DWTS 15 End-of-Season Awards: Which Celeb Improved the Most?
Ok, now that I’ve finally worked up the motivation to start revealing the results, I’m gonna do this a bit out-of-order – mainly because I simply don’t have the patience right now to tally up some of the awards with HUNDREDS of write-in votes 😯 This season has definitely made me question whether to even include write-ins as an option in the future. But I digress – let’s start with an award where the results were pretty cut & dry:
Write-ins:
Bristol – 6
Helio – 2
Kirstie – 1
None – 1
Courtney: No arguments here – prior to the start of the season, Kelly was one of the celebs that I thought would REALLLLLY struggle, given that she was probably the weakest of the DWTS returning champions, based on her performance in season 1. Apparently Alec just didn’t know how to tap into her potential back then, because she was definitely one of the stronger dancers this season! Maybe Kelly just had time to mature between season 1 and season 15, maybe it helped to have a partner that she could really connect with (and wasn’t an “Iceman”) – whatever it was, she definitely impressed me this season, as did Val…makes me wonder if he could be the next great choreographer on the show in Derek’s absence. I also feel a bit vindicated now, since I’ve always said that Alec probably wasn’t that great of a teacher – if he was truly that great, he would have been able to pull performances out of Kelly 8 years ago that were as good as some of the ones we saw in season 16. I think Shawn & Apolo also improved, albeit not as drastically as Kelly; Melissa improved a little bit, as there didn’t seem to be quite as many cheerleader moves this time around; I think Sabrina stayed about the same; and Gilles got worse. I’m guessing the 6 votes for Bristol came from 2 well-known Bristol trolls on different computers – because she was even trainwreckier this time than she was before 😯
Vogue: I voted for Kelly as well in this category. From the beginning, she seemed intent on doing well and improving herself. She had something to prove and that she could dance with the best of them. Despite a busy ongoing schedule with General Hospital, she gave it her all and it showed with every week that passed. Both she and Val had a powerful passion. They couldn’t have been more suited for each other. He wanted to do well too and set a name for himself other than just being Mak’s little brother. She gave him the confidence to do that and they flew with it even with the odds stacked against them. I loved them and I too look forward to Val’s future on Dancing With The Stars.
Heidi: I actually don’t remember who I voted for in this category, but if I was voting now it would be for either Kelly or Shawn.  Kelly for all the reasons already stated – as much as the showmance made me nauseous by the end, she still ended up much better than her original season.  I also have high hopes for Val in terms of choreo – that he’s inspired by Derek and not, say, Tony. He is a musician, so he starts out ahead. He did a lot with Kelly and made her seem warmer than I suspect she might actually be. 🙂  If he continues to look at what Derek did as cool and creative as opposed to “rule breaking”, he can be the next great choreographer on the show.  Take notes, Tony and Louis. As for Shawn, she was like a different dancer with Derek.  She inspired him to up his game and she was fearless – talk about two people who complimented each other.  Derek just pushed and pushed and pushed and got her to not only up her dancing, but her emotional connection to the dance.  Awesome.
Didn’t vote in this category, Courtney, but we do agree on one thing – Gilles was worse
Good result in the poll I think. I mentioned this on another post recently that I downloaded Season 1 to watch recently, and I couldn’t believe it was the same Kelly Monaco. I think her relationship with Val helped – saying that, I also think the judges were too harsh on Kelly in the opening weeks of Season 1.
I voted for Kelly. That was the biggest surprise of the season for me. Saying that, Melissa, Apollo, and Shawn also improved a lot as well.
@Princess Heidi: I agree with you. Shawn was perfect for Derek for the all star season.
I also voted for kelly. Before the season, after watching some of her performances on youtube, I thought she was going to be the first person eliminated.
I agree with Jen in thinking her relationship with val really helped. I think their connection really made them want the best for eachother, and it showed on the dance floor. Kelly kept saying in interviews how she just wanted to do her best so that Val could shine and get out of his brother’s shadow, and Val said multiple times that he just wanted to do his best so that kelly could have as many performances to be proud of to dilute how embarrassed she was about her dancing in season 1.
I also think to a different extent that showed with shawn & derek. you could tell they genuinely wanted to do their best for the other, especially with it most likely being derek’s last season
I agree Kelly was the most improved overall, but Shawn really blossomed as a performer this time around. Derek showed her how to tap into her maturity, to connect with and project the emotions of the dances. I can’t regret the All-Star Season because it gave us the Shawn and Derek pairing and their memorable performances.