Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood rave about Frech’s stunning night 1 performance. Dancing With the Stars contestants in awe of early frontrunner Ezra Frech: ‘How did you do that?’ Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood rave about Frech’s stunning night 1 performance. By Leigh Blickley September 16, 2026 3:35 p.m. ET Leave a Comment :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/dancingwiththestarsHarryShumJrEzraFrechConnorWood0209162652a1b2544a084df0ac770cc815c454d5.jpg) (LR) Harry Shum Jr.; Ezra Frech;Connor Wood.

Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood rave about Frech’s stunning night 1 performance.

Dancing With the Stars contestants in awe of early frontrunner Ezra Frech: ‘How did you do that?’

Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood rave about Frech’s stunning night 1 performance.

By Leigh Blickley

September 16, 2026 3:35 p.m. ET

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(L-R) Harry Shum Jr.; Ezra Frech;Connor Wood. Credit:

Disney/Andrew Eccles (2)

- Ezra Frech impressed not only the audience but also his fellow *DWTS* contestants on Tuesday’s premiere.

- The Paralympian wowed during a tango routine with partner Daniella Karagach.

- Harry Shum Jr. told EW Frech “blew my mind.”

Ezra Frech wowed not only the crowd but also his fellow *Dancing With the Stars* castmates with his stellar premiere performance on Tuesday night.

The Paralympian, 21, and his pro partner, Daniella Karagach, ate up the dance floor with their tango routine to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. They earned the second-highest score of 20 out of 30, with judge Bruno Tonioli telling Frech he was “so in control.”

“But what really impressed me,” he added, “you really look like a leading man.”

Fellow contestant Harry Shum Jr., who scored a 21 for his Cha-Cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire” with pro Jenna Johnson, commended Frech as a standout of the night.

“How did it feel to, not jump up, but instead it feels like he just jumped around that stage, but with so much control,” Shum Jr. told ** to ask Frech after the premiere. “How different was that feeling of high-jumping and just like gliding across the floor?”

“It blew my mind,” he added, with Johnson noting Frech is “our inspiration, he’s incredible.”

Connor Wood was also in awe of the track and field athlete’s routine, telling EW if he could ask Frech anything it would be, “How did you do that?!”

“That was just like the most phenomenal dancing I have ever seen in my life. And that was the last dance we saw before we went on. I was like, ‘Oh my god, how are we supposed to follow that up?’ Just phenomenal,” Wood explained.

“It was unreal,” his partner Rylee Arnold added of Frech’s performance.

Wood quipped, “Can you ask Ezra how it feels to be the king? I love him. That’s my brother. Adore him.”

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Frech became a household name following his gold medal-winning performances at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. The motivational speaker and disability rights advocate was born with a congenital limb difference. He is missing most of his left leg and fingers on his left hand. After receiving his first prosthetic at 11 months old, Frech underwent a complex 15-hour surgery at the age of 2 to restructure his left leg and transplant a toe to his left hand.

On Tuesday, he danced with a running blade prosthetic and levitated across the floor.

Daniella Karagach and Eza Frech on ‘DWTS’.

Disney/Eric McCandless

“It’s really hard,” Frech told EW following Tuesday’s *DWTS* episode. “I don’t even feel like I was gliding very well. It’s challenging to take a piece of technology that’s literally carbon fiber and metal and try to make it look smooth. These prosthetics aren’t designed to look smooth—they’re meant to get you from point A to point B. We’re out here trying to glide in a tango.”

Frech said it took a lot of work to figure out the routine with Karagach, who’s been a big support and the ultimate teacher.

“You did that,” Karagach proudly told Frech.

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Male contestant Conner Leavitt was eliminated after night 1, with cast members Julia Stiles, Tatyana Ali, Dewan, Giada De Laurentiis, Sarah Jane Nader, Amber Glenn, Ciara Miller, and Maura Higgins competing to see who emerges as the female frontrunner on Wednesday.

The *Dancing With the Stars* two-night premiere continues Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

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Source: "EW Exclusive"

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Source: Exclusive

Published: September 16, 2026 at 10:57PM on Source: PRIME TIME

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