Jackson Olson Performed Paso Doble on Dancing with the Stars
The contestant earned 18 points during the show's Yacht Rock Night as another celebrity exited the competition.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Dance
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Jackson Olson performed a paso doble during the third week of Dancing with the Stars, earning a score of 18 out of 30. Following the performance, Taylor Hanson was eliminated from the competition.
Why it matters
The eliminations on the show are determined by combining judges scores with audience votes, making each performance critical for contestants to remain in the competition. Contestants must balance technical dance requirements with audience appeal to avoid falling to the bottom of the leaderboard.
Jackson Olson received an individual score of 6 out of 10 from each of the three judges during his performance. This score placed him in a tie for the third-to-last spot on the leaderboard among the 13 celebrities competing in week three.
The players
Jackson Olson
He is a contestant currently competing on the reality television series Dancing with the Stars.
Taylor Hanson
He was a celebrity participant on the show who was eliminated following the third week of competition.
Emma Slater
She is a professional dancer and the partner of Jackson Olson on the program.
Amber Glenn
She is a contestant on the show who earned one of the top scores during the third week.
Harry Shum Jr.
He is a celebrity contestant who tied for the highest leaderboard position during Yacht Rock Night.
The details
The episode featured a Yacht Rock theme, with all contestants performing routines set to music from the soft rock genre. Judges awarded the top performers of the night scores of 8 out of 10, totaling 24 points, while Olson struggled to reach the top tier of the rankings.
Timeline
Jackson Olson performed during the third week episode on September 29, 2026.
New episodes of the show air every Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Industry Dynamics
The show relies on a long-standing format of pairing celebrities with professional dancers, a model that remains a staple of reality competition programming. This structure forces contestants to navigate both technical critique and audience-driven voting cycles to secure their place in the season.
Viewers can influence the competition by casting votes for their favorite couples, with a limit of 10 votes per couple per method and a total of 20 votes allowed per couple. This mechanism allows the audience to directly impact which contestants remain in the show and which are sent home.
The takeaway
Performance success on reality dance competitions depends heavily on a contestant's ability to maintain a consistent score against the field. Readers should note that viewer engagement is just as significant as technical dance skill in determining who stays and who is eliminated each week.
What happens next
New episodes of Dancing with the Stars air every Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Further reading
For more updates on current performances and results, visit the Dance section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by USA TODAY.
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