Allen Genkin, Selena Hamilton, AJ Pritchard, and Adele Zaikman are the four remaining dancers competing on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. Only one will join the cast for Season 35 of the competition series this fall. Who will it be? We’re getting closer to finding out.
The competitors have faced grueling challenges that tested their technique, choreography, chemistry, group work, and teaching ability, all the things you need to be a successful pro on Dancing With the Stars. Week 7 brought them together with some of the show’s current pros: Rylee Arnold, Gleb Savchenko, Jan Ravnik, and last week’s mentor and guest judge Witney Carson for a two-round semifinal to decide the final three. Joining Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas on this judging panel was two-time Mirrorball champion Kym Johnson, who won DWTS with entertainer Donny Osmond in Season 9 and football star Hines Ward in Season 12.
That was certainly a skill level difference from last week’s coaching challenge, in which the dancers were paired with social media influencers to see if they could bring relative amateurs to their level. After landing at or near the bottom of multiple challenges, Nina Mayster was finally eliminated for managing her time poorly and failing to bring her partner up to the proper levels of technique and choreography. She was in the bottom two with Selena, another repeat offender. After six episodes, Allen, AJ, and Adele had never been at risk of elimination.
Read on for our recap of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 7, titled “Paired With the Pros: Semi-Finals With Kym Johnson,” which aired Aug. 24 on ABC, with episodes available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
“We just doubled the pressure!” — Robert Irwin
Host Robert introduced Kym, who explained this week’s challenge, which required the final four to choreograph and perform two routines in two days — half the time they’re given to learn double dances on DWTS. For one dance, the semifinalists would perform with each other one final time, but for the other they’d join forces with the aforementioned DWTS pros for a routine in a Latin style to further test their ability to teach and choreograph. Those pairings were decided as follows:
Allen and Witney (Jive)
AJ and Rylee (Cha Cha)
Adele and Gleb (Samba)
Selena and Jan (Salsa)
“It’s a little intimidating, so I need to take it to another level, to another stratosphere,” said Allen about his partnership with Witney. Adele was excited about the partner and routine she drew, calling Gleb one of the show’s strongest pros and even getting one of her favorite styles, the samba, which the ladies of The Next Pro were already tested on at the beginning of the season. And Selena was excited to work with someone who also had a commercial background: Jan was famously a dancer for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour before joining DWTS.
But the pros weren’t just dance partners. The contestants were in charge of every creative decision, and the pros were tasked with observing them to give the judges first-hand accounts of their skills. During a kiki with the judges at the end of the night, Witney noted that Allen’s biggest problem was with his confidence. Meanwhile, Gleb felt he was back in his competition days with the incredibly well trained Adele, though he wished there were a “wow” moment in her routine. Jan praised Selena’s instinct for choreography that would play well on TV. But Rylee worried AJ might lose patience with a celebrity who doesn’t meet his exacting standards.
“You put everything in but the kitchen sink!” — Shirley Ballas
So, which dancer was able to assemble the best routine for the first part of this two-part challenge?
Allen and Witney (Jive): Shirley complimented their side-by-side work, but Allen didn’t use Witney to her fullest potential. She was capable of more “wow” moments than Allen delivered. Kym agreed with Shirley: excellent jive content, but it left a lot on the table. However, Mark disagreed with his fellow judges: it was his favorite jive of the season, full of well-executed content.
Selena and Jan (Salsa): Mark said that Selena “nailed the brief” and gave them exactly what they wanted to see while making good use of her commercial dance background. Kym called Selena a “star.” She delivered clever and rhythmical choreography. It was the kind of dance “that would get you into the finale.” Shirley raved about Selena’s balance and ability to accurately hit every step.
Adele and Gleb (Samba): “That was like a professional number you would see on Dancing With the Stars,” Kym commented. Mark compared her to a “hooded cobra” about to strike. She could have played with the musicality a little more, but it was “damn near perfect.” Shirley called them a “power couple” on the dance floor. There could have been more memorable moments sprinkled throughout, but she was nevertheless a “masterpiece.”
AJ and Rylee (Cha Cha): Shirley raved about the dance, which captured the essence of the cha cha and showcased Rylee to the fullest. Kym called AJ a great dancer and a great leader who showed his and his partner’s personalities on the dance floor. Mark wanted more “soul and funk and grit” from an otherwise strong routine.
“There’s one thing that will never go out of style, and that is true, classic ballroom.” — Mark Ballas
For the second half of the semifinals challenge, the contestants would dance together in a ballroom style. Adele randomly drew AJ, which meant Selena teamed with Allen. Then the men drew their dance style: foxtrot for Adele and AJ, quickstep for Allen and Selena. “Again!” said Selena. As you’ll remember, she struggled to teach that exact style to her amateur partner in the Week 6 challenge. But this gave her an opportunity to redeem herself.
AJ was more determined than ever to win the competition and join DWTS. He even started speaking in the third person: “If AJ wants to make the finale, he’s going to produce the best work he has ever done, and especially in ballroom.” Eyeing DWTS like Gollum gazes upon his precious, he pushed the choreography to its limit, which suited Adele just fine as she wanted to prove her ballroom skills with the ballroom king himself.
Here is how the judges rated their finished products.
Allen and Selena (Quickstep): “You both shine like bright lights,” Shirley told them about how they conveyed their personalities to the audience. Kym was impressed by their musicality and creativity and believes they would both be strong pros on DWTS. Mark thought it was “bright” and “bubbly,” and both contestants were great performers; he could see either one of them succeeding on the show.
Adele and AJ (Foxtrot): Mark told them that “true, classic ballroom” would never go out of style, and their performance was “gorgeous.” Kym was “blown away” by the connection between the two dancers, who were “perfection.” Shirley thought AJ was a “star” with his impeccable technique, and the woman on his arm represented the new generation of DWTS.
It was hard to guess who might move on to the finale and who would be eliminated given the relative lack of criticism from the judges. It was an especially strong week of performances in which all four dancers proved they could make it on DWTS. But someone had to go.
“There is one dancer that ever-so-slightly underperformed,” Shirley revealed at the end of the night. “Unfortunately, this is going to be the last dance for Allen.”
“I’m very sad and devastated to be going home,” said Allen in his exit interview, “but at the same time I felt like I left it all out there. This has been the most exciting and phenomenal experience. I think my mom would have enjoyed watching me here. I just hope I made her proud.”