Tatyana Ali delivered an emotional Viennese waltz on “Dancing With the Stars” dedicated to her late “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” co-star James Avery.
Ali, 45, performed the tribute Tuesday on the ABC competition’s “Dedication Night” alongside professional partner Jan Ravnik, with former co-star Alfonso Ribeiro, 53, joining them in rehearsals. The actress sang her own vocals for the routine, set to Nancy Wilson’s “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am.”
“He was very much a father figure for all of us,” Ali said of Avery in a pre-taped package before the performance. “He taught me that what you do can be more than just a job — it can be how you contribute, how you share, as an artist and as a performer.”
“I loved him a lot,” she continued, tearing up. “So I knew that if I made it to ‘Dedication Night’ that it had to be to him. I miss him.”
Ribeiro, who co-hosts “DWTS” with Julianne Hough, called the collaboration “an opportunity to say ‘thank you'” to the actor who played Uncle Phil on the beloved sitcom.
“James was the most lovable, charismatic, intelligent person, and he was a very important part of our lives,” Ribeiro shared. “So to be part of this routine for Tatyana is a blessing for my life.”
The routine earned 32 out of 40 points from the judges. Bruno Tonioli praised Ali as “glowing” and observed that she appeared to be “floating on the wings of [her] guardian angel.”
Ahead of the broadcast, Ali posted an Instagram video expanding on Avery’s influence, revealing a cherished holiday tradition. “Every holiday, James would give me a baby doll, I have a collection of beautiful baby dolls, and he told me, ‘I’m giving you these dolls because they look like you, and I always want you to know how beautiful you are.’ He poured into me quite a bit,” she said in the clip, wiping away tears.
She detailed how every element of the performance was deliberately chosen. The costume drew inspiration from Eartha Kitt, whom Avery frequently said Ali resembled. “There is not one moment in this piece that is not carefully mined, because that’s how he taught me to make things,” she explained. “That’s the kind of craftsman he was. That’s why ‘Fresh Prince’ is the show that you love so much, because he did it every single week on our show.”
“He taught me that, he taught Alf that, he taught all of us that, and we’re all putting so much love into these performances that you’re going to see,” Ali added in the social media post.
The tribute closed with Ali expressing gratitude for reuniting with Ribeiro. “My heart is full because how lucky are we to get to have this experience together again [with Alfonso]? I think [Avery] would be really proud,” she said.
Avery died December 31, 2013, from complications following open heart surgery at age 68. He portrayed patriarch Philip Banks throughout the sitcom’s six-season run from 1990 to 1996, with Ali playing his youngest daughter Ashley and Ribeiro starring as son Carlton.
The heartfelt routine arrived amid backstage turbulence at “DWTS.” Professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended for the week after posting a since-deleted TikTok reference to Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap of Chris Rock. The post followed intense criticism from judge Carrie Ann Inaba about an “illegal” lift by Chmerkovskiy’s wife Jenna Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr. During the October 13 episode, which reportedly left Johnson “in tears.”
BBC Studios condemned the social media post as “inappropriate” in a Saturday statement, announcing Chmerkovskiy would not participate. The pro later apologized, explaining his “instinct” was to “protect” his wife and that he “made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention.” Johnson performed Tuesday with substitute pro Alan Bersten.
Ali and Ravnik advanced through the competition as “DWTS” Season 35 continues its run toward the finale.
New episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Disney+, streaming next-day on Hulu.