With the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars over this week, it's time to get serious. Who has what it takes to win the mirror ball trophy?

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the mirror ball trophy is Kristi Yamaguchi's to lose. She has been dominating the competition since the very beginning. She has been at the top of the judges' leaderboard every week, save weeks 7 and 8 when she only fell one place to the second highest spot.

Kristi's greatest strength in this Dancing with the Stars competition is definitely her flawless technique. Nobody executes turns better than she does. She attacks every move with a precision that is rare among beginning dancers. She has proven that she is equally capable of performing fast-paced styles like the quickstep as she is of performing slower, sultry ones like the rumba. Her professional partner Mark Ballas is a huge asset as well, always challenging her with high-level choreography that fits both of them so well.

If one were to say that she has any weaknesses, it is probably that she often focuses on technique at the expense of bringing emotion and passion to her dances. This was especially apparent in her samba in week 8 because, in that performance, she didn't even have her technique up to snuff and she ended up looking very awkward and robotic. It's true that she unequivocally brought true emotion into her performance of the sexy rumba in week 5, but is that enough?

Of course, the winner of Dancing with the Stars is not determined solely by the judges. There is the audience vote that we must take into account as well. Kristi seems to be a naturally reserved person. She has enjoyed huge success as a professional athlete, no doubt because she was able to focus all of her energies on figure skating and tune out any extraneous distractions, but this might actually be a liability on Dancing with the Stars. Viewers at home often base their votes on how likeable and approachable the contestants are, and Kristi, with her iron will and reserved demeanor, might not appeal to everyone.. On the other hand, she is paired with the crowd-pleasing Mark Ballas, whom many fans of the show believed to have been given the shaft at his untimely elimination from the last season of Dancing with the Stars. I honestly don't know how things will go down. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

Don't miss the final Dancing with the Stars performance show next Monday at 8pm, followed the next night by the two-hour finale beginning at 9pm in which we will find out whether or not Kristi and Mark will become crowned the next champions of Dancing with the Stars.

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-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)