Alfonso Ribeiro Reflects on ‘Favorite Dance’ From His ‘DWTS’ Season — And It’s Not the Carlton

Avery Thompson July 31, 2024, 4:30 pm

Alfonso Ribeiro went from Dancing with the Stars fan to champion to host. This year marks 10 years since Ribeiro took home the mirrorball trophy with pro Witney Carson. When Ribeiro stopped by TV Insider’s New York office, he looked back on the most memorable dances of his winning season.

“Obviously, the most popular one was when I did the jazz, which we did the Carlton [Ribeiro’s famous Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dance] to ‘It’s Not Unusual,'” he told TV Insider. “That was the one that broke the internet, but my favorite dance was my paso doble to ‘Turn Down for What,’ which was just so against the style of dance with the music. It was Lindsay [Arnold], Witney, and I, that was my favorite moment on that season. I really enjoyed that one.”

He also brought up his first dance of Season 19. “Coming out the box, I got 9s across the board on my first dance ever, which was the highest first week score in the history of the show, still in the history of the show,” Ribeiro noted.

As he reflected on his first dance, a jive to “3-6-9” by Cupid, Ribeiro pointed out that he thought his performance deserved a 10 (the highest score you can get).

“I mean, you can’t give 10s [the] first week, but the dance itself, there was nothing wrong,” he said.

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The America’s Funniest Home Videos host wanted to compete on the ABC series long before he became one of the celebrity contestants.

“I was a huge fan of the show, always watched, would go watch friends on the show, and then be in the audience,” he told TV Insider. “I just wanted to do the show. So that many years wanting to do [it] and then finally getting on, that was a very special moment.”

Ribeiro remains a core member of the Dancing with the Stars family. He returned to the show as a co-host in Season 31 and then became the main host alongside co-host Julianne Hough the following season. The show will return this fall on ABC.

Dancing with the Stars, Season 33, September 17, ABC