Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Conner Leavitt was first eliminated from 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 35.
- He and partner Adele Zaikman received a score of 12/30 for their salsa.
- The premiere saw technical issues but doubled last season's premiere votes.
LOS ANGELES — "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Conner Leavitt was the first contestant eliminated from Season 35 of "Dancing with the Stars" on Tuesday night.
The Utahn and his pro partner Adele Zaikman were eliminated at the end of Night 1 of the show's two-night premiere. The evening featured dances from the eight male celebrity contestants and their pro partners.
Each of the contestants performed to a hit song from the year they were born. The dance styles featured throughout the show included tango, cha-cha, salsa and quickstep.
The show did experience some technical difficulties with the voting system, but the episode still received double the number of votes as last season's premiere.
The eight female celebrity contestants will be performing their first dances of the season Wednesday night.
Here's a look at Leavitt's performance and elimination as well as the seven other dances from Tuesday night.
Leavitt's first and last 'Dancing with the Stars' performance
Leavitt was already very familiar with the "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom after his wife Whitney Leavitt was a contestant on the show last year.
As the third performance of the night, Leavitt and Zaikman did a salsa to "Whoomp! There It Is" by Tag Team.
When the pair approached the judges' table after their performance, Carrie Ann Inaba said, "That was fun, and I love your enthusiasm. However, it was a bit chaotic."
Derek Hough said that the dance was goofy, playful and "a whole lot of fun," but added, "I just didn't really get the salsa, and when you did the salsa, the hips weren't really going."
The judges gave the performance a score of 12/30.
After all eight dances had been performed, the contestants lined up for the first elimination of the show. The elimination is decided based on judges' scores and live audience votes.
After hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro announced that he and Zaikman were eliminated, Leavitt said, "This has been the most fun. I have the greatest dance partner in the world in Adele; I can't wait for the world to see her talent."
Zaikman is a first-time pro on the show after winning the spinoff series "Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro." After the elimination, she said that the experience was "a dream come true, no matter what."
How did everyone else do?
Savannah Bananas infielder and social media personality Jackson Olson performed a cha-cha to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls with his pro partner Emma Slater.
Derek Hough said that Olson is a "natural performer." He added that his lower body needs work but he "quite enjoyed" the upper half.
Score: 15 out of 30
"The Bachelorette" alum and reality TV star Tyler Cameron and his pro partner Sharna Burgess performed a tango to "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz.
"You have natural musicality," said judge Bruno Tonioli about the dance. He added that there were a few hiccups but that Cameron has "so much potential."
Score: 12 out of 30
Guillermo Rodriguez, sidekick to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, danced a cha-cha with his partner Witney Carson to "Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight.
"That was spicy!" Hough said. "Was the technique there? No. Was the effort there? Absolutely."
Score: 10 out of 30
Paralympian and track star Ezra Frech danced a tango to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" with his pro partner Daniella Karagach.
"So strong, so focused, so in control, but what really impressed me, you really look like a leading man," Tonioli said after the performance. He added that there were some issues and he would like to see more gliding.
Score: 20 out of 30
Connor Wood, a comedian, social media personality and podcaster, performed a cha-cha with his pro partner Rylee Arnold to "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw.
Inaba said that even though some of the moves were not correct, she was "pleasantly surprised with that dance." She added: "There's a sweetness and a softness to you and the way you dance."
Score: 16 out of 30
Musician Taylor Hanson and his pro partner Britt Stewart performed a quickstep to the song "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel.
Tonioli said the dance was a "proper, real quickstep with so much content." He added that they covered up the mistakes well.
Score: 16 out of 30
In the final performance of the night, actor Harry Shum Jr. and his pro partner Jenna Johnson performed a cha-cha to Earth, Wind & Fire's hit "Let's Groove."
Inaba said the dance was "electric" but added that Shum needs to watch his axis and not exaggerate the dance moves.
Score: 21 out of 30
Season 35 premiere isn't over yet
Tuesday's episode was only the first part of Season 35's two-night premiere. Now that all the male celebrities have performed, all eight female celebrities will be doing their first dance of the competition Wednesday night.
The eight female contestants will also perform to a hit song from the year they were born. Here's a look at what songs they will be dancing to Wednesday night:
- Reality TV star Maura Higgins with Mark Ballas: A foxtrot to "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles.
- Actress Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa: A quickstep to "9 to 5″ by Dolly Parton.
- Reality TV star Sarah Jane Nader with Hailey Bills: A jive to "Sk8ter Boi" by Avril Lavigne.
- Reality TV star Ciara Miller with Brandon Armstrong: A foxtrot to "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston.
- Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov: A cha-cha to "Smooth" by Santana ft. Rob Thomas.
- Actress Jenna Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy: A tango to "Call Me" by Blondie.
- Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis with Alan Bersten: A tango to "Venus" by Shocking Blue.
- Actress Tatyana Ali with Jan Ravnik: A jive to "Knock on Wood" by Amii Stewart.
At the end of the night, there will be a second elimination, and one of the female celebrity contestants will go home.
The episode will air at 7 p.m. MDT on Disney+ and ABC. The episode will be available the next day on Hulu.









