We’re still not over how ‘DWTS’ threw its contestants under the bus with this one challenge
Every now and then, the producers of 'Dancing With the Stars' introduce new dance challenges; some become a hit, while others flop. The 500th episode of 'Dancing With the Stars' featured several memorable moments. The special episode also included a segment called the Instant Dance Challenge. For those unfamiliar, this challenge required celebrity contestants and their professional partners to learn a dance style and a song in just a few minutes before performing on stage.
In an interview with Cinema Blend, Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, who remained at the top of the leaderboard for most of the season, spoke about the Instant Dance Challenge. Then, Kinney said, "Well, we can tease that we have a style that we're both really excited about. I think Brandon and I have not had too many opportunities to really venture into tricky territory. And I think those are so fun because they're crowd-pleasers, they're flashy, and there's a lot that goes into them, and so I'm really excited to kind of try my hand at that this week."
Armstrong, a professional dancer, admitted feeling stressed about the challenge and said, "It's gonna be a really finicky process. I think a lot of celebrities, Chandler included, love to feel very prepared walking out on the floor. Who wouldn't, right? If you're giving a speech in front of 5 million people, you would wanna know what you're saying for the most part. Even for me. I've done this my whole life. I wanna walk on the floor and know what I'm doing. We're not [going to know]…that in itself, before the process even begins, induces a certain amount of stress and anxiety just in that fact. And there's nothing that I, as the pro, or she, as a celebrity, can do to change that. It is what it is. I keep saying this, but we better be able to sell water to the ocean on five minutes notice, because that's really what it's gonna come down to. It's gonna be which celebrity and which couple can look like they are the most prepared, even when nobody is."
The producers may have hoped that the Instant Dance Challenge would make the night more thrilling. However, their move fell flat on the ground due to various reasons. Ultimately, the dance performances suffered due to the limited preparation time. Even the frontrunners of 'DWTS' Season 33 struggled to meet the expectations of judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough, and it wasn't their fault, as they had only two months of ballroom dance experience.
The judges appeared disappointed by the sloppy performances but seemed reluctant to give low scores despite the missteps. Kinney and Armstrong eventually earned a perfect score from the judges, while NBA champion Dwight Howard and his pro partner Daniella Karagach received the night’s lowest score, which was 22 out of 30. Unfortunately, the episode marked the end of Howard and Karagach's journey on the hit dance show.