‘Dancing with the Stars’ has become one of the biggest and most popular shows recently. The hit show takes celebrities from all different aspects of the entertainment industry and pairs them with professional dancers. It airs every Tuesday on ABC, hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough.
Over the span of 11 weeks, dancers go through rehearsals and performances, which are judged and scored by judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Derek Hough. The couples go through eliminations leaving less couples each week. In the end, this will result in finalists, from which one couple is chosen to win the Mirrorball Trophy. This year’s season has been a big hit on social media platforms as many well known actresses, olympians, and television personalities are featured on the show.
Alongside the stars are the pros. Many of them have been dancing for decades and have won seasons in the past. This year’s pairs are Rylee Arnold with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, Alan Bernsten with Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, Witney Carson with former NFL player Danny Amendola, Val Chmerkovskiy with Phaedra Parks from ‘Real HouseWives of Atlanta’, Sasha Farber with ‘Bachelor’ fan favorite Jenn Tran, Jenna Johnson with Joey Graziadei from ‘Bachelor’ season 28, Daniella Karagach with NBA champion Dwight Howard, Pasha Pashkov with actress Tori Spelling, Gleb Savchenko with supermodel Brooks Nader, Emma Slater with actor Reginald VelJohnson, Ezra Sosa with artist and fashion icon Anna Delvey, Britt Stewart with actor Eric Roberts, and Brandon Armstrong with actress Chandler Kinney. Emily Newcomb, a student at Millbrook High School, said “I’ve been keeping up with Dancing With The Stars this season for Ilona Maher. I am a rugby player myself and it’s really inspiring to watch her.”
Each week the dances are themed and the pros are instructed to choreograph a dance for them and their star to perform based on the theme. So far, there have been six episodes and six couples eliminated. The first episode, which was the premiere, was a night of introducing the stars and getting to know them. No one was eliminated from this episode. Second week was Oscars night where dancers showcased what they’ve learned over the two weeks. This week was the first elimination, which was also a double elimination.
Unfortunately, Anna Delvey and Tori Spelling were eliminated. Eliminations are determined by a combination of judges scores and votes from viewers at home. Delvey faced a lot of backlash for being on the show considering she was arrested for being a fraudster and a con artist, and is still currently on parole, featuring her ankle monitor while dancing on the show.
Ainsley Roberts, a student at Millbrook said “I watched the show ‘Inventing Anna’ on Netflix which intrigued me to watch this season of Dancing With The Stars. Knowing Anna Delvey’s background I wasn’t sure whether to support her or not. The third episode was inspired by ‘Soul Train’ where the 11 remaining couples showcased their best moves to ‘Soul Train.’ Rosie Perez, who was a dancer on ‘Soul Train,’ made an appearance by being a guest judge for the night. No one was eliminated this week.
Week 4 was hair metal night where the couples danced to their favorite 80’s rock. Gene Simmons, who was the bassist for the rock band KISS, was the guest judge for this week. Another double elimination happened as Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts were eliminated. Viewers were very upset on social media after the eliminations as VelJohson gained a big fan base for his personality and the love and care he showed for his partner Emma Slater.
Week 5 was dedication night where Stars honored influential figures in their lives. Brooks Nader was eliminated after dedicating her dance to her sisters. Nader also faced a lot of backlash online after forming a deeper relationship with partner Gleb, which fans of the show did not support. Week 6 was Disney night as the couples danced to Disney hits. Couples also teamed up with others and performed group dances. Phaedra Parks was eliminated.
There are still 5 weeks to go and many more dances to see. As the show continues, judging gets strict and the competition gets more intense. The dancers will continue to push and work hard considering this is all new to them.
