After performing remotely while battling COVID-19, the partners were back in the studio on Monday.
After having to get creative last week, Cheryl Burke and Cody Rigsby are back in the studio! The pair returned to the dance floor for Monday's Dancing With the Stars Disney Heroes Night.
Last week, the duo had to think outside the box after they both tested positive for COVID-19. To stay in the game, they each performed from their separate living rooms. The dance didn't get super high scores, but their determination seemed to win them some fans.
On Monday, the pair returned to the stage looking to make a splash with a foxtrot set to "Stand Out" from A Goofy Movie. Rigsby rocked picture-perfect recreation of the movie's costume -- including his ridiculously wild hairstyle, and they both hit the dance floor looking to leave a lasting impression.
ET's Lauren Zima spoke with Rigsby after the show on Monday, and the celebrity Peloton instructor opened up about what it was like coming back after having to deal with the illness shortly after the start of the season.
"The past two weeks with COVID is not how I wanted my journey on this show to be," Rigsby shared. "This is supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be costumes and silly dancing and all this sort of stuff, so it's just not how I wanted it to be."
"So I'm excited to be back here in the ballroom with the costumes and the lighting, and to see my castmates," he added. "I've missed the energy! I've missed the energy from the crowd. So it's been great to be back."
With electric energy, the pair gave it their all, but it wasn't quite enough to blow the judges away.
Len Goodman said that there "wasn't enough jive" and that he was "a little disappointed" by the number. Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba were more supportive, but couldn't deny Goodman's critiques.
The pair ended up earning three 7s and then a 6 from Goodman for a total of 27 out of 40. It was a score that Rigsby felt somewhat frustrated by.
"It's challenging when you're putting everything out there and then for it be judged like that, I think we deserved better," he said. "But I'm gonna take the night to process it to read through it and kind of let it go, because we gotta keep pumping and moving."
Rigsby added that, despite being cleared to perform live, "The majority of the rehearsal week we were still in quarantine. So we were learning two dances via zoom calls."
However, at the end of the night, the two didn't end up in jeopardy, as host Tyra Banks declared that everyone was safe from elimination so that all the couples could hit the floor again tomorrow night for Disney Villains Night!
One moment from their dance that went largely unnoticed to the crowd -- but which Rigsby revealed on his Instagram story -- was when he split open the back of his pants doing the final dip in the routine.
"We did the dip and that's when my pants ripped, and then she came back up and she landed on my knee. I was just like laughing hysterically, and I was like, 'I just ripped my pants!'" Rigsby recalled, adding that he was extra cautious to try and cover up given the circumstances. "I just wasn't sure where the camera was, but I was like, 'This is Disney Night!' Most of the time I don't care if my ass is showing, but it's Disney Night, so I wanted to be OK."
Ahead of the episode, Burke and Rigsby both gleefully teased their performances with Instagram posts celebrating their return and their Goofy-themed routines.
"We are back in the ballroom tonight #boocrew!!! We’re dancing a Jive to Stand Out from @codyrigsby’s fave - A Goofy Movie and are up 12th this evening!" Burke wrote.
Meanwhile, Rigsby posted a photo of himself in full costume -- including his over-the-top tower of hair -- and expressed his excitement.
"Back in the ballroom ⚡️ I’m living my childhood dream this evening on @disney night," he shared.
Last week, the pair performed a jazz number to Britney Spears' "Gimme More," dancing separately from their individual homes. They earned the lowest score of the night, an 18 out of 30, but were once again able to stave off elimination.
"I thought we killed it! I feel like we accomplished a lot," Burke told ET's Matt Cohen after their dance. "He nailed it, we nailed it, it was perfect."
"It was harder than if I was dancing and physically touching my partner, because I could maneuver and manipulate his body if anything were to go wrong," she added. "And there's also camera angles. There's a lot of times when the director will have a close-up of your face and you won't even know the couple messed up with the footwork."
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC.
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