Duluth's Daniel Durant shares his 'CODA' story on 'Dancing with the Stars'

DULUTH — Daniel Durant performed a lift-heavy contemporary dance to "Both Sides Now" — the song from the climax of the Academy Award winning film "CODA" that has changed his life — and earned some of his highest marks so far Monday on "Dancing with the Stars."

The Duluth actor and professional partner Britt Stewart incorporated American Sign Language into the choreography on the episode that asked the celebrity dancers to use a memorable year as a muse. The Duluth actor picked 2019 — the year he started filming the career-changing movie.

"At first 'CODA' was a small indie movie and then it kept growing and growing and growing until they day we found out we were going to the Oscars," Durant said. "It was amazing."

It's been hard for the deaf actor to find roles, he said, and he had been in a three-year drought.

Competitor Selma Blair, a movie star who has multiple sclerosis and has been monitored by doctors throughout the competition, dropped out after one last "gentle dance" on Tuesday to "What the World Needs Now."

"My body is definitely taking a hit," she said. "It's way too much for the safety of my bones. There's just intensive bone trauma and inflammation."

Because Blair left, no one else was eliminated. Durant was in fifth place on the leaderboard. Points will carry over to Tuesday night's prom-themed bonus episode.

Durant, dressed in flowy yellow and barefoot, started alone in the spotlight signing the lyrics. Throughout the dance, he lifted Stewart over his back, their limbs tangled, and he whipped her into a tricky flip near the finale. Interpreter Gabriel Gomez, who had been in the background, joined the dancers at the end of the song.

Judge Derek Hough said it was a dance that transcended the competition.

"My friend, you didn't miss a beat," he said. "You were a strong supportive partner to Britt — the lifts, it was compelling, great storytelling. As a judge it was beautiful, it flowed. As a human being, it was just an incredibly moving performance."