Dancing With The Stars Kicks Off Season 34 with First-Ever Double Elimination

The new season of Dancing With The Stars premiered this week, bringing a new cast of celebrities and their professional partners to the ballroom. The season 34 premiere, which was taped on Tuesday, September 16, featured the first round of performances and saw two couples eliminated. Carrie Ann Inaba was absent from the judges’ panel due to illness, leaving Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli to score the dancers.

The premiere featured a range of performances, from polished routines to some first-time jitters. The celebrities were tasked with performing one of four dance styles: cha-cha-cha, tango, salsa, or jive. The judges, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, gave their critiques while co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough managed the show.

Alix Earle, paired with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, performed a Cha-Cha to Britney Spears’ “Circus.” Earle said she was eager to showcase her competitive side on the dance floor. Judge Bruno Tonioli praised Earle for “doing very, very well” but encouraged her to focus on the “continuity” and “connection” of the dance. Derek Hough described the performance as “sharp, clean, precise and powerful,” adding that it was “not an easy routine” for a debut.

The top score of the night went to Robert Irwin, who performed a Jive with his partner Witney Carson to the song “Born to be Wild.” The 21-year-old tied for the top spot with a score of 15 out of 20. Derek Hough, who won the mirrorball trophy with Irwin’s sister Bindi Irwin in a previous season, said he was “so relieved” by the performance and joked, “Have you been practicing for 10 years?” Hough declared it “the best first dance I’ve ever seen on the show.”

This season’s premiere also included a double elimination, a rare occurrence for the show’s first week. The two couples sent home were Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa, and Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov. Delvey and Sosa performed a Quickstep to “Suddenly I See,” which earned them a score of 17. Spelling and Pashkov danced a Rumba to “This Is Me,” which received a score of 19.

Despite the eliminations, some contestants with low scores, such as Eric Roberts and Reginald VelJohnson, were saved by audience votes. The results of the premiere highlighted the importance of fan support in the competition. The double elimination was a surprise for the cast, who were preparing for a single elimination in the second week of the competition.