‘Dancing With the Stars’ Premiere Night 2 2026 Recap: Sarah Jane Nader Eliminated

The September 16 episode of Dancing With the Stars was all about the ladies! After the Season 35 guys took the floor for Night 1 of the premiere on September 15 (which resulted in Conner Leavitt‘s elimination), it was time for the girls to give it a go.

Throughout the episode, the eight female celebs and their pro partners took the floor to dance to songs that hit No. 1 the year they were born. They received scores from the judges, which were combined with viewer votes to determine who was eliminated at the very end of the two-hour episode.

Scroll down for a recap of Night 2 of the premiere, including who was eliminated.

Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik — 12/30

Tatyana Ali, who played host Alfonso Ribeiro‘s sister on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, hit the floor first with partner Jan Ravnik. Their first dance style was the jive, and unfortunately there was a bit of a misstep at the beginning that Ali never fully recovered from.

Carrie Ann Inaba weighed in first and reminded everyone that the judges might be scoring low to leave room for growth. “That was a bit of a rough start,” she admitted. “It threw you off. You got off timing and I think you had a hard time recovering. But there’s a fierce fire brewing under you and you’re a powerful woman!”

Derek Hough called Ali a “ball of fire,” but did point out her flat feet and the mistakes she made. Bruno Tonioli added, “You gave me a little bit of sass, you have the sparkle, you just need to keep it going throughout the dance.”

With 4s from the three judges, Ali finished with a 12/30.

Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov — 18/30

Next up, Olympian Amber Glenn and her partner Pasha Pashkov performed a cha-cha. “That solo section? That was spicy!” Hough raved, while also giving Glenn some tips about how to add some finesse and technique.

“She attacked the cha-cha-cha like a warrior queen. I love the attitude,” Tonioli said. “You really ewnt for it. There are bad habits that come with what you do. You don’t articulate with your foot … she’s got it all, you just need to refine.”

Inaba agreed but added, “I think what’s special with you is the way you attack everything. This is only night one, that was an amazing performance.” She also included some advice to Glenn for how she can work better with a partner since she’s so used to performing solo. Three 6s from the judges gave Glenn an 18/30.

Ciara Miller & Brandon Armstrong — 15/30

For their first dance, Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong danced a foxtrot. Tonioli told Miller she has sophistication and elegance, but pointed out that she was not consistent with her lines. “It’s all about control, continuous flow,” he added. “Don’t go from one step to another .Everything is linked.”

Inaba was emotional after watching Miller. “I can see the pain you have,” she said. “I can feel it. It’s the beautiful thing about dance is it gives you a place to express that. I think you are a stunning dancer.”

Hough agreed with Inaba and Tonioli about what Miller had to work on in her frame, but also said told Miller, “I want you to go back to rehearsal and dance like you know you’re good. Because you are. It’s there.” Miller scored three 5s for a 15/30.

Giada De Laurentiis & Alan Bersten — 17/30

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten performed a tango for their premiere dance. Inaba refused to believe that this was the first time De Laurentiis’ danced.

“What I loved, emotionally, is you just showed your daughter what it is to do something scary, and you did it with class,” she added. “Your lines were sweet and clear. Very well defined. I liked it a lot.”

Hough said it “wasn’t a bad first dance, by any means,” but admitted it felt a little “careful,” urging De Laurentiis to be more “powerful” in future dances. “You have all the ingredients, now I just need you to cook with conviction!” he explained. Tonioli agreed, adding, “It was a very nice dish, just have to blend it a little bit more!”

With a 6 from Inaba and 5s from the guys, De Laurentiis earned a 17/30.

Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa — 18/30

For Julia Stiles‘ first dance with Ezra Sosa, she performed a quickstep to Dolly Parton‘s “9 to 5” and proved to Andy Cohen that she sure can dance, despite his previous claims!

“That was beautiful, graceful, you are absolutely beaming,” Hough gushed. “For me, you have all that. The quickstep, I just want you to take off the hand brake and move across this floor with a little more energy.”

Tonioli praised her for being able to play a part and dance beautifully, but agreed with Hough that Stiles needs to attack her dance more. Inaba concluded, “It was very clean. You’re very radiant, you’re very expansive when you perform. Your arm out of hold, sometimes just a little small, and sometimes you were trying to lean instead of extend. Try thinking about extending.”

After earning three 6s, Stiles tied Glenn for the top of the leaderboard with 18/30.

Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas — 21/30

After previously competing against each other on The Traitors, it was time for Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas to team up for a premiere night foxtrot.

“You foxy traitor! So seductive. So enticing. Smooth as silk and ready for the kill,” Tonioli said. “I was talking earlier about the quality of the foxtrot … you’ve done just that. The movement on Week 1, I’ve never seen something that level of quality.”

Inaba was blown away and almost speechless. “That was mesmerizing. Not only was it all that Bruno said, you are mesmerizing. You had the character right, the way you toned it.” Hough said the routine was “smooth as velvet” and called it “sultry, mysterious, and elegant.”

The only downside? The expectations are high for Higgins moving forward! All three judges gave Higgins 7s, giving her a score of 21/30, the highest of the night so far.

Sarah Jane Nader & Hailey Bills — 14/30

Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills, the only same-sex pair of the season, danced a jive. “That was super hot!” Inaba gushed, although she had to point out that the girls were out of sync “most of the dance.”

“There was a lot of great things about that,” Hough assured Nader. “There’s some good moments in that. I see the potential. For me, it took way too long to get into the dance. I wanted more content. The jive needs to be stationary, underneath yourself, you were definitely out of sync. But like I said, there’s potential there.”

Tonioli told Nader she needs to work on synchronization and timing moving forward, but urged her to always keep being herself. Inaba and Tonioli scored the dance with 5s, while Hough gave it a 4, for a 14/30.

Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy — 19/30

For the final dance of the night Jenna Dewan and Valentin Chmerkovskiy performed a tango. Dewan used to be Janet Jackson‘s backup dancer, so the pressure was on for her to perform well due to her past dance experience.

“You put the go in tango!” Hough confirmed. “It literally had so much power, so much energy, and I think part of that, actually, for me, made the shoulders go up a little bit.” He added that the dance was “frantic” in places, but warned Dewan that she needs to work on the “fine strokes” moving forward.

Tonioli said, “Passion, drama, love! It was like watching a dark movie. You were so on it and in it. You were on fire.” He admitted there are some elements Dewan needs to refine, but noted, “I cannot fault your performance!”

Inaba said Dewan ended the night in a “fantastic” way, but said she had to dock a point because of the lift in the routine. “It’s a hard one to call, I know it can feel grey, but keep the feet on the ground,” she warned. “You don’t need a lift to be amazing.”

Hough and Inaba scored the dance with a 6, while Tonioli gave it a 7 for a 19/30.

Who was eliminated?

Finally, it was time to reveal the results. Announced in no particular order, the five couples first called safe were: Maura Higgins/Mark Ballas, Jenna Dewan/Val Chmerkovskiy, Amber Glenn/Pasha Pashkov, Julia Stiles/Ezra Sosa, and Ciara Miller/Brandon Armstrong.

That left Giada De Laurentiis/Alan Bersten, Sarah Jane Nader/Hailey Bills, and Tatyana Ali/Jan Ravnik as the bottom three. The couple eliminated was … Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+