Who Went Home On Dancing With The Stars' 500th Episode Celebration?

Who would have known back in 2005, when the very first episode of Dancing With The Stars aired with a cast of celebrities like Joey McIntyre, Kelly Monaco, The Bachelorette‘s Trista Sutter and Evander Holyfield, that nearly 20 years later, the show would be celebrating its 500th episode to just as much hype and popularity as ever? After a whopping 33 seasons, 21 Emmy Awards, 51 professional dancers and nearly 400 celebrities who have taken to the ballroom hoping to win the coveted mirrorball trophy, the ABC hit reality show is hitting another stride, with a rise in viewership this season in the 18-49 demographic, no doubt thanks to the popularity of contestants like Olympian Ilona Maher and The Bachelor‘s Joey Graziadei.

For the milestone 500th anniversary episode, the show is pulling out all the stops, inviting former pros like Sharna Burgess back to the ballroom, and filling the audience with former celebrity contestants like Kristi Yamaguchi, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Adam Rippon. Derek Hough and Julianne Hough join the opening dance number because, let’s face it, despite being siblings, the Houghs are like the first couple of DWTS. They both competed as pros and now work on the show as a judge and host, respectively.

After introducing OG judges Bruno Tonioli and the newly-controversial Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne and Alfonso Ribeiro explain that the contestants had to learn five separate dances: one for their dance in tribute to memorable dances from seasons past, and four for the intense “instant dance” competition. Instant dance means the couples learned four separate, one-minute dance styles to four different songs, but they won’t know which dance style or song competition they’ll get until a few minutes before they go on stage. With only two episodes remaining after tonight, it’s a fun twist in the dead heat of the competition.

Couples will be scored out of 30 for their individual dance and out of 30 for their instant dance, making the scores best out of 60.

Keep reading to see how the remaining six celebrity contestants did on the 500th-anniversary of DWTS.

This contains spoilers to the results of the anniversary episode elimination of Season 33 of DWTS

Joey Graziadei And Jenna Johnson

Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson are the first to perform tonight. After a week off due to last week’s election, they’re still basking in the two 10s they received during “Halloween Nightmares” night. Joey says one of his favorite dances ever was Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s contemporary performance during Season 20, so they’ll be using that dance as inspiration for their contemporary to “Word Song” by Hozier.

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Is it initiated by the celebrity, or their professional dance partner?

Jenna says she wants this dance to be a love letter to the bond they’ve created this season, and Joey says he’ll be using this dance to express his gratitude to Jenna. It’s a dreamy, passionate dance, and it really does demonstrate the trust they’ve built in each other this season. Jenna’s choreography is stunning, filled with graceful lifts and sweeping movements, and it really accentuates Joey’s progress. Bruno calls the dance “powerful and deeply felt.” Carrie Ann, once again, goes rogue, saying the dance lacked “a bit of rawness.”

Final scores: 9/10/9

Danny Amendola And Witney Carson

Out of the remaining contestants, Danny Amendola is somewhat of an underdog, but he’s never shown a sign of weakness. Must be the football player in him. Tonight, Danny and Witney Carson are putting their spin on Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough’s quickstep from Season 5 with a quickstep to “Hey Pachuco” by Royal Crown Revue.

Their dance is high energy and upbeat, like a good quickstep should be. Now, does Danny have perfect foot placement? No, he doesn’t. Does he hit every mark? Also no. But the dance is fun, and they throw in a couple hat tricks too. The judges loved it, with Carrie Ann calling it “fantastic,” although she does note his minor flaws. The audience boos, but Carrie Ann remains defiant.

Derek says it put a smile on his face, and Bruno says it was “full throttle.”

Final scores: 9/9/9

Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach

Dwight Howard has managed to stay in this competition, in large part, because of the skill of his partner, Daniella Karagach. She’s done an incredible job working with their height difference and turning Dwight into a fan favorite. However, Dwight is not the most technically skilled dancer, and at this point in the competition, he’s going to have to work even harder to make it to the semi-finals.

He and Daniella are performing an Argentine tango to “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)” by Gotan Project, inspired by James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’ Argentine tango from Season 23. Tonight, they can’t just rely on Daniella’s choreography to work around his weaknesses. Dwight has to lead during this performance, which may be a struggle for him.

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The dance displays some impressive acrobatics, and a clever platform to even out their height, but Dwight didn’t get to do as much dancing as he should have. He mostly just carried Daniella around. The judges all rave over the strong choreography, but they admit that Dwight lacked a bit of movement.

Final scores: 8/9/9

Stephen Nedoroscik And Rylee Arnold

Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold are riding high from the 10 they received during the last episode, but this week, they’re doing a Viennese waltz to “Glimpse of Us” By Joji inspired by Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas’ Viennese waltz in Season 31.

Rylee says she’s incorporated complicated choreography, and she brings in Mark himself to help them during rehearsals. Their waltz is graceful, and Stephen’s strong frame leads them the entire performance. It’s not the most exciting performance, but it was pretty technically sound. Bruno said it was like watching them grow up before his eyes. Derek says Stephen brought the emotion, and Carrie Ann said she had no notes.

Final scores: 10/10/9

Chandler Kinney And Brandon Armstrong

Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong are clearly the couple most favored to win, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work as hard to maintain their momentum. They’re doing an Argentine tango to “Para Te” By Appart, inspired by Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s Argentine tango from Season 16. And since Derek will be judging, they need to make sure it’s top notch.

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Their tango is fierce, emotional and precise. At times, it’s hard to tell who’s the pro and who’s the celebrity. Chandler is clearly the one to beat this season. The judges agree, and Derek himself says he preferred their performance to his original inspiration dance. Bruno says it left him breathless, and Carrie Ann says she’s “the most powerful female dancer [she’s] ever seen on this dance floor.”

Final scores: 10/10/10

Ilona Maher And Alan Bersten

Olympic rugby champion Ilona Maher and her partner, Alan Bersten, have found themselves towards the bottom of the leaderboard in recent weeks. They’re doing a quickstep to “Chuck Berry” By Pharrell Williams inspired by Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s quickstep from Season 25, and they want to make their tribute dance as iconic as the original.

Their dance is energetic and Ilona manages to stay on beat throughout the entire performance. She’s showing a renewed sense of confidence, and the dance takes them throught the studio, dancing through the audience. Carrie Ann says this was Ilona’s dance, and Derek says they bounced back from last week.

Final scores: 10/9/9

Instant Dance Match-Ups Put Couples To The Test

Things feel a little hectic going into the instant dance round. Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong are at the top of the leaderboard, while Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach are at the bottom leading up to the challenge. Alfonso Ribeiro says the instant dance is the moment their stars have been dreading, as the all-new challenge puts their dance prowess on the spot instantly. Each couple frantically picks their song and dance style on camera, then rush back to choose costumes and rehearse with the little time they have.

Here are the dance styles, songs and scores for each couple during the instant dance challenge:

Before eliminations, we’re reminded that Chandler and Brandon have earned a perfect score tonight for both their individual dance and their instant dance, leaving them with an impressive 60 out of 60.

Who Went Home On Dancing With The Stars?

At this point in the competition, it’s clear who the frontrunners are and who deserves to continue in the competition. And, sorry basketball fans, but Dwight Howard isn’t one of those people. Yes, he has made improvements and found a stride with his partner, Daniella Karagach, but he simply isn’t in the same league as the other competitors.

Dwight Howard is sent home, and it feels right.

That means the remaining five couples—Chandler and Brandon, Stephen and Rylee, Ilona and Alan, Joey and Jenna, and Danny and Witney—will compete in the semi-finals, making it an almost perfect battle between professional athletes and Olympians, with a reality star and an actress thrown into the mix.

With only two episodes to go, here’s a look at where the leaderboard stands heading into the semi-finals:

Tune in next week to see which celebrity is sent home during the semi-finals. Dancing With The Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (EST/PST) on ABC and Disney+, and streams on Hulu the following day.

Dancing with the Stars is a popular dancing competition reality TV show airing on ABC and Disney+. The series features various celebrities who pair with professional dancers to compete in front of a panel of judges. The US version of the UK TV show Strictly Come Dancing premiered in 2005 and was originally hosted by Tom Bergeron for its first 28 seasons.

Release Date

June 1, 2005

Main Genre

Reality

Cast

Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess

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