What To Know
- The Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro contestants performed group dances in Episode 3.
- One dancer was injured during rehearsal after getting hit in the face.
- The injured dancer was unable to return to the competition, so no one else was sent home after the team performances.
In Episode 3 of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, the remaining nine contestants had to master the art of group dances. Britt Stewart joined as a mentor and guest judge, alongside Shirley Ballas and Mark Ballas.
Stewart taught the contestants a group number. Things quickly went wrong during rehearsals when Stephani Sosa accidentally whacked Natalie Jolley right in the face. She was rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention, but the show had to go on for the rest of the dancers.
Everyone was shocked when Shirley and Mark came to make their judgments after just a few hours of practice. The judges felt that Tristen Sanders and Nina Mayster were the weakest links of the whole group. “There was one person that was ahead by a whole bar of music, and that person is Tristen,” Shirley said, while Mark added, ‘For me, it was rushing music, slightly ahead, not fully being spatially aware of your partner. Unfortunately, it’s going to be Nina.”
Nobody was sent home yet, but Tristen and Nina knew they had to prove themselves in the next portion of competition. With Natalie still getting checked out, the other eight dancers were split into two groups to choreograph team dances for the judges.
Tristen and Nina were the team captains. Nina chose AJ Pritchard, Adele Zaikman, and Allen Genkin for her team, and they performed tango, while Tristen nabbed Stephani, Selena Hamilton, and Erik Linder for a paso doble.
After Tristen’s team performed, Britt said, “The beginning was dynamic, it was powerful. The guys cape work, good. And the girls coming forward, so strong. Really good job. However, I felt like you were out there as individuals. You didn’t necessarily find that connection within each other, which is so important. Tristen, you had a really tough time during the group dance and I was hoping you would really step it up. Unfortunately, you looked a bit lost.”
Mark added, “Selena, I love watching you, but today, I just felt like your spatial awareness was lacking. I could see Stephani really locking in with you and you kind of not seeing her at times, so cues were off.” Shirley agreed that there was a “directness missing” and pointed out parts of the dance that were “off.” She praised Stephani and Erik for their group work and awareness.
During Team Nina’s performance, Allen took a stumble, but Mark praised him for getting up quick and continuing the routine. Mark was impressed with Nina’s improvement, but warned her to continue to focus on timing moving forward.
Shirley was also concerned about the timing, and she and Mark briefly argued about whether Nina would be able to handle working with a celebrity partner, as opposed to another pro at a higher level. The Strictly Come Dancing judge told Adele she is a “phenomenal lady dancer” and said AJ was the star of the show.
Britt concluded, “I am so impressed with what I just saw because you pushed the boundaries.”
Nina’s team won the night, and the judges decided that Tristen and Selena were in jeopardy. However, neither of them was sent home, as Nina’s injury prevented her from returning to the competition, ending her journey.
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
