The eerie night of Dancing With The Stars culminated with chilling performances from 7 teams and a tough face-off between the last 6. Former NBA star Dwight Howard and his partner, Daniella Karagach, got a ray of hope with praises from all judges and a special standing ovation from Derek Hough. Reminiscent of the 2021 DWTS horror night that got Iman Shumpert and Karagach a perfect score of 40, the contemporary individual dance routine got them a perfect 10 for the first time this season. What was going through Karagach’s head at the time then?

Woman’s World Magazine captured a genuine response and shared it on Instagram along with their excitement: “On the recent episode of @dancingwiththestars, @daniellakaragach and @dwighthoward stunned the audience with their Halloween night performance—earning the pair the season’s first perfect 10!”

In this particular video, Karagach shared her experience with Howard: “I feel like I felt a lot of pressure.” This is expected as she succeeded at winning the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy with Shumpert three years ago. However, she could admit that Howard was different. “But at the same time, they’re two completely different people. Just because they both play basketball doesn’t mean that they’re the same person. And he’s (Dwight) way taller, so it’s a different challenge,” said Karagach as she compared Howard with Iman Shumpert. 

The bright side is that she was able to work through the challenge by understanding their potential and limitations. “And I definitely used the opportunity for his height in this one, and we did some tricks that probably can’t do with someone your height,” said the pro dancer and choreographer while expressing her joy at working with Dwight Howard. Now that their feelings are understood, it is time to look beyond excitement. 

The pair, since they walked into the DWTS ballroom, has been showcasing varying performances week after week. They had their first and second week under control, with a consistent score of 22 that kept them in the top 2. However 3rd week got messed up due to a lack of practice and improvisations made by Howard as the 8x NBA All-Star confessed.

In the ‘Hair Metal‘ night and ‘Dedication‘ night that followed, they worked for a comeback with a consistent 29/40, even though those were the lowest scores. The vengeance was sought on the Disney night, scoring 24/30, making their best scores this season. The inconsistency needs an answer. 

The answer could be found in an inconsistent practice due to the legal puzzles the 3x DPOY has to handle in New York. It seems to be adding to Karagach’s pressure. 

The responsibility and challenges

It will be worth looking at one particular dance from 2021 DWTS to gauge the depth of her success. Clad with red jumpsuits, Shumpert and Karagach performed a contemporary routine that was inspired by ‘Us’, a 2019 critically-acclaimed Jordan Peele horror movie. When this theme was blended with a perfect song “I Got 5 On It” (Tethered Mix) judge Carrie Ann Inaba was tempted to say, “You transported us to another world.”

Meanwhile, Derek poured appreciation on its repeat watch quality and feeding more excitement, it was nominated for a creative arts Emmy in 2022. To walk in the trails of such a legacy is an immense responsibility and pressure. Even though Karagach was proud of Howard for his hard work, gaps in practice sessions and the need to travel to New York for the same must have been an extra worry.

The height difference is yet another concern given that Shumpert is  6’5″ and Howard is 6’10”. When THR asked them about the challenge, Karagach’s answer was “We go with the flow.” 

Since our 2020 NBA champion lacks a dance background, all these hurdles take the form of a snowball effect. However, the last performance is a hope that proper practice can sort it out.

The promising thing is that the season with Shumpert began with scores that touched the bottom line. The phenomenal performance of the Horror Night was when the game changed. We can only hope for such a change in the way Howard’s team proceeds with the DWTS.