'Dancing with the Stars' couple Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff: We're feeling motivated but bittersweet

Dancing with the Stars contestant Corbin Bleu and professional partner Karina Smirnoff are both realizing the ballroom dancing competition is almost over, and with that, comes mixed emotions.


"Reflecting on the season overall, there have been moments that felt like there was no end in sight, but then sitting here now, it's like, 'Wow, it's almost over,'" Bleu wrote in his People blog. "It's nice to be able to see the finish line, but it's also very motivating. We don't want to lose any momentum. We really want to make sure we end strong."

The Disney Channel star and Smirnoff are one of six couples still in the running to be crowned Dancing with the Stars' seventeenth-season champions.

"The whole season is bittersweet because even if we go all the way to the end, we only have less than three weeks to go," Smirnoff explained in her own blog. "We keep thinking about it during rehearsals. We're like, 'Aw, that sucks.' It feels like it's been on for a year, but at the same time, everything goes boom-boom-boom and then it's done."

During tonight's Dancing with the Stars broadcast, Bleu and Smirnoff will be dancing an individual slow waltz routine and then a trio performance with Dance Troupe member and former So You Think You Can Dance finalist Witney Carson.


"Witney knows jazz. She knows it from Dancing with the Stars and also So You Think You Can Dance. The three of us love our number and we're just praying the judges like it too," Smirnoff wrote.

Bleu noted the jazz dance should be "pretty sick" and has "hints of Michael Jackson" in it. Bleu also revealed it will feature a little "tap section" at the end, and because Smirnoff had never tapped before, he was thrilled to be able to teach her something for once.

Bleu and Smirnoff finished tied for second place on last week's leaderboard with two other couples. Each pair had scored 27 out of 30 possible points for their routine from the judges. Bleu and Smirnoff also won the week's "Dance-Off Challenge" and therefore received three bonus points.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski