Amber Glenn tops Dedication Night leaderboard on Dancing With the Stars as Ezra Frech earns season's first 10; no one eliminated

A perfect score and a leaderboard

Paralympic champion Ezra Frech and professional partner Daniella Karagach scored 37 out of 40 on the Dedication Night episode of Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Guest judge Kym Johnson awarded the couple a 10, the first of Season 35, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave 9s, according to TV Insider and Sports Illustrated. ^{[1] [2]}

Olympic figure skating champion Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov posted the night's top score, 38, for a contemporary routine, according to DK Network and Just Jared. Frech and Jenna Dewan, who danced with Alan Bersten, tied for second at 37. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson (foxtrot) and Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa (contemporary) each scored 36, and Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas scored 35 for a paso doble. ^{[3] [4]}

Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, and Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess each scored 32, the night's lowest mark, the two outlets listed. Just Jared's season table shows Dewan paired with Val Chmerkovskiy in one place, while its Week 6 section and Parade name Bersten, who replaced the suspended Chmerkovskiy for the episode. ^{[3] [4] [6]}

No elimination

Nobody went home. DK Network reported that no couple was eliminated on Dedication Night, and TheWrap said the episode closed without an exit and that two couples will be sent home next week, with Shirley Ballas as guest judge. The second claim comes from TheWrap alone in the sources reviewed. Last week, Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson were eliminated, ABC News reported. ^{[3] [7] [8]}

The dedications

Frech and Karagach danced a contemporary routine to "Bloodline" by Mon Rovia, dedicated to his mother, Bahar. TV Insider identified her as Bahar Soomekh and said she was featured in the dance; Sports Illustrated said she met him on the floor. TheWrap reported that Soomekh left her film career to raise him, and that Karagach was moved to tears. ^{[1] [2] [7]}

Ali and Ravnik performed a Viennese waltz dedicated to her Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star James Avery, who died in 2013. Host Alfonso Ribeiro, who played her on-screen brother, joined the dance, TV Insider reported. Sports Illustrated quoted Hough joking the routine could have used less of him. ^{[1] [2]}

Entertainment Now's pre-show list of dedications said Glenn would honor her sister, Shum Jr. his wife, Cameron his late mother and mothers everywhere, and Stiles her late co-star Heath Ledger. Cameron's routine is covered separately, and the sources reviewed give no on-air detail for the Glenn or Shum Jr. dedications beyond their scores. ^{[5] [7]}

Background

Frech won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, in the men's 100 meters T63 and the high jump T63, the International Paralympic Committee said in a profile published Sept. 24. Johnson, an Australian former professional on the show, returned as a guest judge for the dedication theme, Entertainment Now reported. ^{[9] [10]}

Scores combine with viewer votes to decide eliminations. With no exit this week, the field stays at 10 couples going into the next episode, per the lineup in the sources above. ^{[3] [7]}