An enchanting evening of Disney classics guest judged by Cynthia Erivo saw Broadway legends like Heather Headley accompany routines live.


Tatyana Ali, Jan Ravnik, Jenna Johnson, Harry Shum Jr., Ezra Sosa, and Julia Stiles on 'DWTS'
Credit: ABC

Be our guest, be our guest, put your dance skills to the test!

It was Disney Night on Dancing With the Stars. The ballroom seemed alit by some enchanted flame as season 35's eight remaining couples hit their best steps inspired by Disney classics. DWTS has done Disney-themed episodes before, so this year, the well-oiled ratings machine decided to narrow the focus to "the magic of Disney on Broadway."


Cynthia Erivo, who is no stranger to the House of Mouse (she previously lent her voice to characters in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Star Wars: Visions), and won a Tony Award for her turn in Broadway's The Color Purple, sat in the fourth chair on the judging panel. She had big shoes to fill (or rather, famously tiny shoes) after Shirley Ballas rocked the ballroom by handing out shockingly low scores to several competitors last week. And that wasn't the only twist of the night.

The remaining contenders were split into two teams, and cohosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough each joined one. Team Slaytopia was led by Fresh Prince alum Tatyana Ali, and featured Maura Higgins, Amber Glenn, Julia Stiles, their pro partners, and Ribeiro. In addition to each couple's partner dance, each team had to learn a group dance. Slaytopia's was to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2.

Team Wildcats was led by podcaster Connor Wood, and featured Ezra Frech, Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum Jr., their pro partners, and Julianne. They danced to "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical.

The evening kicked off with an appropriately theatrical opening spectacular, in which the Dancing With the Stars pro cast and troupe danced to numbers from The Greatest Showman, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and more. They were joined by Broadway titans who'd return to accompany several routines later, including Aida's Heather Headley, The Little Mermaid's Michael James Scott, and Mary Poppins' Kyra Belle Johnson.

After sheets of confetti were cleared from the floor, Ribeiro welcomed Erivo to the stage, who noted she was "hoping to see really expressive performances from really wonderful people." Ribeiro also made sure to shout out Ray Chew, the show's long-serving music director, who won his first Emmy over the weekend at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards for his direction of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

First up after the introductory affairs were Glenn and her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov. Erivo raved that their quickstep to Hercules' "A Star is Born" was "the most joyful way ever to start this thing off." Judge Bruno Tonioli did clock "a little misstep," but Carrie Ann Inaba praised Glenn's power as a performer, wondering aloud, "Is that the first time we've had a woman leading a man in the history of DWTS? If so, bravo!"

The couple scored a 34, down from last week's 36, and then Higgins and her pro partner, Mark Ballas, tried their hands at a jive to a song from Broadway's Peter Pan. Higgins was overcome during rehearsals, dropping to the ground and lamenting, "I'm very overwhelmed because I'm not a dancer and I'm not a performer," but vowed to "give it everything we've got." Unfortunately, the judges had about as much criticism as they had positive feedback, with Tonioli admonishing Higgins to incorporate "more elasticity through the legs" and Inaba finding that there were "times that the energy dropped."

Higgins and Ballas plateaued with another 32, while Ali and her pro partner, Jan Ravnik, executed a routine that earned winning notices, bumping their dismal 28 on Horror Movie Night up by a whopping five points. Inaba told Ali that she "gave me chills; you danced with depth and true emotion," and Derek Hough pointed out the "divine feminine energy that just radiates from you." They earned their first 9 of the season, and Shum and his pro partner, Jenna Johnson, set the competition on fire again by earning another perfect 40. Shum channeled Dick Van Dyke (by way of Charlie Chaplin, if you ask Erivo) for the Mary Poppins-inspired routine that had Hough exclaiming, "Get this man on Broadway, stat!"

After a rocky night last week that earned Frech his lowest scores of the competition so far, the Paralympian and his pro partner, Daniella Karagach, rocketed back to the head of the pack with a Little Mermaid-inspired number that prompted Inaba's praise, "Once again you make the impossible possible." Then Stiles, who tied Ali last week at the bottom after Shirley Ballas handed them both 4s, rebounded to the same 33 as Ali. It wasn't a strong start for the actress, who collapsed during rehearsals over a rib injury, but Inaba locked eyes with Stiles during the critique and told her, "I see you. I see you digging deep, I see you turning deep, real raw emotion into beautiful dancing."

The final two dances before the groups assembled for the climactic showdown were by Dewan and her pro partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, and Wood and his pro partner, Rylee Arnold. Shum and Johnson (who is married to Chmerkovskiy) likely thought, or at least hoped, that their 40 would give them immunity from elimination. But then Dewan and Chmerkovskiy's elegant quickstep to "Be Our Guest" earned them the evening's second perfect score. Dewan's partner, Steve Kazee, a Broadway vet and Tony winner, joined them in rehearsals to impart some advice: "The common misconception is to play to the back wall, but as long as it's truthful, it doesn't have to be big."

Wood kicked off his rehearsals with Arnold by calling his friend Milo Manheim, a DWTS season 27 finalist and the future star of Disney's live-action remake of Tangled. Manheim's pep talk worked, but only to a limited degree. Tonioli and Derek both advised that the Wood watch his frame, while Inaba set a challenge before him: "I want you to work on being the lead. You guide the dance!"

Before the cast split up into their respective teams, it was time for a little Sherri Shepherd! The actress, Emmy-winning talk show host, and DWTS season 14 alum brought Broadway's Aladdin to the ballroom. Shepherd sang "Friend Like Me," which she currently performs every night as the production's Genie. She was joined by her Aladdin, Rodney Ingram, in a routine choreographed by DWTS pro Britt Stewart.

Since Wood and Ali have the lowest total scores in the competition thus far, they were able to select their own teammates. Team Slaytopia (Ali) were up first, and things got off to a chaotic start. "I'm always f---ing up," Higgins fretted, while Ali impressed upon her teammates, "It's important for me to win, because I want those points!" These group dances aren't just for show —the scores earned add to each couple's overall scores, and as Ballas noted in rehearsals, "A team dance can totally flip the leaderboard."

Team Slaytopia's group routine to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2 earned them a 36. "Look at this leopard," Tonioli marveled at the group's animal-print costumes. "You're purring like kittens! I love the samba rolls, I love the turns," he said. Ali called her teammates "the most amazing group. It was collaborative, it was supportive."

Not collaborative or supportive enough, evidently. Because Team Wildcats (Wood) then took the floor and pulverized their competition. It did help that Wood had three of the competition's strongest dancers in Shum, Dewan, and Frech, who explained that the "story" of their High School Musical-inspired dance is "the jocks and the cheerleaders coming together for a pep rally." Arnold, who is of the HSM generation, coached her teammates on "iconic High School Musical dance" moves, and the team earned a perfect 40. Derek admitted that he "got weirdly emotional watching that... There's so much joy in this room, so much freedom."

Now on to the scores.

Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov
Dance: Quickstep to "A Star Is Born"
Broadway Show: Hercules
Score: 34

Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas
Dance: Jive to "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!"
Broadway Show: Peter Pan
Score: 32

Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik
Dance: Contemporary to "Easy as Life"
Broadway Show: Aida
Score: 33

Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson
Dance: Jazz to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
Broadway Show: Mary Poppins
Score: 40

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas on 'DWTS'
Credit: Dancing WIth The Stars/instagram
Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach
Dance: Samba to "Under the Sea"
Broadway Show: The Little Mermaid
Score: 37

Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa
Dance: Paso doble to "Satisfied"
Broadway Show: Hamilton
Score: 33

Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Quickstep to "Be Our Guest"
Broadway Show: Beauty and the Beast
Score: 40

Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold
Dance: Waltz to "I See the Light"
Broadway Show: Tangled
Score: 32

After the glitter faded, the eight couples assumed their positions at the bow of the ballroom. Ribeiro and Julianne called the names of all pairings marked safe from the night's elimination, until just Stiles and Sosa and Higgins and Ballas were left.

Finally, Ribeiro read out Stiles' and Sosa's names as the duo going home. The couple shared a long hug before heading down to share their reactions. Stiles is a self-proclaimed DWTS fangirl, so Julianne asked her what it's been like actually competing all these weeks. "It's been an incredible experience. I pulled things out of myself that I didn't realize were there. Ezra is an amazing person. I'm going to be sad I don't get to see him every day."

Sosa concurred. Directing his comments toward Stiles, the dancer shared, "Just to see your growth in and out of the ballroom has been an absolute honor. I can't believe I got to share this experience with you. I love you." As the cameras pulled back and the cohosts signed off, Sosa could be seen saying to Stiles, "I'm so sorry."

New episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 35 air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.


Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Cynthia Erivo, and Bruno Tonioli on 'DWTS'
Credit: ABC

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