Dancing With the Stars premiered their annual Halloween episode on Tuesday night with the professional dancers’ biggest fear, guest judge Shirley Ballas. Known for her harsh criticism, fans were excited to see her in the ballroom, until they weren’t.
Shirley Ballas Received Well by DWTS Fans
Ten time latin dance champion Shirley Ballas took her spot at the judging panel this past week. She almost immediately showed her true colors when she gave Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa a 4 after their dance, which was the first of the night.
As the episode went on, Shirley’s harsh judging was appreciated by fans, but they began questioning why the producers chose her as the guest for this week. Though she’s really good at being a harsh judge, she’s openly admitted that there are dance styles she doesn’t know how to judge.
“[I] Wish they picked a different week… one that was strictly Latin and ballroom,” a fan commented on Reddit. “She said before she doesn’t know how to judge jazz or contemporary, she doesn’t have a background in it and they run those two styles differently on Strictly [Come Dancing].”
The thread then shifted to be about how the show’s current judges, Bruno Tonioli, Derek Hough, and Carrie Ann Inaba are often too timid to actually call out mistakes and give feedback. Fans found this extremely helpful for the pairs as they continue into the final weeks of the competition.
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Overall speaking though, fans thought it was a disservice to have her giving out 4’s to dances she knew how to critique, while giving higher scores to contemporary routines. Since Shirley is known for Latin dance, it would’ve been a more even playing field if all of the contestants would have participated in a Latin dance style.
Shirley Gave Two 4s on Horror Movie Night
In case you missed this week’s episode, the queen of Latin dance did not take it easy on the pairs that competed in Latin or Ballroom dances. Most notably, both Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa, as well as Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik earned 4’s from her. They competed with the styles, Argentine Tango and Paso Doble.
Her other lowest score was given to Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess, who danced a Viennese Waltz. This pair earned a 5 from the judge. Now, throughout the weeks of the competition, these dancers have been among the lowest scores. But, many believed a 4 or 5 was too harsh for the amount of improvement they’ve made.
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Tyler Cameron unfortunately went home at the end of the night alongside Savannah Banana Jackson Olson. Both Tatyana and Julia will be able to redeem themselves during Monday night’s Disney Night. The guest judge for this episode is Wicked star Cynthia Erivo.
