Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold brought the Halloween chills to Dancing with the Stars this week! After a rough performance on Disney Night, they knew they had to nail it to dodge elimination—and they delivered. This Week 7 routine, inspired by Stephen’s fear of the dark, was a haunting spectacle set to Hidden Citizen’s “I Ran So Far Away.” Stephen transformed into a “nightmare character that lurks in the dark” stalking his “prey” Rylee, with eerie eyes on the screen and fire blazing in the background, turning the whole performance into a creepy thriller.

In an interview with Access Hollywood, the interviewer began by asking Stephen Nedoroscik about his thoughts on his spooky makeup look when he saw himself in the mirror that day. The pommel horse king answered, “I mean, everyone’s been trying to jump-scare me all week, but for the first time, I looked in the mirror and I got jump-scared!”

But it wasn’t all spooky theatrics—their contemporary dance moves had the judges raving, and they snagged a well-earned 28 points, including their first perfect 10 from Carrie Ann Inaba while Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave him nines out of ten. Safe to say, it’s a week Stephen Nedoroscikand Rylee Arnold won’t forget anytime soon! In fact, Stephen seems to be holding on to his inner monster just a bit longer—now that’s a commitment to character!

In an Instagram reel uploaded by the dancer, it seemed that Stephen was enjoying scaring her as she was trying to perform a skit. The gymnast uploaded this reel to his Instagram story and confessed that he really enjoyed scaring Rylee. He said, “I’m going to miss scaring Rylee now that Halloween is over.” But while the week might be over, the impact of the performance might last for quite a while.

This is because it is by far the best performance by Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold. It was very heavily praised by the fans and the judges. In fact, Carrie Ann declared that this was the best dance of the night. Derek Hough started by praising the makeup artists, noting how scary Stephen Nedoroscik looked.

And Judge Bruno Tonioli added his own humor to the feedback, joking, “First, once you get out of here, have a facial. Apart from that, your skills and your ability are undoubted, but what happened tonight, you found your dramatic persona. You were totally locked into character, you became somebody else, and you gave us something that was special and beautiful. Well done.”

On the other hand, while fans have always been on Stephen’s side, they praised him even more this time, with one remarking, “Oh my heck, this made me so emotional!?!?!?? Best dance of the night!!!!” Surely the night meant a lot to Stephen Nedoroscik. Not only that, this performance also saved him from the jaws of elimination this week, which seemed to be a real possibility post-Disney week. The gymnast acknowledged this in an interview.

Stephen Nedoriscik expresses his thoughts about surviving elimination

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold were the last names to be announced safe during this week’s DWTS as elimination was announced, which eventually saw Jenny Tran and Sasha Faber eliminated. Access Hollywood asked him after the episode how he felt about the suspense buildup and did it affect him. Stephen said, “Relieved more than anything, but also, I’m so proud of that performance. I think it’s the best I ever did that dance, and it was just an amazing moment. I’d celebrate after like I would at a gymnastics competition, because it felt like that to me.”

This meant that the gymnast compared the adrenaline rush the dance routine gave him to the sport he loves and is one of the best at. It might be taken as a huge compliment by his partner and choreographer, Rylee Arnold. She is the one who had brainstormed the moves and is a major reason the duo is safe this week.

This week’s performance must mean a lot to her, especially after last week’s Charleston routine didn’t go as planned. But now it looks like this duo is back on track, with the finals clearly in their sights. Their standout Halloween routine could very well boost their trophy hopes too! If they pull it off, Stephen Nedoroscik could be looking at a year to remember—an Olympic medal and a DWTS trophy? Not a bad way to cap off 2024!