'Dancing With the Stars' celebrates its 500th episode as pair earns 1st perfect scores of the season

Dancing With the Stars filled the ballroom with nostalgia Tuesday night, celebrating its 500th episode by revisiting beloved routines from past seasons.

Katie McConaughy, associate choreographer of the How the Grinch Stole Christmas national tour, told Yahoo Entertainment the evening’s theme of looking back was about more than choreography — it was about growth and reflection.

“It reminds us to embrace every moment, even the falls [of life],” she said. “Each moment is an opportunity to learn. You don’t fail. You just say, ‘OK, I know a better way to do that now.’”

The spirit of DWTS’s legacy was felt even more with past champions like Adam Rippon (Season 26) and Kristi Yamaguchi (Season 6) cheering from the audience, bridging the show’s rich history with its future.

“With dance, you can express things when you don’t have the words,” McConaughy said, highlighting how the night’s song choices brought these memories alive. “If you want to convey joy, you have to choose a song that truly brings you happiness, for example. Otherwise, it won’t feel genuine.”

After the pros kicked off the evening with a performance to Beyoncé's “Crazy in Love,” a tribute to the opening number from Season 1, the night launched into two rounds of competition.

The first included the paired routines, while the second was the debut of the “instant dance challenge,” where contestants were assigned a random song and dance style in real-time, leaving them only a few minutes to rehearse before taking the stage live. Scores from both rounds contributed to overall totals.

Chandler Kinney and her partner, Brandon Armstrong, paid homage to Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s routine to “Para Te” by Appart from Season 16. The pair impressed the judges with the first perfect scores of the season — first for their main dance and then for their cha-cha challenge to “Apple” by Charli XCX.

Longtime judges Cari Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, who have been with the show since its first season, took a moment to honor onetime judge Len Goodman, who died in April 2023 and whose name now graces the DWTS mirrorball.

For their part, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson re-created Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s Season 20 contemporary routine to “Work Song” by Hozier. Inaba praised their dedication, though she noted Graziadei’s performance “lacked a bit of rawness.” The pair followed up with a rumba to “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish for their dance challenge.

Stephen Nedoroscik and his partner, Rylee Arnold, took on Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas’s iconic Viennese waltz from Season 31, dancing to Joji’s "Glimpse of Us." Their performance impressed the judges, which netted them 29 points. During the dance challenge, their jive to Olivia Rodrigo’s "Love is Embarrassing" suffered from technical missteps, earning a 25.

While the show brought back past dances, it’s still a competition after all, said McConaughy, emphasizing that technique and storytelling are the key to delivering a standout performance.

“All movement tells a story,” she explained. “Connecting to a memory that you personally have will make any sort of dance or story come alive” and is a surefire way to impress the judges.

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson delivered a sharp quickstep to Royal Crown Revue's "Hey Pachuco," a tribute to Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough’s Season 5 routine. Their execution earned them nines across the board. In the dance challenge, their jive to Little Richard’s "Good Golly Miss Molly" scored consistently with eights from each judge.

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten wowed the ballroom with their lively routine to “Chuck Berry” by Pharrell Williams, inspired by Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s Season 25 dance. They kept the energy high in their salsa instant dance challenge to “Da’Dip” by Freak Nasty, ending with Maher lifting Bersten onto her shoulders.

NBA star Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach’s routine to “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)” by Gotan Project, a tribute to James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’s Season 23 dance, wasn’t enough to keep them in the competition.

After being sent home, Howard expressed gratitude for the experience. Karagach said, “A lot of people said we couldn’t do it, and we did it, and for me that’s a win.”

Dancing With the Stars returns for the semifinals Nov. 19 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

How did the stars perform?

Judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli

Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach: Eliminated

• Dance: Argentine tango

• Routine: “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)” by Gotan Project

• Inspiration: James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’s Season 23 dance from Season 23

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Paso Doble to “Victorious” by Panic! At the Disco

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 7, Bruno 7

• Total: 48

Chandler Kinney and pro Brandon Armstrong: Safe

• Dance: Argentine tango

• Routine: “Para Te” by Appart.

• Inspiration: Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s Season 16 dance

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 10

• Instant dance: Cha-Cha to “Apple” by Charlie XCX

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 10

• Total: 60

Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson: Safe

• Dance: Contemporary

• Routine: “Work Song” by Hozier.

• Inspiration: Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s Season 20 dance

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 10, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Rumba to “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 9, Bruno 9

• Total: 55

Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold: Safe

• Dance: Viennese waltz

• Routine: “Glimpse of Us” by Joji.

• Inspiration: Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas’s Season 31 dance

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Jive to “Love Is Embarrassing" by Olivia Rodrigo

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 8. Bruno 8

• Total: 54

Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten: Safe

• Dance: Quickstep

• Routine: “Chuck Berry” by Pharrell Williams.

• Inspiration: Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s Season 25 dance

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 9, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Salsa to “Da’Dip” by Freak Nasty

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 8

• Total: 52

Danny Amendola and pro Witney Carson: Safe

• Dance: Quickstep

• Routine: “Hey Pachuco” by Royal Crown Revue

• Inspiration: Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough’s Season 5 dance

• Routine score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 9, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Jive to “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 8

• Total: 51

Who’s been eliminated so far?

• Week 2: Anna Delvey and Tori Spelling

• Week 4: Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts

• Week 5: Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko

• Week 6: Phaedra Parks and pro Val Chmerkovskiy

• Week 7: Jenn Tran and pro Sasha Farber

• Week 9: Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach