“DWTS” Week 4 Recap: A Dreamy, Dancy, Disney Night
Here at Dance Spirit, we love Disney Night on “Dancing with the Stars.” Glitz? Check. Glamour? Check. Glitter? Check. The chance to see all of our stars and celebs dressed up as life-sized versions of our fave Disney characters? Check, check, check.
And on Disney100 Night last night, we got all of that and more, with some truly incredible dancing. This season is officially heating up, folks. So in case you missed last night’s episode, here’s all the best dancing rounded up, along with who was sent home from “The Happiest Ballroom on Earth.”
Xochitl Gomez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: Paso Doble
Wasn’t it just last week that we were saying how excited we were for Xochitl’s breakout performance? Well, we didn’t have to wait too long. Xochitl and Val dazzled with a paso doble set to “Un Poco Loco,” from the movie Coco last night.
This owed partly to Val’s amazing choreo—chock-full of paso content and suited to Xochitl’s skills. But the success of the performance also owed largely to Xochitl herself. She was energetic, dynamic, and brought all of the charisma to her performance. We’re saying it now: This is a couple to watch.
And the judges seemed to agree, giving Xochitl and Val three 9s, for a total 27 out of 30 possible points, and sending them straight to the top of the leaderboard.
Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov: Contemporary
Contemporary performances on “DWTS” can be hit or miss. It’s one of the less structured dance styles we see on the show, and stars can sometimes get a little lost without the clear rules and regulations of ballroom dance styles. But that freedom can also give our stars a chance to shine, which is what we saw last night with Ariana and Pasha’s contemporary set to “Into the Unknown,” from Frozen II.
We got to see Ariana as an “in real life Elsa,” and she brought all of Elsa’s icy power to the ballroom, with focus and determination. Throughout her performance, Ariana’s lines were long and clean, capturing the spirit of the contemporary dance style. Plus, she and pro Pasha had the chance to show off with some impressive lifts, which the judges definitely took notice of. The pair earned two 8s and, from judge Derek Hough, one 9, for a total 25 points.
Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev: Viennese Waltz
Charity and Artem were up last, with a Viennese waltz set to “Part of Your World,” from The Little Mermaid. And, luckily, we ended Disney100 Night on a high note with their dancy, dreamy performance.
While it took a little while for the dancing to get started (more choreo, fewer props, please!), once it did, Charity performed a graceful Viennese waltz, totally capturing the elegant, elongated style of the dance—which was right in her wheelhouse, and it totally showed. The judges gave Charity and Artem three 8s, for a total 24.
But someone had to go home, even on Disney100 Night. Even after receiving their highest scores of the season, it was revealed that footballer Adrian Peterson and partner Britt Stewart were eliminated from the competition.