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<\/p>\nThe stars showed up and out for the \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d 20th birthday celebration Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Mirrorball winners and competitors from past seasons filled the ballroom to honor the dance competition series that has since become a family. The episode opened with a routine to the series\u2019 iconic theme song. The six original professional dancers from Season 1 kicked off the night\u2019s festivities before joining the season\u2019s current professional dancers in a dance, choreographed by Derek Hough.<\/p>\n
Longtime host Tom Bergeron returned to the series to guest judge after his tense 2019 exit. Six mirrorball champions joined the Season 34 stars for a relay round of competition in addition to the night\u2019s dances down memory lane. The episode came to a bittersweet end as the competition bid farewell to fan favorite Andy Richter and his partner, Emma Slater.<\/p>\n
Elaine Hendrix opened the birthday party show with a high-energy salsa to \u201cIt Takes Two\u201d by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock. Her routine was inspired by Mario Lopez and his partner Karina\u2019s mirrorball-winning freestyle routine and their fiery chemistry. Bergeron acknowledged his bias when scoring Hendrix\u2019s routine before jumping out of his seat and hugging the \u201cParent Trap\u201d actress. Bruno Tonioli said the routine went down like fine champagne. And, while Hough thought the routine delivered, he warned fans at home that the competition was leveling up for the quarter finals.<\/p>\n
Robert Irwin performed an emotional tribute to his late father, Steve Irwin, inspired by his sister Bindi\u2019s past foxtrot to \u201cFootprints in the Sand.\u201d The wildlife conservationist had to cancel on Prince William to keep competing on the series. In return Irwin received a special phone call from the prince, where he wished Irwin and his \u201ctwinkle toes\u201d well while he missed him in Rio. The touching foxtrot exemplified elegance and ended as his sister joined him on the ballroom floor. Carson surprised her partner with a projection of him and his father to end the routine. Carrie Ann Inaba put her lift police protocol to the side before awarding the couple the first perfect score of the season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bernsten in \u201cDancing With the Stars.\u201d (Disney)<\/p>\n
The \u201cpeople\u2019s princess\u201d Andy Richter impressed the judges with his quickstep to \u201cPuttin\u2019 on the Ritz.\u201d Though the comedian was initially intimidated by the dance style, he embraced it with open arms in the ninth week of the competition. Ready to be a salesman, Richter impressed Inaba with his \u201ccourage\u201d to take on this competition in his late 50s. Bergeron said that when he competed a quickstep on Season 2, Len Goodman said it would be better suited for \u201cAmerica\u2019s Funniest Home Videos.\u201d He added \u201cLen would\u2019ve loved yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dylan Efron became the king of the Argentine tango with his routine to \u201cAin\u2019t No Sunshine\u201d by Bill Withers. The spicy routine with his partner Daniella Karagach paid homage to Milo Manheim and Witney Carson\u2019s performance. \u201cThat was your breakthrough moment by a long shot,\u201d Hough told the reality star, calling his improvement astonishing. Inaba echoed the sentiment and said Efron\u2019s Argentine tango was the best she\u2019s seen from a male competitor in the show\u2019s 20-year history. After receiving his first perfect score, Efron said that was the first dance he really felt proud of.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach in \u201cDancing With the Stars.\u201d (Disney)<\/p>\n
Olympian Jordan Chiles was not messing around for the 20th birthday celebration. The lifelong fan of the show was eager to perform her first cha cha on the series to \u201cGet Up\u201d by Ciara, which was inspired by Wayne Brady\u2019s performance. Her fierce routine caused Bergeron to ask production to turn the air conditioning up. \u201cYou definitely brought sexy back into the cha cha cha,\u201d Tonioli told the gymnast. Hough was impressed by the texture of her movement, but Inaba wanted the Olympian to watch her shoulders.<\/p>\n
Alix Earle brought sophistication and class to the ballroom with her foxtrot to \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain.\u201d After receiving a near perfect score last week, the social media star said she finally felt confident in her abilities. \u201cI think I\u2019ve entered ballroom heaven,\u201d Tonioli said of her routine that captivated the glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The judges table was full of praise for the TikTok personality calling her routine \u201cflawless\u201d before giving her a perfect score. Inaba commended Earle for letting herself fully surrender to the process.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Val Chmerkovskiy and Alix Earle in \u201cDancing with the Stars.\u201d (Disney)<\/p>\n
![\"dwts-whitney-leavitt-mark-ballas-disney\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a504939d3dfd04614a7c0a7c39780d33.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas in \u201cDancing With the Stars.\u201d (Disney)<\/p>\n
Whitney Leavitt owned the dancefloor with her commanding Argentine tango to \u201cCell Block Tango\u201d from \u201cChicago.\u201d Though the \u201cSecret Lives of Mormon Wives\u201d star found the style more challenging, the reality star nailed her theatrical tango. Inaba hinted that the reality star could make a career as a dancer professionally. Hough said her routine was \u201cdripping in elegance and control\u201d while Tonioli called Leavitt the \u201cbest dancer tonight\u201d before giving the couple the night\u2019s fourth perfect score.<\/p>\n
After the night\u2019s main round of competition completed, six of the seven competitors prepared for the relay round, dancing for two additional points to add to their final score. Leavitt and Mark Ballas received immunity last week, so they did not have to participate in the relay dances. They automatically received two bonus points as part of their immunity. Each Season 34 competitor was paired with a former mirrorball champion, dancing without a professional partner for the first time in the series\u2019 history.<\/p>\n
Chiles and Hendrix competed against one another with a quickstep to \u201cI Get a Kick Out of You.\u201d The Olympic gymnast was paired up with fellow Team USA member Apolo Anton Ohno. The \u201cParent Trap\u201d star danced with NFL star Rashad Jennings. The judges commended each duo for their unique take on the style but ultimately gave the bonus points to team Chiles.<\/p>\n
Efron and Richter went head to head competing a spicy Viennese Waltz to The Weeknd\u2019s \u201cEarned It.\u201d The reality star was paired with Season 20 champion Rumer Willis, and the comedian danced with \u201cBachelorette\u201d star Kaitlyn Bristowe. Richter wowed with his washboard abs graphic tee, but the judges gave the extra points to Efron for his chemistry and strength with Willis.<\/p>\n
Finally, Irwin and Earle rounded out the night of competition with the toughest relay round of the night. Irwin danced with Season 32 winner Xochitl Gomez, while Earle danced with last season\u2019s winner Joey Grazadei. The duos danced a jive to \u201cDance With Me Tonight\u201d by Olly Murs. Tonioli said the winner would truly be a question of taste, but the judges panel chose Irwin as the winner of the relay round.<\/p>\n
See the week\u2019s full leaderboard below.<\/p>\n
LEADERBOARD: Week 9<\/p>\n
Whitney Leavitt & Mark Ballas: 42<\/p>\n
Dylan Efron & Daniella Karagach: 42<\/p>\n
Robert Irwin & Witney Carson: 42<\/p>\n
Alix Earle & Val Chmerkovskiy: 40<\/p>\n
Jordan Chiles & Ezra Sosa: 39<\/p>\n
Elaine Hendrix & Alan Bersten: 36<\/p>\n
Andy Richter & Emma Slater: 29<\/p>\n
\u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d airs live on Tuesdays on ABC and streams on Disney+ in local time zones and the next day on Hulu.<\/p>\n
The post \u2018Dancing With the Stars\u2019 Week 9: Robert Irwin Owns Show\u2019s 20th Birthday Celebration With Perfect Scores, Relay Round Win<\/a> appeared first on TheWrap<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The stars showed up and out for the \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d 20th birthday celebration Tuesday night. Mirrorball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[41461,72224,151022,80389,98413,10105,16621,136085,56944,98692,98696,88,82836,151023,88806,92020,18210,105205],"class_list":["post-286778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-alix-earle","tag-andy-richter","tag-argentine-tango","tag-bruno-tonioli","tag-carrie-ann-inaba","tag-competition","tag-dancing-with-the-stars","tag-daniella-karagach","tag-derek-hough","tag-dylan-efron","tag-elaine-hendrix","tag-entertainment","tag-jordan-chiles","tag-perfect-score","tag-robert-irwin","tag-steve-irwin","tag-tom-bergeron","tag-witney-carson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}