Derek Hough and Bethany Mota are training hard for the Dancing With the Stars season 19 finale, and Derek shared a picture of the two rehearsing this week.
Derek and Bethany are one of four teams left in the season, and have a legitimate shot at winning the Mirror Ball.
Derek said that he and Bethany were the first ones in the rehearsal studio on Wednesday to arrive and also the last ones to leave.
“What a long but productive day with this special girl,” he said.
His last picture was also of him and Bethany–during their contemporary piece in the last episode of DWTS.
“Really proud of this piece and my girl,” Derek said about his partner.
Bethany shared her joy of getting to the finals in her own picture of her and Derek after the votes came in, saying: “Thank you guys so much for voting. I had so much fun with my handsome partner tonight. Hope you all enjoyed our dances!”
Meanwhile, Derek noted in a blog post on TV Guide that he’s in his fifth straight final but that he’s “focusing on Bethany and trying to give her the best material.”
“With the freestyle, I feel like I’ve covered a lot of bases before and it’s like what’s next? It’s a sense of trying not to do something over and over again. I did the stripped-down contemporary with Kellie already. I’ve done the upbeat stuff. You can go with heart or a fun, lighthearted dance or something completely serious,” he said.
“With Bethany, I’m trying to figure out what the right thing for her is. What are her strengths and what’s going to make her shine? So I’ve settled on telling her story. It starts off slowly and lyrically with beautiful shapes and beautiful lines. There will be other dancers as the dance builds to show her Motavators behind her. It signifies her life and strength. She’s created her own brand and her own career — her own everything, really.
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“When I look back at the season, I look back at the moments that showcase how tough and fierce she is, like the Argentine tango and paso doble. It’s strong and it’s a big song, like Inception. It’ll be like Hans Zimmer is there!”
As for the jive, which the judges picked for them to redo, Derek said that they’re adding 30 seconds and also tweaking some things.
And Derek also gave insight into the other teams’ dances.
“Mark has a very, I guess different is the right word, freestyle. Only Mark Ballas could do this routine. Only he could commit to something like this. It’s fun and Sadie’s adorable. I’m very excited for everyone to see it. He’s always outside the box. Sometimes they don’t hit the mark — no pun intended — but when it does, it’s fantastic,” he said.
“Janel and Val are going to play to her strengths. I think Janel, along with Alfonso, is the most natural dancer out of all of us left. All the freestyles are actually very different, so I think the final will be very interesting and entertaining.”
