The Wow Moment (DWTS: The Next Pro 105)

Summary

The Danielle Fishel Shows – “The Wow Moment” (DWTS: The Next Pro 105)

iHeartPodcasts · August 11, 2026

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Overview

This episode dives into Episode 5 of “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro,” focusing on the theme of “Wow Moments.” Danielle Fishel and notable guests—including pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy—break down the challenges, performances, and drama as competitors are pushed to create viral, show-stopping dance moves. The hosts reflect on the nature of “Wow” in dance, the pressures of the competition format, and the emotional ride for pros and hopefuls alike. The conversation is lively, honest, and peppered with witty banter as they dissect the episode and its standout moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Chatter around DWTS Season 35 ([03:05])

• Val Chmerkovskiy’s Approach to Rumors:
  • Val avoids online speculation, preferring authentic participation.
  • Quote:
    “I’m not a good recipient of gossip… I just rather be genuinely surprised when I meet my partner.” —Val ([03:15], [04:29])
• Co-host's Take:
  • The constant change in partner assignments makes rumors unreliable.

2. The Inaugural DWTS Convention ([04:44])

• Val’s Experience:
  • Found it “massive, larger than life” with teaching, crowd energy, and direct connection with fans.
  • Teaching a group dance was his highlight:
    Quote:
    “My little half an hour group class was probably my favorite part of the weekend.” —Val ([05:53])
  • Emphasis on making dance accessible and fun.

3. Introducing the Week's Challenge: "Wow Moments" ([07:56])

• Guest Judge:
  • Daniella Karagosh, 2021 Mirrorball Champ, Emmy-nominated dancer.
  • Val praises Daniella’s growth in contemporary and humility to learn new styles:
    Quote:
    “She was elite, a master of her craft… but humble and open enough...to now be an example to the next pro.” —Val ([10:05])
  • Recognition that Brooklyn/NY-area dancers are producing world-class talent alongside Utah.

4. Creating a “Wow Moment” in Dance ([11:30], [12:40])

• The Assignment:
  • Contestants must incorporate one of three viral DWTS moves (Val’s knee walks, Whitney Carson’s leg lift, Daniella’s airwalk) and invent their own “wow” element.
  • Shirley Ballas encourages finding something the audience hasn’t seen before.
  • Val discusses the difficulty:
    Quote:
    “A wow moment. What is a wow? I’m a believer in the human part of this thing… people make the dance incredible, not the dance.” —Val ([12:44])

5. Contemporary: Love and Challenges ([25:34], [28:03])

• Dancing Barefoot
  • Many contestants struggle; Adele gets blisters.
  • Val and the hosts joke about their “baby feet” and discomfort.
  • Val reflects on how he relies on mentorship for contemporary numbers and how partner skill can inspire choreography:
    Quote:
    “I would go and work with somebody who’s great on contemporary to teach me… I try to really do my work for my shortcomings.” —Val ([29:37])
• Emotional Toll
  • Contestants visibly drained; AJ breaks down under pressure, comforted by his partner Nina ([31:49]).

6. Performance & Judging Recap

• AJ & Nina: “Human” by Christina Perry ([34:00])

  • Creative “koala cuddle” lift, strong effort for contemporary first-timers.
  • Val critiques, but acknowledges their effort:
    Quote:
    “I just want to celebrate the fact that these two people are not contemporary dancers at all… and they put together a pretty good piece.” —Val ([34:54])

• Alan & Adele: “All That Really Matters” — Illenium ft. Teddy Swims ([36:55])

  • Features “the Allen Copter” and a playful “caveman” walk.
  • Adele receives high praise from judges; Shirley calls her “one of the best female dancers… in 66 countries of Dancing with the Stars.”
  • Val says Adele transfers skill “like when you have to speak gibberish, but you’re an excellent actor. You just make that gibberish come alive.” ([39:32])

• Eric & Selena: “You Stole the Show” — Sienna Spyro ([40:05])

  • Known for fluidity and the best technique; both do Val’s knee walks.
  • Quote:
    “The best dance of the show, for sure… the choices, the quality, the seamlessness.” —Val ([40:28])
  • Judges debate if “the silence is the wow.”
  • Selena emotional, worried she let down Eric as the dance was her style.

7. The “Bottom Two” Dilemma & Elimination ([47:01])

• Hosts question elimination system based on couples, not individual performance.
• Both Eric & Selena land in the bottom due to a perceived lack of a physical wow moment.
• Judges criticize the absence of a standout move, despite otherwise stellar dance quality.
• Notable debate:
  • Is a “wow” about tricks and acrobatics, or artistry and emotion?
  • Val: “To me, a wow moment is also not waiting for the next acro move… Sometimes the silence… can be the wow.” ([43:05])

8. Language, Metaphors, & Final Reactions ([45:32], [47:01])

• Playful exchange about Russian proverbs on truth and consequences, illuminating cultural differences in optimism and realism.
• Val: “In English, that’s ‘the truth shall set you free.’ [In Russian], we’re not promising you anything. There’s a noose and you’re gonna die.” ([47:45])

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Val, on dance and wow moments:
  “Dance moves are just… the script, they’re just the words. These words take on different shape with every single person.” ([12:44])
• On dealing with contemporary:
  “I love contemporary for the storytelling aspect of it… but I source help for my contemporaries.” ([28:47])
• On the emotional toll:
  “At the end of the night, you’re just, like… Adele breaks down to Alan about the stress, and he reminds her to know her worth, that she is born for this.” ([26:59])
• On show structure:
  “It’s a good show. It’s a great show. Because it’s so different from Dancing with the Stars.” —Val ([56:16])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:05] — Val's view on rumors and gossip in the DWTS world
• [04:44] — First DWTS convention recap
• [07:56] — Launch of the “Wow Moments” challenge
• [11:30], [12:40] — Defining wow in dance & the viral moments challenge
• [25:34] — Contestants meet the challenge of dancing barefoot
• [34:00–39:04] — Dance performance recaps & judge feedback
• [43:05–49:55] — Show’s elimination debate, “bottom two” controversy
• [47:01] — Host and Val’s dialogue on honesty, Russian proverbs, and dance philosophy
• [56:16] — Closing reflections on the uniqueness of The Next Pro

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode is lively, humorous, and introspective—balancing serious dance critique with gentle ribbing and candid confessions. The hosts and Val Chmerkovskiy emphasize the challenges of choreography, the emotional highs and lows of competition, and the complexity of what resonates as a “wow” moment for judges and viewers. Authentic artistry and chemistry often outweigh acrobatics, but TV and voting demand spectacle. The episode ends with the emotional elimination of Eric, a debate on fairness, and anticipation for what’s next with only five dancers left.

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Transcript

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[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

We are back for Episode five of the Next Pro. Just literal weeks away from the start of season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, I already feel the buzz building, rumors freely flying online about who will be participating. Val, do you look for any of this online chatter, or do you completely avoid it?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

About Next Pro?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

No, about dance. Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Dancing with the Stars. I. I am outside of the chatter.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

You don't look. You don't look for.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

No, I'm not a good recipient of gossip.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Like, I don't reciprocate. You know, people like to gossip for the, like, the social equity that you. You have.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You're like, yo, did you know?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, And I'm like, cool, right? And then like, well, that was. That was underwhelming. I'm not wasting my secrets on this dude, you know, so they go somewhere else. It does intersect me, obviously, because I'm not completely ignorant. I do want to participate. You know, I think that's me walking the line is like, I don't want to be this highbrow. Like, I'm above this. I want to participate.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But I want to participate it in an or, like, a real authentic way. You know what? I'm not supposed to know. I'm not supposed to know, and I don't want to know.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know that, like, right now is when it's like, oh, I heard this one. Got this one. I heard this one's doing the show. Yeah, they're definitely going to pair up this one with this one. And I'm just not interested in that because I know for a fact that they change things around last second. Like, literally last second.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Until you see each other in the room, I don't believe it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yep.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, and so the speculation just. Yeah, it's a waste. It's. It's a. It's a. It's a waste of my energy.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Because I start building things in my mind. Oh, okay, cool. Oh, we could do this. And then it just flips. So I'd rather. Like I said, I'd just rather be genuinely surprised when I meet my partner.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Than. Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, you and I did some interviews together at the Dancing with the Stars con, but we did not check in again with our listeners once it began. Now that it is in the books, it's done. The first ever Dancing with the Stars con. What did you think of the first annual event?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I thought it was massive. I thought it was, like, larger than life moments. You know, I mean, obviously, I'm a big sports Fan having in an arena. We had the, the Glitter games on Friday. When we entered the arena with the CO2, it just felt. And having kind of maybe not 360, but 270.

[Tyler Redick]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

285.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. 290.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

92. I mean, you know, I never passed geometry, but whatever. Just having a crowd around us was, was epic. And then everything else is like the things that I love to do in the dance space just, you know, magnified. Yeah, right. I love to teach. So I got to teach an arena full of dance, you know, people, everybody was up in their seats dancing. Like, my little half an hour group class was probably my favorite part of the weekend.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Oh, I love it.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

We had the Phaedra Parks assisting. It was just again, to me, a social dance class. Now, again, when I teach, like, serious dance classes, that's different. But again, I'm trying to build something where it's accessible to as many people as possible. And a lot of times dance obviously, is very intimidating. So, you know, I, I, I treat it more like a, like a fun line dance. I teach on the backdrop of. I get to do stand up and just, you know, have fun and.

[Tyler Redick]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And make jokes and people walk away feeling good. I walk away alive, full of service. You know, I feel like I've earned my keep in this life and that's it, you know, and then we keep it moving. But the pictures, the meeting, the hugging, you know, the panels. Getting to share my thoughts on the thing that has occupied my life for so long and in the best way possible. I mean, it's a dream weekend for me.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And, you know, in the process, again, connecting with the people. Not just people, but the people in particular that have made the show a success.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So, yeah, it's, it's an exchange of gratitude and it's really fun.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, let's jump into the next pro. We only have six dancers left, so we are here to recap Season one, Episode five. We get the highlights from last week and Robert returns to green. Greet our remaining hopefuls and let them know they are at the competition's halfway point. It's only gonna get harder from here. Our judges, Shirley and Mark Ballas then enter the room. Shirley's in a white frilly top. Not sure if that's important to the recap, but I did just wanna mention it because she looks fantastic.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Very important.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I am always looking at what she's wearing, and I like that every week it's something totally different.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

I.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

We've seen bare shoulders, fully covered shoulders, she has got incredible fashion sen.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

There are dancers trying to win a show, but the star of this, this, this entire project is Shirley.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Shirley Valas. Yeah. Well, Shirley mentions she's looking for confidence. And then Mark, a Dancing with The Stars finalist, 11 times, then tells them to embrace the pressure because that is what makes diamonds.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I'm such a hater. I immediately thought to myself, I. Well, you know, we're tied for that record.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

They didn't even mention you. How rude. Tied for that?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. Apparently Mark and I share the. The most finals appearances ever.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Wow.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I think. I believe so. We'll fact check this.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And who's done. Have you guys also done the same amount of seasons?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I believe so. At this point, yes. Because he started earlier, but then he took a little break.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

A little break?

[Tyler Redick]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

See? Wow. You guys are neck and neck.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Anyway, no pressure. Anyway. Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's a great episode. I think it's a, it's a great challenge.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. And then we're introduced to this week's guest judge, 2021's mirrorball champ, the Emmy nominated Ferrari herself, Daniella Karagosh. Val, what can you tell us about Daniella as a dancer, a partner, a competitor? She's special, right?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Oh, yeah. I mean, she's been. I know her since she was a kid. We kind of came up from the same area. Brooklyn, New York. There's just so much. I, I have so much pride for the individual that comes from that region. I mean, obviously I'm a product of that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But again, I, I moved from Brooklyn at a young age as well, and I've, you know, I'm a New Yorker, obviously. I love the Tri State area, but those were formative years. Anyway, I know Daniella from that dance scene and before we get to the accolades and the competitive stuff, just to see her do a contemporary piece as the highlight of who she's coming, you know how she's showing up. That to me is such a huge accomplishment. I'm so proud of her because again, neither one of us grew up with contemporary in our vocabulary. And the fact that when she joined the show, contemporary was still not part of her vocabulary. This is something that she's grown into while doing the show.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And again, for me, that's a testament to. When she joined Dancing with the Stars, she was elite, a master of her craft on a different level that everybody got to see very quickly. But the fact that she was humble enough and open enough and still hungry enough to learn other styles enough to now be an Example to show to the next pro. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of her and I'm proud to have the world celebrate this talent. Yeah, you know, we hear a lot obviously about the incredible talent that comes out of Provo, Utah and Utah in general. You know, there's, there's a community in, in Brooklyn, New York, in the, in the greater tri State New York area that is producing some of the, the best ballroom Latin dancers that represent this country, the United States, for a long time as winners, world champions, Blackpool champions. You know, we're proud to be Americans too.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Even though we have these odd sounding names.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So again, she's a product of that environment and I, you know, I appreciate seeing her in the room that I get to shine in as well.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It's always so nice to hear you lay praise on everyone that, you know, you do such a good job of it. Daniella performs to a slow rendition of Tears for Fears. Everybody wants to rule the world. And as always, it is stellar with lots of awe inspiring lifts and a few of her biggest viral moments from past seasons.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I know it was like a cocktail of all things.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It was like Val's knee walks and then there was the walk. And Robert has only three words when it's done.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Wow. Wow.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Wow. Daniella explains that she has learned that successful Dancing with the Stars dances have to include wow moments that can go viral and that means more votes. So this week's challenge for the theme is wow. Moments and it'll be contemporary and will need to include one of three Dancing with the Stars viral moments. Celebrity podcaster Val Chmerkovsky's knee walks, Whitney Carson's leg lift, or Daniella's very own airwalk. Plus they will need to add one of their own unique viral attempts into the mix. As Shirley explains, Look to find something the audience has never seen before. How hard is that? Like when you, when, when we talk about music or TV or movies, a lot of what comes up is, is there any, is anything new? Is there ever anything truly that we haven't experienced before or is something always an, you know, somewhat taken from something else? How hard is it to come up with a dance move that no one's ever seen?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's very hard.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

How do you guys seem to do it so easily?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

We don't. I just think dance moves are just, you know, they're, they're just the script, they're just the words. You know, these words take on different shape with every single person, you know, a different person doing them. You know, they're not the same. And so this is a hard episode for me because, you know, a wow moment. What is a wow? I. I'm a believer in. In the human part of this thing. Right. I think people make the dance incredible. Not the dance.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, and so of course, I want cool choreography, but I'm never tripping about choreography, honestly, because I'll make any choreography great because I am a part of it. I'm going to be doing that choreography, even the craziest stuff, unless it's like breaking my body.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, I will put so much soul into that, it'll. It'll be the greatest thing you ever see. Right. So that's what I believe in. And. And for that reason, I'm. I'm not a trickster. I'm not really a thrower or any of that stuff.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, we saw you try to do a double cartwheel last year.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I did. And you see how that ended. I love the spirit, but on the flip side, it's not about what I think or what I am or what. You know, I do see the value in the wow moment. That is physical.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Acrobatic. Just that I think there's a psychology there that isn't about dance at all. It's just about the human psychology of, like, whoa. This death. Death defying feat that you see, that's not dance to me.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

That is just a. An incredible, acrobatic, Cirque du Soleil type of performative thing. If you're asking me as a pure dancer. And that's where I am. Again, for me, the wow moments have always been about the exchange between two people.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And the quality of everything else. That's the wow. The wow is how I. How I move.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

But that may be for dance. But we're talking Dancing with the Stars and so now we're talking votes. And socially.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

That's why, again, I like. I like this episode and it's important. I'm just not the guy for the episode. This is the episode. I would have been eliminated.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Really? This would have been your week. You would have been. I don't wanna. Do I spoil it? Do the people know or are they waiting till the end?

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

I don't know.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I think it's a very controversial moment. Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Val, I just got word about something.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

What is it?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Remember at the beginning of the show, we had talked about how you and Mark were tied for being in the finals 11 times?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, I brought that up.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. Well, I did just get word that you've. You've actually only only been in the finals 10 times to mark 11. So he does have one more than you there.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

But.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

But you guys are tied with 10 each for top three finishes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So top three finishes.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Top three finishes. You are tied with 10 each. But he has made it to the finals one more time than you. So I'm listening to the final.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

They'll squeeze them into the final just to have him in there.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I mean, he.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

For me, the final is top three.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay, I see.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And we tied there.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

You tied there.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

Yeah, that is true.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I don't want to hear it.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

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Just to let you people know, we're

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[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Do you know I just found out who Sydney Sweeney was.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

New episodes weekly every Wednesday as part of my. My new network, the Dear Chelsea Network.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less. So I don't have to do so much.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

So join Yamaneika each episode as she answers one question. Who's the problem?

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

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[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay, so Adele admits that this will be her first time performing a contemporary, which sounds daunting, especially when Robert reminds them at the end of the episode, someone will be eliminated. And for some inspiration this week, Robert says he wants to take them to a place that makes him say wow every day. The Cheesecake Factory. Just kidding. He takes them. He takes them to his family's Australia zoo. We see giraffes and zebras and Robert, who's holding a snake. The contestants are wowed while feeding a porcupine and petting a rhino. Cuddling with a koala.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Wow.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Do you want to cuddle with a koala?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I always have wanted to.

[Kerry Brownstein]

I know.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I've never have. Have you?

[Kerry Brownstein]

No.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I've never been to Australia.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Me either.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Should we take to a family trip together?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Let's do it. Because for the finale.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Great idea. You start the season at the finale. So that's a bad idea.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

The premiere.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

The premiere of the next Dancing with the Star. Great idea. Oh, I love it. Yeah, let's plan that.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Now, I don't know if we said the same thing just now, but I

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

know what you mean. The premiere of stepping on toes with the Dancing with the Stars. The next pro. When that premieres, we go and we can interview Robert to promote the season

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

at his zoo while petting a koala.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Holding koalas manifestation. I think a lot of people see Robert as a TV star, the champion of Dancing with the Stars, but his entire life has been dedicated to preserving wildlife and taking care of animals. And it's so inspiring and it's so sweet to see him in his element, even though he is trying to make comparisons to the cuddly softness of a koala with the cuddly softness of dance.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's good tv. It's good tv.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It is great, I think.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. Robert's a rock star. Is incredible family. He's such a talent.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I love that he shared a bit of himself.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

What? He's passionate. It is completely random to have animals with with dance moves, but I like it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It was cute. They found ways. The cuddly softness of this koala. Don't lose that softness in the dance.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Totally.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

So the dancers were sent back to the ballroom, now reinvigorated with some wow and ready to rehearse. And Daniela swings by to help, and they chat a little about the process. Selena says this is her wheelhouse. She feels like she has a leg up on the other dancers. So she is walking into this one with some of that confidence that Shirley was talking about. They're going to be dancing as couples, and this time the guys will select their partners, which is a flip from last week. And reminder, if more than one guy chooses the same girl, the girl will pick between the two, and then the guy must reselect.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

That was so confusing. You thought you just said I was, like, trying to follow. If the guy chooses the two girls,

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

the girls went to the guy, and then when he had two women on his arm, he had to choose which of them I was. So now it's the reverse.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I'm definitely getting eliminated this episode. Really so much thinking. I'm trying to figure out how to dance.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Like, this part doesn't seem that hard. Just go to a person. If two of you are with one person, someone has to choose. Totally.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I mean, I'd be chosen every time regardless.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And then you'd have the hard decision. You'd have all three ladies on your arm. Then you'd have to choose one. So there you go. And so Alan stands with Adele. AJ and Eric stand with Selena. And no one picks Nina. And I felt like Nina was like, I'm not used to this. I am not used to this.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

And then.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Because now Selena has to choose, she picks Eric over AJ and she immediately.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

This is. This episode should be called Karma.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

She bursts into tears.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I know. That was. That was. I mean, yeah, it's tough for her. I guess it was.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Very, very difficult for her to make that.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Well, at this point, also, they're spending more time in the house. I think they're now building like they're closer friends. They're fighting, they're making up, they're forgiving each other. Maybe they're.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Moving on. And, yeah, they're closer friends.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. So all right. A.J. is not chosen. Selena becomes very emotional. She apologizes to aj, who then settles with Nina, who, remember, has never done contemporary before. And AJ admits it is not within his comfort zone either. And then we jump right into couples rehearsals. And there are two days remaining. Alan takes charge with a spinning, somewhat WWE adjacent wow moment, which he on the shoulder. The Allen copter.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, the Allen Copter. That's good.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, Selina and dark horse Eric seem to be working well together with lifts and tricks, Selena's specialty. AJ and Nina have actually implemented some inspiration from Robert's Zoo. I was. I mean, if we thought they weren't gonna really be inspired, we were wrong because they mentioned kangaroo jumps, python squeezes, koala cuddles. And Nina mentions her past musical theater experience.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Left field.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

I know.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And, boy, did it really come in handy for her.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Totally. I think she was making sounds during. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you think musical? Yeah, yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Like, gasping.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Totally.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

We also. Another thing you don't see in the show is that they are hearing their. That they know what their music is.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

The one.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Their music, like the songs they're dancing to.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I know. We only hear it for the first time when we don't hear it at the. At the rehearsal space.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Exactly.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But on the Instant with the Stars, you also don't hear. But we talk about it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

We talk about it. We say, I'm dancing to this.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And, yeah, now I understand the importance of that. I hate when they make us say that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And now you realize, right, because, like,

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

as an audience, we want clarity. We want to know what they're dancing to.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

This week, we're doing the samba to Nicki Minaj's Hero. Yeah, exactly.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

By the way, some of it, like, when I'm watching them in rehearsal, it is very cool. Then when it. When the. It's time for the performance and I see them do the move, and, you know, she gasps and it goes along with the lyric, and I realize, oh, that's why they were doing that earlier in rehearsal. So it is kind of cool. But also, I think if we knew that ahead of time, we'd see it in rehearsal and be like, well, that looks good. Yeah, they're tired.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I missed it at rehearsal, but I saw it to the performance, and I wish she didn't gasp.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

No, he's too much.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Do you like contemporary?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I love contemporary.

[Tyler Redick]

Do you?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. Do you know what? I don't like? Bad contemporary.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Bad contemporary?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

So would you say musical theater?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I don't know. Maybe musical theater would be Better, maybe.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, that's what she. That's what she was saying was her music. Musical theater background is kind of the very like.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So she sang falsetto in the musical theater. Why is it so breathy? What does that have? Listen, I think she's an amazing Latin dancer. She's not a good contemporary dancer. Okay. And neither is A.J. and that's okay.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And neither am I, to be fair.

[Fred Armisen]

Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's hard that. So that's what I'm saying is, like, that's a tough episode for them.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Regardless of whether they accomplish the goal or not, of the wow moment, to me, anything that isn't quality is inevitably not going to be wow enough.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You could fake it. You could do something. You could throw something. You could try your best. And I think they did.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah, sure.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Everybody that. But they did. I'm not taking away their effort. I'm just saying it. I'm just saying something that they also know.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

This is not their style.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

No.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And there are masters of that style for a reason.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

When you see them the same way, AJ gets to shine in his style.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And you could really see the difference.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, back at the house that night, the contestants are very tired and physically drained. I could see on all of them, and I was like, I've been there. I know when that part of the season hit me, where at the end of the night, you're just like. Adele breaks down to Alan about the stress, and he reminds her to know her worth, that she is born for this. And now it is the last Couple's Rehearsal Day 2. Daniella returns and checks out Adele and Alan. First, she suggests they refine their tricks a little more and avoid packing too much in. Daniela moves on to Nina and AJ and is impressed with their koala moment. She does recommend really breaking out of their shell and not thinking about perfection. Daniela then watches Selena and Eric, who do not have their own wow moment yet, and they are clashing a little about what they want to do. Adele is also developing intense blisters on her feet. Ooh. As she has never danced barefoot before. Can we talk a little about dancing barefoot? Because I hated it. I hated it.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I hated it, too. But again, if you've. If you've done contemporary all your life, that's like cake. Because. Because they just build this callus on their feet that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

My feet have never worked hard.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I know.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

There's baby feet.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Well, they've worked hard in a sneaker.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Correct. My sneakers work hard. Not my feet. Oh, yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, no, there's no direct impact.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Then when I had to do my contemporary, I was like, ew, there's like, crumbs and just.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And your feet. In your feet. I mean, your feet, whatever. My feet look like they got spiders on them, you know, I don't want. Nobody needs to see that. I don't want to see that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Do you try to push off contemporary as long as you can?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I love contemporary for the storytelling aspect of it. And I, you know, in the season. That's why this is so hard. I don't really, you know, I source help for my contemporaries.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, like, others source a lot of help for their ballrooms and their Latins. I. I need. I need to confront the fact that now, again, depends on my partner. If it's an elementary routine, of course, I'm more than equipped to choreograph that and execute that at this point. Not. Not in the beginning, but if I have a remarkable partner, remarkable talent, and we are just doing stuff on a high level in all the other styles, like. And it comes to contemporary, I owe it to her to give her that type of routine. And so I would go and I would work with somebody who's great on contemporary to teach me.

[Nick Turturro]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And help me, help me. Help her create this piece. And then. And then I would go into the room and teach her that piece. And, you know, by that time. I know, but it's not that I can't execute it. It's just I don't speak that language right. Naturally, you know, so I need to speak to. And all of a sudden I got to write this poem, you know, so I. I could write the poem, but I need the words, you know, and so I would go and help. Like, this is what I'm thinking. This is the. The creative. We want to tell this story. I kind of, like, these are some of the things that I'm really, like. I know I could do that are effective.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

How do we mix that up? Switch that up, you know? But I do my work to make sure that when I do come into the room, that that piece of work is worth.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

The talent in front of me

[Fred Armisen]

and

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

her journey on the show. So I try to really do my work for my shortcomings, you know, and make sure that my shortcomings are not reflected on my partner or her journey on the show. So. Yeah. What was the question again?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I said, when on Dancing with the Stars, do you try to put off contemporary as long as possible?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I try to. I try to Squeeze it somewhere in the middle where it's just like, not that long of a routine yet, but still a very important week where. Where, again, contemporary does lend itself to more of a human exchange and a human, like, storytelling. Right. So, like, I. I love those type of contemporaries, too. Again, not for the tricks and the lifts of contemporary, but for the fact that I get to be a human touching, you know, connecting, and really tell a story that I. I don't have to be, like, an intense Latin dancer for which, again, I love that energy too, but I'm not that energy all the time. So it allows for a softer feeling, a more delicate tone, you know? I mean, again, contemporary is such a wide range. Yeah, but that's. Again, that's. That's my kind of approach to it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Aj, who has been having issues opening up emotionally in dance, begins to feel the pressure, and he leaves the room. He breaks down outside, and Nina comforts him. He has sacrificed so much to be there. He even moved his wedding. So he does not want to go home.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But did he move his bachelor party?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

That's the question. I don't know.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I don't think so.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Nope.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I think. I think he still had the bachelor

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

party definitely while he was on the show, maybe.

[Nick Turturro]

Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's Australia.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

You're starting. Starting rumors. And now, just like that, it's show night. We are back on the dance floor, and Robert reminds them of the assignment. Our judges are back now with the guest judge, Daniela. And though they are dancing as couples, they will be judged individually with one dancer going home. Why is that fair?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

This week we're getting sassy.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

This week, only one person's going home.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I know we're invested now, so that's cool.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I mean, yeah, I. And I get it. It's such good TV to have double elimination. But my heart breaks for the couple. Last week, who knew? Whichever one of you couples doesn't shine, you're both out.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Even though this ultimately is a. You know, one person's gonna win. And now in this case, it's a. A couple. But it could be. Could be one person from two different couples. Who's in the bottom two? Doesn't have to be a couple.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I. That's the part that I don't. I don't like. You feel like the bottom should be made up of all the contestants?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Not just the bottom.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

So last week, instead of it. Instead of it being a bottom couple. Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

No, we gotta assess. Assess the competition still, regardless of these challenges. These are. Challenges are really important, but we should Be assessing them just in the totality of the talent in front of you.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Whereas it then narrows it down to just.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

The two person unit.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Very good point. Had they last week still done a double elimination, but it wasn't based on per couple. Yeah, I would have been. I would have been fine with it. You're right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Right.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah, that's. That's my issue is that why does it have to be based on couple? Okay, so AJ and this week. Yes. And not this week. So AJ and Nina are up first. They dance to Human by Christina Perry. And their wow moment, the rotating koala cuddles is kind of cool looking, right?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Very cool looking.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

So awesome.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

First of all, beautiful song. You did a great job again. I have so much. I give them so much props. I. They did not rub me the right way on a human level, but they are working so hard, and I. I did.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

He.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

He won me over with the emotional thing.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Aj, he did not.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Not from the dance point. But he had this, like, little breakdown. He covered his eyes for too long, so I wasn't sure if he's really crying or just scratching his eyes for

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

the fact, but he did feel there's rules to crying.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Look, I just want to celebrate the fact that these two people are not contemporary dancers at all. Regardless of her musical theater background. And they put together a pretty good piece.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes, they really did.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

To my eyes. No, of course it's.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But to the. To the. To the viewer on Dancing with the Stars, that's a good contemporary. They would be like, wow, that's a great dance. It had great wow moments. I really felt you. It had. It had the things.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right, so. Checked all the boxes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

They checked all the boxes. They really did. I don't want to say they didn't.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I don't want to gloss over the fact that you said A.J. won you over with his. With his tears.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

He did. He did. Only because I understand the stress that he was under right in that moment.

[Nick Turturro]

Moment.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Just that. Because knowing that they really only had each other to choreograph in the room, that's a lot to ask from them.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, it's like kind of what we were talking about with Tristan when he had to choreograph a tango or.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Or like a really competitive Latin dance, that's a lot to ask from him. This is a lot to ask from AJ and Nina. And so I appreciate that they remember we talk about creatives and. And craftsmen. You know, they. They crafted this routine together based on his experience, their, you know, working Together. Passion. And then they performed it as. As best as they could. And they really did throw in, like I said, to a non knowing eye, something that was really dramatic. Really good. It was really good. They did check all the boxes. This would get eights or nines on Dancing with the Stars.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

We also get Val's knee walks in there and Daniela's airwalk. Daniela dug it. Mark was impressed, especially with a trust fall move they did.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And PTS everywhere. Just. Just living life right now. Yes. Knee walks. Do that more.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Do those knee walks. I will get more. Patience. Shirley said she may even see Steal the Koala cuddle. AJ and Nina had a big showing. Next up is Alan and Adele and they perform to Illenium and Teddy swims. All that really matters. We get Daniella's airwalk and that WWE move we saw earlier, the Allen Copter. And they did a cool caveman walk together on each other's feet. What did you think of that move?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It was It. It is a move that's been done before.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Okay.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

In dance.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

In. In dance. Okay. Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Because I do them with my. With my sons.

[Nick Turturro]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's fun.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It's so great.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. Not like that. I mean, I don't know about the interpretation.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I know the caveman. We don't do that. No, No. I should try it.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. But it's a cool move.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, that's what I thought.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

That's what you thought.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Again, one more time. This is not their forte.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And they did a. A good job piecing a routine together. So again, checked off the boxes. I would say slight edge over AJ and Nina only because just certain moments that were better quality, just different things. The Alan Copter actually is a very effective, very strong move. That was cool.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It was that moment that they pointed out, and I'm glad they pointed it out where there. Where there was a moment where he was handsless, basically, and she was just kind of free moving without that little slowdown. You don't necessarily know that. No, it just looks like he was spinning. And then he brings her down into his arms. But there is a moment where.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Well, it's cool.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

Cause you do.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You build momentum, then you stop, but she keeps going. And that's so cool.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I do like that. Mark loved the Alan Copter and thought they were great together. He's blown away that that was Adele's first ever contemporary and he calls her a diamond. And Shirley thinks Adele is beyond a diamond and one of the best female dancers she has ever seen in 66 countries of dancing with the stars or Strictly Come Dancing.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Whoa.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

From Shirley Ballas. That is quite a compliment.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

She is phenomenal. She is phenomenal. I don't know if that's the routine that showcased that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But totally. I don't. I don't take that away.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

But, I mean, knowing it's her first, that's crazy.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

What? The first contemporary.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

She said she'd never done one.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Totally. I believe that. Yeah. Listen, again, there. There's some skills that are transferable.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But. No, but she's such a master at dance in this other language that she can still storytell and make. You know, it's like when you have to speak gibberish, you got. But you're an excellent actor. Like, you could make that gibberish, like, come alive. Oh, yeah. You. You'll create a scene is what I'm saying. Right. You just know how to perform because you're just excellent. So that. That's where she's at. Like, I think she's just showcasing that she's an amazing performer, amazing dancer, just on a different level.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. Eric and Selena are last. We get our Got to Be product placement as he gets his hair ready for the big moment. I like it. Remember, everyone, be bold. Be you with Got to be glue. Glue they danced to you Stole the Show by Sienna Spyro. They both do their knee walks in this one. Val, what did you think of this dance?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I mean, the best dance of the show, for sure.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Just, again, the choices, the quality, the seamlessness. She obviously was the glue of. Why, here's the thing. We're doing most of the support work. That's where the. The real, like, texture and quality exposes itself, is, like, in the points of the feet, you know, once you're off that heel. You're speaking of caveman walks. You know, you. You don't have that same quality. I mean, these are tools. These are not just like, oh, her feet are great. No, this is a tool that you develop. And the quality of how you move that tool and work that tool depends on what you're training for, you know? So these are ballroom dancers that have really no quality outside of their heels. You take them away from those tools. It's like asking a. An ice skater to all of a sudden be a. I don't know, a sprinter.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Like, okay, cool. I'll run as fast as I can, but I. I have no. No structural advantage. Just because I'm a world superstar in ice skating doesn't mean that I'm going to be a great, let's say, skier.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right, right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's a completely different part of your body.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Different ask. So that's kind of like Selena has contemporary background. That's the thing. It's like I'm rocking with you on a different. On a different. In a different space from what I'm comfortable with. And so. Okay, cool. And. And she's looking pretty good.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But you put her in her space. It's like, yo, it's taking candy from a baby. It's like, not even close.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And she showcased that. And she. But then Eric, in return, because he had a Selena and because he's also. He's him.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Huh? He's him.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

He told. I'm him.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I'm him.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

He's him. He was just perfect.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

With her.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Back to back. Two strongest dances of the season besides Alan and Adele. These two. And that's why they're choosing each other, because they obviously work really well together. And, yeah, they have chemistry. And they're. Right now, to me, they're. That. That was the best dance of the night by far. And that's a wow moment to me.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

To me, the quality, the seamlessness, the transitions, the. The fact that I got lost, you know, to me, a wow moment is also not waiting for the next acro move. You know, it's like to get lost in. In. In this moment in time between two people that are like.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Sounds like what Eric was saying, that sometimes the silence, sometimes the stillness can be the wow.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Totally. That's why I said, you know, I'm not the one to talk about this episode because I. I completely disagree with the result. I completely disagree with. With the notion that this is what dance is about. But I understand the assignment, and I understand the importance of that in regards to Dancing with the Stars and being effective on Dancing with the Stars.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right. Well, Shirley admits she's conflicted. She asks what the wow move was, and Selena says, sometimes the wow is in the silence, just like you said. But Shirley isn't so sure. She bickers a little with Mark, which is always fun for us to watch. What a beautiful, true look into what his life was like having her as mom his whole life. And to see that dynamic play out is just very special because, you know, it's real.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Oh, yeah. She was so hard on him growing up.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Shirley thinks Eric needed to let himself go more. She expected more from Selena. It was good quality, but it wasn't great. Mark thought everything was quality dancing, but didn't think there was a wow moment. Daniela thought they looked like two pros. Out there. But again, didn't think. They completed the wow challenge today. And with our dances done, it is time for the results. One dancer will be leaving the show, and Mark says this was their most difficult decision yet. Shirley asks Selena and Eric whose idea it was to not have a larger than life wow moment. And Eric really kind of bothered me here because at least the way it was edited. And I recognize that there were a lot of moments that are on the cutting room floor that we don't see. But there were many moments in this episode where Selena said, we don't have it. We don't have a wow moment. I feel like it needs to be bigger. I feel like it needs to be bolder. I feel like we need to do something really.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Ah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And I'm feeling extra pressure because I am the contemporary dancer here. And every time he would say, I think we've got it, the silence is the wow. We've got it. We've got it. Many times they had this discussion. And then Shirley asks point blank, between the two of you, which one of you was more comfortable saying, we've got it?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And he was not him.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

He was not him. So, Val, I found a Russian phrase.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Okay, give it to me that I

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

think fits this moment. I'd like for you to read it for me.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Okay.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

There's two, but I think this top one is the best.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

Mmm.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Hold on.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Those are two different ones.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Where did you find these?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Do you like either of them?

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Not really. I've never heard either one of them. Or did you find these in English and translated them?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

No.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Well, the second one, this one is. Is lies are on spider legs and truth is on the strong ones.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Fred Armisen]

Who wrote that?

[Tyler Redick]

Passing.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And his dead pass.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

The one that not spider legs. They had said cockroach legs.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Cockroach. Ah, yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

On cockroaches.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Okay. Okay.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

So,

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Ah, this is a good one.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay, well.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But it has nothing to do with this moment.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, let's see.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It says, no matter how much rope you make, the end is going to come.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It says, no matter how I think it was, no matter how long the ropes are, the truth is going to come and there are consequences. It's something along that.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

That is not. Yeah. No.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay, well, that's what it said.

[Co-host or guest on Dancing with the Stars recap]

It was.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. It was definitely a metaphor, so it was good.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Okay, you like. You like those? Okay, so let me tell you what I like.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

The fact that you did the research.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

No matter how long the rope twists, there will be an end. Deception or wrongdoing may continue for a while. But eventually the truth comes out.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know what I'm saying to others, while you. It's like that. So playful and youthful. Say that last one again just so people understand.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes. No matter how long the rope twists, there will be an end, meaning that deception or wrongdoing may continue for a while, but eventually the truth comes out. And there are consequences.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And there are consequences. In English, that's. The truth shall set you free. You know, it's just so optimistic. So go with the truth, because there is his life out there. No, here is like, look, we're not promising you anything.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

There's a news, and you're gonna die.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, yeah, pretty much. Which is.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

But it. It very much bothered me.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Right. That he did not say, well, his whole flavor is. Is just such a gentleman. And. And, yeah, that's not a gentleman. No, no, no, no. That's what I'm saying. That's why it was 180.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. That's why that was a 180 moment. I. I also didn't understand why that.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And then she didn't speak up for herself either. Then they.

[Fred Armisen]

They.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

He said, we very much came to that decision together. And you see her kind of go. And Shirley goes, is that true? Yes, ma'. Am. And I thought if she had said. And to be fair, of course, at the end of the day, I allowed. I acquiesced, and I consented to this dance. But all week, all two days, I did feel like we were missing the wow moment. And Eric felt more comfortable in the silence being the moment. I think what would have happened was Eric would have been in the bottom two and someone else would have been in the bottom two. Now, ultimately, being in the bottom two when you're not the one to go home doesn't really mean anything.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

No, but.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

But she wouldn't have been on the chopping block.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You don't think so?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I don't think so. They were trying to decide who thought they had it. And if Eric had said, I thought we had our wow moment in the silence, Shirley would have said, you know, that was a tough choice. That was the wrong week to make this decision. You're in the bottom, too. And then we could have seen who else they thought was the weakest link. But because they both said, it's both of us, they said, well, then there's our bottom two.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So then, look, then. Then it all happened the right way.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, no. Who.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Who.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I mean, you thought this was the strongest dance of them.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, I don't think either one of them should have Been on the bottom two.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Yeah.

[Chelsea Handler or Yamaneika Saunders]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But the challenge was clear. And again, this is me feeling what I feel watching, but perhaps they felt something else in the room. You know, they weren't wowed like I was wowed. What did you think of the dance? You are not a professional dancer yet, but what did you think?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I did think it was missing. I thought. I agreed that it was missing the moment that Daniella was there to show them how to do. And I see the importance of that for Dancing with the Stars. As far as a dance, was it a moving, contemporary dance that outside of the spectacle of Dancing with the Stars would have been a 10? Absolutely. But knowing how important virality is and special things and this being a challenge for this week, I thought they were the only couple lacking it. I would not have put both of them in the bottom two. Honestly, I thought AJ And Nina's was by far the weakest performance for me. I am also a hard sell for this week because I don't love contemporary.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Can I ask you a question?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes, please.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Were you wowed by the koala?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I was not wowed by the koala.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Did you. Were you wowed by the other wow moment that they had?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I. I am wowed by. Yeah, I'm wowed. I'm wowed by the Alan Copter.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Because that's what I'm saying. Right. It's like, yes, Eric should have been not apprehended. Whatever. Like, there was an assignment. You didn't do it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You chose to do something else. But the assignment is wow. Like, to wow somebody not to do something that is unconventional and.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And is supposed to be a wow moment. But is it?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, because. Because I think in the process, that too, was some of. Maybe Eric's thinking. It's like, yo, I could attempt a wow moment and look like trash. Or I could think about the bigger. Just the. The picture that I'm. I'm presenting and.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know what I'm saying? It's like, why introduce a flavor that isn't going to be executed? Not to say that maybe that that's the case, but like I said, they did these moments that were unique. But were they wow moments?

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Or were they just unique placeholders for what's supposed to really take your breath away? Because for me, when. When Eric touches Selena or helps move her and her quality and the way she.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I know she.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, the texture of the way she moved that to me was wow. Like, yo, I want to see that again. I don't want to see that again. So that's why the formality of a move that is abstract. Cool. You didn't do that. They did that for sure.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I wonder too, how much of, like, Eric knowing. Because we know that they don't get to see the other performances before show night.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Because I'll tell you something else. There are those, like, you know, those go to moves that have been done a hundred times.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And they continue to get the wow. But they shouldn't because they've been done a hundred times and they're not wow moments at all.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Just played out abstract pictures that we've already seen 100 million times. I think that this also should be part of the equation because I think at some point, potentially in that room, they were like, well, look, we have a limited amount of time.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

We're not going to reinvent the wheel right now.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

So let's, let's lean in on something that we could really deliver. So that is a plus, plus from beginning to the end.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

And Eric knew he was with the only female pro there. The only pro there who's a contemporary dancer. He knows another couple has never done contemporary before, AJ and Nina. So he could be thinking totally in well within his rights to think. Us just delivering a beautiful contemporary is going to be wow. When everyone else is going to be taking big swings with leaps. And so I, I, I do see that. And I don't think it was the weakest dance of the night, but.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah, but, but, but like, again, that's why I, I was, you know, my opinion on this episode has an asterisk to it because I, I see beyond the, just the assignment, but totally understand the assignment. I think the other thing that we just, they don't see each other's dances. I think had he seen what it would be relative to others, he would have been like, oh, let's do a lift. Forget that silence. Easy. Let's pick it up.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Exactly.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

We don't even got to do it well.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

We just gotta do it because these guys are doing it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And there's something that's, that's the part. And again, I guess that is also important.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

You know, sometimes you gotta do it for the fact that you just need to sprinkle that. From my own experience, I always run into trouble with that because I pace my routine with the, with the flow. That feels right for me.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And then I look at it and I'm like, it doesn't have the moment.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It doesn't have that thing that everybody's got the thing you could steady camera around. Everybody loses their mind. What is that thing? And then I force a thing into the routine, and then when I watch

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

it back, I'm like, it didn't need that thing.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It didn't need that thing at all.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right. Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

That's where I'm coming from.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Got it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I get that. So Shirley announces the final decision with a heavy heart. Eric the dark horse is sent home. Alan is visibly very upset. The cast says goodbye to Eric. All of them crying. Selina, especially, feels very hurt, and she feels like she let him down since this was her specific style of dance. And then Robert gives his final words with everyone perfectly placed behind him having emotional breakdowns in the.

[Tyler Redick]

In the back.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And it's a good show.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It's a good show. Five left.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

It's a good show. It's a great show. Because it's so different from Dancing with the Stars. Yeah, it really is. I mean, again, obviously, they share a common thread, but it's so different.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

It really is.

[Kerry Brownstein]

I know.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

And I don't really watch other shows or, you know, a lot of reality shows, actually, outside of, like, documentaries or whatever.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Right.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

But. So I don't know the structure of other shows. Obviously, that's why they're so popular, because they get you with these characters. But this show got me, like, I'm. You know, it's not a format that I would watch outside of the dancing part. And I like it.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Yeah, it's fun.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

I mean, it's. Again, it's. It's fun tv. It's really good.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

I. I'm definitely at that point now where I'm like, who is it? Who's gonna. Like. There's no obvious go, homes.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah. Well.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Well, okay.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Yeah.

[Host of Dancing with the Stars recap (possibly Sam or co-host)]

Thank you all for joining us for this episode. We will catch you next time.

[Val Chmerkovskiy]

Sam.