Olivia Jade and pro Val Chmerkovskiy performing the Samba. ABC
Olivia Jade Giannulli performed a samba to "I Just Can’t Wait to Be King" during Disney Week.
Bruno Tonioli stated that the YouTuber displayed "the spirit and energy of a wild cat" during the performance.
Giannulli scored 35 points with her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, who was her pro-partner.
YouTuber Olivia Jade Giannulli performed an energetic samba to the song "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from "The Lion King" for Monday's Disney Heroes Night of "Dancing With the Stars."
Giannulli channeled Simba and proved why growth has been her theme this season.
They scored 35 of 40 points. This tied them with JoJo and Jenna Johnson, who had the highest scores of night. Melora Hardin (both pairs) were only beaten by Artem Chigvintsev and Jenna Johnson, who won the leaderboard with 36 points out of 40 for their "Jungle Book quickstep.
The performance was unanimously praised by the judges.
Carrie Ann Inaba, judge, said that she loved "almost everything" about the show. She praised Giannulli's handling of the music change as well as the "trust" and "chemistry", which Giannulli has with Chmerkovskiy.
Derek Hough laughed, saying that he is not a cat lover and that she does not look cute in the makeup. He then added that she has become one of his favorite dancers this season.
Bruno Tonioli channeled the feline side of him, literally meowing to Giannulli before telling Giannulli she had "the spirit and speed of a cheetah while dancing."
Tonioli said that Tonioli was right: "But she kept the lightness like a gazelle."
Giannulli, a celebrity on "DWTS," has no formal dance training but is making strides in the competition. She described her tango performance from last week as "exhilarating", and stated that although it is difficult to trust people, she believes in Chmerkovskiy. Their performances clearly show that they are genuinely happy.
Insider has the original article.
