“This is no exaggeration,” Derek said. “I’m not even kidding when I say that was the best quality foxtrot I literally have ever seen on this show. The rise and fall, the texture, the resistance in the body, the musicality, the constant choreography, the look—every single thing about it. I would give that a 12 if I could!” Backstage after the show, Mark told Parade.com how special it was to receive that critique from Derek, saying, “Out of all the judges, he’s the only one who has been in these shoes, and it’s a different thing. Until you’ve done it, it’s kind of hard to relate to, so getting a nice comment from the master is nice. He’s one of the best.” The rest of the judges were equally kind, which is obvious when you consider that Charli and Mark were awarded the only perfect score of the night: 50 points. The extra 10 was because Michael served as a guest judge as well as performing. Len Goodman said, “I just want to speak about one element of this dance that I rarely speak about because I never see it—beautiful swing and sway throughout the dance. Honestly, it was just fantastic.” And Bruno Tonioli added, “I was delirious. You sent me into dance ecstasy. If I had an hour I would explain why. We keep saying the foxtrot is like [being] on the crest of a wave. There’s hardly any effort that is visible. You had that. Plus, you put all my favorite—you clever guy—classic jazz [steps]. Charli looked like one of my favorite dancers in the world, Ann Reinking. That’s a compliment bigger than the ballroom.” Then it was Michael’s turn, and he told the TikTok star, “I’m not telling you this, Charli, because I want you to love me the way you love Len, but I actually wrote this down in my remarks so I wouldn’t mess it up: Effortless, mesmerizing and expressively erotic. That was so beautiful.” And lastly, Carrie Ann Inaba said, “I am so proud of you because, of everyone, I think in a strange way this competition may be hardest for you because you are so good, because it seems so effortless to make us love you that way and draw us in with that emotionality, that finesse—every line was like a masterpiece.” Next week on DWTS will be Halloween week, and Charli said she doesn’t count on necessarily finishing in first place again, especially because this week, it wasn’t until today that everything came together for the foxtrot. So, she is taking this competition one dance at a time. “Each week is its own journey,” she said. “Each style sits on everyone so differently and sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t. This was a hard week. Going into next week, I have no idea, so I am just excited to see how it comes together no matter what scores we get.” As for being in competition with her mother Heidi, who is partnered with Artem Chigvintsev, Charli joked with Parade.com, saying, “We are enemies.” But then she got serious and added, “We carpool together literally every day. I am with her all the time. She’s my mom. I’m always going to be proud of her before anything else. We drove here today. We are driving home together. I couldn’t imagine that actually being a rivalry. We are always going to be proud of each other.” Dancing with the Stars will return next Monday for Halloween Night at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+. Next, Shangela Surprises DWTS Judges With Fried Chicken Hidden in Her Cleavage
