Dancing with the Stars Changes the Rules: One Performance Can Save a Couple From Elimination

In brief

• The eighth episode of Dancing with the Stars season 19 adds a dance marathon that decides immunity.
• The top couple is protected from elimination but performs outside the scored part and the telephone vote.
• Seven couples remain after Krzysztof Kwiatkowski and Sara Janicka left the competition.

A marathon decides immunity

The eighth episode of the 19th season opens with all seven couples performing together in boogie-woogie, a dance that Agnieszka and Grzegorz Cherubiński, Polish champions and world vice-champions in the style, have prepared the contestants for („Taniec z Gwiazdami” zmienia zasady gry! Jeden występ może uratować przed odpadnięciem – Polsat.pl). The judging panel, led by Iwona Pavlović, picks the strongest pair, and that couple receives immunity, meaning it cannot be eliminated that week (Potwierdziło się ws. zmian w „Tańcu z gwiazdami”. Pavlović ogłosiła to wprost :: RMF FM – rmf.fm).

What immunity means in practice

The immunity winners leave the scored part of the evening. They still perform their choreography, but outside the competition: they receive no marks from the judges and do not take part in the telephone vote. Their protection lasts only through the eighth episode.

Viewers vote after the marathon

Polsat's voting for the other pairs opens only after the marathon ends, and the remaining couples compete for votes. Radio ZET reports that the change is the first of its kind in the programme's history and is aimed directly at viewers, who are advised to check the new procedure before the broadcast (Po raz pierwszy w historii "Tańca z gwiazdami”. To ważna wiadomość dla widzów – Radio zet Rozrywka).

Context of the season

Seven pairs remain in the competition after Krzysztof Kwiatkowski and Sara Janicka left the show unexpectedly. The episode airs on Sunday at 19:55 on Polsat.