“Dancing with the Stars” wasted no time raising the stakes in Season 35, as its two-night premiere put celebrities at risk from their very first dances.
Season 35 opened with a different kind of premiere, splitting the celebrity cast across two nights while putting an elimination on the line each evening.
Viewers shared mixed reactions as Season 35 delivered its first elimination. | Source: Instagram/dancingwiththestars
“Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS) returned September 15, 2026, with the male celebrities taking the ballroom first. The female contestants were scheduled to perform the following night, according to ABC News.
The split premiere also meant two early exits. One male celebrity would be eliminated on opening night, while one female celebrity would leave on September 16.
The First Scores Left Little Room for a Slow Start
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson finished at the top of the first-night scoreboard with 21 out of 30, according to scores published by The Hollywood Reporter.
The “Dancing with the Stars” Season 35 cast gathers in the ballroom for the Night 1 premiere. The male celebrities faced their first scores of the competition before one couple was sent home. | Source: Getty Images
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach followed with 20 out of 30. Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess earned 17 out of 30, while Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold tied Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart with 16 out of 30. Jackson Olson and Emma Slater received 15 out of 30.
One couple landed further down the leaderboard with 12 out of 30. Only Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, who received 10 out of 30, had a lower judges’ score.
The male celebrity contestants and their professional partners await the Night 1 results. Judges’ scores were combined with viewer votes to determine which couples advanced. | Source: Getty Images
Viewer votes are combined with the judges’ scores to determine which couples advance, meaning the leaderboard did not tell the whole story.
One Salsa Became Their Only Dance of the Season
Conner Leavitt and professional partner Adele Zaikman were the first couple eliminated from Season 35.
The pair performed a salsa to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” and received 12 points out of 30, placing them second from the bottom among the male celebrity contestants.
Their exit came after just one competitive routine. But the result quickly became about more than their position on the scoreboard.
Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman, and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson await the results. Leavitt and Zaikman entered the elimination decision after receiving 12 out of 30 for their salsa. | Source: Getty Images
Viewers Questioned What Went Wrong
On Instagram, viewers offered sharply different assessments of the performance, with several turning their attention to the choreography.
One netizen criticized the dance while also arguing that Zaikman’s choreography worked against her partner. “that was probably the worst first dance i’ve seen in a while. adele kinda did him dirty w the choreography too😁😁😁 [sic],” the user said.
Another user shared a similar view, writing, “That choreo was not made to highlight his strengths :(.” A commenter believed Leavitt had more to offer than viewers got to see: “he has so much potential but I don’t think the choreo did him any favors.”
Alfonso Ribeiro stands alongside Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman during the Night 1 premiere. The pair’s exit after one routine divided viewers, with some saying they deserved more time and another agreeing with the result. | Source: Getty Images
Someone else questioned how much salsa was actually included in the routine. “Disappointed… And I love Adele and their partnership but WHERE was the SALSA??? I mean she is a Latin dancer :/ [sic],” the viewer remarked.
Another netizen offered a much harsher assessment: “this made me genuinely horrified [sic].”
The criticism was not limited to the dance itself. Once Leavitt and Zaikman’s elimination became official, other viewers focused on whether their departure was deserved.
Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman perform their salsa to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is).” The routine received 12 out of 30 from the judges and later drew mixed reactions from viewers, including criticism of the choreography. | Source: Getty Images
One user was disappointed to see the couple leave after supporting them in the vote. “I voted for Connor L. and Adele!!! So sad their journey was cut short [sic]!” the user wrote.
Another commenter argued that Leavitt had been treated unfairly and pointed to voting access. “Conner got so robbed. 😢 Canada couldn’t even vote!!” the person said.
Someone else agreed with that sentiment, declaring, “He was robbed!” But another viewer had the opposite reaction:“The right choice was made!”
After leaving the competition, Leavitt and Zaikman had an opportunity to give their own perspective.
Leavitt Responded to the Voting Issue
In a post-elimination interview with Entertainment Tonight‘s Denny Directo, Leavitt acknowledged how difficult the result was after the work he and Zaikman had put into their routine.
“I mean, I’m feeling all of them. I was upset. We felt like we were vulnerable. We left it out on the dance floor. Dancing’s hard,” he said.
“For anyone who doesn’t know, dancing is hard. So to go out there, perform all out and then to get that kind of a disappointing result like that, it’s sad, but I could not be more thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful cast and to have such a wonderful dance partner.”
Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman appear together during the Season 35 premiere. Their first competitive routine would also become their last after they were eliminated on opening night. | Source: Getty Images
Zaikman, who was making her debut as a professional partner on the show, also acknowledged the disappointment.
“This experience is a dream come true. I was so happy and so blessed to be partnered with Conner. He’s the best partner. I loved working with him. I do feel, of course, disappointed because I’m very competitive,” she said.
At the same time, Zaikman recognized that an early exit was always possible.
Julianne Hough stands with Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman during the Season 35 premiere. Zaikman later described her first season as a professional partner as a “dream come true,” despite their early exit. | Source: Getty Images
“But that’s what it is about. It’s a competition. Someone had to go home. This is a part of the game. When you’re going into this, you know that you might be the first one to go or you might be the one to win. You never know, and you need to be prepared for that.”
The premiere had also been affected by an online voting glitch. Online voting was unavailable, forcing viewers to rely on text voting, while the online votes were tossed out.
Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman pose together during the Season 35 premiere. Zaikman said contestants had to be prepared for any outcome, while Leavitt later addressed questions surrounding the night’s voting issue. | Source: Getty Images
Directo asked Leavitt whether he thought the problem had worked against him and Zaikman.
“You know, I’m not sure what happened, but at the end of the day, I’m a mathematician by trade. That’s not my background, I don’t know. So, as long as the texting was a large enough number, it should be a fair representation,” Leavitt said.
Despite his disappointment, Leavitt said he did not believe the result was unfair. He felt everyone deserved their place in the competition and was simply disappointed that he and Zaikman were the first couple to leave.
Whitney Leavitt Shared a Proud Message
Leavitt’s wife, Whitney Leavitt, was in the audience that night. He described her as the “love of my life” and his best friend.
According to Leavitt, Whitney quickly approached him after the result, gave him a big hug and told him she was proud of him. She acknowledged how difficult and vulnerable the experience had been and praised him for putting himself out there and giving the performance his all.
He said she also kissed him on the cheek, offering a warm conclusion to a night that had gone very differently from what he and Zaikman had hoped.
Who Else Remains in the Competition?
The competition was far from over after the first elimination. Among the contestants still in the running who had yet to perform were Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Tatyana Ali, Amber Glenn, Sarah Jane Nader, Giada De Laurentiis, Maura Higgins, and Ciara Miller.
The female celebrities were scheduled to take the ballroom on September 16 for the second half of the premiere.
Another elimination is expected on September 16, when one of the female celebrity contestants will become the second person to leave Season 35.
With the first elimination settled and another still ahead, Season 35 has already given viewers plenty to discuss.
Julia Stiles Suddenly Has Viewers Interested
The announcement of the new batch of “DWTS” participants generated plenty of mixed reactions, but Stiles’ inclusion drew some especially enthusiastic comments.
One viewer declared, “Styles [sic] is the only one worth watching!” Another shared that enthusiasm, swooning, “omg I was not interested until I saw Julia styles 🥰 that’s awesome [sic].”
Those reactions stand in sharp contrast to another commenter, who was far less impressed by the overall lineup. “So disappointed. Seriously considering not watching this time. Not happy with the line up [sic],” the viewer wrote.
But while Stiles may have given some fans a reason to tune in, Dewan has become the center of a much more heated discussion.
Some Viewers Think Jenna Dewan Has an Unfair Advantage
Because Dewan spent years working professionally as a dancer, some viewers immediately questioned whether her presence was fair to celebrities with considerably less experience. One person declared, “Jenna 100% should not be allowed! Shame on you DWTS [sic].”
Another wrote, “Jenna should be disqualified, [sic] she is a professional dancer.” A third penned, “Isn’t Jenna a professional dancer? That’s odd,” while another viewer took issue with Dewan’s pairing specifically, writing, “Putting Val with Jenna is wrong!!!! She’s a dancer and [sic] Harry is a dancer too omggg this is wild!!!!”
The first wave of comments reacting to Dewan’s casting makes one thing clear: her professional background is already shaping how some people view her chances before she has performed a single ballroom routine. Dewan, however, has a few words for those critics.
Jenna Dewan Responds: Ballroom Is ‘Two Different Languages’
According to a report addressing the casting controversy, Dewan acknowledged that she has a dance background but argued that ballroom requires an entirely different skill set. “I do not know how to ballroom dance. Let’s be clear. It’s two different languages,” Dewan told Entertainment Weekly.
She admitted that her previous experience offers some advantages, but said she will also have to unlearn certain habits. “It’s a new technique, brand new technique,” Dewan explained.
Despite spending years dancing professionally, she said ballroom still “feels really foreign” to her and explained that joining the series gives her an opportunity to challenge herself.
Still, her credentials are admittedly substantial. Dewan appeared in Janet Jackson’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” and “All For You” music videos before joining the singer as a backup dancer on the All For You World Tour from 2001 to 2002.
“I was a teenager. I was like, ‘That’s all I want.’ When it happened, I just couldn’t even believe it,” Dewan recalled of achieving her dream of dancing for Jackson. She said the two remain “really good friends,” and she hopes she may eventually get the chance to perform to one of Jackson’s songs in the ballroom.