This story originally appeared on Them.
While I initially had my sights set on Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills to win the Mirror Ball Trophy for Dancing With The Star’s 35th season, being the second all-female pairing to grace the iconic ballroom stage, it’s bisexual Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn that has decidedly dominated the competition thus far. And she’s my new pick to win.
Known for her bold, sharp, and energetic skating style on the ice, quite the opposite of traditional figure skating expectations, Glenn has taken her precision and vitality to the dance floor with Russian-American pro partner, Pasha Pashkov.
Debuting on September 16, the second night of the DWTS premiere, the evening the female celebrities performed, Glenn danced the Cha-cha-cha to Santana’s “Smooth” featuring Rob Thomas, scoring a total of 18 points. The pair tied for third of the evening with actress Julia Stiles and pro Ezra Sosa.
During her performance of the cha cha with Pashkov, the Olympian showed off some leggy steps, erotic body rolls, smooth and dramatic cross-over breaks, a deep split followed by a floor roll complete with mini kicks, and ended with a handless cartwheel as the audience roared with applause and white confetti rained down over the pair.
What truly sold me on Glenn as my frontrunner though, was her second performance of the season in which she danced the tango to modern classic, “All The Things She Said,” by Harrison, which was flung back into the music ether by that infamous scene in Heated Rivalry by our fave hockey gays, Ilya and Shane.
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The steamy, red-tinted moment of requited and unrequited longing between the rivals in the HBO show was reflected in the first moment of Glenn’s dance as she begins on the ballroom floor facing another female dancer who’s turned away from the audience, slightly hidden in shadow. As the pair move toward one another, they reach their hands out, grazing against one another and as Glenn tries to hold the other dancer’s hand, she pulls away, leaving Glenn looking distraught, both hands clasped to her head. The tense moment is then cut by partner Pashkov sliding into the frame, twirling Glenn into a spin. The dramatic performance isolates between the pair’s smooth, sensual movements, and the tension of the emotions that are apparent on Glenn’s face, clearly torn between the partner she’s dancing with and the partner who left her behind.
Glenn’s tango was heated, to be totally honest. The dance was full of precise motions, sexy slides, back bending dips (that showed off Glenn’s major muscles), sharp kicks, and elegant spins. Glenn and Pashkov had seemingly floated across the floor in a swirl of passion, matching each other’s energy as they glided in sync around the stage, legs intertwined. To say I was mesmerized is an understatement. And this solidifying dance tied her for first place of the evening with actress and dancer Jenna Dewan (paired with pro Val Chmerkovskiy) and paralympian Ezra Frech (paired with pro Daniella Karagach), all three of which received scores of 21 points.
Glenn and Pashkov are next set to perform on September 29 for DWTS’s third week titled, Yacht Rock Night. Though it hasn’t been revealed which style they’ll be showing off, I know I’ll be anxiously awaiting their appearance on the Mirror Ball stage. Stay tuned.
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