Week 4 of “Dancing With the Stars” was Dedication Night, with the nine remaining couples performing routines that honored people who had impacted their lives the most.
Derek Hough took to the dancefloor with wife Hayley for a moving routine, her first performance on the show since her life-threatening brain-bleed last year. Hough choked up while recalling her doctors’ amazement at her miraculous recovery.
Danny Amendola shot to the top of the leaderboard with all 9s for his Contemporary routine with partner Witney Carson set to “Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)” by X Ambassadors. The football star dedicated the routine to the late NCAA head coach Mike Leach, who offered him a scholarship to Texas Tech. Carrie Ann Inaba, who stopped by the rehearsal to give Amendola some tips, pronounced the routine a “breakthrough “and said his coach would be so proud, while Hough said it was “stunning.”
“The Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei and partner Jenna Johnson matched Amendola’s score with their Viennese Waltz, which he dedicated to his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson. They also earned a 36.
Meanwhile, the celebrity who was sent home was model Brooks Nader, who performed a cheerleading-themed Sala with her three sisters. She said that she and partner Gleb Savchenko “had so much fun together” during their time on the show.
Basketball star Dwight Howard, who did a Rumba to his own song “Shoot For The Stars” earned a 29, the lowest score of the night, but was saved by fan votes. Guest judge Mark Ballas said he wanted to see “a little more hip action,” and Bruno Tonioli protested, “Now you’re doing it!” when Howard began showing off more exaggerated hip moves after the dance was over.
Shockingly, the third couple in jeopardy was former leaderboard champ Chandler Kinney, who dedicated her contemporary routine — set to “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack — to her mother Taryn.
“She sacrificed so much just for me to have a shot at being successful…. She would drive me from audition to audition, sometimes over 120 miles a day, I literally would not be a fraction of the person I am today without her,” said Kinney. The dance earned all 8s from the judges, for a total score of 32 out of a possible 40.
Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold performed an Argentine Tango dedicated to men’s gymnastics that kicked off with the Bronze Medal winner on his trademark pommel horse. The routine was set to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.
Tonioli exclaimed, “Now we are in business. You were leading the dance. You were in character and we were all there with you.” Inaba praised the dance as having “impact,” but said that Nedoroscik was still a little “wobbly.” Hough noted the difficulty of the choreography, saying, “Sometimes you have to risk it for the biscuit.” The dance earned the athlete his first 9, given by Ballas, for a total score of 33.
Olympian rugby player Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten performed a Rumba to “My Way” and dedicated the routine to the U.S. women’s national rugby sevens team. She came back strong from last week’s ratings dip, with Inaba raving, “This was the most delicate and refreshing dance I’ve seen. Not only were delicate and soft you displayed tremendous courage and you did not shortchange any move.”
“Real Housewives” star Phaedra Parks and pro Val Chmerkovskiy performed a Rumba to “Because You Loved Me” by Céline Dion and dedicated the routine to Phaedra’s mother, who was in the audience. The judges gave her all 8s for a score of 32.
“The Bachelorette” star Jenn Tran dedicated her Foxtrot to Taylor Swift, which she performed to the singer’s 2019 track “The Archer.” The reality star credited Swift with helping her when she was feeling “scared and alone” over her parents’ volatile relationship. “I remember walking home from school and seeing cop cars in my driveway… Taylor Swift’s music has helped me realize there’s so much strength in being vulnerable and allowing other people to see you for who you really are,” said Tran.
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