Dance wars

Tamati Coffey, with dancing partner Samantha Hitchcock, reckons a win is down to ability not profile. Photo / Supplied

International television juggernaut Dancing with the Stars may have lost the novelty factor which captured the nation's imagination when it launched here five years ago, but the live programme still attracts an avid audience.

This week, intensely competitive Olympian Barbara Kendall and television weatherman Tamati Coffey will line up to contest the victor's title previously held by the likes of Norm Hewitt and Lorraine Downes. This time, fighting talk is woefully absent, and with good reason - these celebrity challengers are so evenly matched that picking a winner is no sure bet.

Producer Debra Kelleher won't be placing any bets on who will reign supreme. "This is the closest final in terms of dance ability and popularity we've ever had, based on their performances and the public vote," she says.

Last year, league-player-turned-boxer Monty Betham waltzed his way from rocky beginnings to the reality series final, but was unable to stave off the polished Temepara George, who had demonstrated a hitherto untapped dancing ability from the outset. But this year, the finalists are neck-and-neck in terms of their ballroom proficiency, and each is acutely aware of his or her own shortcomings.

Chirpy morning TV star Coffey, 29, has amassed fans across a wide age-bracket, from his previous incarnation as a What Now presenter to his current gig as Breakfast's roving reporter and weather presenter. The suave smooth-mover, whose chosen charity is Rainbow Youth, has had the opportunity to drum up support through the nature of his work, but he doesn't have the stamina his competitor has harnessed over her long career.

Champion windsurfer Kendall, 41, has been in the public eye for almost two decades and holds an Olympic medal in every colour. The accomplished athlete and supermum, whose dancing turn benefits the Upside Downs Education Trust, is supremely fit and possesses a sharpened competitive edge, but she lacks the high exposure of her challenger.

"It's like Mission Impossible, but I'm going to give it a damn good go," Kendall says of her chances. "He has such a huge following. He is hanging on a seven-storey building [billboard] in town and is on TV saying, "vote Tamati", which is the biggest medium to [push for] votes. He's been on What Now and everywhere we go, people rush up to Tamati. It hasn't been that much of a fair play event."

The fancy-footed Coffey, partnered with newcomer Samantha Hitchcock, concedes his job may provide an advantage.

"But being on TV doesn't help when you are about to take to the dance floor," he says. "Regardless of having a profile or no profile, you've still got to dance and it's a dance competition. The public wants to see you dance, and dance well, and I think we've done that."

Coffey points out that golden girl Kendall, whose partner is seasoned Dancing with the Stars performer Jonny Williams, has her own strengths.

"Her body is in top condition, which gives her endurance," he says. "And she's a well-known Olympian."

He can only find one chink in Kendall's armour. "Apparently she doesn't 'ooze' enough, so I'm going to over-'ooze'," he says.

Kendall doesn't deny her athleticism is a plus, but says it's this background which makes oozing - an element that judges have complained is absent from her routines - so difficult.

"I'm really fit, and I'm used to really, really hard work," she says. "And as far as recovery goes I know how to look after myself, that's a natural way of life for me.

"The hardest part for me is that there are only four days to learn the routines and then I have to go out and feel relaxed. I want to be dancing from 'feeling' not my head but I'm so busy trying to remember what's coming up.

"After another week I would have got the ooze. As a sportswoman I'm so used to big spurts of movement - I'm all wham, bam, thank you ma'am - and to do that slow stuff has been a big learning curve."

Although former All Black Josh Kronfeld mounted a strong challenge in last week's semi-final, his game was less complete than the rhumba-ing rivals who will square off on Tuesday.

"I'm feeling completely amped," Coffey enthuses. "I hoped that I would get this far, but it was never a given.

Coyly rating his chances at "50-50 ", Coffey's strategy is two fold.

"I want to dance to perfection, and to let loose, for [judge] Paul Mercurio," he says.

Because text and phone lines opened after last week's semi-final, many public votes will already have been cast before the starry-eyed duo take to the dance floor, which is why image is everything.

Kendall says. "But it's a popularity show and you never know what's going to happen - look at what happened to Rebecca [Hobbs] and Aaron [Gilmore, voted out in week four].

"Our strategy is to dance our little feet off, and we've saved some really good dancing for the final."

Co-host Candy Lane is raring up for a cracker of a dance-off, and like Kelleher, she can't pick a favourite.

"Tamati as a regular TV face has the advantage of a great public following and dance wise he has a clean strong style and great personality," she says. "Barbara has this great energy and has the strength and flexibility to do moves that are difficult, and over the weeks her sunny disposition has also given her a good public following.

"They are both very competitive and deserve to be in this final," Lane says.

If previous years are anything to go by, TV One can expect a decent share of the viewing audience to tune in for Tuesday night's final. The show has consistently attracted an audience share of around 40 per cent this season, with its nearest rival in the 8.30pm timeslot, TV2's movie, pulling in 16 per cent. But overall, reality TV is not faring as well as it used to. In Australia, Dancing with the Stars has cut production from two series a year to one, and the show has been pushed into a less desirable Sunday night slot.

Kelleher has been studying some overseas versions of the show - it is shown in 31 countries - and says the format has a healthy outlook.

"Strictly Come Dancing [UK] is going from strength to strength," she says. "The worldwide trend is that the brand is holding, and we are following that trend. "Although TV audiences are down across the board, Dancing with the Stars is maintaining its popularity. And the other thing is that voting is up."

The show has made a big dent on the landscape in its five-year run, and boosted the coffers of many charities who receive a share of the proceeds from public votes. The light entertainment show has made household names out of Candy Lane, Hayley Holt and Nerida Cortese, as well as lifting the bankability of semi-recognisable faces, such as Downes, Greer Robson and Shane Cortese. Its sometimes acerbic judges have kept talkback lines running hot as outraged fans defended celebrities, or slammed a poor performer who escaped elimination. That Kiwis continue to tune in is due, Kelleher believes, to its unique recipe for mass appeal.

"It's wholesome, heartfelt family entertainment, and fills a very important part of the New Zealand psyche, just like the All Blacks." A 2010 series has not been confirmed yet, but she has no reason to believe that Dancing with the Stars won't return again, and again and again.

"I definitely think it's got legs for more series," Kelleher says. "There's always a new bunch of celebrities and other artists to showcase and there's still a desire to watch and see that format grow."

* Dancing with the Stars final, Tuesday, TV One, 8.30pm. Review, p15