‘Dancing With the Stars’ Brings Back Former Pros for Emotional Dance Honoring Len Goodman

“Dancing With the Stars” is honoring their forever head judge.

During the show’s “Most Memorable Year” week, multiple former pro dancers reunited with current pros for a number dedicated to Len Goodman. The dance was choreographed by married duo and current pros Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson.

The number, which paid homage to Goodman’s love for ballroom, was set to Henry Mancini’s classic “Moon River” and included returning dancers Kym Herjavec, Anna Trebunskaya, Karina Smirnoff, Edyta Sliwinska, Tony Dovolani, Louis van Amstel, Maks Chmerkovskiy and Mark Ballas. Current judge Derek Hough and host Julianne Hough also joined the number, which took place after a mashup video of all the dancers sharing their favorite memories with Goodman.

The number ended with Goodman’s voiceover saying “All good things must come to an end.” Judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli were shown crying.

Goodman died in April at the age of 78. He served as the show’s head judge since the show’s debut and announced his retirement at the end of last season. During the Season 32 premiere, cohosts Alfonso Ribiero and Julianne Hough announced that at the end of the season, the winning couple will be awarded the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Ahead of the special, pro Cheryl Burke took to Threads to reveal that she won’t be on the special. “For those of you asking if I’ll be a part of Len Goodman’s tribute next week on DWTS, unfortunately, I wasn’t invited,” she wrote. “However, I’ll be there in spirit and can’t wait to cheer my former colleagues on! Sending love and light to everyone. #RIPLen”

Ahead of Tuesday’s show, Burke, who competed on 26 seasons, shared a video honoring Goodman via Instagram, captioned, “There are special people who never leave us, even after they are gone. Len Goodman is one of them…”

“Thank you for being the face of ballroom dancing and always standing by what was right no matter what,” she said in the video before tearing up. “Because of you, ballroom was brought to mainstream television… Thank you so much for representing us ballroom dancers and never compromising what we stood for in the ballroom community. Thank you for changing my life and bringing joy to millions of people who have been watching us throughout the years.”