the best performance she’s seen from the Penn Stater and how proud the late Len Goodman would be.
“Stephen, all I could think of while I was watching that dance is that Len Goodman, this gentleman, this Mirrorball right here, would have been smiling from ear to ear. That was absolutely the best I’ve ever seen you. You were right on time. Every movement was perfect. Beautiful quickstep,” Inaba said.
Derek Hough finished off the comments by sharing how much joy Arnold-Pommel brings with each performance.
“You are a burst of sunshine, like two little antidepressants dancing across the floor, seriously just radiating joy with every single step out there. For me, there was a little moment in the middle, but that was so unbelievably, so much better than the first time around. You’ve improved so much. Great, great job,” Hough said.
Nedoroscik was asked how he thinks he improved from his first quickstep and said he brought more energy.
“I think this time around I had better body contact, I think I was better on the beat, and just in general performance-wise, it felt better,” the gymnast said.
Arnold-Pommel received two 10s from Inaba and Tonioli and a nine from Hough to much joy from the pair as they screamed and spun each other around. They scored a 29 on the first dance, which combined with last week’s score, put them at 82 to start the night.
For the second dance of the night, the couples had to do a freestyle with Arnold-Pommel kicking it off again.
In the rehearsal video, the pair again said how close they’ve grown and how much they credit each other for their success.
“I’m just so grateful that I got you as my partner, as someone who literally wouldn’t even dance at a party. You helped me pierce through that. You gave me so much confidence. She took the stiff electrical engineer gymnast and turned him into a dancer, so I owe all my success to Rylee,” Nedoroscik said.
“I just think you are such a powerful and inspirational person. You are my best friend and it’s just so cool to have that,” Arnold echoed.
Nedoroscik took time to share how he feels like an underdog story on “Dancing with the Stars,” just like in the Olympics where he got his fame.
“Me and Rylee’s partnership feels like the underdog story. Dude who’s barely known a year ago, who never danced. Rylee’s 19 years old, second season, and we just made it to the finale,” he said.
Arnold explained how for the freestyle, there are no rules. The pair are free to share Nedoroscik’s personality as much as they can in whatever style they choose, and to no surprise, the pair chose gymnastics to Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.”
“I’m gonna combine my oldest passion with my newest passion. I’m going to bring out some of my gymnastics buddies and do what I do best,” Nedoroscik said. “Combining gymnastics and dance takes an absurd amount of energy. I am doing a whole lot for two minutes straight, it is tough, even as hard as my Olympics pommel horse routine.
“All season long, I struggled with musicality and it is the most important part of this dance. There are so many components that are tied together and I need to make sure I am locked in because if I’m not, if I’m offbeat, that’s the Mirrorball. I’m ready to put it all out there. If I need to throw up on that floor to win the Mirrorball, I will.”
Arnold Pommel started the dance dressed in American flag-themed outfits, embracing before leaning away, both extending far back holding hands, and coming back to stand up. As they released hands, the camera panned out to reveal the pair standing on a pommel horse as they spun around and Arnold stepped off as Nedoroscik hit a quick handstand.
He hit the ground and the pair both grabbed a handle, spinning around the pommel horse before switching sides. Nedoroscik jumped up with a split as Arnold leaned back from the floor, holding the handles. He jumped over the pommel horse before lifting her on it and joining her again, holding hands on top of it.
The curtains fell to reveal his three Olympic gymnast teammates to loud cheers from the crowd and Arnold Pommel jumped off the horse. The pair ran onto the floor holding hands as his teammates followed with one leading the way with a flurry of flips. Nedoroscik and Arnold started their floor routine as the other gymnasts did routines and flips of their own in the background.
Nedoroscik spun Arnold around as she stood on one leg before lifting her fully into the air and spinning her around. Back on the ground, the pair hit a quick spin in the air before reconnecting, kicking out, and embracing.
The pair got off a few lifts, including Arnold hitting a split above Nedoroscik’s head. Nedoroscik’s fellow gymnasts had a quick outfit change, returning in all-white outfits before running out toward the edge of the stage with the pair, jumping up to the sky, and reaching out before spinning.
Arnold ran to the side and two gymnasts picked up Nedoroscik, bringing him toward the crowd as the third somersaulted over him before flipping him back up.
Arnold Pommel reunited as the lights faded, leaving just the two of them in a spotlight. They spun for a moment before Arnold encouraged him and ran away again as he hit a pommel horse routine on the floor in the spotlight as the other three gymnasts copied him, although they were given mini horses.
Arnold and other background dancers returned to the stage as the pair walked by each other but reached out at the last moment, coming back as Arnold somersaulted on the floor while Nedoroscik kicked out over her. He lunged on the floor to spin and dip her before the pair strutted across the stage, lifting her into the air again. Arnold hit the floor and leaned back as Nedoroscik lept into a handstand over her before pulling her back up.
The pair spun one last time before standing in the middle of the stage together holding hands as the music faded, lifting their hands in the air together as the last beat hit.
“Stephen is going for gold!” Tonioli exclaimed. “I tell you what I love about it: It was athletic and artistic at the same time. Perfect combination. Extremely lyrical movement, very emotional, beautifully blended. You were like the song, a contemporary anthem.”
Inaba followed up in tears, upset about missing more dances and joy brought by Arnold Pommel.
“I honestly don’t want this season to end. I don’t want that to be the last time I get to experience this joy, that artistry,” Inaba said. “Watching you become a dancer, and Rylee, now you’re a gymnast, what’s going on? That was amazing and touched all the perfect points.”
Hough said he knew Nedoroscik would be a perfect fit for the show the first time he saw him during the Olympics.
“Stephen, I remember watching you on TV during the Olympics and thinking, ‘Man I think he’d be great on ‘Dancing with the Stars.” And here you are in the finale with that incredible freestyle. Honestly, the song, the concept, the choreography, the team effort, I’m going to get emotional. I loved it, I loved it,” Hough said.
Arnold-Pommel received 10s from all three judges, their first perfect score of the season to tears from both as confetti fell and they were embraced by everyone else on the skybox. With their 30 points, they reached 112 total for the night.
At the end of the night, all the couples stood on stage waiting to hear the final votes. Videos were played for all contestants of family and friends rooting them on before the hosts revealed the final leaderboard, starting with fifth place.
Danny Amendola finished in fifth with 110 points before Nedoroscik and Arnold finished in fourth place for the season to their joy.
Chander Kinney finished in third behind Ilona Maher. Bachelor and Pennsylvania native Joey Graziadei finished in first place, clinching the Mirrorball trophy.
Although he didn’t win the Mirrorball, Nedoroscik is set to co-host “Dancing with the Stars: Live!” The show will make a stop in Happy Valley on Thursday, January 23.
Thanks for following along all season, folks!
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