On Monday night's Dancing with the Stars, Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson held on to her Christian values while performing a toned-down version of the traditionally provocative rumba dance with her partner, Mark Ballas. But it was the judges' positive reaction to her changes that brought the 17-year-old to tears.
Sadie consulted with her grandmother and mother to find that perfect balance between entertaining and wholesome. Mark Ballas, her professional dance partner and choreographer, agreed to the family's wishes while upholding the standards of the dance.
"I wanted to find the correct balance between being appropriate and doing the right dance," Ballas said, admitting that he had concerns over how the judges would react.
In a video preview shown before the performance, Sadie talked a bit about what the dance, and her convictions, mean to her. "I hope this week, it doesn't come off as sexy, but it comes off as sweet," she said. "It's just so awkward to me, and when I get awkward, I laugh a lot."
But the dance couple's worry was unfounded as the judges not only applauded the modified dance, but also gave a total score of 35 out of 40.
Judge Julianne Hough praised Robertson's decision to avoid the often sexy nature of the dance for her own version.
"Obviously, the rumba is a super passionate dance, right, but when we think passionate sometimes we go into this whole, like, raunchy thing, but it doesn't have to be raunchy," Hough said. "This was a beautiful story about falling in love, and that's what I loved about that."
Pitbull, another judge on the panel, agreed. "It was simple, it was powerful. [...] I felt it was believable. Both of y'all did an amazing job."
Be sure to watch Sadie and Mark's DWTS Week 6 performance in its entirety and let us know what you think about the dance.
