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Blind ‘DWTS’ dancer gave one of the show’s most moving performances and left everyone in tears

Danelle Umstead’s emotional ‘Dancing with the Stars’ performance proved that vision isn’t needed to move hearts and inspire millions

Each season, 'Dancing With the Stars' showcases a lineup of talented celebrities who try to win over judges and viewers with their stellar dance performances. However, things truly turned inspirational when the show welcomed a blind celebrity contestant, Danelle Umstead. Not only the judges but viewers were also smitten by Umstead's powerful performance and were left emotional as they showered her with love and appreciation.

'Dancing With the Stars' Season 27 Umstead made history as the show's first blind contestant and stunned viewers with her stellar performance. For the unversed, Umstead is a visually impaired skier who participates with her guide husband, Rob, known as Team Vision4Gold, as per the Paralympic. The duo has competed in two Paralympic Winter Games, winning two medals. After narrowly missing World Championship medals four times, they broke through in 2015 with three medals and topped the 2014–15 World Cup rankings.

Umstead has retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration, but she adapted to dance by developing innovative ways to learn choreography from her partner, Artem Chigvintsev, just as she relies on verbal cues from her husband while skiing, as per Yahoo! Entertainment. Umstead made her debut on 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 27 back in September 2018, as reported by People. "As an alpine skier, I'm able to charge down the mountain at up to 70 miles per hour without being able to see," she shared in her intro, adding, "One of my proudest moments is winning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. Now I have a new challenge and that challenge is dancing."

Notably, Umstead kept her dance training a surprise from her husband, Rob, making her emotional foxtrot to 'Rise Up' his first time seeing her perform. He joined her on the ballroom floor with her guide dog, Aziza for the judges' scores and told co-host Tom Bergeron, "It was great. I was really impressed. I'm blown away." Judges also praised Umstead’s performance, lauding her strong footwork, graceful movement, and powerful connection with partner Chigvintsev. For her performance, Umstead scored 18/30.

Fans quickly flocked to X to shower Umstead with love and appreciation, as a fan said, "In tears...so beautiful. Lovely and powerful. Inspiring and glorious!! Well done!!" While another added, "I'm crying. That was absolutely amazing. So beautiful. So inspiring." Meanwhile, another said, "This was truly a beautiful number. What a wonderful dancer Danelle Umstead is!" Raving about Umstead's performance, another shared, "Wow!! This is what makes this show so great!!! Loved it! Gave me goosebumps!!" Another said, "It was beautiful and so inspiring; she was incredible." A comment remarked, "Well done and inspirational barely cover this. Great job, Artem and Danielle!"

Unfortunately, Umstead's journey on the dance show was cut short as she was eliminated on night 2 of week 2 of 'Dancing With the Stars,' as per The Mercury News. After the announcement, host Bergeron comforted her, saying, "I want you to know that the looks on all of the faces of the couples you're competing with are as sad as you no doubt feel to say goodbye to you." Co-host Erin Andrews also added, "And the judges, too, by the way," followed by heartfelt "We love you" messages from fellow contestants. Umstead simply said, "It's been fun. Thank you." She further expressed her gratitude to her dance partner, Chigvintsev, acknowledging the incredible experience they shared.