Making it through the quarterfinals of Dancing With the Stars season 35 was not going to be easy for Amber Glenn. The Olympic figure skater was already dealing with a painful toe problem before the November 10 episode. She had been taping her toe every day and using Band-Aids to protect it, but the discomfort continued. The night became even more challenging when she had to face fellow athlete Ezra Frech in a dance-off, with both competing for bonus points and a place in the semifinals. Despite the pain, Glenn managed to complete both performances and walk away with the dance-off victory.

After the competition, Frech shared with Team USA what he thought when he learned he would be facing Glenn. “I was just like, of course. It was the last person I was expecting to go up against,” he said. The two actually wanted to perform together earlier in the season and were disappointed when they were not placed on the same team for the group dance. The dance-off finally gave them that chance. Alongside their professional partners, Pasha Pashkov and Daniella Karagach, they performed a rumba to Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine,” with both singers performing live.

Rather than simply dancing against each other, all four performers shared the floor, with moments of joint choreography and partner switches. Glenn and Pashkov won the judges’ decision, earning two bonus points and bringing their total to 30 out of 30, while Frech and Karagach finished with 27 points. Reflecting on the experience, Frech said, “We were like, literally that felt like a team dance.” He then added, “The world works in mysterious ways.”

 Before the dance-off, Glenn and Pashkov had performed a paso doble to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life.” Their routine earned 28 out of 30 points from the judges, putting them in a strong position before the bonus round. Frech and Karagach had also performed earlier in the episode, earning 27 points for their Argentine tango to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love (The Remix).” The dance-off win then gave Glenn and Pashkov the extra points they needed to finish the night with 30. However, both couples advanced to the semifinals.

Glenn was just as happy as Frech about finally getting the chance to perform with him. “I was happy to be out there with my friends. We were doing a dance together,” she said. She explained that they had wanted to find a way to dance together, even before knowing what the performance would look like. Their first thought was simply that they needed to do something together. The dance-off gave them the chance they had missed during the earlier team dance.

But the night was still physically demanding for Glenn. Speaking to Us Weekly after the episode, she opened up about how much her toe was hurting by the end of the performances. “I just know that, especially towards the end, my toe was burning,” she said. She explained that her adrenaline was running so high that much of the performance became a blur. Despite the discomfort, she finished the night with a dance-off win. But the semifinals brought a different kind of challenge for Ezra Frech.

Ezra Frech takes on Ballroom dancing with prosthetic legs

The Paralympic high jumper, Ezra Frech, who competes with prosthetic legs, had to adjust to the demands of ballroom dancing, which requires movements, balance and coordination very different from those in his usual sport.

His Argentine tango with Daniella Karagach was among the toughest routines he had performed on the show so far. The dance included several lifts and challenging movements, but Ezra was especially excited about getting to kick his prosthetic leg into the air as part of the choreography. He and Daniella were not interested in playing it safe. Instead, they wanted to keep pushing themselves and see what they could achieve. Speaking to Us Weekly on November 11, Ezra said, “We’re going all in every single week, trying to push the boundaries of what we even thought was possible when we started.”

The challenge continued with the rumba dance-off, which the two couples prepared separately before finally rehearsing together. Daniella later shared that once they all got together, everyone had a great time. The dancers had also hoped to switch partners toward the end of the routine, adding another playful element to the performance. Ezra even joked about getting the chance to dip Pasha, something he never imagined he would do.

That sense of fun also came through in Ezra’s reaction to facing Glenn. Although she was the last person he expected to compete against, he said the dance-off felt more like a team performance than a contest. For two athletes who had wanted to dance together earlier in the season, the unexpected pairing gave them a chance to do just that.