The competition is heating up on “Dancing with the Stars” Season 34. Last night’s episode on Tuesday, November 18, was the semifinals, and the theme was Prince Night. The remaining six celebrity contestants competing for the Mirrorball Trophy all wowed with their dances, and as always, Mark Ballas and Whitney Leavitt delivered incredible performances! They danced not one but two routines, and impressed the judges with both.
Mark Ballas & Whitney Leavitt’s Scores
Leavitt wowed with her Cha Cha to “1999” and a Viennese Waltz to “Slow Love.” Her first dance was the Cha Cha, and judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli scored her a 29 out of 30. The second performance from Leavitt and Ballas was the Viennese Waltz. They scored 29 out of 30. This meant their total score on the night was 58 out of 60.
Although they were not the highest-scoring couple of the evening, and that went to Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, they were at the top of the pack. Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, and Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach all had lower scores than Leavitt and Ballas. Ballas is an incredible dancer and choreographer, and Leavitt is a talented dancer who has continued to progress throughout the competition. She has never delivered a weak or mediocre performance, and yet, it was Ballas and Leavitt who were eliminated at the end of the semifinals.
Fans React With Shock To Mark Ballas & Whitney Leavitt’s Elimination
Fans have a mix of feelings: outrage, disappointment, heartbreak, and, for some, this was the right move because the other contestants’ characters appealed to them more. The official “Dancing with the Stars” Instagram account posts updates about the dances minutes after they are performed. On posts of her dances, fans have flooded the comment section with their thoughts.
“Whitney should’ve won it alllllll!!! Can’t believe you guys sent her home. Best dancer on the show!” a comment reads. “Hey so you all robbed us of her talent in the finale,” another person shared.
“I hope you bitter ladies are happy. We won’t get to see the best dancer in the finale now,” a third fan wrote.
Other reactions include, “This woman can dance, there is zero doubt about that. If we are purely speaking about dance skills, she’s incredibly talented!! Also Mark always slays,” “She’s the best female dancer idc. People wanting her to be voted off is actually insane,” and “IDC I VOTED FOR WHITNEY!!”
I watched the show because I love dance. I’m always sad when people vote according to popularity or who they recognize for their other abilities rather than their ability to dance. Whitney was far far one of the better dancers on the show all through the season and I was really looking forward to seeing her freestyle especially since Mark was going to be her choreographer. Thankfully Alex and Robert are still in the show. I hope in the future the show will do something about the fact that people are voting according to their popularity instead of the dancing. Possibly go back to the time when the judges got to decide who of the lowest scoring went home. Andy should have left long before he did and I found myself being frustrated by that since he really never was very good at dancing. As I said I’m an avid dancer and I love the show for its dancing not for who is the most popular.