Danny Amendola, Witney Carson on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ fans recreating their viral leg lift at home — and how to avoid injuries
Danny Amendola and Witney Carson are loving their newfound fame as TikTok dance icons.
While exclusively speaking to Page Six in the ballroom Tuesday night, the “Dancing With the Stars” partners reacted to all of the fans who have been recreating their now-viral leg lift (aka “Operation Archer”) at home following last week’s Dedication Night.
“I didn’t really know it was viral. I had to go in [rehearsals] and be like, ‘My algorithm must be messed up, Witney. I don’t know, everybody’s doing our dance!’” the NFL star, 38, recalled of seeing all the clips on his TikTok For You Page (FYP).
“It’s amazing to get [that] support from the fans. We put so much work into it, and to get their positive feedback every week — and then to see it go viral — was awesome,” he continued. “It gives us juice and gets us really excited. We’re geeked up watching it.”
Carson, who choreographed the stunning contemporary number to “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors, agreed that it was really special to see that type of reaction from so many fans.
“I never thought I’d go TikTok viral with a leg move that I did on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” the pro dancer, 31, admitted. “I never thought that, but hey, we’ll take it! We love to see it.”
The dance duo also provided some tips on how to prevent injuries at home after influencer Abbie Herbert revealed she accidentally broke her hip while attempting the viral move with her husband, Josh.
“I would say just keep your feet together as the anchor,” explained Carson, who posted a helpful tutorial on her TikTok page.
“For the girls, it’s really important to keep that bottom leg straight and then arch up like a front walk over. So you’re bringing your butt up, and you’re arching.”
For the guys, Amendola said it’s “important to make sure the girls are balanced” when they’re coming up from the floor. “You don’t want to get them wobbly and then off balance, so that’s the main thing,” he shared. “And then let go of their foot when they’re coming down, because they need somewhere to go.”
Following last week’s contemporary piece, Amendola and Carson impressed viewers once again with their lift-heavy jazz routine set to “Bye Bye Bye” from “Deadpool & Wolverine” for Tuesday’s Disney Night.
The duo received a combined score of 27/30 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, placing them at the top of the leaderboard for another consecutive week.
Fans immediately took to X to weigh in on the Marvel-inspired performance, writing things like, “The way danny and wit CARRIED,” “Danny has officially won me over,” “He embraces the spirit of #DWTS …balances the fun & heart … & bonus pts for those AMAZING lifts!!” and “I can see TikTok people trying to do that cool fighting scene between them now.”
While Amendola’s remaining dances in the competition will be focused on latin and ballroom styles, we had to ask — could fans perhaps see him in the ballet studio anytime soon?
Given his amazing contemporary technique, and the fact that many previous NFL contestants have taken a class to help with agility and flexibility, it’s something we’d love to see in one of his future pre-taped packages for the show.
“Lynn Swann is a notorious NFL Hall of Famer that’s resorted to ballet that really helped his career. I wish I would have done it before I played and when I was growing up,” the former New England Patriots star said in response. “I feel more grounded as an athlete right now. I have more ground awareness, my feet feel good, I feel great on the bathroom floor. So it really does translate to athletics for sure.”
Carson agreed, telling Page Six that giving Amendola some ballet experience “would actually be great” and “super” helpful in getting them one step closer to taking home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
“A lot of football players in my school actually came to our ballet classes growing up and it’s very beneficial,” the Utah native shared. “So we might see that. Might whip out the old ballet teaching expertise!”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
