Who was eliminated from ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’? Episode 1 sends two dancers home

The highly anticipated ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’ premiered with 12 dancers performing on the show for the first time. Hosted by Season 34 winner and fan-favorite dancer Robert Irwin, the first episode of the reality show witnessed a shocking double elimination. Briar Nolet and Jake Monreal were sent home after the first episode, leaving Adele Zaikman, Allen Genkin, AJ Pritchard, Benjamin Castro, Erik Linder, Natalie Jolley, Nina Mayster, Selena Hamilton, Stephani Sosa, and Tristen Sanders competing for the title.

‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’ features three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas, along with his mother, Shirley Ballas, as the judges. They will be joined by guest panelists for each episode, who will help them judge the “toughest dance boot camp on television.” Every week, viewers will witness an elimination as the dance competition progresses. The first episode of the debut season, titled ‘The Journey Begins: Technique with Derek Hough,’ featured Derek as the guest judge. The first challenge was assigned by him, and it was all about “technique.” While the six male contestants had to dance the jive, the female dancers performed the samba, one of the toughest styles. Derek also divided the contestants into pairs: AJ-Jake, Erik-Tristen, Briar-Stephani, Allen-Benji, Adele-Nina, and Natalie-Selena.

For their performances, Derek Hough taught them side-by-side choreography and asked the dancers to choreograph their solo sections. Erik and Tristen’s performance showed impressive improvements after rehearsals. As for Jake and AJ, while they performed well, Derek felt the two “lacked oomph.” As Shirley noted, Jake was dancing ahead of the beats, and AJ needed to take more risks. Mark referred to Benji and Allen’s performance as “the most dynamic performance so far,” while Shirley noted that they had a “remarkable energy.” The judges praised Selena and Natalie’s performance, noting that Selena was a “superstar” and her samba was “outstanding.” Mark also mentioned that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Despite Briar’s slipping during her performance, she insisted on continuing. It paid off as Shirley applauded her upper body movements. Adele and Nina received appreciation from Derek, while Mark said the former was “Killer, focused, an assassin.” Nina also received praise for her “magnetic” performance. At last, it was time for an elimination. The judges shared two names: Brian and Natalie from the female dancers, and Jake and Tristen from among the males. Shirley then announced, “Tonight was the last dance for Briar and Jake,” and the two were sent home. Natalie and Tristen were declared safe.