Semi-Final of Dancing with the Stars sees Matthew MacNabb leave the series

Semi-Final of Dancing with the Stars sees Matthew MacNabb leave the series.

Nina Carberry, Ellen Keane, Jordan Conroy and Erica-Cody are all through to the grand final of series 5 of Dancing with the Stars

Matthew MacNabb’s journey on Dancing with the Stars ended tonight after reaching the semi-final of the series. He and Laura Nolan danced the Samba this evening. The Co. Down dancer danced against Erica-Cody in tonight’s dance-off.

After the final result, Matthew said: “This has been a rollercoaster, 10 hours a day, seven days a week.  I’ve grown so much.  Laura is so talented and is an amazing person.”

It was semi-final night on Dancing with the Stars this evening and unsurprisingly the penultimate show of series five was high in energy and full of fun.

The evening got the show off to a flying start as the show opened with a fabulous pirate inspired showdance with all the pro dancers.

Presenters Jennifer Zamparelli and Nicky Byrne introduced the celebrities onto the floor as they looked ahead to the grand final next week.  Judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian were in their favourite seats for a bird’s eye view of all the performances.

Jockey Nina Carberry and Pasquale La Rocca were the first couple to dance tonight.  Their Paso Doble to ‘Get Ready’ by Rayelle was a top scorer by the judges.

Loraine: “One word – Fearless.  To do a drop backwards, we call it a dead-man’s drop.  A lot of trust with each other. You had your eyes closed at the beginning. It gave me goosebumps.  The beautiful Spanish line, overall, I just thought this was a striking performance tonight.”

Arthur: “Nina and Pasquale , get ready for the final.  When I imagine paso doble – a strong, dramatic performance, that told a story.  Footwork.  The ending – bam – perfection.”

Brian: “Cheltenham finished on Friday.  Rachel Blackmore is not the only jockey celebrating this weekend.  Detail, detail, detail, devilishly delicious details.  I’m getting excited, looks like it’s going to be a good one.”

Nina and Paquale scored 30 from the judges. (Highest scoring paso doble in five series of Dancing with the Stars.)

Singer Erica-Cody and Denys Samson had a lively jive tonight, performing to ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ sung by the cast of the recent Sing 2 movie, which was sure to be favourite with all the film’s fans.

Arthur: “That’s one way to showcase your remarkable legs,  I hope this is the warm up for your world tour.”

Brian: “I’m not always not the biggest fan of a scene starting on the rostrum. Once you got down, arms weren’t going crazy.  The thing I liked was the bounce action.  A bit stilted for me.”

Loraine:  “It’s the semi-final – go big or go home.  This was massive for me.  A lot of energy.  You showed balance of the speed with slow motion.  A little miss odf the hands at the end.  For me, it was a smashing jive.”

Erica and Denys scored 26 from the judges.

It was a samba tonight for former Love Island contestant Matthew MacNabb and Laura Nolan.  They danced to ‘One Dance’ by Justin Bieber.

Brian: “Matthew, you know this might be a bit of a surprise.  That actually wasn’t bad.  Reverse samba rolls.  You did move the hips, not perfect, bits still missing but it was very good.”

Loraine: “When people hear samba they go, oh no, oh no.  But I think you should both be very proud.  Hips were moving.  It was recognisable.  Timing was there.  Good rhythm,  Still like you to work on your feet.  For you this was a triumph.”

Arthur: “So many facial expressions,  You seem like you enjoyed it.  Dancing wasn’t perfect. You were great in hold with Laura.  You have improved so much over the weeks.”

Matthew and Laura scored 21 from the judges.

Rugby player Jordan Conroy was delighted to have Salome Chachua back dancing with him this week.  Their graceful American Smooth was danced to ‘The Sweetest Feeling’ by Jackie Wilson.

Loraine: “This was light and bright.  Agile in the feet.  Then you brought the foxtrot.  Fluidly across the floor.  The highlight here –  the travelling splits.  It was beautiful.  It really went into American Smooth.  It was charming.”

Arthur: “Sweetest feeling watching you dance together.  Awesome energy.  Jordan you look so smart.  You kept well together.  Another side of Jordan. I loved it.  Well done.”

Brian:  “Movement through your feet, excellent, frame really good throughout  We’ve never seen your looking so suave.  Great to see a different side of you.  Shame on the lift, not as high as you’d have hoped for, but a very, very good attempt for American Smooth.”

Jordan and Salome scored 28 from the judges.

Swimmer Ellen Keane also had Stephen Vincent back to dance with tonight as made a welcome return to the dancefloor.  Together they danced a fun Charleston to ‘Marvellous Party’ by Beverley Knight.

Arthur: “These high energy numbers… The ability to be stronger.  Relay on hevy persobality.  Level of confidence and dedication.  I want to talk about the worm – you need balance and coordination.  You nailed it.”

Brian: “Great Gatsby, great characterisation.   Greatest we’ve seen you this season. The little details.  Heel stabs.  Fantastic.  Long time since I’ve seen a Charleston

Loraine: “Sassy, showy, sparkling tonight.  To come from a dance-off, changing partners.  Dazzling, glitzy Charleston.  Best swivels.  Honestly guys, super slick tonight.”

Ellen and Stephen scored 30 from the judges. (First 30 of the season for Ellen)

Nicky Byrne then declared the voting lines open.

After a short break, it was time for the ‘Bust-A-Move Marathon’, giving each couple a second chance to improve their scores.  Each of the five couples took the dancefloor together for a high energy routine.  One by one, the judges decided which couple would leave the dancefloor.  Matthew and Laura were the first couple to be asked to leave the dancefloor, earning themselves, one extra point.  Next it was Ellen and Stephen, Erica and Denys followed by Nina and Pasquale.  They each scored 2 to 4 points.  Jordan and Salome were the final couple left to showcase their skills for the entire duration of the marathon, earning them the maximum 5 extra points onto their original judges’ score.

After the marathon finished, Nicky spoke to all the celebrities after this to see how they were feeling now that they had given it their all for a second time on the dancefloor this evening.

After a break, our guest act of the evening, singer and previous Dancing with the Stars champion, Jake Carter, sang his brand new single ‘I Just Gotta Take You Home.’

After the break, Nicky caught up with the judges to hear who they feel performed well tonight and who might be in danger.  Then it was results time which saw Matthew MacNabb and Erica-Cody achieve the lowest combined score between the judges scores and the public vote.

Matthew and Laura danced first, followed by Erica and Denys.  Based on this dance off alone, the judges decide to send Matthew home this week.

Next week is the grand final on Dancing With The Stars!  Which of our final four celebrity dancers will walk away with the glitterball?

The Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast presented by Lottie Ryan is available on RTÉ.ie/podcasts, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Tonight’s eliminated couple will be interviewed on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow morning.

Dancing with the Stars is proudly sponsored by Muller Corner.