Dancing with the Stars 2024 Soul Train Night kicks off first night of double episodes on Monday Oct 7. See all the Dance Styles and Song Choices
The remaining 11 couples on Dancing with the Stars will honor the legacy of the influential musical variety series Soul Train with a themed “Soul Train Night.” This special episode launches a two-night event beginning MONDAY, OCT. 7 (8:00–10:01 p.m. EDT/PDT, 7:00–9:01 p.m. CDT) and will be available across ABC and Disney+ in local time zones, with the episode streaming the next day on Hulu. The evening is built around classic soul, R&B and funk records, updated by contemporary choreography and cinematic staging that nods to the aesthetics of the original show.
Rosie Perez, the actress and former featured Soul Train dancer, will serve as a guest judge for the night, bringing firsthand perspective on the program’s dance styles and cultural importance. Her presence adds authenticity to the episode’s tribute, and the judging panel will also include Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
The episode opens with a big production number set to “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees, choreographed by Luam and showcasing guest dancer and Soul Train alum Popin Pete of The Electric Boogaloos. That number is designed to set the tone for the evening, highlighting the grooves and showmanship that defined Soul Train while giving the cast a chance to capture its spirit.
Couples will perform partner dances that include the Rumba, Jive, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz and Quickstep, each reinterpreted through the lens of soul and classic R&B. In addition, judge Derek Hough will lead a season-first master class for the contestants, sharing technique, musicality and performance tips during a session set to Kool & the Gang’s “Get Down On It.” The master class is meant to elevate the couples’ connection to rhythm and stage presence, emphasizing how to translate soulful music into ballroom movement.
Voting will be open to viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones during the live broadcast. During that window, online voting will be available to fans across the U.S., its territories and Canada, and viewers on participating U.S. wireless carriers will also be able to cast votes via SMS/text (text voting is not available to fans in Canada). Viewer votes from both nights of competition will be combined with the judges’ scores from both nights to determine which couples are at risk of elimination on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Dancing with the Stars 2024 Soul Train Night dance styles and song choices
- Danny Amendola and pro Witney Carson — Foxtrot to “Dancing Machine” by Jackson 5.
- Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson — Jive to “Shout” by The Isley Brothers.
- Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach — Cha Cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
- Chandler Kinney and pro Brandon Armstrong — Cha Cha to “It’s Tricky” by Run-DMC.
- Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten — Foxtrot to “Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle.
- Brooks Nader and pro Gleb Savchenko — Rumba to “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye.
- Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold — Quickstep to “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.
- Phaedra Parks and pro Val Chmerkovskiy — Quickstep to “Think” by Aretha Franklin.
- Eric Roberts and pro Britt Stewart — Foxtrot to “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green.
- Jenn Tran and pro Sasha Farber — Viennese Waltz to “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys.
- Reginald VelJohnson and pro Emma Slater — Foxtrot to “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash.
This Soul Train-themed evening celebrates a wide range of musical eras and styles, pairing classic songs with ballroom techniques to create performances that honor the past while showcasing contemporary competitive dancing. Each routine is intended to capture both the technical demands of the dance and the emotional character of the song, asking competitors to balance precision with authentic musical expression.
Dancing with the Stars is co-hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. The judges’ panel—Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough—will evaluate each performance, joined for the night by guest judge Rosie Perez. Together, the panel will provide critique on technique, choreography, musicality and performance quality as the couples aim to advance in the competition.
Fans tuning in can expect big production values, soulful choreography, and a celebration of the rhythms and styles that made Soul Train a cultural touchstone. With viewer votes combined across both nights and judges’ scores factoring into eliminations, the two-night format raises the stakes and encourages memorable performances as the season moves deeper into the competition.