Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 3, “You’re Only as Strong as Your Weakest Link: Group with Britt Stewart,” is the show’s strongest and most shocking episode. It takes the established formula and structure and shakes them up to surprising results. It all comes ahead of the show’s midseason marker, which will crown Dancing with the Stars’s next pro dancer.
Interestingly, this episode also comes amid unexpected news for the flagship series. It will have a two-night Season 35 premiere, starting on Tuesday, September 15. If past seasons are any proof, that season will start with a group number that will include one of these dancers as the new pro.
So, it’s fitting that Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro dives into “Group Work with Britt Stewart.” Host and Mirrorball Champion Robert Irwin is right to call Britt “one of the show’s most creative choreographers and remarkable performers.” DWTS fans will know that from seeing Britt’s work since she became a pro in 2020 and as Dance Captain for the show’s impressive tour.
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Her skills are on full display in that opening number, too. She commands the stage in that gorgeous red costume at the heart of the dance. Because of that experience, Britt is the ideal guest judge and mentor for this DWTS: The Next Pro challenge. She’s dancing on another level. She challenges these dancers to meet her where she’s at — where they will be by September. At first, I thought that meant that the dancers would have to recreate Britt’s dance from memory. However, what followed was just as exciting.
It’s no secret that DWTS: The Next Pro struggles to casually show the dancers bonding at their shared house. There’s only one, very short scene between Stephani Sosa and Erik Linder that feels natural. However, the one debrief scene shows how much this group challenge means to all of the dancers, namely Selena Hamilton. She has been very open about her admiration for Britt. It makes sense that she wants to put her best foot forward in front of Britt. Selena, who is starting to voice her opinions more, clashes with Nina Mayster, who struggles to hear other people out.
That tension is one of the strengths of “You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link.” It doesn’t come out of nowhere. Nina’s inability to be a team player ultimately sends Benji Castro home in the previous episode. Also, Selena is coming off of Shirley Ballas’s compliments from that same episode. I like that the time is starting to build in favor of the competition.
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It creates a kinetic energy that DWTS: The Next Pro can lack sometimes. It helps that it translates into the dance, too. The competitors have to be more aware of each other than ever before. The stakes are high when Stephani accidentally hits Natalie Jolley, sidelining her for the rest of the episode.
Britt puts it perfectly: “This incident really showcases why dancing as a unit, being aware of your space, is so important when you’re doing group dance work.” That drama — and reality for these dances — lends itself to DWTS: The Next Pro dialing up the stakes from there. It’s ingenious that Britt interrupts the group’s rehearsal to say that they must present what they know. She gives them 3 hours, “and that is the same time the pros on Dancing with the Stars have to learn opening numbers and be camera-ready.”
This twist makes me wonder who will be at risk of going home, how it will impact Natalie, and what else there is to expect with so much time left in the episode. It’s also perfect that the group work challenge would include a team dance. It has become a DWTS staple, as Britt mentions. For the narrative, it’s such a good test for Nina and Tristan Sanders, too. The former finds success. The delegation also helps AJ Pritchard finally get to show his skills in something other than jive. Unlike the tango, the paso struggles with cleanliness and spacing, resulting in Selena and Tristan at risk for coming home.
It’s wild to see Selena in the bottom two when she has had more consistency and improvements as a dancer and leader. But I know I will never notice as many things as Mark and Shirley Ballas or Britt Stewart. For example, Britt says that she’s “huge on details in dynamics,” and you can see that in those group rehearsals. They are experts in this field, and “You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link” is yet another reminder of that.
Relatedly, it’s actually interesting and entertaining to watch Mark and Shirley debate their critics. Mark pushes back on Shirley’s comments about Nina. It shows, obviously, how well they know each other, as well as how passionate they are about their craft. Overall, that back and forth only elevates the show.
Still, nothing is more jaw-dropping than the last-minute reveal. Natalie hasn’t been cleared to compete and has been eliminated from the competition. It’s truly unexpected, and it seems that was the case for the other dancers, too. It is a bait-and-switch to put Selena and Tristan, who were already in the bottom two earlier in the episode, in a point of jeopardy. It’s certainly interesting TV. Moreover, it’s undeniable that “You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link” opens DWTS: The Next Pro up to a much more intense competition.
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