Two dancers went home Monday on “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro,” but it wasn’t because they weren’t good.
They had enough content for two rumbas, the judges said, but they didn’t have the passion that could have guaranteed a stay of execution.
Tristan Sanders, who wasn’t chosen by anyone when the pairing up began, wound up with Stephani Sosa and went to work. He had been called out repeatedly in previous weeks, but this was a real crucible. Sosa — a great crier — put plenty of sex into her moves but ended up leaving, too, because it was a pairs elimination.
Stephani Sosa and Tristan Sanders got the last dance and were sent home Monday on “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.”
Briefly, producers tried to show the couples bonding (playing mini-golf, drinking together), but there wasn’t enough chemistry to make water. Considering they’re all living in the same house, “Next Pro” could have had subplots that would make “Love Island” sink. None of that came through, and it was a matter of what they could bring to the floor.
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Most of the moves looked familiar.
Shirley Ballas loved Erik Linder and Selena Hamilton’s Argentine tango and said she needed a fan.
Erik Linder and Selena Hamilton are shown Monday on “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.”
A.J. Pritchard was told he had dug out of his comfort zone and did well on his rumba with Adele Zaikman.
That left Allen Genkin, who was chosen by two women and wound up with Nina Mayster. They got a scolding from Ballas, who said they didn’t have enough Argentine tango content. They were in jeopardy of elimination, but Sosa and Sanders got the last dance and were sent home.
As the judges (Jenna Johnson was the guest judge pushing the passion) harped on the technical aspects, they forgot to say that popularity helps sometimes, too.
Look at their Instagram accounts and you see that Pritchard has a whopping 531,000 followers. Hamilton has 83,000, Genkin and Zaikman have around 33,000 each, and Mayster and Linder trail with numbers hovering around 8,000.
Johnson, who’s a two-time winner on “DWTS,” has 1.4 million; judge Mark Ballas has 1.2 million.
If numbers matter, you can see who might be difficult to ignore.
We told you last week Pritchard has the show cred to make it on the big stage. But we’ll see who pulls ahead next week. He’s still our choice.
