‘Dancing with the Stars’ Recap: Melora Hardin Takes Over Disney Heroes Night
ABC Reading Time: 4 minutes
Dancing with the Stars Season 30 returned Monday to kick off a two-night Disney Week. Tonight’s episode was Disney Heroes Night, while Tuesday’s episode will focus on the villains.
Each of the celebrities portrayed a hero from a Disney movie, set to music from the film. The couples also visited Disneyland and performed an opening routine set to “Zero to Hero” from Hercules.
An added twist during tonight’s show was the Mickey Dance Challenge. Each couple had to incorporate the same set of dance moves into their routine, no matter the dance. The judges gave two bonus points to the couple who showed off the best version of the challenge.
Which ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Couple Was Eliminated on Disney Heroes Night?
Voting was open during Monday’s Dancing with the Stars episode, and we expected to see one of the couples go home. Host Tyra Banks even teased that the judges would be voting to save one couple out of the Bottom Two to move on to Tuesday’s Villains Night.
However, the credits started rolling before Banks even announced the first couple who was safe. It seemed like the show might go over the allotted time or even be cut off, but then Banks surprised everyone by announcing that all of the couples will be moving on to dance in Tuesday’s episode.
Which Couple Won the Mickey Dance Challenge?
It was amazing to see how each Dancing with the Stars couple incorporated the Mickey Dance Challenge moves into their routines, even the ones that didn’t seem to fit with that style. At the end of the night, the judges chose one of the couples as the winner of the challenge, adding two extra points to their score.
Judge Len Goodman announced that the winner of the Mickey Dance Challenge was Jimmie Allen and Emma Slater, saying they did the challenge “with the correct character for their dance.” They danced the Paso Doble to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan.
Jimmie and Emma’s dramatic version of Mickey’s dance moves fit in seamlessly with the rest of their dance. They originally received a score of 30 out of 40 from the judges. The extra points gave them a final score of 32.
Melora Hardin Tops the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Leaderboard with a Killer Quickstep
Monday night’s episode featured some strong performances from several of the remaining stars. JoJo Siwa kicked off the show by dancing the Viennese Waltz to “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” with JoJo playing the Prince and her partner Jenna Johnson playing Cinderella. They received a score of 35, with the first nines of the season.
Olivia Jade and Val Chmerkovskiy tied their score with a fierce Samba to “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from The Lion King. In another fun twist, Olivia played Simba and Val played Nala. Judge Derek Hough called it “effortless fun,” complimenting their makeup. Carrie Ann Inaba praised the chemistry and trust between Olivia and Val.
Just when we thought Olivia and JoJo would be at the top of the leader board, Melora Hardin pulled out an incredible Quickstep to “I Wanna Be Like You” from The Jungle Book with her partner Artem Chigvintsev. Their routine was silly in all the right ways, without sacrificing technique. The judges absolutely loved it, giving the couple a score of 36 out of 40, topping the leaderboard.
SEE ALSO: MATT JAMES DOES THE MOST, DRESSING IN SUPERHERO UNITARD FOR ‘DWTS’ DISNEY HEROES NIGHT
Are Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess Being Too Lovey-Dovey?
Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess ended the night at the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 25 out of 40. They performed the Waltz to “Someday My Prince Will Come” from Snow White. As usual, they really played up the fact that they’re a couple in real life.
If you’re getting a little tired of the couple using the same lovey-dovey gimmick from week to week, you’re not alone. Goodman said there was “so much kissing and cuddling and messing about” that he didn’t see enough of the Waltz. Banks suggested that the judges thought they were “loving each other too much.”
It just goes to show that having real-life chemistry doesn’t always translate to the best work on the dance floor. We’ll have to wait and see how Brian and Sharna fare during Tuesday’s Villains Night. Let us know in the comments what you thought of tonight’s performances.
