Ezra Frech Makes a Powerful Dancing with the Stars Debut With a Groundbreaking Tango

Ezra Frech needed only one performance to make an impression on Dancing with the Stars. The 21-year-old Paralympic champion stepped onto the ballroom floor alongside Daniella Karagach for a tango to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” earning 20 out of 30 points and finishing just one point behind the night’s top-scoring pair.

But the score was only part of what made Frech’s debut stand out. The routine was carefully built around his prosthetic leg, transforming a technical challenge into an essential part of the choreography.

For Frech, the performance represented more than learning a new dance. It was an opportunity to show what could happen when ballroom choreography was adapted to work with his body rather than treating his prosthesis as something that had to be hidden.

Who Is Ezra Frech?

Frech is a Paralympic track-and-field athlete, motivational speaker and advocate for adaptive sports. Born in 2005 with congenital limb differences, he was missing most of his lower left leg and fingers on his left hand. His lower left leg was amputated when he was nearly three years old.

His athletic career has since taken him to two Paralympic Games.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Frech won gold in both the men’s 100-meter T63 and high jump T63 events. He cleared 1.94 meters in the high jump to set a Paralympic record, adding a second gold medal just a day after winning the 100-meter title.

His transition from elite Para athletics to ballroom dancing, however, presented an entirely different set of physical demands.

A Tango Built Around His Prosthetic Leg

For his first Dancing with the Stars routine, Frech was partnered with professional dancer Daniella Karagach. Their tango immediately required the pair to rethink some of the fundamentals of the dance.

Traditionally, the tango involves the male dancer leading with his left side. Because Frech’s prosthetic leg is on his left side, that basic requirement became one of the central challenges of the choreography.

Rather than avoiding it, the pair incorporated it directly into the opening of the routine.

Frech highlighted how meaningful it was to begin the dance connected only through his left hand, with their right hands behind their backs, while he led with his left leg.

For him, that moment represented a deliberate decision to turn something that could be perceived as a limitation into a visible source of confidence.

“There’s something really empowering about that,” Frech said.

Karagach also had to approach the choreography differently. She explained that keeping Frech’s hips level while working with his prosthesis became a major consideration, describing the process as “a whole science.”

The Technical Challenge Behind Every Step

The physical mechanics of Frech’s prosthetic leg added another layer of difficulty.

He explained that he does not have control of the leg below his knee and that a small amount of slippage can cause the prosthetic knee to buckle. That means the way he lands and places his weight becomes especially important.

“Any bit of slippage, and I’m going down,” Frech explained.

Karagach therefore incorporated diagonal movements into the routine. The choreography was designed to help Frech maintain a straight prosthetic leg while also limiting unnecessary vertical movement.

The result was a tango that required both dancers to adjust their technique and movement patterns around the mechanics of Frech’s prosthesis.

That adaptation became one of the most distinctive aspects of the performance. Rather than simply adding a prosthetic leg to conventional choreography, the routine was constructed with Frech’s specific movement requirements in mind.

The Judges Take Notice

The approach clearly caught the judges’ attention.

Carrie Ann Inaba praised the performance as an example of what makes Dancing with the Stars distinctive, particularly the way the choreography demonstrated new possibilities for movement. Derek Hough was visibly emotional while discussing Frech’s performance, while Bruno Tonioli praised his focus, control and stage presence.

Tonioli also pointed out that Frech appeared to be genuinely leading the tango rather than simply following Karagach’s movements.

Their scores reflected the positive response. Inaba and Tonioli each awarded Frech a 7, while Hough gave him a 6, bringing the total to 20 out of 30. That put Frech in second place on the first night of the Season 35 premiere, behind Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson’s 21.

The performance also drew admiration from fellow contestants, with Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood among those reacting to Frech’s control and ability to adapt to the demands of ballroom dancing.

A New Chapter on the Ballroom Floor

Frech is the third Paralympic athlete to compete on Dancing with the Stars, following Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy and visually impaired alpine skier Danelle Umstead.

His debut, however, introduced a different kind of adaptive choreography to the show. Every pivot, step and change of direction had to account for the mechanics of his prosthetic leg.

That made his tango about more than simply learning ballroom technique.

With a 20-point debut, Frech immediately demonstrated that his athletic experience could translate into another demanding performance environment. More importantly, his partnership with Karagach showed how choreography can be reworked around an athlete’s individual movement rather than forcing the dancer into a conventional mold.

For a contestant making his first appearance on the Dancing with the Stars ballroom floor, Frech’s tango offered an early glimpse of just how much the competition could ask him — and his partner — to reinvent.