KAYLEIGH Trappe got emotional and choked up on air after her performance that left judges on the “edge of their seat”.
The TikTok star and her pro partner Ervinas Merfeldas kicked off the show tonight dancing the Charleston to Lady Gaga’s hit That’s Entertainment.
Judging panel, Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne were back to give their hard-hitting opinions on the contestants’ dances.
Kayleigh gave it her all on the dance floor and was visibly teary-eyed after the song ended.
Host Jennifer Zamparelli noticed and said: “You seem a bit emotional. Are you okay?”
Kayleigh explained: “Oh, I’m definitely relieved.”
Jennifer asked: “How do you feel?”
Kayleigh replied: “I am buzzing.”
Speaking to the orchestra, she said: “Thank you guys so much. Amazing job. Gorgeous.”
And the judges were also blown away by the “quirky” dance.
Lorraine said: “I think you had us all guessing. Where is this going with this slow, glamorous, dramatic opening? But then it soon changed into this charismatic, fun-filled Charleston.
“But then again, I was on the edge of my seat. I was like, ‘There’s a lift coming. I know there’s a lift coming’. And you absolutely nailed it. Fabulous opening.”
Arthur remarked: “That was most definitely entertaining. And what a way to open orchestra night. I loved it.
“The Charleston character, the signature, it was cheeky, which I like. And full of character. You guys brought it tonight.”
Brian said that Kayleigh brought the “three things needed to make a great Charleston”, which was entertainment, technique and breathtaking lifts.
Brian There are three things we need to make a great Charleston. Arthur mentioned one of them already, entertainment.
‘GORGEOUS’
Karen added that she was “confused” at the beginning but once the Charleston kicked in, it was “absolutely brilliant”.
Karen “I’m obsessed with this whole look. The beginning when you’re in such a gorgeous ballroom frame, I was like, is she going to bang out a waltz? Are we looking at Charleston or what’s going on? So I was a bit confused.
Speaking to Doireann Garrihy in her den, Kayleigh spoke about why she was so relieved saying: “That was our first, well… we were struggling with a few of the lifts.
‘WOBBLY’
“I was wobbly and beforehand I was afraid that nerves might kick in, but you had a good chat with me and we settled a bit.
“My mum’s in the audience and I was looking at her. I really wanted a Charleston and people online all week are like, ‘The Charleston’s a bit of Kayleigh’.
“We niggled this week, but nothing a good rub down can’t solve… from the physio to be clear. It’s mind over matter with that too.
“If you let it get into your head, it’s nearly worse. So I was like, ‘I’m grand, I can go on, I’m grand’.”
And after the pair got glowing reviews from the judges, they received a total score of 32 points.
And RTE viewers at home also loved the performance as well and raced to social media with praise.
One fan commented: “Fab Charleston and perfect song for it.”
Anthony said: “Fan of the charming @ktrappe. Bringing sassy energetic elegance in spades to the @DWTSIRL dance floor. A serious contender for the competition with every new dance…”
Aaron remarked: “Fabulous.”
Another viewer added: “Fab Charleston and perfect song for it.”
