by Ency Peterson

Created on: January 22, 2011   Last Updated: January 23, 2011

Season 11 of  "Dancing with the Stars" (DWTS)was a little topsy-turvy with believed fan favorites being sent home early and underdogs making it farther than believed possible.  Not only was season 11 topsy-turvy, but it held a very diverse cast of competitors that ranged in both height and age, not to mention celebrity status.  The cast included Disney star Kyle Massey, Brady Bunch actress Florence Henderson, teen activist Bristol Palin, Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey, Baywatch actor David Hasselhoff, comedian Margaret Cho, football player Kurt Warner, basketball player Rick Fox, singer Brandy, reality actor Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino, reality actress Audrina Patridge, and singer Michael Bolton. So where did this season’s twelve competitors end their dancing for the Mirror Ball Trophy?

David Hasselhoff’s fans couldn’t save him from being the first competitor eliminated. Then Michael Bolton’s fans apparently agreed with Bruno’s assessment that Michael Bolton’s jive was not the best in week two, putting him in tenth.  Margaret Cho’s “Story Week” dance didn’t cut it in week 3 placing her in tenth.  After a stage change, Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino failed to dance himself any higher than ninth place. While Florence Henderson’s tango to the Brady Bunch theme song managed to halt her DWTS dance climb to the Mirror Ball trophy at place eight.  In “Rock Week”, Audrina Patridge failed to rock herself beyond seventh place.  

The 200th episode of DWTS saw the final six stars split into two teams, and each individual reinterpreted a past dance while keeping the original dancers on DWTS close at heart.  The reinterpretations were also judged by the original competitor who danced it.  Tall Rick Fox’s hopes were shot down as he was eliminated earning sixth place.  Kurt Warner would become the fifth place winner the very next week.  Brandy’s Argentine tango and paso doble may have put her third in the judge’s scoreboards, but she only received fourth place overall, leaving Bristol Palin, Kyle Massey, and Jennifer Grey to dance out the final three spots in the competition.

Underdog Bristol Palin managed to wow viewers into third place over the weeks, while Disney star Kyle Massey had danced his way into second place.  All this means that the DWTS season 11 Mirror Ball trophy champion is none other than Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey!(Perhaps viewers remembered her performances with Patrick Swayze?)

Other than opinions, information was double-checked with ABC.com’s Dancing with the Stars episode recap pages.

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