The competition continued on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars during the Tuesday, November 18, episode. Just six couples remained in the Semifinals, and they all hit the dance floor two times with routines to songs by Prince.
Every couple performed a new style of dance, as well as one that they’d already previously learned, with hopes of showing improvement. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli were behind the judges’ table to give their scores, which will be combined with viewer votes to determine which pair will be eliminated. The five couples who make it past the elimination will head to next week’s Finals.
Scroll down for a live recap of the night’s performances, including the judges’ comments and scores. Plus, see where everyone falls on the leaderboard throughout the episode and check back at the end to find out who goes home!
Elaine Hendrix — 27/30
To kick off the night, Elaine Hendrix danced a foxtrot to “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” Inaba said, “You are sophisticated, smooth, strong. It’s solid.” She noted that “nothing was wrong with the dance,” but said she wants Hendrix to “push a little more” to make the Finals.
“That was beautiful. Truly incredible foxtrot,” Hough gushed. He did echo Inaba’s statement, though, and urged Hendrix, “I want to see a little more fight [in your second dance].” Tonioli agreed that Hendrix needs to “push a bit harder,” but praised her performance overall.
She received three 9s from the judges for a total score so far of 27/30.
Alix Earle — 28/30
For her first dance of the night, Alix Earle performed a spicy Argentine tango to “Little Red Corvette.” Hough commented first. “I didn’t like it. I LOVED IT,” he raved. “Truly. Alix, I really think you have the potential to go all the way in this competition.” He also praised Earle’s improvement and called the dance “gorgeous.”
Tonioli added, “I agree. The shapes. The lines. The bodywork. Top notch.” However, he also noted there was a move that “could’ve been sharper.” Inaba weighed in last, saying, “I agree. Out of all the competitors who are here tonight, you have grown the most, steadily, in all aspects. You’re really blossoming.”
She did add some critiques, though, and urged Earle to “come back stronger” on her second dance of the night. Hough gave the dance a 10, while Inaba and Toniolo scored her 9s, so Earle earned a 28/30 total.
Whitney Leavitt — 29/30
Next, Whitney Leavitt hit the dance floor with a cha-cha-cha to “1999.” Tonioli called it a “saucy” cha-cha-cha and raved over how much content was put into the dance, also noting the level of difficulty. “You did it stunningly well,” he said.
Inaba added, “Once again, a wonderful dance. At times, I felt that the technique … I could see you focusing on the technique, and normally that doesn’t happen when you perform. It almost hindered it.” However, she made sure to note that it was still “well-delivered.”
Hough said Inaba is “out of [her] mind,” and said the performance was “awesome.” With 10s from Hough and Tonioli, and a 9 from Inaba, Leavitt earned a 29/30 total.
Dylan Efron — 27/30
Dylan Efron‘s Prince song was “I Would Die 4 U.” He performed a tango and worked hard on making sure he was tucking his backside under, due to comments he’d received from judges in the past.
Inaba pointed out a mess-up with Efron’s footwork at one point in the routine, and warned him to “feel the music” while dancing. Hough said, “Overall, my man, that was fantastic,” but also said that there weren’t enough heel leads in the dance.
In the end, all three judges gave Efron 9s, for a total of 27/30.
Jordan Chiles — 27/30
Jordan Chiles‘ first dance was a jive to “Raspberry Beret.” Hough called the jive “fresh and so fantastic.” However, he added, “I wanted a little more attack, a little more sharpness, a little more bite.
Tonioli said the dance was “so fast” that Chiles lost the timing a little bit, but Inaba called it the “best performance of the night so far.” Still, she had to point out the mess-up, as well, although she said she would give it a perfect score if she didn’t notice that.
With three 9s, Chiles earned a 27/30 for her first dance of the night.
Robert Irwin — 30/30
Closing out round 1 was Robert Irwin with a jive to “Baby I’m a Star.” It’s the same dance he did in Week 1, so there was plenty of room to show improvement nine weeks later.
“For Prince, only a superstar jive would do. You did that,” Tonioli said, also noting Irwin’s “control” in the dance and perfect choreography. Inaba said, “That is how you tell everyon! You demand to be in the finale when you dance like that. That was insane. So clean, so sharp!”
Hough closed out the comments by saying, “When you dance, you dance with your full body, your full charisma. You’re not just hitting the steps.” The dance earned Irwin another perfect score from the judges … all 10s!
Dancing With the Stars Week 10 leaderboard
The leaderboard below will be updated throughout the episode.
Robert Irwin & Witney Carson — 30/30
Whitney Leavitt & Mark Ballas — 29/30
Alix Earle & Val Chmerkovskiy — 28/30
Elaine Hendrix & Alan Bersten — 27/30
Dylan Efron & Daniella Karagach — 27/30
Jordan Chiles & Ezra Sosa — 27/30
Keep refreshing since we’ll be updating this live blog all episode long!
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC
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