Dancing With The Stars Recap: Season 34 Semifinalists Revealed

Nope, you didn’t accidentally tune in to a 2017 “Dancing With the Stars” broadcast on Tuesday night. As part of the ABC series’ 20th birthday celebration, former host Tom Bergeron — who was unceremoniously booted from the show in 2020 — returned in a guest judge capacity alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, and briefly shared hosting duties with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Boy, had we missed him.

But the “Dancing” nostalgia didn’t stop with Bergeron’s seat at the dais. Rather, Tuesday’s broadcast was a lovely two-hour foxtrot down memory lane, including the returns of the original Season 1 pros for the opening number, and surprisingly crucial visits from previous Mirrorball-winning celebrities, who participated in the evening’s relay dances.

During the relays, two couples went head-to-head in the same style; halfway through the routine, the first pair would leave the dance floor, and the other would take over to finish it out, but only one couple could win the relay and snag two bonus points from the judges. But! Instead of dancing with their usual pros, this season’s amateurs were instead paired with celebrities who won “Dancing With the Stars” in the past. A bit of a gamble, but the ambition paid off, no?

Keep scrolling to see the full results of Tuesday’s episode — including the winners of the aforementioned relays — then hit the comments and tell us: Do you agree with these semifinalists?

DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock)

Elaine has admirably pledged to dance right through her lingering rib injury — all the way to the finale, if she gets there — and Alan didn’t go easy on her with this choreography. The continuous spins! We love to see it! Elaine’s hips were admittedly lacking some fluidity, and some of those transitions were choppy, but she held her own quite nicely — especially when she was briefly partner-less in that funky section when the troupe joined.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 36 out of 40

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “Footprints in the Sand” by Leona Lewis)

If you weren’t bawling before Robert’s dance, you certainly were after it! We’ve seen how tough it can be for “Dancing” contestants to thread that needle of bringing emotion to their performances without letting it overwhelm them; Robert toed that line gorgeously here, accentuating all of his movements with passion, but waiting until after the dance had ended to really break down. Honestly, thank goodness we’re out of Bindi siblings after this season. I don’t think my tear ducts could take a third one competing on this show.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 40 out of 40 — the first perfect score of the season!

Plus, Robert and Season 32 winner Xochitl Gomez won their relay dance, besting Alix Earle and Season 33 winner Joey Graziadei in the jive. (A surprising result, I thought! Robert and Xochitl had some funky, out-of-sync timing at the end there.)

DANCE STYLE: Argentine Tango (to “Ain’t No Sunshine (Lido Remix)” by Bill Withers)

Full disclosure? I’m still not over Milo Manheim and Witney Carson getting robbed of the Mirrorball in Season 27, and their season-ending freestyle is easily my most-rewatched “Dancing” routine. Perhaps that bias is what’s keeping me from really loving Dylan and Daniella’s Argentine tango. (Killjoy, I know.) Dylan’s footwork was impressive, and he provided a sturdy base for Daniella’s many, many tricks. But after a pre-performance video package that focused on Dylan’s ability to channel a character, I couldn’t help wanting more passion and intensity in his face and limbs when it came time to play the leading man.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 40 out of 40

Plus, Dylan and Season 20 winner Rumer Willis won their relay dance, besting Andy Richter and Season 29 winner Kaitlyn Bristowe in the Viennese waltz.

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Get Up” by Ciara ft. Chamillionaire)

I deeply appreciated Jordan’s “Yeah, just try to mess with me” look to the camera for much of this performance, but the rest of it didn’t quite land. Every time Jordan and Ezra got going with true cha-cha content, it would get interrupted by more modern and casual movements, which halted the flow. Plus, as Carrie Ann noted, Jordan’s shoulders were repeatedly coming up, and I’d argue she was speeding through some of those movements, cutting them off before they were completely done.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 37 out of 40

Plus, Jordan and Season 4 (!) winner Apolo Anton Ohno won their relay dance, besting Elaine Hendrix and Season 24 winner Rashad Jennings in the quickstep.

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “Singin’ in the Rain” by Matthew Morrison)

Alix seems to be more and more comfortable performing not just with her body, but with her face, too, and that’s only made her routines more entertaining. During this foxtrot, she was light and airy on her feet, but also pulled endearing facial expressions that really sold how joyous the number was. She did look to be the tiniest, tiniest bit off her mark when she and Val did that side-by-side section toward the end of the routine, which put her body slightly in front of his. But that’s nitpicking; this was divine all around.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 40 out of 40

DANCE STYLE: Argentine Tango (to “Cell Block Tango” from “Chicago the Musical”)

Yeah, don’t be fooled by any pre-performance package where Whitney seems to be struggling with the choreography. Come Tuesday night, she won’t be! The Argentine tango’s intricate legwork might have baffled her a bit in rehearsal, but her eventual execution was stunningly crisp and confident, and she effortlessly matched the sensual, cutting vibe of the “Cell Block Tango.”

JUDGES’ SCORE: 40 out of 40 (Whitney and Mark, who topped the leaderboard last week, earned immunity from participating in the relay dances)

DANCE STYLE: Quickstep (to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Robbie Williams)

It’s hard enough to nail a quickstep. It’s nearly impossible to improve on a quickstep performed by Season 25 winner Jordan Fisher, who practically looked like a pro dancer alongside Lindsay Arnold during that cycle. Still, even though this style illuminated some of Andy’s lingering shortcomings in his footwork, he handled the fast-paced choreography much more capably than I’d anticipated. 

Kudos to Andy, too, for dropping the goofy, gee-I’m-not-very-good-at-this-huh? persona that previous longshots like Sean Spicer and Bobby Bones often maintained during their seasons. Am I a little relieved at these results, when any other elimination on Tuesday would have been devastating? Yeah, a bit. But Andy took this competition seriously, and Emma didn’t coddle him, and I can appreciate that, no matter the skill level. Cheers to the people’s princess!

JUDGES’ SCORE: 29 out of 40

How do you feel about Andy and Emma’s elimination? Which semifinalist(s) are you rooting for? Hit the comments!