Dancing with the Stars judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian have said they think the remaining contestants will be "ready to give it their all" as they prepare to head into next Sunday's show which will feature the first dance-off of the season.
Speaking to press following last weekend's emotional Dedicated Dance special, head judge Loraine Barry said she didn't think that any of the stars would have their confidence rocked by ending up in a dance-off.
"Once you are in the competition, you have blocked that confidence issue off - you're there, you are in the moment, you are performing," she said.
"If you are in the dance-off, you are fighting for your position, and they would say fighting for your life. For me I think they are just going to give it their all."
Brian Redmond interjected: "I think we've seen some examples of this as well - that people who you wouldn't necessarily expect to be in a dance off end up there regularly, and the one that jumps to mind instantly for me was Lottie Ryan.
"Lottie was in three dance-offs and still went on to win it. So there are probably examples that they can look back from previous seasons and find motivation in that as well," he said.
Arthur Gourounlian added: "You just have to go for it because you already performed once, and that's obviously just cementing everything you've done before.
"We're always saying in the dancing world - dance like your life depends on it. I know it's very dramatic, but that's what we say to give you that oomph to succeed."
Last Sunday's show featured the first 10 of the season for Wild Youth star David Whelan's rumba.
Barry said she found his ballroom competition-inspired routine, which he dedicated to his father, a former dancer, particularly emotional.
"To me, it brought back a lot of memories of competition days and putting the number on the boy's back. Sometimes we would stick the pin in the boy's back by mistake! But it was very emotional," she said.
"I just thought that it was such a beautiful, dedicated dance to his father and the part that really got me was that he felt embarrassed that his father used to dance," Barry continued.
"And now he's out there dancing. I think that's really telling of the story of what dancing really does to you. Now he understands what his father felt."
Gourounlian singled out Rosanna Davison's rumba, which he said "literally took my breath away", adding: "I loved it, I was literally in awe of her."
Redmond said Jason's Smyth's Viennese waltz in tribute to his young daughters, Evie and Lottie, filled him with emotion.
"I can't imagine what it would be like to have two young daughters growing up and as he said, to know that he's never going to see them dance," he said.
Dancing with the Stars, Sunday nights at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
