Jenna Dewan brought plenty of drama to the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom during the second night of the Season 35 premiere. The actress and longtime dancer teamed with professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy for a fiery tango to Blondie’s 1980 hit “Call Me,” closing the evening with one of its strongest performances.
The song fit the premiere’s nostalgic theme, which asked the celebrities to perform to No. 1 songs from their birth years. Dewan, who was born in 1980, embraced the intensity of “Call Me,” with the choreography emphasizing sharp movement, attitude and dramatic chemistry between her and Chmerkovskiy.
Dewan entered the competition with considerably more dance experience than many of her fellow celebrities. Before becoming widely known through the 2006 movie “Step Up,” she worked professionally as a backup dancer for artists including Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and Christina Aguilera.
However, Dewan has stressed that ballroom dancing requires a different technique from the styles she previously performed. Before the premiere, she described the transition as almost a process of “unlearning” old habits, acknowledging that her background also creates higher expectations.
Those expectations were obvious in Derek Hough’s critique following her tango. Hough praised the routine’s power and energy and joked that Dewan had put the “go” in tango, but he also said parts of the performance felt frantic and challenged her to concentrate on the finer technical details.
Bruno Tonioli was similarly impressed with the theatrical side of the performance. He compared the routine to watching a dark movie and praised how completely Dewan committed to the character, telling her she was “on fire.” But Tonioli also identified her shoulders as an area requiring refinement.
That shoulder issue was particularly interesting because Tonioli connected it to habits from Dewan’s previous dance experience. The moment illustrated the challenge she faces this season: her professional background gives her performance confidence, but some of the movement patterns she already knows may need to be adjusted for traditional ballroom technique.
Carrie Ann Inaba also enjoyed the routine, calling it a fantastic way to finish the night. However, she raised another technical concern involving the dancers’ feet leaving the floor, using the moment to remind the contestants about the show’s rules concerning lifts.
When the scores arrived, Inaba and Hough each awarded the couple a 6, while Tonioli gave them a 7. That produced a total of 19 out of 30, putting Dewan and Chmerkovskiy among the strongest couples of Night Two.
The 19 was not enough to top the women’s leaderboard. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas earned 21 out of 30 for their foxtrot to “Black Velvet,” finishing two points ahead of Dewan and Chmerkovskiy. Still, Dewan’s score comfortably secured her place among the premiere’s standout performers.
The night was also emotional for Dewan away from the judges’ table. Her family watched from the audience, including her 13-year-old daughter Everly, who is a longtime fan of “Dancing With the Stars.” Dewan later said Everly was extremely proud and had tears in her eyes while watching her mother perform.
Dewan and Chmerkovskiy ultimately survived the premiere elimination and advanced to the next stage of the competition. Their first tango demonstrated exactly why Dewan entered Season 35 with high expectations, but the judges also made their message clear: her experience means they will be looking beyond performance power and demanding precision. After a dramatic 19/30 debut, the challenge now is turning those “broad strokes,” as Hough described them, into the fine details of ballroom dancing.
