The time has come for Week 3 of “Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro” on ABC tonight. We are on the hunt for the next pro dancer to debut on “DWTS” Season 35, as the 9 remaining dancers compete in challenges to prove they deserve that spot. For tonight’s episode, it’s all about performing as a group, as “Dancing With the Stars” pro dancer Britt Stewart will be serving as guest mentor and judge. Watch with us tonight during our “DWTS: The Next Pro” 2026 live recap below and find out with us who got eliminated on “Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro” tonight.
Group Performance on ‘DWTS: The Next Pro’
Things got emotional last week on this “Dancing With the Stars’ spinoff. “DWTS” Season 34 Mirrorball Champion Robert Irwin is back in the ballroom, this time serving as host. The judges are three-time Mirrorball Champion Mark Ballas and his mother, ballroom legend Shirley “The Queen of Latin” Ballas.
Each week, the contestants will pair up and take on a dance style and song choice for the challenge of the week. Tonight’s theme is something very popular on the show: a group performance. We always see the pros dancing together, and now Britt will help get these dancers ready for their performance. We saw another dancer get eliminated during Week 2. Who will it be tonight? Find out with us during our Live Recap below!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
July 27 Live Recap – Week 3
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Week 3 Begins
The dancers are in the ballroom. Robert and the judges join them. The mentor and guest judge this week is Britt Stewart, who performs an awesome dance to get the night started!
Britt said a vital part of becoming a pro on “DWTS” is group performances. They often start every night with a huge opening number. For this week, the dancers will have to recreate the dance Britt just performed! She said this is a chance to break the rules a little bit. Not all complete ballroom in these group numbers.
Rehearsals Begin
Britt joins the dancers in the rehearsal room. She said for traditional ballroom dancers, this could be a hard week. There are a lot of people, lots of movements, and keeping in sync is huge. Plus, it’s more than just ballroom.
Britt is done, so the dancers continue to work. There is some tension between the girls, as Nina continues to not listen to anyone. Selena tries to give input, but seems to be getting shot down by Nina.
Meanwhile, Tristen is struggling with the moves and picking up the choreography. Britt said Nina is struggling with the musicality. Stephani is feeling confident with this, since she was in the “Dancing With the Stars” troupe for Season 33. However, they are dancing, and she accidentally gets too close to Natalie and hits her in the face. Natalie is now on the way to the hospital, as Britt said this is why group dances are important and knowing our spacing.
A Surprise From Britt
The rehearsals continue, as we wait to see how Natalie is. Britt says she has a surprise for these dancers. They have had three hours to rehearse, which is how long the pros on “Dancing With the Stars” have to learn these routines. So, Britt says they will perform the routine right now! In come Mark and Shirley, so is this real?
They perform the routine, and Selena is just a star. She stands out among the dancers, and my eye is drawn to her the whole time.
After the performance, Britt asks the judges who was the weakest dancer in the challenge. Shirley said Tristen was ahead by a whole bar of music. Mark said Nina was rushing the music, being ahead, and not being spatially aware of your partner.
However, they are not on the chopping block! Britta said there will be another challenge to prove themselves to the “DWTS: The Next Pro” judges.
House Time
Back at the house, Erik talks about how Britt is so beautiful. Then we have more drama, and of course, it involves Nina. Selena calls out Nina, saying she does not respect her and held back in the rehearsals.
Nina then says she also held back. It’s a group performance week, and they need to figure out how to work together.
A New Challenge
The dancers are back in the rehearsal room. Robert said Natalie is doing okay, but under medical supervision for now. For the second part of this week’s challenge, the dancers have to split up into two different teams and perform an amazing team dance. Nina and Tristen will be team captains. Britt said they need to be in sync and be smart. The teams are:
- Team Tango: Nina, Allen, AJ, and Adele
- Team Paso Doble: Tristen, Stephani, Selena, and Erik
Team Rehearsals
Team Paso Doble is working it out. Tristen is letting everyone lead. Erik is the only non-commercial dancer on the team, so he thinks that is good, and he can help clean things up.
For Team Tango, Nina said they were told sometimes to let others take the lead. AJ seems to take over, as he said he’s done this for “Strictly Come Dancing.”
Tristen seems to be far behind. He is struggling and feels like he isn’t contributing. He is shutting down, but they are trying to build him up. For Team Tango, Allen said the team Nina built was perfect for her. AJ is taking the lead, so Allen is stepping back and working to keep Nina safe.
Show Night on ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’
Time to see what the team dances for the judges. Natalie is not there, and Robert said they will explain her absence later. Time to get to these dances.
Team Paso Doble
Before performing, they said they all worked together as leaders. Tristen said rehearsals were challenging, but in a good way. They hit the stage, and it seems like they are holding back. It doesn’t seem as powerful as a paso doble should be. I feel like Tristen was kind of always watching and in his head too much. I just feel like it was a dance, but no story there.
Judges’ Feedback: Britt said the beginning was dynamic, but she felt like they were out there as individuals and they didn’t find a connection. Tristen felt a bit lost. Mark said he loves watching Selena, but her spatial awareness was off tonight. Shirley said sometimes it’s better to have one person leading and one person cleaning. This was off.
Team Tango
They said rehearsals were a breath of fresh air. All egos were checked at the door. They said AJ was the lead, and they all worked together on choreography. We see them start strong, but then Allen falls. He recovers and gets back on track. However, I am not a fan of their faces. AJ is too over-the-top, and it’s fake. The music is so fast, but the routine doesn’t match.
Judges’ Feedback: Mark said Allen fell. A lot is going on. We’ve all fallen over; it’s fine. It was well saved. So much improvement today, Nina. They worked together as a team. Work on the timing. Shirley said she does have concern with the timing. Adele is a phenomenal lady dancer. The star today for her was AJ. Today he was humble and worked as a team. Britt said she was so impressed with what she saw because they pushed the boundaries.
