‘DWTS’ Recap: Disney+ Night Includes Solid Dances, Awkward Apologies, Expected Elimination
'Dancing With the Stars' via Twitter Reading Time: 3 minutes
Dancing With the Stars returned to Disney+ this week for the first ever Disney+ theme night. Each dance featured a song from the streaming platform. Songs varied from films like Hercules, The Princess and The Frog, High School Musical: The Musical The Series, Cars, The Greatest Showman, and more.
Daniella Karagach Returns to Dancing With the Stars
The night began with the reunited duo, Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach. The pair performed an energetic Charleston to “A Star is Born” from Hercules. Even though the dance was quick and polished, the judges thought there were too many tricks that distracted from the dance style.
Jordin Sparks’s Jazz routine tugged at the heartstrings as soon as it began, since she sang the first verse. Ahead of the performance, Jordin explained that “Remember Me” from Coco is a song that’s close to her, since she sings it to her son. I truly thought that this was Jordin and Brandon Armstrong’s best dance yet. The judges totally agreed, they scored the pair 34 out of 40 points.
Wayne Brady and Witney Carson had the perfect theme, since Brady played Aaron Burr in a production of Hamilton. Before this pair even took the stage, I knew this dance would be good. This dance was technically strong and the judges were sure to note that in their comments and scores. The pair earned a 36 out of 40 points.
A Night Filled With Awkward Apologies
Shangela was able to live every little girl, boy, and drag star’s dream on this episode. The drag queen dressed up as Tiana from The Princess and The Frog and totally killed her dance. Even though the dance was interesting, her calling out Alfonso Ribeiro for calling her “Angela” earlier in the competition took the cake as the best moment of the night.
Later in the episode, Tyra Banks also gave a public apology. The host of the series apologized to TikTok sensation Charli D’Amelio for calling her boyfriend “Logan” instead of Landon Barker. In true Tyra Banks style, she called him by the wrong name again, during the apology. Charli awkwardly told the host it was okay.
Trevor Donovan, Vinny Guadagnino Are Still Learning to Shake off Their Nerves
Emma Slater and Trevor Donovan returned to the DWTS stage for redemption this week. Although Trevor struggled with a hurt shoulder this week, the pair was able to perform a fun dance to “Life is a Highway” from Cars. They earned a 28 out of 40, which is one point better than last week, but it seemed like Trevor was in his head after the performance.
After scoring the lowest in almost all of the weeks of the competition, Vinny Guadagnino showed off some skill this week. He hasn’t impressed on the stage until now, even though the dance was “far from perfect” the judges were proud of Vinny for improving so much. Vinny and Koko Iwasaki earned a 29 out of 40, it was the first week they were above last place on the leaderboard.
Sam Champion, Cheryl Burke Are Eliminated on Disney+ Night
The bottom two pairs of the night were Emma and Trevor, and Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke. After judge deliberations, they decided to eliminate Sam and Cheryl. This turn out was totally expected after hearing about Sam’s injuries behind the scenes.
Next week Dancing With the Stars will return with a two-night event. Monday will feature emotional stories from the lives of the stars, while Tuesday will be prom themed with a dance marathon. The next episodes on October 17 and 18 air on Disney + at 8 p.m. ET.
