Dancing with the Stars – Halloween Night Recap

Tonight’s episode of Dancing with the Stars was certainly a mix of the dreadful and the eerie. The audience, well, some were visibly thrilled, while others seemed a bit unsettled. This, of course, was all part of the Halloween Night theme, where celebrity dancers and their partners showcased their efforts in routines designed to captivate both the judges and the crowd.

The competition unfolded in two rounds. The second round, known as the Dance Monsterathon, was particularly interesting. Judges called each couple to perform, and the longer they could remain in the round, the more points they accumulated. Essentially, the last couple standing walked away as the winner. By the end of the night, the judges’ scores combined with live viewer votes determined which couples would face elimination.

To kick off the evening, Whitney Leavitt and her partner Mark Ballas took the stage. This performance alleviated some of Leavitt’s pre-competition nerves and truly surprised the judges, earning them a solid score of 37 out of 40. Impressively, she also secured her second 10 of the week. Guest judge Sheryl Burke, a former champion with two Mirror Ball trophies under her belt, added her expertise to the panel.

What happened to Elaine Hendricks on Dancing with the Stars?

Tragically, Elaine Hendricks was unable to participate this week due to an ankle injury she sustained during rehearsals, which even led to her being hospitalized. Quite the alarming scenario! Nevertheless, the production team aired a rehearsal performance for the judges’ scoring, which earned a respectable 32 out of 40. Fans of the couple were relieved to know they weren’t eliminated this week.

So, which couple topped the leaderboard? Influencers Alix Earle and Val Celmo dazzled the judges with a performance that earned them a remarkable score of 39 out of 40, which pushed them to the very top.

Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas added another five points to their score after clinching victory in the Monsterthon round, bringing their final tally to 42 points, positioning them in second place on the leaderboard.

Who left Dancing with the Stars tonight?

Now, on to the couple with the fewest votes: comedian Andy Richter and his pro partner Emma Slater. They performed a paso doble to Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio,” but only received 28 points out of 40 from the judges, landing them at the bottom of the standings.

The leaderboard for Round 1 is listed below.

Looking at the final scores after the Monsterthon round, it’s time to announce the eliminated couples. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Andy and Emma—despite their low score. Instead, the elimination hit Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik hard, leaving them quite disappointed, but also graciously thanking each other for their journey on the show.

I’m honestly curious about what surprises await us in next week’s Dancing with the Stars episode themed “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” airing on Tuesday, November 4th at 8 PM EST, live on Disney+ and ABC.