Ballroom

“DWTS” Season 35, Episode 7: All Kinds of Emotions on Dedication Night

October 21, 2026

If you watched portions of last night’s “Dancing with the Stars” episode through a film of welling tears, you’re not alone. Dedication Night is always emotional, and this season’s edition made good on that promise. It’s also often a turning point for competitors as they give themselves fully to their performances.

But it wouldn’t be reality television without a few curveballs, would it? To begin, a scandal surrounding pro Val Chmerkovskiy and a social media post he made last led to his suspension from last night’s episode. While that knowledge could have added a truly strange and awkward tone to the evening, previously eliminated pro Alan Bersten stepped in to partner Jenna Dewan with such grace and professionalism in Dewan’s tribute to her mother that those feelings quickly evaporated. (Consider us fans of this partnership and the exquisite performance it produced.) So it turned out that, instead, a jarring The Cat in the Hat promo dance was the evening’s greatest disruptor.

In Tyler Cameron’s contemporary number dedicated to his late mother, choreographed by pro Sharna Burgess, he and fiancée Tate Madden announced their pregnancy through a voiceover added to Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers.” It was touching, and the show even provided a gender reveal. (Spoiler alert: pink confetti!) So when former mirror-ball champ Xochitl Gomez—who, don’t get us wrong, we love—and a swath of blue-wigged pros and troupe dancers flooded the stage right after to Hilary Duff’s new single, “CATastrophe,” it felt like a massive record scratch. If the show is, for better or for worse, going to continue integrating sponsored dances, we hope the timing is finessed at least a bit more than it was last night.

  • Costumed in powder blue evening wear, Alan Bersten and Jenna Dewan waltz in frame with a slight lean to the right.
    Alan Bersten and Jenna Dewan. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Onstage with mist on the floor and confetti fluttering down, Tyler Cameron lifts fiancée Tate Madden and spins her. Madden reaches an arm out while tucking one leg behind and extending the other out, foot pointed.
    Tyler Cameron with fiancée Tate Madden. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Onstage with confetti on the floor, Xochitl Gomez and Alfonso Ribeiro stand surrounded by dancers costumed in bright red with short blue wigs. They clap and smile at something off camera.
    “DWTS” Season 32 winner Xochitl Gomez (center, in jeans) posing with host Alfonso Ribeiro (in black tux), eliminated pros, and troupe members following their promotional dance for the new The Cat in the Hat movie. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.

Still, each of the competitors’ performances resonated with us deeply. While we loved all of them, here are some moments that made our vision extra-salt-watery:

  • Ezra Frech’s transformation, with the help of his mother, from scared and self-conscious to boundlessly confident, supporting pro Daniella Karagach in stunning lifts and eating up the space with his movement
  • The look on Tatyana Ali’s face when host Alfonso Ribeiro, her former “big brother” on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” took her hands to join her Viennese waltz dedicated to their late onscreen father, James Avery
  • The sheer grittiness and pride that emanated from Maura Higgins in her paso doble tribute to her home country, Ireland, alongside pro Mark Ballas and guest performer Lochlan “Lucky” Howard of Lord of the Dance
  • Amber Glenn’s breathtakingly raw contemporary tribute to her sister, Brooke, who helped her survive serious mental and physical health challenges (represented in the dance by pro Pasha Pashkov) when Glenn was a young athlete
  • When Shelby Rabara mouthed “I love you” while dancing with her husband, competitor Harry Shum Jr., in an emotional foxtrot which pro Jenna Johnson choreographed to also include Shum’s parents and daughter, Xia
  • A sweet performance to Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again,” danced by new pro Adele Zaikman and fellow “The Next Pro” competitor Allen Genkin, in memory of the iconic country singer following her passing on August 25
  • And a wrenching finish to Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa’s contemporary performance as Stiles laid down a rose for her late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger, a portion of her famous monologue from the film playing aloud

It was fitting, honestly, that none of the couples went home last night. It would have been too cruel.

  • Ezra Frech stands in arabesque, leaning forward to support Daniella Karagach, who leans across his back with one arm raised.
    Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Tatyana Ali, wearing a light tan evening gown, sits on a couch with a spotlight illuminating an empty seat next to her. She looks wistfully off into the distance.
    Tatyana Ali, sitting on a couch reminiscent of the one from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” with a spotlight illuminating an empty seat for her late co-star, James Avery. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Mark Ballas, Maura Higgins, and Lochlan "Lucky" Howard pose triumphantly while bathed in green lighting, fireworks exploding behind them as a camera records in front. Higgins stands in the middle with her arms raised in a high "V" as the men kneel on one knee on either side, inside arms on hips and outside arms raised like Higgins'.
    From left: Mark Ballas, Maura Higgins, and Lochlan “Lucky” Howard embodying the spirit of Éire. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Jackson Olson holds his mother around her waist as he dips her to one side. She lifts her front leg and wraps an arm around her son's shoulder. They wear sparkling magenta costumes.
    Jackson Olson dancing with his mother, Laura. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Pasha Pashkov, in black, lies defeated on the floor as Amber Glenn lurches down to push him away, her hair flying, with her sister, Brooke, at her back.
    From left: Pasha Pashkov and Amber and Brooke Glenn. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Rylee Arnold and Connor Wood smile at each other in frame as they dance a Viennese Waltz in maroon evening wear.
    Rylee Arnold and Connor Wood in a Viennese waltz dedicated to Wood’s father, Pete. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Allen Genken crouches and holds Adele Zaikman around the waist as she does a deep lunge, leaning backward with an arm around Genkin's shoulders.
    Allen Genken and Adele Zaikman in a dance tribute to Dolly Parton. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.
  • Onstage surrounded by candles and musicians, a group of "10 Things I Hate About You" cast members stand side-by-side, arms around each other, as they face away from the camera to look at an image projected at the back of the stage showing Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger in a still from the movie. A camera man stands next to them, recording.
    Julia Stiles (in blue dress) with her 10 Things I Hate About You co-stars at the end of her tribute to Heath Ledger, shown with Stiles onscreen in a still from the movie. Photo by Eric McCandless, courtesy Disney/ABC.

Like last week, the presence of a guest judge (this time, former longtime pro Kym Johnson-Herjavec) upped the highest possible score to 40. Here are the official standings from Week 6, along with some quotes of the week:

  • Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov: 38/40
  • Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach: 37/40
  • Jenna Dewan and Alan Bersten: 37/40
  • Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson: 36/40
  • Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa: 36/40
  • Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas: 35/40
  • Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold: 32/40
  • Jackson Olson and Emma Slater: 32/40
  • Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik: 32/40
  • Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess: 32/40

“DWTS” Quotes of the Week

“Excellence is beautiful from a distance, but it’s brutal up close.” —Judge Derek Hough on Ezra Frech and pro Daniella Karagach’s contemporary-dance tribute to Frech’s mother, Bahar Soomekh

“He taught me that what you do can be more than just a job. It can be how you contribute, how you share, as an artist and as a performer.” —Tatyana Ali on late “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” co-star James Avery

“It is okay to struggle as long as you keep going.” —Amber Glenn, on overcoming a time of crisis with the help of her sister, Brooke

See you all for next week’s episode. ❤️

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