I thought it'd be fun to take this concept and apply it to DWTS, only instead of the entire series, I'm only going to look at Season 25 and instead of 10 episodes, I'll be selecting 15 routines that I'd show to viewers who didn't watch the season live to give them an idea of what defined it. The list will go in chronological order of when the dances were performed.
1. Jordan & Lindsay's Samba
The first two episodes of the season had a overall tepid vibe, but thankfully third episode was the charm as things kicked into high gear with some fun and upbeat Latin routines! While Jordan Fisher had delivered great performances from the get-go, it was this Samba that was the first hint he might be more than just a frontrunner of the season, but one of the best male celebrities to ever compete on DWTS.
2. Frankie & Witney's Cha-Cha
Many viewers were pleasantly surprised by Frankie Muniz's abilities in his first two Standard Ballroom dances, but it was this Cha-Cha - his first Latin performance - that solidified him as a true contender for the Mirrorball Trophy, and earned him the first "9" paddle of the season!
3. Lindsey & Mark's Jive
This performance embodied Lindsey Stirling's fun and quirky personality that made the viewers fall in love with her, but it also was a prime example of a strong commitment of Mark Ballas that was present throughout Season 25: to take his signature wacky and creative concepts and pack them with high-difficulty content in the assigned style. What it resulted in this particular week was a performance with crazy costumes and memorable moments with the bed set piece and an opportunity for Lindsey to show off her top-notch dance skills!
4. Drew & Emma's Jive
It seems that it's become commonplace for a lot of the most iconic DWTS routines in recent years to be emotional "Most Memorable Year" dances that tell stories that become an integral part of the contestant's journey throughout the rest of the season. In Season 25, emotional backstories weren't at the forefront of things and one of the most memorable performances from the similarly-named theme night was actual one that embodied joy rather than pain. Drew Scott and Emma's time on the show was a masterclass in how to make it all the way on DWTS if you're one of the weaker dancers, and it was performances like these that made enough of a positive impact on the viewers to keep them around all the way until the last week.
5. Jordan & Lindsay's Foxtrot
Here's how you can tell Jordan was one of the greatest DWTS technicians of all time: This dance included a hip-hop breakdown and still managed to get a "10" from Len, which contributed to what turned out to be the first perfect score of the season.
6. Nikki & Artem's Jazz
Nikki Bella and Artem were clearly not one of production's top prioritized couples in Season 25, as evidenced by their often early spots in the running order and strange or seemingly low-impact assignments. Their response? To make lemonade out of lemons, the best example being this routine to a song from the yet-to-be-released at the time Coco.
7. Terrell & Cheryl's Jive
Terrell Owens had one of the more interesting and surprising journeys of the season: he seemed like a lost cause getting by on NFL votes the first few weeks, but once he buckled down and got to work he managed to win over some of the general public. That's very tough to do after the first few weeks of the season when most people have already chosen their favorites, but this dance seemed to be the one that gained Terrell enough support to escape the following week's double elimination and earn himself a spot in the Quarter-Finals.
8. Vanessa & Maks's Quickstep
Vanessa Lachey was a prime example of the unfair treatment female contestants often face on DWTS; it's been implied she wouldn't even have been invited to sign on if her reluctant husband hadn't also done so, and at first she was defined as the wife of the 98 Degrees star, with little mention of her own accomplishments (most notably as a TRL host back in the day). Once it became clear the battle of the married couples was pretty much Vanessa's for the taking, the media reported an incident between Vanessa and Maks, and even with little information on the matter the majority of viewers automatically took Maks's side, citing Vanessa's "bad attitude" as the cause for the conflict and likely leading to her elimination on Week 7 despite being on of the stronger dancers of the season. Despite all this, Vanessa soldiered on through the season with a smile, brushing off any setbacks she faced, as demonstrated with her skirt malfunction in this performance.
9. Lindsey & Mark's Argentine Tango
Another great example of wonderfully executed choreography married to a great concept from Lindsey and Mark, and as of the time of this publishing the most viewed dance of Season 25 on YouTube.
10. Frankie & Witney's Contemporary
During his time on DWTS Frankie showed us he could get down and have some fun, but there were also several instances in which we got to see his more serious and dark performance abilities, most notably in this perfect-scoring Halloween Contemporary dance.
11. Victoria & Val's Contemporary
I mentioned before that Season 25 didn't have as much of a focus on emotional backstories as other recent seasons, but in the case of Victoria Arlen it felt like her story of being paralyzed for several years and only recently re-learning how to walk was all she was allowed to share about herself on the show, though this dance did a great job of showing her family's perspective of the incredibly difficult situation.
12. Jordan & Lindsay's Jive
The "Iconic Dance" concept as presented in Season 25 was quite vague, and it was unclear what the criteria was supposed to be. However, it was crystal clear that Jordan and Lindsay managed to deliver a Jive that could proudly stand alongside the others that had been performed to the same song on the show, and solidified him in the proverbial DWTS Hall of Fame.
13. Jordan & Lindsay's Week 10 Charleston
Jordan and Lindsay ultimately won the season through pure dance skills, as demonstrated in this no-frills Charleston packed with content!
14. Drew & Emma's Freestyle
What do you get when you focus on Drew's personality and strong suits and throw in just enough wacky shenanigans to keep the audience on their toes? A Freestyle that was the final exam in the masterclass of taking somewhat of a movement-challenged celebrity far.
15. Lindsey & Mark's Freestyle
Lindsey and Mark's impressive resume as a dance duo culminated in an epic Freestyle that incorporated content from Standard and Latin syllabuses alike and felt incredibly tailored to Lindsey as both a person and a performer, complete with an appearance of her violin.
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