The finalists on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro underwent one last test to earn a spot on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, which premieres Tuesday night, Sept. 15.
Last week’s two-part challenge was one of The Next Pro‘s most demanding. Allen Genkin was eliminated in fourth place, perhaps due only to his first routine where judges Mark Ballas, Shirley Ballas, and guest Kym Johnson thought he failed to use his partner, DWTS pro Witney Carson, to her fullest potential. It was a testament to the strength of those final four that they made it so hard on the judges to pick the top three.
But Selena Hamilton, AJ Pritchard, and Adele Zaikman made it through. This time they were paired with actual stars from DWTS, specifically Season 31 Mirrorball champion Charli D’Amelio (with AJ), Season 29 runner-up Nev Schulman (with Adele), and Season 26 winner Adam Rippon (with Selena). And they were visited once more by Derek Hough, who judged them alongside Mark and Shirley.
Read on for our recap of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 8, titled “The Final Step: Finale With Derek Hough and Witney Carson,” which aired Aug. 31 on ABC, with episodes available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
“This could change my life forever.” — Selena Hamilton
Mark and Shirley joined the troupe in the show’s opening number for the first time — yep, she’s still got it. And there was another Next Pro first: a studio audience to cheer on the contestants. “Tonight is as close as it gets to an actual Dancing With the Stars finale,” explained guest co-host Witney. It piled the pressure onto the three finalists, who had to face two last rounds of competition. Their first dance would be in a style chosen by the finalists themselves. Then they would choreograph a freestyle just like the pros at the end of every season of DWTS — complete creative freedom. But they only had three days to prepare their routines, unlike the pros, who normally get a week.
Selena chose the jive as her first routine, and Olympic figure skater Adam came ready to work. “Adam knows that push, and he’s not afraid when I give a correction,” Selena said of her celeb partner. Adam welcomed her tough approach — she described herself as a “drill sergeant” — in the hopes that her high standards would allow them to let go and enjoy their performance when the time came.
After their clip package, we went straight to their performance, mirroring the normal televised format of DWTS.
Judges: Mark called Selena “an electric dancer and performer,” but he wanted more jive content to build the energy of the routine from beginning to end. Shirley praised Selena’s ability to take constructive criticism and apply it to future challenges. “You are Miss Wow,” Shirley added about Selena’s exciting tricks. Derek said, “You command attention when you walk on that floor. The camera loves you. We love you.”
“This finale feels like not the end of a competition, but the start of a whole new career.” — AJ Pritchard
AJ selected the Viennese waltz, and he was thrilled to have Charli for a partner. “Charli is a beautiful technical dancer, so the sky is the limit,” he stated. The stakes were high, though, because they would be judged by Charli’s DWTS partner Mark, and Charli was feeling like “a deer in the headlights” during rehearsals. However, AJ put her at ease and helped her get out of her own head. “I want to show Mark a new side of Charli,” he said.
Judges: Mark told AJ he is “a fantastic ballroom dancer,” who included plenty of waltz content in his routine. Mark pointed out a couple of “minor tweaks” he would have made, but overall it was a “solid performance.” Derek admired the trust AJ fostered between himself and Charli. Shirley was impressed by his precise technical mastery of the dance, “but did you get the most out of this young lady?” Not a good sign. Shirley said the same thing about Allen last week before he was eliminated.
It was another samba for Adele. Unfortunately, her partner Nev hadn’t danced in six years, and the samba was one of the styles he didn’t learn on DWTS. That was his good fortune back then but not so much now, because the samba, as even Adele admitted, is the hardest Latin dance style to learn. “I had no idea that I would be teaching someone who never danced the samba before,” she said with concern. And the jet-lagged celeb was clearly low on energy, so she ended day one of rehearsals early to give him an opportunity to rest before day two. Did that decision pay off?
Judges: Derek gave Adele credit for undertaking such a difficult style in the finale, especially when she had to teach a novice. But he wanted to see more creativity in the choreography. Mark exclaimed, “The queen cobra struck again tonight!” He wanted to see Nev get a little wilder in his movements to match the thumping beat of the music. Shirley thought Adele was “a magical teacher,” and her musicality and use of samba bounces was “second to none.”
“I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have dance.” — Adele Zaikman
First up in the freestyle round were Selena and Adam. Selena aimed for a routine that would be “a gritty contemporary fusion” and “outside of the box,” a piece of art that tapped into her jazz funk and contemporary experience.
Judges: “It started with danger,” Mark noted of the risky lift that opened the number. Their side-by-side was awesome, their connection was strong, and he was eager to get Selena in front of a crowd. “I’m in awe,” said Shirley. “If this were to be danced on Dancing With the Stars in the finale, it would be ranked as one of the best.” Derek praised the musicality, choreography, and confidence.
AJ was next. Having come from the UK’s Strictly Come Dancing, he entered this competition with confidence that he already had the skills to succeed, but The Next Pro taught him humility and to incorporate emotion and vulnerability into his dances. His idea for his freestyle was to demonstrate everything he learned throughout the season’s challenges.
Judges: Shirley commented that AJ went big with his theatrics and staging. It was “upbeat, fun, wild in places, meticulously danced,” and exactly what Shirley had been wanting all season. Derek thought the routine “had it all” with sections that felt like a Broadway show. DWTS would be lucky to have him as a pro. Mark commended AJ for constructing such a challenging routine in so little time. It was exactly what a DWTS freestyle should be.
“If you were a pro on Dancing With the Stars tomorrow, you would be an instant fan favorite.” — Derek Hough
That meant Adele and Nev got to close the show — and the season — with their freestyle. Her plan was to choreograph a paso doble with a twist, but Nev, after placing second in his season of DWTS, didn’t want to be the reason Adele failed to win this competition.
Judges: Derek thought the dance was “on fire,” and he loved that she picked the paso doble to stand out from the other contestants. Adele had quality and maturity, and she would elevate the rest of the DWTS cast if she made the show. Mark raved about the “ferocity” of the dance. It was “captivating to watch … Adele givin’ them hell.” Shirley noticed how Adele made her partners work hard this season and didn’t just dance around them.
When it was time to announce the results, the judging panel didn’t just declare a winner. They announced their exact placements. Selena was their choice for third place. “I didn’t think I would make it past week one, so being in the top three has given me so much, and amazing friends. This is not the end.”
So the competition was down to two. Finally Shirley declared, “The next pro is … Adele!” Not too surprising since the judges had singled her out as a frontrunner from the very beginning of the season.
“I’ve had the opportunity to dance in the finale — especially with Charli. Every single moment was so enriching and something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” said runner-up AJ. “At the same time, obviously, absolutely devastated, from every being in my body.”
For Adele, “I just feel like this is a celebration of all the sacrifices that I’ve done. It’s just like a big ‘I made it’ moment.” The Rolls-Royce of the ballroom now moves on to the main event, and we’ll learn on Sept. 2 who her celebrity partner will be.
