Steamy Argentine tango receives first standing ovation on “DWTS: The Next Pro”: ‘I need a fan’
Steamy Argentine tango receives first standing ovation on “DWTS: The Next Pro”: ‘I need a fan’
Ryan ColemanTue, August 4, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC
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‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’Credit: Disney/Vince ValituttiKey Points -
The fourth episode of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro saw a routine so spicy it garnered a standing ovation.
Selena Hamilton and Erik Linder ravished the ballroom with an Argentine tango that left guest judge Jenna Johnson speechless and judge Shirley Ballas asking for a fan.
The episode’s chemistry challenge culminated in two contestants being sent home.
This article contains spoilers for episode 4 of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.
The competition is heating up on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, and Monday’s episode saw the series’ most scintillating routine yet.
The newest spinoff in the Dancing With the Stars-verse seeks to find the best new recruit for the anchor series’ esteemed squad of pro partners. In just four weeks, a whopping six contestants have been sent home, as the first and latest episodes both culminated in double eliminations.
But even the spectacle of two rising stars cut down in their primes couldn’t steal the thunder from Monday’s standout moment: an Argentine tango routine so steamy it provoked the series’ first standing ovation and a judge asking for a fan to cool down.
Selena Hamilton, Erik Linder, and Jenna Johnson on ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’Credit: Disney/Vince Valitutti
Two-time DWTS winner and longtime pro Jenna Johnson flew Down Under — The Next Pro is shot in host Robert Irwin’s native Queensland, Australia — to join the cast as episode 4’s visiting judge. At the top of the episode, Irwin announced that this week, judges Johnson, fellow pro Mark Ballas, and his mother, Strictly Come Dancing judge and ballroom legend Shirley Ballas, would be assessing the contestants for their ability to concoct chemistry through choreography.
Johnson then dropped by the studio to split the eight remaining contestants into four couples. To do so, she made the four male and four female dancers pair up with each other during a freestyle session, then pick the partner with whom they shared the most natural chemistry.
The couples were thus divided: Tristen Sanders and Stephani Sosa as well as AJ Pritchard and Adele Zaikman would be asked to prepare rumbas, while Allen Genkin and Nina Mayster as well as Erik Liner and Selena Hamilton would be asked to prepare Argentine tangoes.
From the jump, Allen and Nina’s chemistry was off the charts, as the trained ballroom dancers had already been paired numerous times throughout their careers at competitions. But Selena and Erik’s chemistry proved the episode’s dark horse, with the wallflower Erik growing into his own and Selena, who placed in the bottom two last week, making a remarkable comeback to a frontrunner position.
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Just as quickly, the cards seemed dealt against rather than for Tristen and Stephani. When asked who she felt the most chemistry with, Stephani immediately picked Allen — but so did Nina, and Allen picked her. Stephani then accepted Tristen as an alternate, and though they worked to overcome his salty feelings, they were read transparently by the judges during the final performance.
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Erik and Selena’s sultry tango to Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Human” immediately got Mark on his feet clapping. Johnson sidled over to Shirley with a look of flustered thrill on her face, as all three judges waved their faces as if hot at the collars. “Ooh, I need a fan,” Shirley exclaimed.
Tristen Sanders, Stephani Sosa, and Jenna Johnson on ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’Credit: Disney/Vince Valitutti
“I am speechless! Erik, who are you?” Johnson enthused. Linder snarked back, “I am him.”
Johnson continued to praise the America’s Got Talent alum, saying, “I want to dance with you. That is a lesson on what a beautifully, chemistry-filled piece should look like… I’m a little hot over here.” Shirley rose to her feet to proclaim, “I’m going to give you a standing ovation. Because in my whole 50 years of teaching, I’ve never quite seen anything quite like that. That number could be on Dancing With the Stars tomorrow, that’s how good it was.”
The critiques were not as positive for Tristen and Stephani, who danced an appropriately somber number to Sombr’s “Back to Friends.” Mark said he wished “there had been a couple moments of stillness, so that those explosive moments could have hit a little harder.” Shirley praised their “clever choreography” but noted that the show is “on week 4 now, and we’re expecting a lot.”
Ultimately, Tristen and Stephani were sent packing after landing in the bottom four alongside Allen and Nina. “From here on out, I’m never going to let myself get in my head again. I’m never letting that fire dim,” Stephani vowed. Tristen celebrated the fact that he found himself in the company of “champions, industry dancers, legends, legends to be — I want to thank all of y’all.”
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the following day on Hulu.
on Entertainment Weekly
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