HCM CITY — Ngo Thanh Van kept the fire burning within as she danced her way to victory at the first edition of the Vietnamese version of the Dancing With the Stars contest on Sunday.
Van, a model turned singer turned actress, had caught the attention of the audience and judges with an intense style that kept her at the top almost throughout the competition.
Buoc Nhay Hoan Vu (Universal Dance Steps) – based on the American reality show Dancing with the Stars, ended with Van getting 35 points for Argentine Tango, 37 for Cha cha cha, and four tens (the maximum) for her freestyle effort with professional dancer Tihomir Romanov Gavrilov.
The contest paired a number of local celebrities with professional dancers to compete against each other in weekly elimination rounds.
Besides the Golden Cup and the VND150 million reward, Van also won the Queen of Standard Dance crown.
The other finalist, singer Doan Trang, partnered by Evgeni Lyubomirov, followed Van with 35 points for Waltz, 39 for Samba and 35 for the freestyle dance. She won Silver Cup, VND100 million, as well as the Queen of Latin Dance crown.
Singer Siu Black and her partner Ivan Kirilov Spasov won the Bronze Cup as well as the Most Favourite Couple, and prizes for the most passionate and natural performances.
The Most Beautiful Couple prize was awarded to Luong Manh Hai and Anna Nikolaeva Sidova. — VNS