After 20 years of the air, Dancing With the Stars has changed quite a bit over the years. After the first few seasons, the show began introducing theme weeks, and they’ve continued adding new ones to keep things fresh as time went on.
While many theme nights, such as Disney Night, Halloween Night, and Team Dances) are repeated during multiple seasons, others are one-and-done. The latter tend to be those that honor a specific artist or style of music (for instance, there has been a Britney Spears night, a Taylor Swift night, and more).
Over the past 33 seasons of Dancing With the Stars, we’ve seen dozens of themes in the ballroom, but we rounded up the best of the best. Scroll down to check them out!
16. Country Night
Yee-haw! The first Country Night took place during Season 15, and the theme has popped up several more times over the years. This honky-tonk theme is all about music from Shania Twain, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and other Nashville stars, which means the pairs have to put their dancing skills to the test with songs that may not be typical for the ballroom setting.
Even so, Juan Pablo Di Pace (whose boots were made for dancing!) and Cheryl Burke successfully lassoed their Charleston to “One Shot” by Hunter Hayes during Season 27 in 2018.
15. Soul Train Night
“Love, peace, and soul” reigned on the dance floor in Season 33, which featured a special Soul Train theme in which contestants grooved in routines set to songs that were once performed on the iconic 1971–2006 TV dance series. The judges were joined by special guest Rosie Perez, a former Soul Train dancer. Derek Hough led a master class to Kool & the Gang’s “Get Down on It,” and the couples performed to a plethora of other songs, ranging from the Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine” to Aretha Franklin‘s “Trust” and Patti LaBelle‘s “Lady Marmalade.”
Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong earned the highest score of the night (36 out of 40) for their cha-cha to “It’s Tricky” by hip-hop hitmakers Run-DMC.
14. Boy Band & Girl Group Night
You can’t hurry love or the race to win the Mirrorball trophy! Week 9 of Season 28 featured music from iconic boy bands and girl groups. The six remaining couples were tasked with performing two dances each: one to a song by an iconic girl group — such as the Supremes, the Spice Girls and the Pointer Sisters — and the second to a song by a boy band, including hits by the Backstreet Boys and Boyz II Men.
Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber were the couple who owned the night, scoring 40 out of 40 for both of their dances, but it was their jazz to “Step by Step” by New Kids on the Block that had fans buzzing for days.
13. Latin Night
Things always get sexy on Latin Night! While Latin routines are performed throughout the seasons, this theme is specifically dedicated to Latin dance styles, among them the samba, paso doble and salsa. The first Latin Night took place in Season 14, and although the theme hasn’t popped up as much recently, it’s provided some of the hottest numbers in the show’s history.
Who could forget Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko‘s steamy Argentine tango — one of the most sizzling dances in every season — in 2016? They scored a perfect 40 for their superhot dance, which was set to Selena Gomez‘s “Hands to Myself” and concluded with them getting drenched by a showerhead, Flashdance-style.
12. A Celebration of Taylor Swift
There’s no denying that 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift. While the megastar was in the midst of her record-breaking Eras Tour, DWTS let the six remaining Season 32 contestants compete to fill the “Blank Space” at the top of the leaderboard as the show put her music front and center, dancing to such songs as “Cruel Summer,” “You Belong With Me” and “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagech stole the show with their Argentine tango to “Don’t Blame Me.” They scored a perfect 40 out of 40. Three pairs also earned three extra points in a dance relay with rou- tines also set to Swift hits.
11. Iconic Dances
The only all-star version of the show, 2012’s Season 15, included a night dedicated to iconic dances from the previous 14 seasons, with the pairs putting their own twist on past routines, hoping to deliver a performance that was just as amazing.
Derek Hough was inspired by sister Julianne Hough‘s Season 5 quickstep with Hélio Castroneves for his iconic dance with Shawn Johnson. Drawing on Johnson’s gymnastics history, they launched the dance by jumping from mini trampolines and did splits. They didn’t want to outdo Castroneves, “but just do it differently,” Johnson said. Judge Bruno Tonioli called it “the best dance I’ve seen in 15 seasons.”
10. Janet Jackson Night
The dancers in Week 8 of Season 30 in 2021 got nasty! The theme was all about the iconic superstar Janet Jackson, and the eight remaining couples danced to some of her many hit songs, including “Nasty,” “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Rhythm Nation.”
The competition also featured challenging dance-offs, where two pairs battled each other head-to-head on the floor to the same song. Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten absolutely crushed their jazz routine to “Miss You Much,” which earned them a 40 out of 40 score. It wasn’t the only perfect result
9. Britney Night
Amid Britney Spears’ legal battle to be freed from her conservatorship in 2021, Dancing With the Stars paid tribute to the pop singer with a night in her honor during Week 3 of Season 30. Pairs took to the floor performing their foxtrots and cha-chas to “Toxic,” “Oops!…I Did It Again” and more.
Of course, there’s no Britney song that’s more classic than “…Baby One More Time,” and JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson were the lucky pair to land the track as their music. The women performed a fierce Argentine tango and tied for the top of the leaderboard with a 24 out of 30 (an impressive score for so early in the season).
8. Instant Dance
This challenging theme made its debut in Season 11. The pairs had their usual full week to practice their choreography, but what song they would be dancing to remained a closely guarded secret until 45 minutes before showtime. There have been variations of this difficult challenge over the years — the hardest is often when the dance style, music and costumes are revealed on the spot.
In Season 33, a daring leg-lift in Danny Amendola and Witney Carson‘s instant contemporary dance went viral, but in 2011, J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff really understood their assignment. Smirnoff had divided their instant jive into four sections, so when they learned their music would be Little Richard‘s “Tutti Frutti,” they knew just what to do. They scored a perfect 30 for the upbeat routine.
7. Partner Switch
As if learning style of dance every week wasn’t hard enough, DWTS added the Partner Switch theme in Season 18 to complicate things even further. Viewers could vote for which professional dancer and celebrity they wanted to see spinning around the floor together. To do that, the contestants had to spend a week learning from someone who was not their regular partner.
While the theme hasn’t been done since Season 22 in 2016, it did give us some memorable moments, including Alexa PenaVega and Derek Hough’s Season 21 tango to “Pompeii” by Bastille. The routine earned PenaVega her first perfect score of the season.
6. Trio Night
Three isn’t a crowd on DWTS. Season 17 introduced Trio Night, requiring the pairs to add a third person to their routine. In some cases, the addition was a previously eliminated pro or member of the dance troupe, but Season 25 featured an even crazier twist: Former DWTS contestants returned to the ballroom to join the six remaining pairs on the dance floor.
This gave us one of the best dances ever when 2013 contestant Corbin Bleu teamed up with Jordan Fisher and pro Lindsay Arnold for a salsa to “Que Viva La Vida” by Wisin. The trio earned the only perfect score of the night and brought the house down.
5. Halloween Night
The year’s spookiest night is one of the biggest Dancing With the Stars staples. The costumed extravaganza was introduced in Season 3, although it didn’t become a consistent theme until Season 17. The show’s outstanding costume, hair and makeup teams always go all out when it comes to dressing up the cast with getups ranging from darkly ghoulish to super spooky — even the judges get in on the tricks and treats.
During Season 23 in 2016, with substitute partner Jenna Johnson, James Hinchcliffe perfectly channeled the Joker from the film Suicide Squad, complete with green hair and menacing grimace. They scored a perfect 30 for their diabolically good Viennese waltz to “You Don’t Own Me” by Grace, featuring G-Eazy.
4. Team Dances
This theme requires several different pairs to work together to perform a routine that manages to play to each of their strengths. It was first introduced back in Season 7, and since then, the teams have been chosen in a variety of ways, including schoolyard picks and via fan votes.
One of the most memorable is the “Call Me Maybe” freestyle from Season 15. Apolo Ohno and Karina Smirnoff, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, Sabrina Bryan and Louis van Amstel, and Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough performed a cheerleader-inspired number to Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit and crushed it, even after Rycroft had suffered a neck injury in rehearsals.
3. Disney Night
Dancing With the Stars introduced Disney Night in Season 18. Participants are required to dance to a song from a Disney film (e.g., hits such as Aladdin‘s “Friend Like Me” and Frozen‘s “Let It Go”). The fun night generally happens around the midpoint of the competition (usually with a cameo from Mickey Mouse himself).
There have been so many incredible Disney Night performances over the years, but perhaps the most memorable came from Riker Lynch and Allison Holker during Season 20. Their Pirates of the Caribbean–themed paso doble earned them a 38 out of 40, but his Jack Sparrow costume is what really stole the show.
2. Freestyle
The freestyle is undoubtedly the most important dance of the season. Since Season 1, the finals have been centered around this number in which the pairs can choose to dance using whatever moves they want. Lifts, tricks and various styles are all up to the pros choreographing the routines.
The freestyle is meant to show off the finalists’ strengths, and there have been many iconic routines over the years, from Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo’s Season 1 effort to Jennifer Lopez‘s “Let’s Get Loud,” which earned them the series’ first-ever set of perfect 10s, to Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson’s Broadway freestyle in Season 9. But Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke really set the standard back in 2006 with their Season 2 finale routine to “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).”
1. Most Memorable Year
This one is always bound to be a tearjerker. Since Season 10, many DWTS seasons have featured a Most Memorable Year night, and it’s always the most emotional night of the competition. The theme gives the celebs a chance to share some of their personal stories, and it often solidifies their bonds with their pro partners, who are tasked with choreographing a routine inspired by a pivotal moment in their star’s life.
Bindi Irwin‘s Season 21 contemporary dance commemorating her father, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and his tragic death in 2006 left the viewers in tears. Of course, so did Selma Blair and Sasha Farber’s 2022 waltz to “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Andra Day, which they were able to perform despite Selma’s withdrawal from Season 31 due to her multiple sclerosis.
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34 Premiere, Tuesday, September 16, 8/7c, ABC (Next Day on Hulu)
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