Rose is the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left emotional on Saturday night following Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice’s beautiful dance.
The visually striking routine featured several silent moments as a nod to the deaf community.
Rose, who is deaf herself, performed a contemporary dance to Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson alongside her partner Giovanni, which scored them a whopping 39 out of 40.
The beautiful performance has been praised by many, including judges – even leaving Anton Du Beke holding back tears.
"In this dance we have a very special moment, and I'm doing it for the deaf community." 💖 So much power in the silence of Rose and Giovanni's routine. #Strictly @RoseAylingEllis @pernicegiovann1 pic.twitter.com/kW8OTggI5X
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 13, 2021
Giovanni was also nearly in tears himself, when Rose told him afterwards how much she has been enjoying her time dancing with him on the show.
Fans took to Twitter to share their opinions about the performance. with some admitting they were reduced “to tears” and “sobbing”.
“What an inspiration to the deaf community. I loved this dance so so beautiful. The moment in the middle where the room went silent that was so effective. Best dance on Strictly,” one person wrote.
“No dance on Strictly has ever made me cry so many tears,” one woman said.
“I am full on sobbing at Rose and Giovanni’s couple’s choice dance,” a third added.
“Following Rose’s journey on Strictly, who is just legendary but tonight, when the music stopped midway of their dance and they kept going, that was mine and every Deaf people’s stories being told on the stage. @RoseAylingEllis made us feel represented. Thank you,” another wrote.
Judges were equally impressed, with Shirley Ballas standing up to praise the duo, saying that the dance would be “etched in her heart for a long, long time”.
Anton Du Beke, who has been a regular judge on Strictly since 2004 , said it was the “greatest thing” he has ever seen a contestant perform on the show.
Meanwhile, Craig Revel Harwood simply called it “fabulous”.
