Guillermo’s DWTS Foxtrot Ends With a “Dancing With the People” Reveal

Guillermo Rodriguez finished his Dancing with the Stars Yacht Rock Night foxtrot by opening his floral shirt and showing the message underneath: DANCING WITH THE PEOPLE. Witney Carson stood beside him as confetti fell and the ballroom cheered. It was a very Guillermo way to end a performance built around Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”

The pair danced on September 29, and the show released their official performance video the following day. The routine belongs to Season 35’s third week, when the remaining couples took on soft-rock songs and yacht-rock favorites.

Stay for the last few seconds

The official video runs just over a minute. Guillermo and Witney wear pale green, with his colorful shirt and her flowing dress fitting the holiday-song setting. They dance together on the ballroom floor before the ending gives him a moment facing the audience with his arms spread.

Around 1:04, his open shirt makes the message visible:

“DANCING WITH THE PEOPLE”

The falling confetti and applause are part of the moment you can see and hear in the performance. Guillermo stays beside his professional partner for the finish; the video is the dance itself, rather than a later interview about it. The full ending is worth watching instead of stopping at the first final pose.

The shirt also fits the personality viewers know from Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guillermo is comfortable making himself the joke, but here the joke arrives at the end of a ballroom routine. The message, the open floral shirt and the shower of confetti make the finish easy to recognize even without knowing this season’s entire lineup.

Why Guillermo is familiar outside the ballroom

ABC’s biography says Guillermo has worked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for more than 23 years. He was a security guard in the parking lot before becoming a regular presence alongside Kimmel. His television appearances include Oscars red-carpet segments and trips outside the studio, not only the exchanges viewers see during the nightly show.

That background makes Dancing with the Stars a different kind of job for him. Rather than asking a celebrity a question or joining one of Kimmel’s bits, he has to learn a complete routine with a trained ballroom dancer. Witney is his confirmed Season 35 professional partner, and the foxtrot gives the pair a shared performance rather than a solo comedy entrance.

Yacht Rock Night brought 13 couples into the episode. Guillermo and Witney’s song was one of several foxtrot selections, alongside different dance styles performed by the rest of the cast. The theme changed the music for the evening; it did not turn the competition into a separate special outside the season.

A big night for the show

ABC reported 7.12 million total viewers for the September 29 broadcast in its October 1 ratings release, using preliminary Nielsen Live+Same Day Panel Only figures. The network called it the show’s best non-finale episode in six years. That number describes the whole broadcast, not the audience for Guillermo’s individual dance or evidence that his shirt reveal caused the result.

Where to watch the episode and what comes next

In the United States, Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC and streams live on Disney+, with episodes on Hulu the next day. Viewers’ votes and the judges’ scores determine which couples remain in the competition.

The next themed broadcast is Mariah Carey Night on October 6, with 12 couples scheduled to perform. Before the music changes, Guillermo and Witney’s Yacht Rock video preserves this week’s finish: a foxtrot, an open shirt and a message aimed straight at the people watching.