Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas performed an emotional routine on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” Monday night. Awarded 26 out of 30 points for the evening for their second highest score of the season, the team was also praised for their raw and honest performance.
"It felt like one of those dreams, those beautiful dreams you never want to wake up from," judge Bruno Tonioli said. "And it had as a tribute, a quality that was imperceptible. You were dancing with your soul, you were dancing with your dad."
Stirling and Ballas danced the Viennese waltz for “Most Memorable Year Night” in honor of Stirling’s father, Stephen Stirling, who passed away due to cancer in January 2017. Stirling recalled her last moments with her father in a video shown before the performance.
“The last moments of my dad’s life were some of the most special moments I’ve ever experienced,” Stirling said. “My sisters, my mom and I were all around his bed, were holding his hands. We started telling stories of dad and before we knew it, we were laughing and we were crying and all the bitterness and all the anger went away because rather than being angry about what I was losing, I was so grateful for what I had.”
The day before the show, Stirling mentioned on Twitter that rehearsing the number was difficult for her emotionally, but that she looked forward to performing it.
In footage recorded before Monday’s episode, Stirling also reflected on how her father always encouraged her to be herself.
“He made me from a very young age realize that it’s OK to be different,” Stirling said.
Ballas and Stirling danced to the song, “Anchor,” by Utah musician Mindy Gledhill, while Ballas wore Stephen Stirling’s hat and scarf. The song’s lyrics seem to appropriately describe the father and daughter’s relationship.
“There are those who think that I’m strange. They would box me up and tell me to change but you hold me close and softly say that you wouldn’t have me any other way,” Gledhill sings.
Dressed in a yellow-collared dress, Stirling lost her composure once while Ballas led her across the floor, and was openly emotional following the performance.
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba gave Stirling and Ballas high marks for their heartfelt performance on stage and said it reminded her why she enjoys being a judge on the show.
“Many of us have lost a parent and when you watch a dance like that, so beautifully executed, especially by using your dad’s advice to you to be you,” Inaba said becoming emotional. “You are so unique. There is such a unique, emotional quality to what you do and artistry. … I want to thank you because it’s moments like this that I thank God for what I get to do, that I get to watch this and that we all get to be here doing this tonight.”
A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stirling has elaborated in her book, “The Only Pirate at the Party,” how she found the most fulfillment in life from staying true to herself.
“Sometimes, being different feels a lot like being alone,” Stirling said in her book. “But with that being said, being true to that and being true to my standards and my way of doing things in my art and my music, everything that has made me feel very different … in the end, it has made me the happiest.”