Dancing With the Stars Sends No One Home on Dedication Night

Dancing With the Stars sent no one home on Dedication Night, a Week 6 twist that kept all 10 remaining couples in Season 35 and set up a double elimination next week.

The episode aired on ABC on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The 10 couples danced tributes to the people and places that shaped them, and loved ones joined some routines on the floor. At the end of the night, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced that every couple was safe.

The catch came with the scores. Week 6 scores carry over to next week, on October 27, when two couples will be eliminated. Every point earned on Tuesday will still count when the exits come.

A first 10 of the season to open the show

Two time champion Kym Johnson joined the judging panel as guest judge, alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli.

Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach opened the show with a contemporary dance to 'Bloodline' by Mon Rovîa. The routine was dedicated to his mother, Bahar Soomekh, who joined the dance. They scored 37 out of 40, including the first 10 of the season, given by Kym Johnson. The other judges gave 9s.

Frech said his mother quit her acting job when he was born. The dance ended with a nod to the children's book Love You Forever, which she read to him as a child.

The top score of the night went to Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov. Their contemporary routine scored 38 out of 40, the highest mark of Week 6.

A substitute partner and a first 10 for Dewan

Jenna Dewan danced a Viennese waltz to 'Unchained Melody' with Alan Bersten. The dance was dedicated to her mother Nancy, who appeared in part of the routine. They scored 37, including a 10 from Inaba, Dewan's first 10 of the season.

Bersten was a substitute. Dewan's regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for the week over a social media post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba. It was the first time in the show's history that a pro has been kept from dancing with their partner. Bersten had been eliminated in Week 3 with Giada De Laurentiis, then returned to the floor for this week.

The rest of the Week 6 scores

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson scored 36, and Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa also scored 36. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas scored 35 for a paso doble dedicated to Ireland.

Four couples finished on 32. Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik scored 32 for a Viennese waltz honoring her late Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star James Avery. Jackson Olson and Emma Slater scored 32, Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold scored 32, and Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess also scored 32.

Why it matters

A night with no elimination changes the math for everyone. Couples near the bottom did not leave, but their Week 6 scores follow them into a week when two couples go home. The 32 point couples start that week with ground to make up, while the leaders banked scores that hold their places.

The season leaderboard after Week 6 is tight at the top. Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach lead with 159. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov sit at 158, and Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy also hold 158.

One point separates first place from the two couples tied behind. With two exits set for October 27, next week's dances will decide the season on combined scores, not on one night alone.

What happens next

The show returns on October 27 with the carried over Week 6 scores added to the new marks. Two of the 10 couples will be eliminated that night, cutting the field to eight.

Dedication Night gave the couples a week to honor family, home and memory without losing anyone. The price of that pause arrives next week, when the saved scores and the new dances are counted together.