Tonight on ABC we have DWTS our favorite reality TV show returning to the ballroom when Dancing With The Stars season 35 episode 2 called, “Premiere: Night Two,” airs. We have your all-new Wednesday, September 16, 2025, season 35 episode 2 Dancing With The Stars recap below!
On tonight’s DWTS episode, as per the ABC synopsis, “The female celebrities make their competition debut, performing to a No. 1 song from the year they were born, with one eliminated at the end of the night.
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Tonight’s Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
In tonight’s Dancing With The Stars episode, there was a Mirrorball trophy waiting on all new season of “Dancing With the Stars”. Sixteen celebrities came out to compete for it and they put on one great show. They were also joined by the newest winner of their spinoff show.
Yet, one duo has already been eliminated. They were eliminated after the most watched season premiere in nine years. The show kept getting better and better. There was a website issue yesterday. It has since been resolved. People can still vote online and there was the second option of texting for those who find it easier.
Tatyana Ali was up first with her dance partner, Jan. She was glad to be a surprise for Alphonse. They’re television siblings and will always be happy to see each other again. Tatyana was joining the show at a perfect time. Her kids were older. They could do without her being nearby. She also wanted to work on her dancing skills. She was a Broadway kid. She grew up acting and surprisingly the one thing she always struggled with was her dancing. She felt it was her weakest skill. And so it’s a good thing Jan was her partner.
Jan pushed her to be ambitious. They had to set an example the first week to be remembered later on. He pushed her to get creative and she’s getting better. There was just still room for improvement. They danced the Jive. It was a little rough in the beginning and it picked up during the routine. Carrie Anne still thought she did an admirable job. It was actually Derek who pointed out that she had been flat-footed there. The Jive was all about toe points. They earned fours all across the board. It left them with a score of twelve.
Next up was Amber Glenn. She’s an Olympic figure skater. Those figure skaters have historically been known to do pretty well on this show. They knew how to stay on their feet and work to a routine. They also got rhythm. The last one was the most important because it couldn’t be taught to just anyone. Some of the former celebrities on the show know that fairly well. She was truly a gift to Pasha. They danced the Cha Cha. They made it sleek and sexy. They put on a stellar performance. The Ice Queen won over Derek.
He still wanted a little more control in her movements. He wanted to see that skillset learned from the ice. Bruno felt the same. He enjoyed the dance and wanted to see more glide. More finesse. Amber was still holding herself back. The moment she lets go will push her ahead so much more than she realized according to Carrie Ann. Amber and Pasha scored a total of eighteen. They were given sixes all across the judges. They were then followed by Ciara Miller and her partner, Brandon. She was a “Summer House” alumni.
It was a reality show on Bravo. She was better known for the scandal involving her best friend and her now fully confirmed ex. She had been the wronged party. Well, Ciara was back with a vengeance. She distanced herself from the people that hurt her and was now finding a love of dance with Brandon’s help. They danced the Foxtrot. It was admittedly rough. She didn’t quite sell it as say an actor or a figure skater would. It led to the routine not quite coming together and her movements were a bit stiff.
Bruno said she needed to work on her continuous flow. She’d get the arm right for a movement then dropped it in the moments in between. She could better display control by maintaining the elegance throughout the routine. Carrie Ann meanwhile connected to this dance on a personal level. She could see how tough it had been for Ciara to move past what happened and Whitney Houston’s “Exhale” really was the perfect fit for her as well as her routine. Carrie Ann was practically in tears as she connected with her. And Derek agreed with Bruno in that the moments kept dropping albeit unintentionally. They soon scored fives across the board and had a score of fifteen.
Next up were Giada De Laurentiis and her partner, Alan. The entrepreneur and award winning chef cooked for her partner. So, these two got along right away. The judges saw the food and brought out plates and utensils. They wanted to taste her cooking too. Her cooking was a lot better than her Tango. Its just that she got the judges to break rank from each other. They’ve been scoring the same all night until her. She set the best impression on Carrie Ann who scored a little bit higher than the others. Derek and Bruno gave her fives. Carrie Ann gave her a six. She and Alan have a score of sixteen.
There was also performances from the Dance Troupe. They put on an amazing performance like always and its good to see the spin the younger generation was putting on the field. They will go far. There was never a doubt it! Up next was Julia Styles. The actress was famously known for dancing badly in a movie. The dance was great for the time and nowadays people look back at it to say it was bad. They just didn’t live the moment where Julia sold it for that first time. It was acting skills that carried the dance and it was the same acting skills that continued to do so to this day.
Julia was paired with Ezra. Ezra helped her get in shape for a Quickstep. The two bonded almost instantly and it led to a really fun routine. Its great just to go out and have fun. Julia got the expansiveness of the dance. Though she did a start and stop that Carrie Ann felt she needed to smooth out. They scored sixes across the board. They have a score of eighteen. It was one of the highest of the night so her dancing has gotten better from a movie that sadly did not age well. Millennial sigh.
Maura Higgins and Mark were up next. Maura was a television personality and model. She was best known for “Love Island”. Her accent was so cute. She was worried that she didn’t know how to dance. She even went as far as saying her hips do lie. Then Mark molded her out of clay. He was a great choreographer. He truly was. He had Marna dancing the Foxtrot like she was born for it. The whole routine was proving to be the best of the night. She and Mark scored the highest points at this point in the competition. They got sevens from all of the judges. They were left with a score of twenty-one. The first to break into the twenties.
Sarah Jane Nader was soon up with her partner, Hailey Bills. Yes, it was a double girl pairing. They got on really well and were just out of sink with each other on the dance floor. The reality tv star has some history with dancing. She just needed to work on timing. She was doing one thing while Hailey was doing the others. The dance itself stood out. Just not what they were hoping for. The judges once again broke rank with each other over this pairing. Carrie Ann and Bruno gave them fives. Derek gave them a four. They were left with a score of fourteen.
Now, the next dancer was a bit controversial because many were upset with the celebrity’s experience. Jenna Dewan also danced in a movie and its still sparked a serious of movies that became all about the dancing because her skills were that darn good. So, some felt she was a cheating a bit this season. It doesn’t matter whether they were right or wrong. The only thing that mattered was the dancing. Jenna has been focusing on her acting career. Her dancing skills were a little rusty.
Jenna was paired with Val. They work really well together. They also had Bruno jumping up with sheer joy thanks to that Tango. It was very sexy and very skilled. The other judges took issues with certain movements, but not Bruno. Bruno would go on to give them a seven while the others gave them sixes. They had a score of nineteen. It wasn’t too bad. It was a great first step for this duo. The night’s final performance went to Derek who performed with his wife. These two just got back to dance from having a new baby and after a medical scare. It was truly great to see them dancing again with the dance troupe.
Their number alone might get nominated for another Emmy.
But someone was eliminated tonight. It was sad to see any of them go. The judges’ scores along with the people scoring at home eliminated Sarah Jane and Hailey.
THE END!