Watch 'Dancing with the Stars' Pros Perform a Beautiful Tribute to Len Goodman
'Dancing with the Stars' pros from past and present dance a tribute to the late Len Goodman
At the start of tonight's "Most Memorable Night" episode of Dancing with the Stars, co-host Julianne Hough promised an "emotion-filled night." And that proved to be an accurate predictor of the evening. Because, while the 10 couples performed tributes to their own most memorable year, it also served as the show's official tribute to its late head judge Len Goodman.
About halfway through the episode, the show took a break from the high-intensity competition. Co-host Alfonso Ribiero introduced a package talking about what he called "the heart of the show" in Goodman. The pretaped featured several talking heads with several previous pros, including Julianne, Derek Hough (who is on the current DWTS judging panel), Mark Ballas, Kim Johnson-Herjavec, Maks Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovoloni, Anna Trebunskaya, and Louis Van Amstel, as well as current pro Val Chmerkovskiy. They discussed his meteoric rise from champion dancer to TV personality, and the acerbic criticism that made him renowned.
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The action then went to the dance floor, a "clean, simple waltz" performed to "Moon River," one of Goodman's favorite songs. Choreographed by Val and Jenna Johnson, twelve couples took to the stage. In addition to the pros mentioned above, Karina Smirnoff and Edyta Śliwińska dusted off their DWTS shoes to take to the floor again. The dozen danced beautifully in sync throughout the number.
Related: Derek Hough and the 'DWTS' Pros Share Their Feelings on Dancing in the Len Goodman Tribute
In the end, the dancers bowed, a simple moon behind them. But that wasn't the only light that bathed them. A spotlight shone in the middle season on the judges panel, the one that Goodman occupied for over two decades on Dancing with the Stars. The number ended with one final quote from the ballroom legend: "All good things had to come to an end."
There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Several close-ups on the dancers showed their statuesque pose breaking as the gravity of the tribute hit them. Bruno Tonioli was weeping, standing up and walking into the arms of Carrie Ann Inaba, as the two judges embraced in tears.
The emotion poured off the screen as well. Social media was lit up with positive feelings towards the overall tribute. "The Len tribute dance was literally perfect," wrote one of the more popular posts under #DWTS on Twitter/X. "Every detail down to the lighting was just beautiful. Crying on my couch!" Many others reacted particularly to the end of the piece, specifically Goodman's cameo.
The Len tribute dance was literally perfect. Every detail down to the lighting was just beautiful. Crying on my couch! #dwts #dancingwiththestars
— hannah (@chickenmchannah) October 25, 2023
The comments continued in response to the post from the official Dancing with the Stars account, which read, "Len, we miss you so much but we know you were here with us in the #DWTS ballroom tonight." Many said Len would have absolutely loved the tribute, and some fans have gone so far to call it the best performance in the history of the show.
Len, we miss you so much but we know you were here with us in the #DWTS ballroom tonight. ❤️ #MostMemorableYear pic.twitter.com/ZXxWKBDmGS
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) October 25, 2023
The tribute truly reminds us how lucky we were to have Goodman in the ballroom, on television, and in our lives for so many years. As Dovoloni said during the video package, thanks to him, "Ballroom would never be the same."
Next, find out what controversial Dancing with the Stars casting choice led to Tom Bergeron getting fired.
