Top tier
4. Milo Manheim and Witney Carson: 27
This reviewer definitely spotted a few moments when Milo was dancing a bit down to Witney’s height, but for the most part, he was tall, smooth, and rocking that jive. He’s only 17, and it takes some guts to get up on the judges’ table with professionals also right there to be compared to.
Len also called out his posture, but finished by calling it a “terrific jive.” This kid has the moves, and there’s no way he can’t rank in the top tier after getting a 9 from Len.
3. Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe: 27
Look. This song is iconic. Letting Evanna step onto the floor herself as things picked up in the song was a strong choreography choice by Keo. She didn’t bat an eye at the tempo changes, and her movements matched the different feelings evoked by the song. She had some killer musicality, to put it succinctly.
“It was such a beautifully well-rounded performance,” Carrie Ann said. Posting not just one 9 to start, but three 9s? That is very much a statement that she is ready to move up in the competition, and she’s booked a spot in the top tier.
2. Tinashe and Brandon Armstrong: 27
Dancing in honor of her releasing her first album, Tinashe got to dance to a version of her own song with a rumba. Len had been asking for a different side to her, and she brought it with this performance, which dialed things down in terms of music — but not in sheer beauty. She couldn’t keep a smile from her face. Neither could we. This was a killer rumba to counter Juan Pablo’s samba.
“I don’t like to say this, but that’s your best dance,” Len said. Bruno praised her “liquid fluidity.” The top tier, as always, is tough to lay out. But something hit about Tinashe and Brandon’s rumba that didn’t quite land with Milo and Witney’s jive. It’s not enough to give her the solo second spot, but it is enough to get her to tie for second.
1. Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke: 30
Do not think that we did not see those samba rolls, Cheryl! Nor the slight nod to Danny Zuko — a role that Juan Pablo named as one of the first that got him into acting — in his styling. Honestly, this was a magnetic performance, and one that he seemed very at ease with.
Len pulled out a standing ovation. Need we say more?
Well, okay, Bruno said it was “one of the best sambas had ever seen.”
Is it any wonder that he is emphatically at the top of the power rankings? He grabbed the first perfect score of the season — in week 3, no less — and the first 10 in one go. Do not sleep on him.
Dancing with the Stars returns next week Monday with trio dances.