Dancing with the Stars eliminated two celebrities, The Bachelor star Nick Viall and iconic Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and their professional partners during Monday night's Season 24 performance show on ABC.

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Nick and his pro partner Peta Murgatroyd as well as Nancy and partner Artem Chigvintsev became the sixth and seventh couples eliminated from the ABC reality dancing competition based on the combination of Dancing with the Stars judges' scores and home viewer votes they had received during last week's episode.

"The whole experience has been amazing. This has been fantastic," Nancy told DWTS host Tom Bergeron following her ouster, adding that she loved spending time with Artem and the rest of the cast.

Nick then called Dancing with the Stars "one of the best [experiences] of my life."

Last week, Nancy and Artem had finished in fifth place on the judges' leaderboard, while Nick and Peta had landed in eighth -- and last -- place out of the remaining couples. Nick survived week after week despite consistently landing towards the bottom of the leaderboard, however, he was steadily improving.

The theme of Monday night's broadcast was "A Night At the Movies" in which each of the remaining seven couples performed a dance inspired by a particular movie genre, such as romance or horror, in attempt to land the highest score from regular Dancing with the Stars judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli, as well as the night's guest judge Mandy Moore.

The couple to earn the highest score in Round 1 would win immunity, meaning they'd be safe from elimination last night, as well as three additional bonus points.

In Round 2, the couples who did not win immunity were required to participate in a "Dance-Off" in which two couples at a time must go head-to-head dancing either the cha cha, jive or rumba. DWTS judges and home viewers voted for the winner of each dance-off, and each winning couple earned two bonus points on top of their first score.

Solo moments were included in each dance-off and America's voting results were displayed live on the screen during the performances. The top scoring couple of the night would be able to pick its opponent, while the opponent then selected the style of dance.

Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei -- who revealed she's currently taking medication for back pain due to constant stress on her body -- and partner Val Chmerkovskiy finished the night in first place and won immunity after they topped the leaderboard with a perfect score of 43 points from the judges.

Normani and Val first took the stage with an Argentine tango to "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas" by Andrea Bocelli featuring Jennifer Lopez inspired by foreign films which received a perfect score of 40 from the judges. The couple therefore automatically earned three extra points and got to sit back, relax and watch the other pairs compete in the Dance-Off.

Two couples tied for second place on the judges' leaderboard with 39 total points: NFL free agent Rashad Jennings and partner Emma Slater as well as Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles and partner Sasha Farber.

Both couples earned 37 points from the judges for their initial movie-night routine, and then they also won their respective dance-offs via unanimous votes from the judges, so they also earned two bonus points each.

Simone and Sasha initially danced the Charleston inspired by silent films to the song "Charleston" by Bob Wilson and His Varsity Rhythm Boys. They won their dance-off against Nancy and Artem, who opted to take the stage with the cha cha. Simone and Sasha earned 63% of America's vote in the Dance-Off round.

Rashad and Emma first performed a paso doble routine to "O Fortuna" by Carl Orff to represent the horror movie genre. The pair then won their dance-off against two-time World Series champion David Ross and partner Lindsay Arnold, who selected the jive. It turned out 54% of America's vote went to Rashad in the second round. 

Nancy and Artem claimed fourth place on the judges' leaderboard with 36 total points. The couple first danced to "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison for a tango suited for romance films. Because they lost the dance-off, Nancy and Artem didn't win any extra points.

Fifth place on the leaderboard belonged to Nick and Peta with 34 points. The couple first took the stage with an Argentine tango to "Dangerous" by David Guetta featuring Sam Martin. The dance paid tribute to action movies.

Nick and Peta, however, did not win their Dance-Off against professional bull rider-turned-model Bonner Bolton and partner Sharna Burgess in which both couples performed the rumba.

David and Lindsay placed sixth on the judges' leaderboard. The pair earned 32 total points after dancing a salsa routine inspired by the sci-fi movie genre to "Universal Mind Control" by Common. Their score did not improve in the Dance-Off round.

Bonner and Sharna landed in seventh -- and last -- place on the leaderboard after they received a total of 31 points. They earned only 29 points from the judges for their paso doble set to "Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes" by Aaron Copland in honor of western films.

When Bonner and Sharna faced off against Nick and Peta in the Dance-Off, they won two additional points to add to their initial score. Carrie Ann, Len, and Mandy all voted for Bonner to win -- as well as 62% of America -- while Bruno voted for Nick and Peta to win.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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