Tatyana Ali will dedicate her Viennese waltz on Dancing With the Stars to James Avery on Tuesday night’s Dedication Night episode. She and Jan Ravnik will perform to a recording of Ali singing Nancy Wilson’s “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am,” turning the routine into a tribute built around her Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV history.
James Avery on Tuesday night
Ali said there was no debate when the Dedication Night prompt landed. “There’s nobody else I thought of: It had to be James,” she said, making the choice sound less like a programming note than a personal assignment. The routine is part of season 35, where the show’s live format gives emotional tributes a built-in audience and immediate reaction.
Ali also said preparation for the dance has been “emotional and really painstaking, but in a good way,” and she added, “I want this to be the best one.” That kind of language is not a throwaway on a competition series; it signals how much weight a single performance can carry when the episode is designed around tribute rather than scoring alone.
Alfonso Ribeiro and season 35
Ali said Alfonso Ribeiro had been telling her about Dancing With the Stars for years, and that she had been asked before season 35 but did not take it on then. She said her children were babies when the show came up earlier, and that the series is “very intensive,” which explains why the decision took so long to land.
Ali and Jan Ravnik have also been drawing attention beyond the ballroom, going viral practically every week. Ali said the fan support “means everything,” and described the biggest surprise of doing the show as “being able to talk to the audience,” a reminder that the competition is also functioning as a direct line between performer and viewers.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air connection
Ali’s tribute ties her current run on Dancing With the Stars back to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where James Avery remains the emotional center of the family dynamic she is honoring. That connection is why this Dedication Night routine carries more than standard competition value: it turns a weekly dance into a public statement about memory, gratitude, and the role that show still plays in her career.
On Tuesday night, the performance will test whether that personal setup translates into one of the season’s most watched routines. For Ali, the answer seems to be in the preparation itself; for viewers, the open question is what specific memory she is putting on the floor when the music starts.
