Actress Julia Stiles recreates Save the Last Dance routine on Dancing with the Stars
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The gist
Actress Julia Stiles recreated her Save the Last Dance audition on Dancing with the Stars and scored 33 out of 40.
She is now preparing a Dedication Night tribute to late co-star Heath Ledger.
Background
Julia Stiles is a 45-year-old actress who played aspiring ballerina Sara Johnson in the 2001 film Save the Last Dance and starred in 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You. She is competing on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), the ABC ballroom competition, with pro partner Ezra Sosa. The season lines up with the 25th anniversary of Save the Last Dance, which premiered in January 2001, and Stiles has said joining the show was a long-held but scary ambition.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2, 2026Stiles appeared on Good Morning America with her fellow DWTS season 35 cast members to celebrate the new season; former Save the Last Dance co-stars Kerry Washington and Sean Patrick Thomas sent a congratulatory video.
- Oct 13, 2026On the show's Super Bowl Night episode, Stiles and Sosa performed a hip-hop-inspired jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez's Jenny From the Block, recreating her Save the Last Dance Juilliard audition, with Sean Patrick Thomas watching on.
- Oct 13, 2026The pair earned 33 out of 40 from the judges, including guest judge Joe Buck, their first 8s and 9s of the season, and were safe from elimination.
- Oct 14, 2026Stiles told PEOPLE she is so much more comfortable with who she is now than when she made Save the Last Dance.
- Oct 15, 2026Stiles teased a Dedication Night tribute to late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger, and told Variety she was crying in rehearsals for it.
- Oct 20, 2026Dedication Night aired on ABC, with Stiles and Sosa performing to Frankie Valli's 1967 song Can't Take My Eyes Off You.
Who’s saying what
- Co-stars
- Kerry Washington said she has known since the Save the Last Dance set that Stiles knows her way around a dance floor, and that the competition better watch out.
- Judges
- Bruno Tonioli called it her best dance yet, and Carrie Ann Inaba said it was wonderful to see her dance with more confidence.
- Caution
- Some fans on social media called out what they see as favouritism for Stiles and Sosa, noting other contestants such as Harry Shum Jr. and partner Jenna Johnson got stricter critiques.
Still unverified
Stiles said she never attended The Juilliard School, debunking rumors, and that a body double performed the complex dance sequences in Save the Last Dance while she did rigorous training and choreography rehearsals.