Julia Stiles takes the Dancing with the Stars ballroom Tuesday night with the most personal routine of her season: a contemporary dance with pro partner Ezra Sosa dedicated to Heath Ledger, her 10 Things I Hate About You costar who died in 2008. The song is Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” the same number Ledger’s character serenaded her with in the film’s most famous scene. Dedication Night airs live Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET and PT on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu.
What song is Julia Stiles dancing to in her Heath Ledger tribute?
Stiles and Sosa will perform a contemporary routine to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” the 1967 Frankie Valli hit that anchors the best-known scene in 10 Things I Hate About You. In the 1999 teen comedy, Ledger’s Patrick Verona commandeers the high school stadium bleachers and serenades Stiles’ Kat Stratford with the song, backed by the marching band, before security chases him off the field. ABC confirmed the song and dedication in its Dedication Night announcement. The choice turns the film’s signature romantic gesture into a memorial. Ledger died on Jan. 22, 2008, at 28; People reports the cause was an accidental prescription drug overdose.
What Julia Stiles has said about the tribute
Stiles first teased the number on the Oct. 15 episode of Hulu’s Get Real podcast. “We’re still working it out, but I know it’s going to be really special,” she said. In a livestream reshared on TikTok and quoted by E! News, she explained the tone she and Sosa are chasing: “It was important to me that, in the music and in the dance, that we have a somber tribute to him because obviously he’s passed away and he’s no longer with us, but also that scene brings so much joy to people.” She added, “We want to have the joyful celebration of when he was around.”
The preparation has already hit her hard. “I was crying in rehearsals today,” she told Variety at the InStyle Imagemaker Awards. And she has never been shy about what Ledger meant to her. “He was such a bright light. He just walked into the room and lit it up,” she told E! News in January 2025. “He was very kind and generous to me.”
Her season so far
The tribute lands one week after Stiles’ most overtly nostalgic number yet. On Super Bowl Night she and Sosa danced a jazz routine to a remixed “Jenny From the Block” that recreated her 2001 film Save the Last Dance, complete with a cameo from costar Sean Patrick Thomas, scoring 33 out of 40, per Us Weekly. Stiles, 45, has been commuting between the Los Angeles ballroom and her New York home base all season, with Sosa, 25, sometimes flying east so rehearsals do not stop.
Dedication Night lineup: every song, dance and dedication
Ten couples remain, and each routine honors a person or place that shaped the star. Per ABC’s announcement, with one confirmed partner change:
Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa: contemporary, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, for Heath Ledger
Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik: Viennese waltz, “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am” by Nancy Wilson, for James Avery, her Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV dad
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson: foxtrot, “Stop This Train” by John Mayer, for his wife Shelby
Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess: contemporary, “Supermarket Flowers” by Ed Sheeran, for mothers
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas: paso doble, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys, for Ireland
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov: contemporary, “Breathe Me” by Sia, for her sister Brooke
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach: contemporary, “Bloodline” by Mon Rovia, for his mom Bahar
Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold: Viennese waltz, “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, for his dad Pete
Jackson Olson and Emma Slater: quickstep, “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole, for his mom Laura
Jenna Dewan and Alan Bersten: Viennese waltz, “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers, for her mom Nancy
The Dewan pairing is the one change from ABC’s original list. Bersten, eliminated in Week 2 with Giada De Laurentiis, steps in while Val Chmerkovskiy serves a one-week suspension over a since-deleted social media post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba, per NBC News. Chmerkovskiy apologized publicly, and producer BBC Studios told The Hollywood Reporter that “the well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is non-negotiable.” Read our full report on Val Chmerkovskiy’s suspension and what he said about Carrie Ann Inaba.
What else to expect on Dedication Night
Two-time Mirrorball champion Kym Johnson joins Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough as guest judge. ABC has also promised a dedication to Dolly Parton set to “Here You Come Again” and a dance number to Hilary Duff’s “CATastrophe” from The Cat in the Hat. There is real stakes under the sentiment: viewer votes combine with the judges’ scores to decide who continues, and last week’s Super Bowl Night sent Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson home after their salsa scored a night-low 22 out of 40.
What this means for viewers
If you watch one episode this season, make it this one. Tune in live Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET and PT on ABC or Disney+; the episode streams on Hulu the next day. The moments to watch for: Stiles’ Ledger tribute, Tatyana Ali’s salute to James Avery, and how Jenna Dewan clicks with Alan Bersten on short notice. After Dedication Night, the season rolls into Horror Movie Night, Disney Night and Grammy Night, with the finale set for Nov. 24, per People. For start times, channel details and streaming options, check our DWTS Dedication Night watch guide.
Key dates
1999: 10 Things I Hate About You opens; the bleachers serenade becomes one of the era’s defining rom-com scenes.
Jan. 22, 2008: Heath Ledger dies at 28.
Oct. 13, 2026: Super Bowl Night; Stiles’ Save the Last Dance routine with a Sean Patrick Thomas cameo scores 33/40.
Oct. 14: DWTS reveals the Dedication Night songs and dedications.
Oct. 15: Stiles teases the tribute on Hulu’s Get Real podcast.
Oct. 20, 8 p.m. ET/PT: Dedication Night airs live on ABC and Disney+.
Our analysis: the night’s defining moment
This is our read: Dedication Night reliably produces the season’s emotional peak, but this year’s edition pairs the format with a piece of millennial film canon. The bleachers serenade is one of the most replayed rom-com scenes of its generation, and Stiles reclaiming its song as a memorial gives the number a weight no other routine on the card can match. Expect it to dominate the night’s social conversation and frame the judges’ leaderboard talk. The quiet second storyline is Dewan and Bersten: a Viennese waltz built on a few days of chemistry, with “Unchained Melody” as the soundtrack, is exactly the kind of gamble that either sinks a contender or makes their season.
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