Calling Ryan Murphy! Milo Manheim opened Halloween Night on “Dancing with the Stars” with a contemporary routine so good that the judges thought the 17-year-old actor should expect a call from the “American Horror Story” impresario. And I was right there with them. I thought it was the best dance of the season so far, one of the best contemporary dances I’ve seen on the show period, and it’s good enough to get Manheim’s pro partner Witney Carson an Emmy nomination for her choreography. Do you agree? Watch their routine above and decide for yourself.
When Carson first described what would be her “creepiest dance” for the show ever it was a little tough to swallow: Manheim would be a mental patient tortured by an eerie remix of Britney Spears‘s “Toxic.” But the staging was excellent, the choreography told a clear and uneasy story about obsession and delusion, and Manheim was up to the task of playing a deranged character even though he’s usually more of a goofball and just last week donned a spandex body suit for a Disney-friendly “Incredibles” routine.
Judge Len Goodman admitted that he’s not usually a fan of contemporary or jazz dance, but he thought Manheim’s performance was “spellbinding.” Bruno Tonioli called it “mind-bending” and “impeccably acted.” And Carrie Ann Inaba thought Manheim gave a “maturely nuanced performance” and was “absolutely in control.” Even though it was the first performance of the night the judges went all out, giving him straight 10s for the show’s first perfect score of 30 out of 30 since Juan Pablo Di Pace‘s surprisingly early 30 in week three.
That put Manheim on top of the leaderboard for the fourth time this season — tied with Di Pace, who matched him with another perfect score of his own. What did you think? Vote below.
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