Amber Glenn Scores Big With Her “Heated Rivalry” Dance
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov’s tango set to “The Things She Said” brought the queer hockey show to the ballroom.
Everyone’s favorite gay hockey show officially made its way to the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom with Amber Glenn’s “Heated Rivalry” inspired tango.
Set to Harrison’s remix of t.A.T.u’s “The Things She Said” which went viral after its inclusion in the iconic “Heated Rivalry” club scene, Glenn and partner Pasha Pashkov’s tango recreated the tension of the show.
Starting with a sapphic hand brush with help from a female troupe member, the dance was meant to capture the repression of queer feelings in an internal battle played out between Glenn and Pashkov.
Before the show, Glenn shared on a TikTok live, “I really spoke to Pasha about how much it means to me, doing this. Especially since I’m dancing with a man I still want to represent my community.” Glenn explained that she related to the show as an athlete who understands “being afraid to be your true self because you don’t want the backlash or ramifications of following your heart which is so devastating…It means a lot to me to see athletes represented in queer media.”
Amber's rehearsal package for Week 2 of Dancing with the Stars! pic.twitter.com/OdEAuGZNml
— Amber Glenn Updates (@AmberGlennDaily) September 23, 2026
In the pre-taped package, Glenn explained why she chose to honor the show for “Viral Hits Night.” “It’s a story that I really connected with when I came out, these worries that what if I don’t get the sponsorship deals, what if I get kicked off the team,” she explained. Pashkov explained that the natural push and pull of the tango made it the perfect vehicle to tell the story.
“It means so much to me as a pro athlete seeing queer representation and when this came out it just meant so much,” Glenn told Julianne Hough before receiving her score of straight sevens, which placed her in a tie for first at the top of the leaderboard.
Glenn and Pashkov sailed through to next weeknight with help from the judge’s score and fan votes. Who knows what the pair will have in store for us next week.
