Inside the Ballroom
11 Sexiest ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Dances, Ranked
It’s been 20 years since Dancing With the Stars premiered on ABC for the first time, and 33 seasons later, the show has had plenty of iconic moments. With more than 500 episodes, there have been thousands of dances done on the show in the past 20 years, but some will always stand out above the rest.
The celebrity contestants have to perform various dance types on the show, and while some are meant to be more elegant and graceful, others (generally the Latin dances) lean sexy and sensual.
In honor of the show’s 20th anniversary, Swooon is looking back at the steamiest DWTS routines of all time. Scroll down for the ranking!
11. Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson – Rumba
Carlos PenaVega and wife Alexa PenaVega were both on Season 21 of Dancing With the Stars but were hesitant about the sexier dances because faith is such an integral part of their lives. However, Carlos’ partner, Witney Carson, helped break him out of his shell when they performed the Rumba during Week 6.
Not only did Carlos rip his shirt off during the dance, but there was some grinding and even a moment where he straddled a chair to show off his moves. It paid off, too, because they scored a 38/40, and Carlos went on to come in fourth place.
10. Rumer Willis & Val Chmerkovskiy – Viennese Waltz
The Viennese Waltz isn’t generally a sexy dance, but Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy managed to make it just that with their semi-finals performance during Season 20.
Chmerkovskiy rubbed his hands up and down Willis’ body at one point, while their faces came just inches apart and nearly resulted in a kiss at another. The dance earned them a score of 38 out of 40, and Willis was the winner of that season.
9. Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy – Contemporary
Chmerkovskiy finds himself on the list once again following his Season 15 contemporary performance with Kelly Monaco. These days, contemporary is one of the main styles of dance performed on the show, but back in 2012, it hadn’t been one of the styles used yet, so Monaco was the first to dabble in it.
There was an incredible amount of passion in the emotional routine, which was performed with Chmerkovskiy shirtless and Monaco in black lingerie. While contemporary choreography on the show has come a long way since then, this routine will always be memorable. Monaco scored a 37.5/40 and ended up coming in third place that season.
8. Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas – Argentine Tango
Paige VanZant is a UFC fighter, so the sexy dances on DWTS didn’t come naturally to her. However, she was able to turn it on when it counted during her Season 22 semi-finals Argentine Tango with Mark Ballas.
At one point in the routine, VanZant slithered across a table in her little black dress. Ballas also ran a hand down her leg while she sat on a couch earlier on. Plus, she nailed the technical aspects of the dance, too, scoring a 29/30. She wound up coming in second place on the show.
7. Apolo Anton Ohno & Julianne Hough – Cha-Cha
Apolo Anton Ohno was on Dancing With the Stars very early on. He was partnered with Julianne Hough during Season 4 and turned up the heat with his semi-finals Cha-Cha.
With Hough wearing a revealing blue outfit, she and Ohno grinded against each other at multiple points in the routine and wound up getting a score of 29/30. Ohno was that season’s winner.
6. Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough – Lambada
The Lambada is known as the “forbidden” dance because of its sexual nature, and Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough definitely leaned into that part of it. While the style isn’t even featured on the show anymore, it provided some very sexy moments in the early seasons.
For their Lambada, Hough went shirtless and Krupa wore a sexy two-piece outfit. At one point, Krupa shimmied up and down the length of her pro partner’s body, and the entire routine featured them dancing very close together. They earned a 26/30 for the routine. Krupa came in fourth place that year.
5. Meryl Davis & Maks Chmerkovskiy – Freestyle
Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy had great chemistry throughout their entire run during Season 18. The two denied reports of a showmance, but Chmerkovskiy took advantage of the buzz by choreographing a super sensual freestyle in the finals.
As a figure skater, Davis thrived on the slower, flowy dances, so the contemporary freestyle was right up her alley, and it was equal parts elegant and sexy. The routine concluded with a near-kiss between the dance partners, which was simply the icing on the cake. They earned a perfect score and ended up winning the season.
4. Juan Pablo Di Pace & Cheryl Burke – Samba
Anytime Juan Pablo Di Pace performed a Latin dance on Dancing With the Stars Season 27, it was bound to be sexy. Of course, that was the case with his Week 3 Samba.
The routine earned him the first perfect 30 of the season, and it was very early on, too! Not only did Di Pace look super hot doing the Samba with Cheryl Burke, but he also had the dance moves locked down. He ended up coming in fifth place.
3. Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke – Argentine Tango
Gilles Marini probably would’ve won Season 8 of Dancing With the Stars if he didn’t have to go up against that season’s champion Shawn Johnson. Talk about intense competition! All of his dances were amazing, but his passionate Week 4 Argentine Tango stood out above the rest.
The sensual routine earned Marini and Burke a perfect 30 score. He brought an intensity to the ballroom that was rarely seen on those early seasons, and it made the routine super sexual. Marini was the Season 8 runner-up.
2. James Maslow & Peta Murgatroyd – Samba
James Maslow is undoubtedly a good looking guy, and his pro partner Peta Murgatroyd leaned into that with her choreography for their Week 7 Samba during Season 18.
Toward the beginning of the dance, Maslow ripped off Murgatroyd’s jumpsuit to reveal a sexy red outfit underneath, and later on, she took his tank top off so that he finished the routine shirtless. The sexiness factor wasn’t enough to get them a perfect score (they wound up getting a 35), but they still went on to finish the season in fourth place.
1. Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko – Argentine Tango
Jana Kramer was in the midst of a separation from her then-husband Mike Caussin during her run on Dancing With the Stars Season 23 in 2016, and fans couldn’t help but notice the intense chemistry between her and partner Gleb Savchenko, who was married at the time. That came out even more during their Week 6 Argentine Tango to Selena Gomez‘s “Hands to Myself.”
Kramer and Savchenko’s revealing outfits and sultry dance moves were already pretty sexy, but the routine was taken up a notch when they completed the dance under a shower head that rained water down on both of them. And, yes, Savchenko was wearing a see-through white shirt. Enough said. They earned a perfect score and came in fourth place that season.
For the record — Savchenko denied that he and Kramer ever actually had an affair. “There’s a lot of acting, there’s a lot of natural chemistry,” he explained. “You develop a certain connection and the viewer sees that. You want to have that because you want to last in the competition … my job is to make sure we go really really far.”
