In 2005, “Dancing with the Stars” made its television debut, and twenty years later, the show remains strong and continues to grow in popularity. It’s the first fall show in over 34 years to increase its viewership five weeks in a row since its premiere.
To celebrate the 20th birthday of "DWTS" Season 34, contestants and pros hosted a birthday extravaganza, complete with returning Len Goodman Mirrorball champions, original cast and jam-packed dance routines.
The opening number for the 20th birthday bash was choreographed by none other than "DWTS" current judge Derek Hough. He joined pro dancers on the ballroom floor and six original pro dancers from season one.
Alec Mazo, Ashly DelGrosso, Louis Van Amstel, Jonathan Roberts, Charlotte Jorgensen and Edyta Sliwinska, original dancers from season one, started the night off strong during the opening number. They were accompanied by a montage of clips from the show's history, including a video from the very first episode.
Adding to the excitement of the night, former host Tom Bergeron was lovingly welcomed back to the ballroom as a guest judge to commemorate the show’s big birthday. Bergeron hosted the show for twenty-eight seasons before leaving in 2020. The night also included a tribute to former stars who have passed away, including one to beloved judge Len Goodman.
The night began with a standard round of competition, as the seven remaining couples competed with new styles to songs that had previously been performed as freestyle dances.
Smiling star Robert Irwin was wished luck by the future King of England, Prince William, over a video message. Seemingly, the video message worked as Irwin and partner Witney Carson received the first perfect score of the season for their foxtrot to “Footprints in the Sand.”
Also receiving a perfect score, celebrated in the ballroom with gold confetti, Dylan Efron and partner Daniella Karagach for their Argentine Tango, which the judges said Efron starred in. Social media star Alix Earle also received a perfect score for her Foxtrot to “Singin’ in the Rain,” which received rave reviews from the judges.
Rounding out the perfect scores, star Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas performed an impressive Argentine Tango to “Cell Block Tango,” which garnered questions from judge Carrie Ann Inaba on whether Leavitt wanted to continue dancing after the show. Fan-favorite Andy Richter wound up on the bottom of the leaderboard, receiving one eight and three sevens for his quickstep with partner Emma Slater.
For the second half of the night, couples competed in the relay dance challenge. Two couples were paired against each other, given the same song and style of dance, with one couple performing the first half, and the other couple the second. The only catch was that the stars were paired up with returning mirrorball champions, not their current partners.
Olympian Jordan Chiles was paired up with Season One winner and fellow Olympian Apollo Anton Ohno, who won with Julianne Hough. They competed in a quickstep against star Elaine Hendrix, who was paired with former NFL player and Season 24 winner, Rashad Jennings, who won with Slater. Ultimately, Chiles and Ohno won the round, earning two bonus points for Chiles and a resounding, “Team USA!” in the skybox.
Richter was joined by former “Bachelorette” and Season 29 winner Kaitlyn Bristowe to compete in a Viennese waltz against Efron and Season 20 winner Rumer Willis. While Richter tried his best to keep up, ultimately the chemistry and skill of Efron and Willis won them the round.
The most competitive pair-up of the relay dance competition, Irwin was paired with Season 32 winner Xochitl Gomez as they competed in a Jive against Earle and last season’s mirrorball champion, official “Dancing with the Stars” podcast host, Joey Graziadei. The competition was fierce for this mashup as both pairs shone on the floor, but Irwin took home the two bonus points in the end.
Saying goodbye during the quarter finals, Richter was eliminated from the competition. Impressively, Richter survived nine weeks of competition at the bottom of the leaderboard, but fan votes were not enough to send him into the semi-finals.
Week 10 of the competition, and the semi-finals, brought “Purple Rain” to the ballroom for Prince night. Each star competed in two dances during the night, one repeat dance where they reworked a low-scoring routine and one new style. They danced to songs in order of hit singles released by Prince throughout the years.
Despite receiving a 27 out of 30 for her first round Jive, Chiles went on to receive her first perfect score during the second round. Hough noted their dance was a top performance, and both Chiles and partner Ezra Sosa shared tearful joy at the perfect score.
54-year-old star Hendrix also received a 27 out of 30 for her first dance of the night before going on to receive her first perfect score from Judge Inaba.
Inaba hugged Hendrix after her performance and even bowed down to her, followed by comments from judge Bruno Tonioli, noting how she fought hard for her dance.
The most shocking part of the night was when fans finally had their wishes come true as none other than Zac Efron made his ballroom debut in the audience to cheer on his younger brother. The camera cut to him many times throughout the night, as he also encouraged his followers on Instagram to vote for his brother.
Despite landing at the bottom of the leaderboard for the two rounds of competition, Dylan was saved from elimination.
Shockingly, despite being one of the highest-scoring and best dancers of the season, Leavitt was eliminated during Prince night, as the five other couples were sent into the semi-finals.
Leavitt has been quite controversial during this season, with many fans comparing her dance experience on the show with her “mean girl” antics on the reality show, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Leavitt scored an overall 58 out of 60 for both rounds; however, her behavior on the other show, coupled with her cursing in the skybox during the night, ultimately sealed her exit.
Her elimination has rendered loads of arguments and speculation from fans on both sides online, and her exit sadly means there won’t be a Mark Ballas freestyle during the finale.
Next week, the five remaining stars will compete in the finale. Couples will compete in three rounds of dancing: the redemption dance, where they will redo a dance they previously scored low on, the freestyle dance and finally the instant dance challenge.
There is only one more episode left in Season 34, but the question remains of who will take home the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy.
