The old saying goes, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” But for the professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars, you need to do both.
A pro is only as good as their celebrity partner, but even the most gifted stars can only get so far without the right guidance, especially if those stars lack dance experience. The remaining five competitors on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro have spent weeks proving their own prowess in the ballroom, but for the sixth challenge it was time to demonstrate whether they could bring an inexperienced partner to their level in a short period of time.
Allen Genkin, Selena Hamilton, Nina Mayster, AJ Pritchard, and Adele Zaikman are the hopefuls still vying for a spot on DWTS, after an elimination last week that came down to who followed the directions and who didn’t. Selena and Erik Linder were the bottom couple because of their, shall we say, unique take on the challenge, which was to create a “wow” moment with a never-before-seen trick that could go viral. Selena and Erik decided that their moment would be the emotional silences between them, but the judges didn’t buy that interpretation and eliminated Erik for an otherwise excellent contemporary dance. It goes to show that a pro needs to be able to follow directions, not just give them.
Read on for our recap of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 6, titled “But Can You Teach? Coaching Superfans with Witney Carson,” which aired Aug. 17 on ABC, with episodes available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
“You know you couldn’t have kept up with me.” — Witney Carson
“Now it’s time to tackle the most fundamental skill you’ll need on Dancing With the Stars,” Witney Carson told the assembled contestants. They would have just two days to teach a ballroom routine to amateur dancers, specifically superfans of DWTS. Nina responded positively: “I absolutely adore coaching. My students are my life.” She manages a dance studio, so she already had experience with newbies. Selena was nervous, however, having only been dancing ballroom for three years.
The Next Pro host Robert Irwin introduced the contestants to five social media influencers who had some dance experience, but not in a ballroom style. The matchups of teacher and student were decided at random: Jeremy Urann (paired with Selena for a quickstep), Zaira Yzabelle (paired with Allen for a waltz), Jay Wyson (paired with Nina for a foxtrot), Bailey McKnight (paired with AJ for a Viennese waltz), and Anthony Riccardo (paired with Adele for a tango).
Adele was a strict teacher right out of the gate with Anthony. Selena was focused on drilling the moves with Jeremy as many times as he needed to get it right. “When it comes to dance, I do lifts and tricks, so I’m not sure [a quickstep] is the best thing for my body,” said Jeremy, so Selena devised for him a spin move that would allow him to show off his skills without breaking the rules of ballroom — no lifts! Somewhere, DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba is watching intently.
“If I don’t go 150-freaking-percent, I am going home.” — Nina Mayster
“I have been coaching adults for over 10 years,” Allen explained about his own teaching background. His strategy for this challenge was to keep the choreography simple enough to best showcase his partner. Zaira is a self-taught hip-hop dancer, so she’s used to quicker movements than you see in a smooth, gliding waltz. Meanwhile, Bailey tried to get used to AJ’s rapid teaching style. She grew up doing song and dance, as well as drill team, but Viennese waltz technique was brand new to her. Still, AJ had to be considered a favorite in this challenge, having done exactly this kind of coaching on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK.
Nina was accused of steamrolling her fellow dancers in previous episodes, but that take-charge attitude appeared well-suited to the purpose of teaching a genuine novice. However, her focus on perfecting Jay’s posture on day one took a lot of time away from learning the actual steps of their foxtrot, so Jay was worried. Even Nina started to think she was behind the eight ball after hearing her fellow competitors talk about all their progress with choreo.
On day two Witney sat in on the rehearsal sessions, and so did regular judges Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas, who wanted to witness the dancers’ teaching styles firsthand. They observed Adele’s “no nonsense” approach, and worried she might be piling on too many steps for her student to learn in just two days. But they praised AJ’s straightforward, easy-to-follow instructions. Allen also had a strong rapport with his student, though he needed to “amp it up” in the details of the routine. Elsewhere, Selena’s choreo didn’t have enough actual quickstep in it, but at least Selena had choreo. Nina was still teaching hers when day two should have been spent cleaning up the steps.
Witney also wanted to get the straight scoop from the students themselves, so she sat them down on the night before the performance to get a sense of their progress, their relationships with their teachers, and their feelings going into show night. Anthony rated his confidence the lowest (four out of 10), likely due to the difficulty of Adele’s routine and intense pressure from Adele herself. Not a great way to head into a performance. But how did they fare when it was time to put all that training to the test?
“What you did in two days was miraculous!” — Shirley Ballas
Nina and Jay (Foxtrot): Shirley loved how Nina made Jay feel welcome in the rehearsal studio, but the hold and footwork were not correct. Mark criticized the couple’s frame, and Jay’s butt was always sticking out, which made it harder for him to glide. Witney praised Nina for adding hip-hop elements to make Jay comfortable, but Nina gave her pupil too much information all at once and managed her time poorly.
Adele and Anthony (Tango): Mark thought the dance had movement and dynamics. He appreciated Adele’s strict approach to rehearsals, asserting that it was the only way to pull off such a difficult routine. Shirley loved the choreography and called the routine “fierce,” but wanted more fun. Witney was impressed by Adele’s ability to coach her partner mid-dance when he got ahead of the music.
AJ and Bailey (Viennese Waltz): Witney said the routine was “beautiful” and technically sound, but she wanted more emotion from AJ. Mark told AJ that he clearly knows his craft, and the dance “traveled” and “flew” across the dance floor To Shirley, what AJ accomplished in two days was “miraculous.” He “killed it” and showed that he’s a star.
Allen and Zaira (Waltz): This was another routine that Shirley loved: “This is a partnership that’s filled with beauty.” However, the steps had mistakes, so he needs to tighten up the technique. Witney could tell they spent time working on their connection and trust, and he was effective at building her confidence. It was “solid” according to Mark, who was impressed by what they achieved in only two days.
Selena and Jeremy (Quickstep): While Jeremy had great energy, Witney said Selena’s choreography lacked quickstep content. Mark thought it was fun and had strong musicality, but it needed to travel more across the floor. Shirley praised Jeremy’s smile but didn’t think Selena captured the character of the dance because it didn’t travel nearly enough.
At the end of the night, Mark announced the first dancer in jeopardy: Nina.
Shirley announced the second dancer in jeopardy: Selena
Shirley explained that it was a difficult decision because both ladies showed that they “lacked knowledge.” Ouch! Then she revealed, “Tonight was the last dance for … Nina.”
“It sucks. It hurts. I haven’t cried like this in a while,” Nina lamented in her exit interview. “Dancing for 10 years, I didn’t value myself as a dancer, and all of that changed and I am better than I came in here being. And I know my worth.”
On to next week’s semifinals!
