Dancing with the Stars began its 35th season with a rare double elimination during its two-night premiere on Sept. 15 and 16. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Conner Leavitt and brand-new pro Adele Zaikman, as well as Love Thy Nader star Sarah Jane Nader and brand-new pro Hailey Bills, ended their seasons in week one.
The season started with a slightly larger cast of 16 couples this year, so the cast’s debut performances were split in half. The male celebrities danced with their pro partners on the first day, and the female celebrities danced on the second day.
Leavitt and Zaikman danced a salsa set to “Whoomp! There it is!” by Tag Team. While the judges said Leavitt had a fun performance quality, the routine was chaotic. They also said Leavitt could improve by refining his hip movement and salsa technique. Leavitt and Zaikman earned 4s from all three judges.
Nader and Bills are the second all-female pairing to ever dance on the show, following season 30 finalists Jojo Siwa and pro Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy, who is also Bills’ aunt. Nader and Bills danced a jive to “Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne on night two. The judges said the pair’s performance sent a positive message and had potential but lacked synchronicity. Nader and Bills received two 5s and a 4 from the judges.
Fans quickly noticed that the two newest pros were eliminated first. Bills, 20, is the youngest pro on this season and joined the show last year as a member of the troupe. Zaikman’s entry to the show this year was unique, having competed on a new spinoff show called Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, which premiered in July. Twelve dancers participated in the spinoff for a spot as a pro on this season of Dancing with the Stars, which Zaikman ultimately won.
Leavitt and Nader also share a similarity in their elimination: they both have relatives who previously competed on the show. Leavitt’s wife, Whitney Leavitt, made it to the semifinals of season 34 with her pro partner Mark Ballas, and Nader’s sister, Brooks Nader, competed on season 33 with her pro partner Gleb Savchenko.
While the show is known for being unpredictable, due to both the judges’ scoring and the fans’ voting contributing to eliminations, it is not uncommon for pros to face the first elimination during their debut seasons. Current pros Johnson and Ezra Sosa, for example, were eliminated during their first seasons and made it to the finale during each of their next seasons.
“This is part of their process,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba told E! News about the new pros being eliminated. “They are going to learn so much from what happened, not that that was the intention of it all, because somebody just actually filled me in on that. I didn’t notice it that way. But I think it’s going to be great because I think both of them have so much potential.”
Fans expressed disappointment with the double elimination on week one, which pro Mark Ballas said hasn’t happened in years, while on Hulu’s Get Real podcast. Most fans enjoy seeing the dancers’ progression on the show, which is harder to observe after only one performance.
Despite the eliminations, several couples’ performances impressed the judges, including actor Harry Shum Jr. and Johnson, as well as reality star Maura Higgins and Ballas, who both earned the top score of 21/30. While these couples are the frontrunners of week one, the leaderboard will likely shift as celebrities improve and fans vote. Episodes will continue to air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.