Dancing With the Stars Scares Up the Season’s First 10s in Halloween Episode — But Who Got the Boot?
It’s been too long since any of us attended a true graveyard smash. Fortunately, Dancing With the Stars rectified that on Tuesday night with its annual Halloween outing, which asked the contestants to face their biggest fears in their routines. (Snakes and vampires and ventriloquist dummies, oh my.)
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Of course, even more than creepy dolls and the Boogeyman, the Dancing hopefuls likely feared this week’s three dance-offs, in which two couples — seeking some bonus points from the judges — faced off against each other by simultaneously performing in the same style. (Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, having topped last week’s leaderboard and received the highest cumulative score thus far this season, were immune from participating in this section.)
This time around, Dwight and Daniella beat Ilona and Alan in the cha-cha dance-off; Jenn and Sasha beat Stephen and Rylee in the salsa; and Joey and Jenna beat Danny and Witney in the jive. But how did the winners’ bonus points affect the evening’s final leaderboard? Which couple was forced to live out the ultimate Halloween nightmare of elimination from Season 33? And did Carrie Ann Inaba render her “10” paddle completely meaningless with how often it came out in this episode?
Keep scrolling for a recap of this week’s performances and results, then hit the comments with your reactions!
SAFE: Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “Psycho Killer” by Miley Cyrus)
The actual tango content here was fairly standard, and at times even a bit off on Ilona’s part. But man, how cool to see her strut around as this routine’s psycho killer, with an unabashed sexiness that Week 1 Ilona was too reserved to attempt. With only six couples left in the competition after Tuesday’s episode, Ilona is admittedly running out of time to perfect her footwork fumbles and get her technique on par with some of her fellow competitors — but she’s starting to make a convincing case for the finale. (Also, you guys saw that almost-kiss moment, too, right? Eat your heart out, Brooks and Gleb!)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 24 out of 30
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 0
TOTAL SCORE: 24
SAFE: Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach
DANCE STYLE: Contemporary (to “Ring Around the Rosie” by District 78 ft. Natalia Lillee)
There’s apparently no leaderboard problem that can’t be solved by a Halloween contemporary between Daniella Karagach and an extremely tall basketball player. Three years ago, she and Iman Shumpert blew us all away with an Us-themed horror contemporary that was immediately cemented as one of the show’s strongest routines ever. Tuesday’s performance with Dwight shared a lot of that routine’s DNA, with Daniella getting flung around like a rag doll and Dwight believably committing to his terrifying character. I would argue — at the risk of ruining all the fun — that there wasn’t nearly enough true contemporary content for Dwight here, with many of his steps involving towering over Daniella, walking up behind Daniella and catching Daniella. But he did bring an intensity and precision to this number that we haven’t seen from him before, and I’m eager to see if he can harness it for future weeks.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 28 out of 30 (including the season’s first 10!)
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 3
TOTAL SCORE: 31
SAFE: Danny Amendola and Witney Carson
DANCE STYLE: Argentine Tango (to “Poison” by RAVN)
I fear we’re starting to lose the plot a bit with Danny. Hear me out: There’s no doubt he’s committed. He’s more comfortable out there every week. And he consistently pulls off this season’s most impressive tricks, acting as a solid base for Witney’s many lifts. But, gah! He’s just so stiff, after all this time! And though he’s perfectly fine at the sections of each routine when he’s not doing strict ballroom choreography (like with last week’s Deadpool & Wolverine fight-sequence moments), he regularly stiffens up and short-changes his movements when it’s time for him to attack the meat of the performance; when he and Witney were done with their snaky intro section on Tuesday, the actual Argentine tango portions were often clunky.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 28 out of 30
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 0
TOTAL SCORE: 28
SAFE: Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson
DANCE STYLE: Argentine Tango (to “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” by Róisín Murphy)
Derek was right to point out a bit of shakiness in Joey’s lifts, which I admit surprised me; he’s easily the best male contestant left, and he’s both graceful and athletic, making his trouble with the lifts all the more surprising. But! One of Joey’s greatest strengths — in addition to fluid footwork — is his willingness to stick to a character, no matter how goofy or outlandish, and that served him well in this creepy and entertaining number. (As So You Think You Can Dance has proven, you just can’t go wrong with “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” as your soundtrack.)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 29 out of 30
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 3
TOTAL SCORE: 32
SAFE: Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold
DANCE STYLE: Contemporary (to “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Hidden Citizens)
I just know Rylee has been itching to choreograph a contemporary routine for Stephen, so she can let his gymnastics skills run amok. Amazingly, this performance’s many tricks still felt well-placed, and Stephen delivered them with both a physical and emotional intensity that helped sell the number’s distinct mood.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 28 out of 30
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 0
TOTAL SCORE: 28
SAFE: Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong
DANCE STYLE: Viennese Waltz (to “Secret” by Denmark + Winter)
As I suspected she might — it’s happened with many contestants in the past! — Chandler seems to have hit the Carrie Ann Inaba Plateau: not a geographical formation, but a Dancing With the Stars phenomenon in which Carrie Ann is especially tough on a (typically female) frontrunner, even when they deliver perfection. This Viennese waltz may have only gotten a nine from tonight’s most 10-happy judge, but Derek and Bruno rightfully acknowledged how stunning it was, with a dash of creepy-doll charisma from Chandler.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 29 out of 30
IMMUNITY BONUS POINTS: 3
TOTAL SCORE: 32
ELIMINATED: Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber
DANCE STYLE: Contemporary (to “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 28 out of 30
DANCE-OFF BONUS POINTS: 3
TOTAL SCORE: 31
The season’s first truly surprising elimination, no? I’m disappointed by this one. Jenn was one of this cycle’s most underrated performers, noticeably taking the judges’ critiques into consideration each week and applying them to her form. As evidenced by Tuesday’s contemporary — where she maintained a moody persona throughout, and managed not to get tangled up in Sasha’s many twists and turns — Jenn had a lot to offer and, I suspect, much more to give in the weeks ahead. It’s a shame she won’t get the opportunity.
With that, I hand it over to you. Who impressed you the most on Halloween Nightmares night? Cast your vote in our poll below, then back up your choice in the comments!
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