The pair put in a few Dolly-isms after learning the news of her death on Aug. 25 at age 80.

Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa made changes to their Dolly Parton Dancing With the Stars routine after icon’s death

The pair put in a few Dolly-isms after learning the news of her death on Aug. 25 at age 80.

By Leigh Blickley

September 17, 2026 3:13 p.m. ET

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Ezra Sosa and Julia Stiles on ‘Dancing With the Stars’. Credit:

Disney/Eric McCandless

- Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa learned of Dolly Parton’s death after the *Dancing With the Stars* pro had choreographed their whole routine to her song “9 to 5.”

- They ended up changing the routine to include nods to Parton, who died at 80 on Aug. 25.

- Stiles told EW the dance “embodied [Parton’s] joy that she shares with everybody.”**

Dolly Parton was always the inspiration behind Julia Stiles and her pro partner Ezra Sosa’s first performance on *Dancing With the Stars** *— even before she died.

Stiles and Sosa told * *after night 2 of the season 35 premiere on Wednesday that they changed their quickstep routine to “9 to 5” after learning Parton had died at age 80 on Aug. 25 following a brief battle with cancer.

The actress shared in her intro package that Parton approved their use of the song “a couple of weeks before Dolly passed,” and she was “so honored to be dancing to her music and honoring her legacy.”

“She brings so much joy into people’s lives and that’s what we want to do on this show,” Stiles told EW of remembering the late Parton. “I feel like that dance — the choreography, the song — embodied her joy that she shares with everybody.”

Sosa said they had solidified the choreography for the dance in the weeks before Parton’s death, but added in a few nods to the Queen of Country in light of the sad news — including a reference to her signature acrylic nails, which she used to create the rhythm to “9 to 5.”

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“The moment we figured out about her passing, it definitely shifted the intention of that routine,” Sosa told EW. “So I definitely had to throw in some nods in our routine to Dolly because, I mean, we love Dolly. We were dancing for each other, but we were also dancing for Dolly tonight.”

“And honoring her legacy,” Stiles interjected. “Like, the stories, the interviews that now came out that everybody’s watching, is where we discovered the nail thing.”

Sosa added, “We were like, ‘We have to throw it in there.’”

Dolly Parton with ‘9 to 5’ director Colin Higgins, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin.

Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty

The pair received an 18 out of 30 from the judges, with Carrie Ann Inaba calling Stiles “radiant.”

Sosa still can’t believe his luck in being partnered with the *10 Things I Hate About You* and *Save the Last Dance *star, admitting he kept telling himself to “be cool” when he first met Stiles.

“I was not trying to be cool,” *DWTS* superfan Stiles quipped, even though he was “starstruck” by three-time pro Sosa. “I was like, ‘You got to let it all out,’ because I couldn’t hide my excitement.”

“We were also very nervous meeting each other... we just didn’t know what to do,” Sosa confessed to EW.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Stiles said her partner is “fun, energetic” and has a “huge heart... for everybody.”

“My favorite attribute about Julia is how open she is and how willing she is to put in the work,” Sosa added of Stiles, noting that he’s privileged “to share the space with her.”

“She’s a workhorse. She has such genuine authenticity to her. She’s just such a star. Such a true star,” he concluded.

*Dancing With the Stars* aires Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

- Dancing with the Stars Fandom

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Dancing”