Cantonese-born Amanda Kloots and her partner advanced to next week’s “Dancing With the Stars” finale after recording a perfect score Monday night during an emotionally engrossing routine in tribute to her deceased husband.
Kloots and her partner, Alan Bersten, performed a modern dance in the second round of “Live Your Life”, a song written by her husband, Nick Cordero, who died in July 2020 after battling COVID-19 through a 95-day hospitalization that included a prolonged coma.
The dance left Kloots tears in her eyes as the judges praised the performance both for its performance and emotional effect.
“When you mourn, you feel so alone,” she said after the dance, and her voice shattered as she wiped the tears away. “But I had such a great support system; some of them are here today, but the whole world, and I just think you have to find that community if you grieve because there’s something out there for you and you can connect with people. “
She turned to Bersten and pulled him closer with her arm. “I just want to thank Alan for this beautiful dance that I always want,” Kloots said.
Judges rave about Amanda Kloots
The judges raved about Kloots’ contemporary number, where she was visibly emotional throughout.
“I was completely fascinated, my beloved,” Judge Bruno Tonioli said. “You touched my heart and I’m sure you touched the nation’s heart. This is beyond criticism. I lived something with you tonight. (Cordero is) proud of you and smiling up there.”
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba expressed astonishment.
“Something happened like halfway through the dance where I saw you like to disappear and go into this moment right now a thousand percent and it was so beautiful,” she said. “You transcended beauty, you transcended perfection, you just made something … there are no words …”
Earlier Monday night, Kloots and Bersten danced tango in the redemption round, scoring 39 out of 40.
“I saw attacks, I saw aggression, great movement across the floor – amazing,” Judge Len Goodman said.
Judge Derek Hough praised Kloots for being the most consistent dancer this season. “I’m in awe of you … it was so amazing, well done.”
Tonioli cascaded even more. “What you had … it was the clear luster of a diamond. It was so polished, so smooth – you were just on fire, girl.”
Inaba was the only referee to get the pair a point and denied the opportunity for two perfect scores.
“You danced the tango like the boss that you are my dear,” Inaba said. “It was incredible.”
However, she scored the pair 9 out of 10 because she said Kloots’ legs came off the floor during the dance.
Kloots, with a smile, described the show as a journey.
“I could never have made this tango, we made (in) week 1,” she said. “I mean, it’s amazing what you can do when you’re working hard and you really want to be somewhere …”
Rescued by the judges
But despite scoring a total of 79 out of 80 for the two dances, the judges had to save Kloots from exclusion because the duo, when fan voting was included, ended up in the bottom three of the dance teams.
Monday’s other highlights included JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson, who scored a total of 80 for their two dances before advancing to the final.
Also further are Iman Shumpert, a former NBA player and member of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers championship team, and Cody Rigsby as well as their dance partners.
Excluded were dance couples with Melora Hardin and Suni Lee.
Talkshow co-host, author
Kloots, a former Broadway actress and award-winning fitness entrepreneur, also co-hosts the CBS television program “The Talk” during the day.
Kloots recently published her memoir, the New York Times bestseller “Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero,” written with her sister Anna Kloots.
A former Broadway dancer and Radio City Rockette, Kloots appeared on a variety of stages, film and television productions for more than 17 years. She lives in Los Angeles with her son, Elvis.
Call Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com
On Twitter @ebalintREP
