The eighth week of Dancing with the Stars featured performances inspired by Disney productions that have appeared on stage, including Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins and Aida. The episode aired on Monday, November 2, a night earlier than usual because of Election Day. Contestants also performed to a song from Hamilton, which streams on Disney+.
Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo joined the judging panel as a guest judge, bringing it to four judges and making a maximum score of 40 possible. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, and Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, each received a perfect 40 for their individual performances.
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach scored 37, while Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov earned 34. Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa and Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik each received 33; Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, and Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, both scored 32.
In the team dances, the group featuring Amber, Julia, Maura and Tatyana scored 36 out of 40. Connor, Ezra, Harry and Jenna’s team earned 40.
Based on individual dances, Harry and Jenna led the Week 8 leaderboard with 40, tied with Jenna and Val. Ezra and Daniella followed with 37. Across the season, excluding team dances, Harry and Jenna had 236 points, ahead of Jenna and Val with 235 and Ezra and Daniella with 231.
After the performances and live voting, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced which couples were safe and would continue to Week 9, themed “Grammy Night.”
Sources: Just Jared.