Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas delivered one of their strongest performances yet during Week 3 of Dancing With the Stars, bringing speed, personality and noticeably sharper technique to Yacht Rock Night.
The pair took on a Quickstep to George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around,” a demanding routine that required Maura to stay light on her feet while keeping pace with Ballas through fast choreography.
From the opening moments, Maura appeared more confident than she had earlier in the season. Her energy remained high throughout the routine, and the partnership looked increasingly comfortable as she handled the quick changes of direction and ballroom hold.
The improvement did not go unnoticed by the judges.
Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli all praised elements of Maura’s performance, particularly the progress she has made since the season premiere and the commitment she brought to such a technically difficult dance.
But when the paddles finally went up, the total wasn’t quite as high as some viewers might have expected after the enthusiastic reaction.
Maura and Mark received 22 out of 30, placing them among the stronger couples of Yacht Rock Night but still behind the evening’s leaders, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov and Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, who each scored 24.
The 22 was still an important result for Maura. Her premiere Foxtrot had earned 21 points, meaning the Quickstep showed continued progress while keeping her within striking distance of the highest-scoring couples.
And unlike several contestants who struggled during Week 3, Maura managed to tackle one of ballroom’s fastest styles without allowing the speed of the routine to completely overwhelm her.
The judges also made it clear there is still room for refinement. Small technical details and moments where the routine could have been cleaner prevented the performance from reaching the very top of the leaderboard.
Even so, Maura and Mark safely advanced after viewer votes and judges’ scores were combined, while Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were eliminated at the end of the night.
For Maura, the result may have felt slightly bittersweet: a performance that looked like a major breakthrough earned strong praise but not quite the numbers some expected. Still, with another week secured, she now has another opportunity to turn that visible improvement into the bigger scores she has been chasing.
