Aaron Karl triumphs at "Dancing Stars"

For Aaron Karl, Friday evening couldn't have gone better: The actor is the new "Dancing Star". With professional partner Kateryna Mizera, he managed to prevail in the finale of the 16th season of the ORF dance show against celebrities Paulus Bohl and Simone Lugner. Next year, "Dancing Stars" will take a break due to the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Vienna. However, the dance show will return in 2027, said ORF boss Roland Weißmann on Friday to the "Krone".

First for "Dancing Stars"

The evening began with a premiere for "Dancing Stars" - namely "a Hollywood version of various standard dances", as presenter Mirjam Weichselbraun explained the "American Smooth", which each of the couples had to perform. While the jury was full of praise and points in the semi-final, the finale started more subdued.

Karl and professional partner Mizera received only 24 points. A bit too "smooth", juror Balázs Ekker expected more bite. Karl also didn't quite show this when asked by presenter Andi Knoll how urgently he wanted to win. Lugner and her professional dancer Danilo Campisi also left room for improvement with 24 points. "Just let go," guest juror Bruce Darnell recommended to the businesswoman, who was somewhat lagging behind the other finalists in terms of dancing, noted juror Maria Santner. Only Bohl and professional dancer Katharina Malek satisfied the jury with 27 points.

Praise for Karl's Paso Doble

The celebrities and professionals continued with a dance of their choice from the past weeks. Everyone increased the tempo and points. Lugner chose her Paso Doble from episode six and was praised by all three jurors, receiving a total of 26 points. Bohl opted for the Jive from episode seven - "the first dance that really made me have fun". "Cool number with a wow factor. Just awesome," said Darnell. He and the other jury members gave the cabaret artist the highest score, resulting in 30 points. "The best dance of the evening" was performed by Karl with a Paso Doble, according to Darnell. Ekker also praised him and his professional partner Mizera: "You belong in the finale." 30 points.

"They all don't want bronze or silver, but plexiglass," Weichselbraun interjected with a glance at the "Dancing Stars" trophy. And yet, Lugner and Campisi had to say goodbye before the final show dance after the combined jury and audience scores. "I think I gave it my all. I was in the final, it's nice," said Lugner.

Final Round with Karl and Bohl

The audience votes were reset to zero for the final show dances of Karl and Bohl, and "the jury has nothing more to say and yet a lot to talk about," explained Knoll. The comedian was the first to take to the floor and, with Malek, performed an elaborately choreographed dance full of gangsters, weapons, and drama, which switched to black and white except for the fiery red costumes. Actor Karl and Mizera, on the other hand, presented the audience with a dance full of mirrors, fog, and both loud and quiet emotions.

In the end, Karl convinced the audience. "Thank you, thank you very much," he said and dedicated the "Dancing Stars" trophy to his professional partner Mizera. Mizera had only won "Dancing Stars - The Casting" the previous year and was thus allowed to teach a celebrity to dance on the show for the first time. Bohl took second place with a wink: "I have to start the Christina Stürmer career now," he chuckled, referring to the musician who also didn't win "Starmania" but went on to have a great career.

On average, 739,000 people watched the first part of the evening titled "The Show" on Friday night, which corresponded to a market share of 32 percent. "The Finale" was then watched by an average of 835,000 dance fans, driving the market share up to 40 percent. And "The Decision" with the announcement of Karl's victory was something 811,000 people on average didn't want to miss (44 percent market share). Overall, the 16th season of the dance show achieved the best value since 2008 with an average market share of 30 percent in the target group of 12 to 29-year-olds.

(APA/Red)

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