Following last week’s magical Disney 100 Night, Dancing With the Stars is going to get emotional for this week’s episode. After renaming the coveted Mirrorball Trophy to honor the late Len Goodman, the dancing series will pay tribute to him in a pro-filled number. The late judge had announced his official retirement from DWTS after Season 31 last year, and he passed away in April from bone cancer. Now, the show is set to honor him in a way he would have "loved."
The series will pay tribute to Len Goodman in a beautiful and touching way. With this week’s theme being “Most Memorable Year,” a number of pros will be participating in a routine that will pay homage to the long-time judge's ballroom background, according to EW. They will be dancing to “Moon River” by Henry Mancini, and many pros who have left the show will be returning for the performance Goodman would have definitely "loved."
Who’s In
The tribute to Goodman was first revealed at the start of Season 32, but hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro didn’t reveal much. Then, last week, as the show celebrated Disney’s 100th anniversary, the duo shared that former pros will be returning for Goodman's tribute. For some, it’s been a while since they were last on the series, which makes the performance even more special.
Confirmed former pros returning are Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani, Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Śliwińska, Karina Smirnoff, Louis van Amstel, and Mark Ballas. The current pros will also have a hand in the performance, and the judges, along with Hough and Ribeiro, could participate too. Considering the Hough siblings are both former pros, it seems likely that at least one of the judges and co-hosts will take the stage for this. It wouldn’t be surprising if the remaining celebrities do something too.
Who’s Out
Of course, it’s hard to include every single pro from the show’s 31 seasons. With just a small handful of them returning, it’s hard to know who was invited, couldn’t go or wasn’t asked.
Cheryl Burke had taken to Threads recently to share that she “wasn’t invited,” but she will be there in spirit. Despite participating in 26 seasons, it’s unknown why she wasn't contacted, but she is still going to honor Goodman. Former pro Sharna Burgess is also notably absent from the list after it was revealed she wasn’t asked back for Season 32.
Meanwhile, former pros Witney Carson and Lindsay Arnold revealed ahead of the current season they wouldn’t be returning because they wanted to focus on their families. However, Arnold has been going to tapings of DWTS to cheer on her sister, Rylee, who is a new pro this season. Maybe the sisters will once again dance with each other and for a good reason.
What Len Goodman Would Think of It
The performance is going to be like a “love letter” to the late judge, Karina Smirnoff told People. With Goodman's wide background in ballroom dancing and his duties on both Dancing With the Stars and the UK’s Strictly Come Dancing, he made quite an impact on the ballroom dancing world. The former pros have definitely put their all into the dance, but there’s one reason why Kym Johnson-Herjavec thinks he would have loved it, she said:
I think it's probably a waltz, as that's what Len would've loved. That's what he was known for. He didn't like the gimmicks. He liked straight-up dancing, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be very beautiful, very classic — like Len, really.
Even without seeing the dance, I know Len Goodman would have given it a 10 across all boards, and maybe even a larger number if that was possible. It’s going to be a beautiful, touching, and emotional tribute to him, and I can't wait to see it. Make sure to tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC or with a Disney+ subscription to see former pros come back to the ballroom to honor the beloved judge in the best way -- through dance. Then continue watching the show as it airs on the 2023 TV schedule to see who will make it to the next week and come closer to taking home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
