Ezra Frech showed fans one of the tougher moments behind his successful Dancing With the Stars performance after earning the first 10 of Season 35. The Paralympian shared a rehearsal video that captured him losing his balance during a turn and falling hard to the floor.
The setback came while Frech and pro partner Daniella Karagach prepared their emotional contemporary routine to “Bloodline” by Mon Rovîa. Their finished performance ultimately became one of the highest-scoring dances of the night.
How Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach turned a difficult rehearsal into a standout routine
In the Ezra Frech fall rehearsal video, the athlete attempted a spin before losing his balance and falling to the ground. Someone behind the camera, apparently Karagach, reacted with an alarmed “Oh my god.”
Frech later shared the moment with a sense of humor. His post included a slow-motion replay of the fall, and he captioned it, “Life with one leg lol.”
Despite the difficult rehearsal, Frech and Karagach delivered a routine that earned 37 points out of 40. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave the pair a nine, while guest judge Kym Johnson awarded them the season’s first 10.
According to Entertainment Weekly, their score placed them second for the night alongside Jenna Dewan and temporary partner Alan Bersten. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov finished ahead with 38 points.
The performance also carried personal meaning for Frech because he dedicated it to his mother, Bahar Soomekh. Another standout moment came when Karagach stepped onto Frech’s prosthetic leg during a lift they called the “blade stand.”
Karagach said the idea developed unexpectedly during rehearsals when she asked whether she could climb onto his blade. Frech agreed, and the move became part of the routine.
Frech said incorporating his prosthetic into the choreography felt especially meaningful. He had initially worried that it could limit what he could accomplish on DWTS. Instead, the pair created a lift specifically around it.
“But we did a lift because of it and that’s really exciting,” Frech said.
The finished routine reflected both sides of Frech’s experience in rehearsals: the falls that came with learning the choreography and the creative choices that helped him deliver one of his strongest performances so far.
