Dancing With the Stars will move its Disney Night episode to Monday, Nov. 2, with Cynthia Erivo joining as guest judge while the remaining eight couples take the floor with Disney songs from stage adaptations. The episode will air on ABC and Disney+.
The timing is the first thing that changes. Disney Night normally would sit in the middle of the week, but this one is sliding to Monday night because Tuesday is election night. For viewers trying to keep up with the season, that means the next episode arrives a day earlier than expected and brings a familiar setup with a different broadcast night.
Erivo is the draw here. The Grammy, Emmy and Tony winner will judge a night built around one of the show's most recognizable themes, and the lineup gives the episode plenty to do beyond the scores. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov will dance a quickstep to A Star Is Born from Hercules, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas will do a jive to You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly! from Peter Pan, and Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik will perform a contemporary to Easy As Life from Aida with Heather Headley performing live.
The rest of the field is just as packed. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson will dance a jazz routine to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins with Kyra Belle Johnson performing live, while Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach will do a samba to Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid with Michael James Scott performing live. Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa are set for a paso doble to Satisfied from Hamilton, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a quickstep to Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast with Rodney Ingram performing live, and Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold will dance a waltz to I See the Light from Tangled with Heather Headley performing live.
Then come the group numbers, which usually turn a themed episode into a bigger production. Pro and troupe members will perform to Circle of Life/Nants Ingonyama from The Lion King, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Seize the Day from Newsies, The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman and Friend Like Me from Aladdin. There will also be team dances, with Alfonso Ribeiro leading a Zoo routine from Zootopia 2 alongside Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, and Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa. Julianne Hough will lead a second team dance to We’re All In This Together from High School Musical with Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson.
That is the wrinkle in the night: a show built around Disney songs, guest performers and team choreography is also serving as a schedule shift around election night. The move does not change the stakes on the dance floor, but it does make Monday, Nov. 2 the key date for the season's next big episode.
