Derek Hough has nothing but praise for the six contestants that have headed into the Dancing with the Stars 2022 semi-finals.
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But for one of them, he definitely had a very strong compliment to give, and that was for deaf actor from the Oscar-winning CODA, Daniel Durant.
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While introducing each of the six final contenders, Derek chose to introduce the actor, deeming him an inspiration.
"Daniel has become a fantastic dancer, but more importantly, he is an incredible inspiration," the professional dancer stated with pride.
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It even featured a snippet from his critiques from the performance from the quarter finals, which he called "insanely powerful."
Daniel has become a fan favorite on the recent season of the show, having been near the top half of the leaderboard or the middle for the majority of the season.
Daniel was deemed an "incredible inspiration" by Derek during the semi-finals
In fact, the previous week's performance was a highlight for Daniel and his partner Britt Stewart as they received their highest scores of the season so far.
While dancing the Jazz for 90s Night, the two featured a segment in their routine in which the music cut out as an homage to those with hearing disabilities.
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Their powerful set received a wave of compliments from the judges, and Derek himself was chief among them, being left choked up during his critiques.
Britt even mentioned at the start of rehearsals for their semi-finals performance that it was rare to see Derek get so emotional after a performance.
The actor's powerful performances have left the judges emotional multiple times
They received three 10s and a 9, bringing their total to a 39 out of 40, their top score so far and putting them right near the top of the leaderboard and catapulting them into the top 6.
The contestants on the most recent installment will be dancing two full routines without any theme, one ballroom and one latin, and two more pairs will be cut before next week's grand final.
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