Karina Smirnoff Heads To Foxboro With Doug Flutie After Near-Elimination On ‘DWTS’
Karina Smirnoff and Doug Flutie jet-setted to Foxboro, Massachusetts, just after finding out that they were “safe” to dance next week on Dancing With The Stars. According to Flutie’s Facebook page, his dance-pro partner took a break from their rehearsals to attend “Night to Shine” which is an annual event held by the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism.
https://www.facebook.com/dflutie/photos/a.1642099462746155.1073741840.1533153146974121/1702591730030261/?type=3&theater
Earlier in the day, Karina Smirnoff headed to Elite Dance Center in Foxboro to practice a dance that she is going to perform at tonight’s event, held at Patriot Place. Studio owner Lindsay Deneault was thrilled to have such a huge star in her brand new studio space, which opened in 2015. Although Karina and an unidentified male dance partner practiced by themselves with the doors closed, Deneault said that the famous dancer was extremely gracious and spent a bit of time with the dancers who were practicing in the next room.
“She was awesome! So super sweet and very loving,” Deneault said of Smirnoff. Although she didn’t put on a show for the Elite Dance Center students, she was “very happy to hug” the kids. For many of these kids, meeting one of their dance idols is incredible and it’s something that they will never forget.
https://www.facebook.com/elitedancecenter/photos/a.192356104174874.46506.112255905518228/964389620304848/?type=3&theater
Karina Smirnoff and Doug Flutie presumably squeezed in some time to practice their routine for next Monday night as studio space was rented in Foxboro for a couple of days. If you are a fan of Dancing With The Stars, you probably know that Karina and Doug (a.k.a. #TeamKutie) have been toward the bottom on the leaderboard and have been in danger of going home during weeks one and two.
According to People Magazine, Smirnoff was really surprised that she and Doug were in the bottom three after the first week of competition.
“Being in the bottom is never easy – especially at the first elimination show – but I have to admit, it barely even registered that Doug and I were in danger of going home last week. In rehearsal earlier that day, they had only called out two couples as being in the bottom. So Doug and I assumed there were only going to be two couples in jeopardy on the live show. We were the third couple singled out, so instead of thinking, ‘We might be going home,’ we were more thinking, ‘Wait. What’s going on?!” Smirnoff blogged.
Karina Smirnoff and Doug Flutie seemed to do a bit better week two, but still found themselves in the bottom three. After their dance on Monday night, however, fans have been voting like crazy. (Especially those Patriots fans!) Week three was dedicated to the stars’ “Most Memorable Year.” For Flutie, 2015 was the year that he chose. It’s the year that he lost both of his parents on the same day.
“We’re dancing a slow waltz to ‘Rainbow Connection’ (one of his parents’ favorite songs). And a slow waltz isn’t easy, but Doug has been killing it in rehearsal. There have been moments where he has gotten emotional, but we both are looking at getting to do this dance as a gift. It’s a gift to be able to share his parents’ story with the audience. If half of Doug’s dedication and passion comes through during the live show, I think it’s going to be a really good night for us,” Smirnoff blogged.
Karina and Doug’s dance brought viewers to tears, but will it be enough to save them from elimination?
[Photo by ABC/Craig Sjodin]
