Dancing with the Stars is finally back with Season 35. With 16 celebrities and pros, this season is tied with the show’s largest cast yet. It also welcomes two new pros and a returning pro back to the ballroom. There’s a lot to look forward to this season. There is the podcast with Andy Richter, the after show with Robert Irwin, and so much more. We’ll be breaking down every episode — what we loved and what we (maybe) didn’t — all season long.
Next up: Dancing with the Stars Season 35, Episode 4, “Yacht Rock Night!”
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Overall Thoughts?
Shelby: Yacht rock as a theme is objectively unexpected and a bit weird, so at least the show is self-aware enough to address that in the cold open. But it’s making me wonder how far DWTS can go with these themes. Because the show is, gladly, only gaining steam (a bit of a nautical pun), it’s not going anywhere. I kinda hope the themes get even wackier. Also, I need to take a moment for Sharna and her red hair!
Shana: I have no idea WTF a yacht rock is, still. Those words don’t go together for me. They never will. I even watched Mark’s video about arranging his music and everything.
At any rate, tonight could’ve easily been called Redemption Night instead. Amber overcame the guilt of injuring Pasha, Julia and Maura both bounced back in a huge way after making some mistakes last week, and Tatyana Ali continues to prove whatever happened in the season premiere was totally fake.
MORE: Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Roundtable: Premiere – Night 2
Best Moment(s) from Favorite Partnership(s)?
Shelby: I am a complete sucker for Guillermo and Witney’s partnership. You can see how much he enjoys learning how to dance, and he even shares that he likes what it’s doing for his mind. Witney is pushing him and asking him to do more choreography every week, and Guillermo continues to try and show up in really memorable and lovable dances, including this week’s Foxtrot. He’s improving, and anyone who doesn’t see that may not be paying attention. By the way, Witney, your mind! She’s such a great choreographer for her partners.
I want to yap about how much I love Taylor and Britt’s partnership forever! I love how eager he is to learn and take critiques. Taylor really wants to learn from this process. The package really set up their Foxtrot, and I think they delivered his best dance yet. He’s really improving alongside one of the best pros this show has — Britt Stewart.
Shana: I’m kind of in love with the couple of seconds right after Tatyana and Jan finished their quickstep. There was the beat where you could see Tatyana processing the shock that she really just did that, followed by her relief, and then the pure joy before she threw herself in his arms. Magic. I’m so, so, so, so, so grateful she got the votes to stick around after what was very clearly a fluke first dance because she deserved to have that moment up there. The sky’s the limit for her. If that wasn’t obvious before, it had better be now.
Meanwhile, can I just say that the absolute worst was seeing how crushed Amber was over hurting Pasha? I didn’t need to see her in tears (other than happy ones) ever again, actually! Boo, hiss to Dancing with the Stars for doing that to me, personally.
MORE: Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Roundtable: Premiere – Night 1
Favorite Dance(s) and Why?
Shelby: I’m OBSESSED with Tatyana and Jan’s Quickstep. She didn’t miss a step — as far as I can tell, because there was a camera mishap, which can happen during live TV. She was moving across that floor, and you could see her really enjoying the performance. And the moment with Alfonso afterwards? My heart! And Tatyana and Jan’s reactions after getting all 7s?! I love that Julianne encouraged Tatyana to lean into it and scream again. It’s a win that deserves the moment!
And I suppose that it’s the week for Quicksteps with me. I fell completely in love with Maura and Mark’s dance. It was elegant and charming and precise — I LOVED IT. Mark Ballas knows how to create a gorgeous piece of choreography (and arrange the music to fit it) and teach his celebrity the basics. They deserve to have set that bar.
Out of the many, many (maybe too many) Foxtrots of the night, Ezra and Daniella’s is the best to me. It has personality that makes it stand out from the rest, which is what you need in this show to get the votes.
Shana: Unsurprising coming from me, I’m sure, but Amber Glenn had the foxtrot tonight. Performing first after some rough rehearsals and then doing that??? Iconic behavior. Top of the leaderboard the entire night! I know that’s right.
If I had to nitpick, I’d say that while her reach directly to the camera was beautiful and seemed like it could go on forever, there were a couple of other places where, even with some stunning breath under those arms, she could’ve let her movement continue instead of cutting it when she did. But overall? Gorgeous. And while I said it’s unsurprising coming from me as a fan, that level of beauty is also unsurprising coming from Amber with some of what she’s done on the ice—especially in that gorgeous, gorgeous free program she had for both 24-25 and the Olympic season. (But no, Julianne, that wasn’t her incorporating “her” ice dance. That’s a different discipline. Triple axel queen can’t triple axel queen in ice dance. Just saying! How many skaters have been on this show, and we still can’t get that right?)
Tatyana Ali also absolutely slayed her quickstep. Every time I think of that style, I think of the number of So You Think You Can Dance (RIP) contestants it put in jeopardy over the years, so I was so nervous for her—and for Maura, who also killed it. I’m so happy to learn that I didn’t need to worry at all. Fabulous performances all around. Truly.
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Most Unexpected or Underrated Moment?
Shelby: I loved starting the show with Amber and Pasha’s Foxtrot. The package setting up the dance as an opportunity for Pasha to accentuate Amber’s skills on the ice in the dance just shows what a good pro will do — make their celebrity shine by leaning into the strengths (That layback spin?!) while pushing them to learn technique. It was also moving to see such a vulnerable moment between Amber and Pasha after she accidentally elbowed him in the nose. Those moments really help to build a connection between the partners on-screen, as well as between the partnership and the audience at home.
If we’re talking about the growth and storylines here, I loved watching Connor and Rylee’s Foxtrot. The improvement! Connor looks like he’s still in his head about the choreography, but when he wasn’t, he was so fun to watch. Rylee is such an underrated choreographer — that foxtrot was so light and wonderful.
Shana: I…was not expecting the coconut bikini and “DANCING 4 ThE PEOPLE” chest from Guillermo. But you know what? It worked for him, somehow.
Ok, so like, a pretty big negative shocker: Y’all are in Season 35, and we got the random floor-up shot of the crowd during what was a fantastic quickstep from Tatyana Ali? Both surprising and embarrassing. I get that anything can happen during a live show and all, but I will again stress that it’s Season 35. Thirty. Five.
Underrated, possibly: Jenna’s answer to Julianne after the judges gave her some pretty, uh, detailed critiques. That’s the kind of answer a dancer’s dancer gives. In class, you want to get corrections because the goal is to always get better, and we’re taught that getting a lot of feedback is actually a sign that the teacher sees the potential in you and wants you to meet it. There are obviously problematic manifestations of that dynamic, but that’s a conversation for a different time and place. So, although it feels nice to get high scores and a lot of praise, criticism can actually be a huge reward.
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Reaction to Elimination
Shelby: I know I say some version of this every week, but I hate how nervous I still get watching the bottom three. It’s been years — decades even — and it still stresses me out way too much. I hate that Taylor and Britt are going home. Their portal was there, and it’s so unfortunate that we don’t get to see them grow on this show. Britt Stewart, I will get you that Mirrorball one day. But, gosh, I am so, so disappointed that she didn’t get closer to it this season. Her reaction really broke my heart.
Shana: All of the bottoms were men. Amazing.
I felt like Taylor was thinking way too much during his performance—as in, I could practically hear him counting and repeating corrections in his head—but I felt like his overall improvement was actually…better than Tyler’s. Connor and Jackson’s, too, if I’m being honest. Guillermo keeps improving and putting in the work in a way that connects with people, so while my heart’s always going to be in my throat like “oh, is this the week” for him, I’m not terribly surprised he stuck around.
Overall, I’m just gutted for Britt, more than anything. It looked like she was having a rough time there at the end, and I also just genuinely love watching her dance.
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