Dancing With the Stars Recap: Season 35 Week 3 Elimination Results

How can “Dancing with the Stars” help its contestants relax? By letting them dance on an easy and breezy yacht rock, of course!

We’re now in week three of the ABC competition’s 35th season, and this time it was all about the low-key tunes your dad might play while he fires up the grill. And, for the most part, these sun-drenched soundtracks worked their magic on Tuesday’s show, with many of our couples achieving their highest scores yet.

But our casual cruise on that “Dancing” yacht hit rough waters at the end of the episode, when a real contestant with real potential was voted out, giving us the first truly surprising elimination of season 35. Who got the boot? Keep scrolling to find out, and let us know all your thoughts on Yacht Rock Night in a comment!

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (on Toto’s “Hold the Line”)

I really loved how Pasha worked into Amber’s figure skating chops; In every dance so far, there has been a jump, swirl or leap of hers that would fit right into her routines at the rink, but they are wonderfully subtle and don’t feel stuck where they don’t belong. (See: that dramatic scream in Harry Shum Jr.’s Week 2 routine that I still have a few questions about.) The foxtrot was the perfect style for Amber to capitalize on her natural skating grace, and the result was simply stunning. You’d never know that Amber gave Pasha a nasty bloody nose during rehearsals.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 24 out of 30 (first eight of the season!)

DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall and John Oates)

Between Julia’s emotion over last week’s scores and her potential rib injury during rehearsals, I was worried she would completely collapse with this salsa – but she didn’t! I would say she didn’t seem to have as very funny as the judges indicated; In the groovier parts of this routine, Julia was having fun, but when she teamed up with Ezra, she occasionally slipped back into super serious mode. Overall, though, it’s a big improvement from last week, and I hope she can take that momentum into Week 4 and beyond.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 19 out of 30 (his first seven!)

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (on “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes)

I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I saw that Witney and Guillermo had added an umbrella prop to the first section of their dance – but it actually worked! He handled this flip like a pro! (And yes, I’ll use that as an excuse for my annual tie-in between Witney’s freestyle and Milo Manheim, a routine you can never rewatch too much.) We seem to have reached the point every season where Guillermo’s competitors start getting slightly condescending: “Hey, look at you trying this legit choreography!” comments, and a trajectory like that can only last for so long, I suppose. But you know what? In the meantime, this is all great fun. They’re staying cute, they’re sipping mocktails in the Skybox and toasting fives across the board, and I’m here for the low-stakes good time that Witney and Guillermo seem to be having.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 15 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Quickstep (on “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates)

I was just worried last week that Tatyana needed more big moments if she didn’t want to get lost in the middle of the Season 35 pack – and she delivered one right away! (Tatyana, do you read the recaps?!) Jan really gave Tatyana some quick choreography for this quick step, and she kept up with it remarkably well without looking overwhelmed by the volume of content. Plus, that moment where Jan knelt and Tatyana strutted over his body had just the right amount of attitude for this soundtrack and style.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 21 out of 30 (his first seven!)

DANCE STYLE: Jive (to “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Daryl Hall and John Oates)

If you’ve read any of my “Dance” recaps over the years, you know that I have no problem with contestants who have prior dance experience; It’s fun for a while to watch bad dancing, but it’s always it’s fun to watch beautiful dancing, and Harry is a great dancer. That said, if the judges gave this jive an eight and not a 10, I would have liked them to take the opportunity to give Harry more constructive feedback on areas he could improve on. In two of his three dances so far, Harry’s hip-hop style has found its way into moments where it didn’t entirely belong, and I think his instinct for fluidity in his movements sometimes held back the sharpness of this jive. But! This choreography was a lot of fun, and Harry is one of the best in the game in Season 35 at delivering facial expressions that are fun and not cringeworthy.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 24 of 30

DANCE STYLE: Quickstep (for “Turn Your Love Around” by George Benson)

Sheesh, Maura looks beautiful in the frame, doesn’t she? At least she should be pleased with his gift for good ballroom deportment, which comes naturally to almost no one. What if Maura isn’t In fact Less stuck in her own head than she’s been these past two weeks, she’s at least doing a better job of hiding it – even if some of the flourishes in this routine, like Maura’s freeze and stitch when the music stopped, felt a little rushed by nerves.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 22 of 30

DANCE STYLE: Cha-cha (on “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross)

Ciara wasn’t kidding last week when she said her Week 3 costume would be a total vibe. The hair, the orange two-piece, the grill – it’s all amazing, and Ciara looks exponentially more comfortable on the dance floor every time she hits it. But as the judges pointed out, Ciara has a few details that need to be ironed out ASAP — awkward leg placement, for example — that are holding her back from really breaking through just yet. Furthermore, it felt as if this dance ended before entering a long period of true cha-cha content; I would love to see Brandon challenge his partner a little more with the meat of these styles.

JUDGES’ NOTES: 18 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Paso doble (on “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins)

I appreciate that a clumsy guy like Jackson ended up taking the paso…