This past week marked Week Eight of “Dancing with the Stars,” and it was Disney night.
The couples that still remain in the competition are Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold and, finally, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy.
It’s getting to the point in the “Dancing with the Stars” season where everyone is improving, and anyone could win the Mirrorball Trophy. I love all of the people who are still in and truly enjoy watching all of them on Tuesday nights.
That being said, here are my current rankings of all of the couples still standing.
- Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson
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Harry Shum Jr. is someone that I have watched growing up. Shum Jr. has been on Glee, and I used to be the biggest Gleek.
He is currently my favorite star this season because I have been loving the way he has been portraying his dance through stories. Even though he has had past experience, I believe he has been improving each week.
My favorite dance that he performed this season was either his first dance, which was a Cha-Cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind and Fire, or his dedication night dance for his wife, featuring his daughter and parents. His dedication night dance was a foxtrot to “Stop This Train” by John Mayer.
Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson were the first couple this season to receive a perfect score on their horror movie night dance, a contemporary routine to a remix of Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” I do believe that this was the right move, and they deserved it.
I think Johnson and Shum Jr. were absolutely the correct pairing, and I think Johnson’s choreography never misses. I can’t wait to see what they do in the next couple of weeks.
- Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach
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To be honest, I didn’t know who Ezra Frech was, but I do know “Dancing with the Stars,” and I do know Daniella Karagach, and she is one of the best pros. When the couple pairings came out and I saw that Frech and Karagach got paired together, I knew I had to watch.
I have liked Frech since the first steps he took on that dance floor to do his tango to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. However, I do have to say my favorite dances of his so far have been a cha-cha to “Low” by Flo Rida and his dedication night dance to his mom, which was a contemporary routine to “Bloodline” by Mon RovĂ®a.
On dedication night, Frech and Karagach were awarded the first 10 of the season, and I could not have agreed more. The contemporary dance of his was so powerful, moving and inspiring, and seeing his relationship with his mom makes me miss my mom, since I’m four hours away from her.
Karagach is also one of the best choreographers and is one of the only pros who I believe captures her partners’ moves, follows her partner, follows what they can do and capitalizes on that in her choreography.
However, she still pushes her partners to be the best that they can be. I can’t wait to watch more of their dances together, watch Frech improve each week and, hopefully, watch them make it to the finals.
- Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold
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Again, Connor Wood was not someone I knew before watching this season of “Dancing with the Stars,” but now I’m a forever fan. I knew I loved watching Rylee Arnold and Stephen Nedoroscik, so I was excited to see her and Wood paired up together.
Arnold is a pro who seems like such a positive light, and Wood’s vibe feels the same, so watching them dance together is great. They flow so naturally; the dances are fun and light-hearted, and when it’s a competition setting, that can be hard to find.
My favorite dance of theirs so far, and the dance that landed their spot in my top five standings, was the horror movie night dance. The dance was a contemporary piece set to “You are my Sunshine” by Charles McDonald and was inspired by the movie “Annebelle.”
This dance was the first dance in which Wood flourished and showed off his improvement and talent. After weeks of not getting the best scores, Wood finally received two 10s for his “Annabelle” dance and it was deserved.
- Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
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I mean… who doesn’t love Maura Higgins? I didn’t know who she was before this season of “Dancing with the Stars,” but I did hear that she was on “The Traitors” and “Love Island.”
Best yet was that Higgins was paired with Mark Ballas. He was with Whitney Leavitt last season, and I am a huge fan of her. Also, Ballas is one of the best choreographers on DWTS.
I don’t think I could choose one dance of Higgins’ that I like better than the others. She is just so fun to watch; she’s funny, serious about the competition and improving each week.
If I had to choose the most fun dance she has done, it would be her dedication night dance to the whole country of Ireland. For this, Higgins and Ballas did a Paso Doble to “I’m Shipping up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys.
Higgins is someone who I would love to see in the finale because she deserves it. You can tell that she wants to improve each week, and I believe she will.
I think that everyone in the competition has been doing an amazing job, and even the people who have been eliminated have all shown up on the dance floor, which takes a lot of courage. I don’t have an opinion on who I think might win, so, as of right now, it could be any of them.