Television

The disco-ball trophy that goes to the winner of Dancing With the Stars is big, glittery and, some would say, oh so tacky. But right about now it's looking like a thing of dazzling beauty to Kristi Yamaguchi, who would love to put it on display in her Alamo, Calif., home.

"It might clash with the furniture a little bit," she admits. "Think about it, though: It would be a great conversation piece."

But first, Ms. Yamaguchi and her partner, Mark Ballas, need to prevail in the finals of the popular reality show, which get under way tonight. Having consistently displayed a technical superiority since week one, they go into the showdown as clear favorites.

Ms. Yamaguchi's rivals for the trophy are football star Jason Taylor (teamed with Edyta Sliwinska) and film actor Cristián de la Fuente (teamed with Cheryl Burke), and she's keenly aware that she has a chance to become the show's first female champ since soap star Kelly Monaco captured the title in Season 1.

"That just gives me more motivation to generate some girl power out there and get people to believe it can be done," says the Olympic figure-skating gold medalist. "Isn't it about time a woman won it?"

For tonight's performance show, finalists will take the floor together and go head-to-head in a cha-cha routine. They'll also perform an anything-goes freestyle dance. On Tuesday, the remaining two couples will repeat a favorite dance done earlier in the season.

"I'm totally excited for the freestyle routine," she says. "We'll definitely be trying some different moves, and with the lifts, it could get a little treacherous."

Clearly, the training that helped Ms. Yamaguchi become a champion skater hasn't hurt her.

"I think having been in a sport where you're constantly judged has helped me a little bit, mentally," she says. "You learn to deal with the criticism and just be satisfied with doing your personal best rather than worry about your placement. That's what skating is all about."

Chuck Barney,

Contra Costa Times

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