‘Dancing With the Stars’ Celebrates Its 500th Episode as Couple Achieves First Perfect Scores of the Season

Dancing with the stars filled the ballroom with nostalgia Tuesday night, celebrating the 500th episode by revisiting beloved routines from previous seasons.

Katie McConaughy, associate choreographer of the How the Grinch Stole Christmas national tour, told Yahoo Entertainment that the evening’s theme of looking back was more than choreography: it was about growth and reflection.

“It reminds us to embrace every moment, even the falls [of life]she said. “Every moment is an opportunity to learn. You don’t fail. You just say, “Okay, now I know a better way to do that.”

The spirit of DWTS‘s legacy was felt even more as past champions like Adam Rippon (season 26) and Kristi Yamaguchi (season 6) cheered from the audience, bridging the show’s rich history with the future.

“Dance allows you to express things when you don’t have the words,” McConaughy said, highlighting how the evening’s song choices brought these memories to life. “For example, if you want to convey joy, you should choose a song that really brings you happiness. Otherwise it doesn’t feel real.”

After the pros kicked off the evening with a performance of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love,” a tribute to the opening song from Season 1, the evening kicked off into two rounds of competition.

The first included the paired routines, while the second was the debut of the ‘instant dance challenge’, where participants were assigned a random song and dance style in real time, giving them just a few minutes to rehearse before taking to the stage live entered. Scores from both rounds contributed to the overall totals.

Chandler Kinney and her partner Brandon Armstrong paid tribute to Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s routine to Season 16’s Appart’s “Para Te.” The pair impressed the judges with the first perfect scores of the season – first for their main dance and next for their cha-cha challenge to Charli XCX’s “Apple.”

Longtime judges Cari Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, who have been with the show since the first season, took a moment to honor late judge Len Goodman, who passed away in April 2023 and whose name now graces the show. DWTS mirror ball.

For their part, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson recreated Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s Season 20 contemporary routine to Hozier’s “Work Song.” Inaba praised their dedication, although she noted that Graziadei’s performance “lacked a bit of rawness.” The pair followed with a rumba to Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” for their dance challenge.

Stephen Nedoroscik and his partner Rylee Arnold performed Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas’ iconic Viennese Waltz from season 31, dancing to Joji’s “Glimpse of Us.” Their performance impressed the judges, earning them 29 points. During the dance challenge, their jive to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Love is Embarrassing” suffered from technical missteps and earned a 25.

Although the show brought back dances from the past, it is still a competition, McConaughy said, emphasizing that technique and storytelling are key to delivering a standout performance.

“Every movement tells a story,” she explained. “Connecting with a memory you have personally brings any kind of dance or story to life,” and it’s a surefire way to impress the judges.

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson delivered a sharp quick step to Royal Crown Revue’s “Hey Pachuco,” an homage to Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough’s Season 5 routine. Their execution earned them nines across the board. In the dance challenge, their jive to Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly” consistently scored eights from every judge.

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten wowed the ballroom with their lively routine to Pharrell Williams’ “Chuck Berry,” inspired by Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s Season 25 dance. They kept the energy high during their salsa instant dance challenge to “Da’Dip” by Freak Nasty, ending with Maher lifting Bersten onto her shoulders.

NBA star Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach’s routine to Gotan Project’s “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre),” a tribute to James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’ Season 23 dance, wasn’t enough to keep them in the competition .

After being sent home, Howard expressed his gratitude for the experience. Karagach said: “A lot of people said we couldn’t do it, and we did it, and for me that’s a victory.”

Dancing with the stars returns for the semifinals on November 19 on ABC at 8pm ET.

How did the stars perform?

Judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli

Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach: Eliminated

• Routine: “Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)” by Gotan Project

• Inspiration: James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’ Season 23 Dance

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Paso Doble to “Victorious” by Panic! In the discotheque

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 7, Bruno 7

Chandler Kinney and pro Brandon Armstrong: Safe

• Routine: “Para Te” by Appart.

• Inspiration: Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s dance from season 16

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 10

• Instant dance: Cha-Cha to “Apple” by Charlie XCX

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 10

Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson: Safe

• Routine: “Work Song” by Hozier.

• Inspiration: Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s dance from season 20

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 10, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Rumba to ‘Birds of a Feather’ by Billie Eilish

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 9, Bruno 9

Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold: Safe

• Routine: “Glimpse of Us” by Joji.

• Inspiration: Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas’ dance from season 31

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 10, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Listen to ‘Love is Embarrassing’ by Olivia Rodrigo

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 8. Bruno 8

Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten: safe

• Routine: “Chuck Berry” by Pharrell Williams.

• Inspiration: Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s dance from season 25

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 10, Derek 9, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Salsa to “Da’Dip” by Freak Nasty

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 8

Danny Amendola and pro Witney Carson: Safe

• Routine: “Hey Pachuco” by Royal Crown Revue

• Inspiration: Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough’s dance from season 5

• Routine scoring: Carrie Ann 9, Derek 9, Bruno 9

• Instant dance: Jive to ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ by Little Richard

• Instant dance score: Carrie Ann 8, Derek 8, Bruno 8

Who has been eliminated so far?

• Week 2: Anna Delvey and Tori Spelling

• Week 4: Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts

• Week 5: Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko

• Week 6: Phaedra Parks and pro Val Chmerkovskiy

• Week 7: Jenn Tran and pro Sasha Farber

• Week 9: Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach