The Disney magic has officially entered the ballroom as Dancing With the Stars brings back one of my favorite theme nights: Disney Night! Not only did dancers perform to iconic Disney songs, but they also split into two groups to perform a team dance. Some contestants brought the energy, and others did not rise to the occasion. With that being said, here are my thoughts for week 8!
Amber Glenn’s Quickstep to “A Star is Born” from Hercules was great on the technical side, even with a minor mess-up, but it did not really shine this week. I really like Amber, but there is something about her dances that have not completely wowed me from start to finish (besides her contemporary). She is technically a great dancer and is so nice to watch, but her dances have not been at that high level of dancing I have seen on the show before. Maybe I am being too hard on everyone, but I know she has what it takes to go above and beyond in the competition. Â
Maura Higgins danced a Jive to “You Can Fly” from Peter Pan, and honestly, it was quite a letdown compared to her previous dances. She is one contestant who started out so strong and surprised the audience with her talent and grace. Over the past few weeks, as she has done dances outside of frame, her dancing has not been on the same level as before. I know she is not a dancer, though, and she did mention how difficult the Jive is. But seeing as we only have about three weeks left in the competition, I am a little worried about her skills and health. Hopefully this is just a one-off performance (that, in my opinion, was overscored) and she feels prepared next time.Â
This would not be a Dancing With the Stars review without mentioning my king Harry Shum Jr.! His Jazz to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins was another major hit from him and Jenna that received yet another perfect score. This may go down in history as one of the best Disney Night dances on the show. His musicality, technique, and stage presence all mix to create a special experience for the audience. You can just tell he loves it out there, and his joy spreads out to everyone watching. Judge Bruno Tonioli commented that his dance was perfect for Broadway, and now I NEED to see him on a Broadway stage! I am only a little worried about him because he has done two dances in a row that are not in the ballroom or Latin style. So, he really needs to prove himself next week with a dance that is not only out of his comfort zone, but just as spectacular as this one because he absolutely raised the bar this week. He and Jenna are also immune from the dance-off happening in the next episode, so they will have more time to work on their next performance.Â
Disney Night introduced the team dances for the season: Team Slaytopia dancing to “Zoo” from Zootopia 2, and Team Wildcats dancing to “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical. The fact that the show put not even the first Zootopia up against High School Musical, but the SECOND one, is diabolical. It already created a power imbalance between the teams. Not only that, but the teams were definitely stacked in one favor against the other. Team Slaytopia included Tatyana Ali as team captain, Maura Higgins, Julia Stiles, Amber Glenn, and Alfonso Ribeiro. On the other hand, team Wildcats had Connor Wood as team captain, Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum Jr., Ezra Frech, and Julianne Hough – I mean, come on, absolutely STACKED team. Wildcats were definitely stronger than Slaytopia (even though they had a much more clever and unique name) and received that perfect score from the judges. Although both dances were fun, and I think Tatyana and Connor made great team captains.Â
Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Julia Stiles after her Paso Doble to “Satisfied” from Hamilton. I was only a little shocked that she was eliminated in this episode, as she has been dealing with a pretty severe rib injury for a while now. I have also seen opinions online that she is not improving week after week, so I had a feeling she would go home soon. Still, I am sad to see her leave because HELLO IT’S JULIA STILES! Next week is Grammy Night, where dancers (besides Harry) will compete in a dance-off, and it will include live performances from Grammy Award winners. Stay tuned for next week’s thoughts and opinions!!