A new opinion is emerging, or remerging, among Dancing with the Stars fans. Dancing with the Stars is a reality television show that follows celebrities’ journey of learning how to dance and competing against each other with the help of professional dancers who are their trusted partners. Given the show’s plot, fans have taken notice in recent seasons that many celebrities have prior experience with dance, whether that’s taking lessons when they were younger or even becoming famous through dance.
Many competitors on the show have been recognized for having prior dance experience before competing on the show. Names include Whitney Leavitt, Charli D’Amelio, and Hilaria Baldwin.
Whitney Leavitt grew up dancing during her time at Brigham Young University, where she majored in dance. In an interview with PEOPLE’s News, Leavitt stated, “Dance was such a big part of our community. Some of my favorite memories are late-night practices with friends, long weekends at competitions, and the pure joy of performing on stage,” Whitney recalls to PEOPLE, adding, “Dance was and still is always my creative outlet and my happy place.”
Charli Damelio was also a name that emerged within this conversation. The mirrorball winner first earned fame through her social media presence on TikTok, where she would post dances. According to Entertainment Now, D’Amelio “first started dancing when she was three years old,” where she studied tap, ballet, and hip hop. After her time on the show as well as the mirrorball trophy she earned during this time, D’Amelio went on to become a professional dancer in the broadway musical, “& Juliet”.
The final competitor mentioned when discussing the controversial topic is Hilaria Baldwin. Baldwin is a yoga instructor, entrepreneur, and more who competed in season 34 of Dancing with the Stars with partner Gleb Savchenko. According to Yahoo Entertainment, at the beginning of the season, results from the Blackpool Dance Festival in 2004, a prestigious ballroom competition, where she earned 245th place. In comparison, Dancing with the Stars professional dancer, Emma Slater, earned 252nd place at the same competition.
These dancers, along with others, have summoned the question, “Should celebrities with previous dance experience be allowed to compete on the show?”
Sophomore Carter McCulley, who is a member of the Wildcat Pride Dance Team and the Millbrook Dance Department, weighed in on the topic when asked. McCulley stated, “It’s a tricky question that I’m in the middle of. A reason for why my answer would be no is because the point of the show is to have celebrities who don’t have that experience to undergo a new pathway of growth into a field they might not have ever thought of. But at the same time, I believe that it could be a good thing because it’s also a good way to show what you can do and a great marketing strategy for celebrities.”
Another member of the Wildcat Pride Dance Team, Junior, Skyla Rivera, weighed in on the topic stating, “Honestly, I don’t think celebrities with a ton of dance experience should be on Dancing with the Stars because it gives him a huge advantage. It’s supposed to be about learning and growing, not starting miles ahead of everybody else. But at the same time, having a few with some experience can make this show more entertaining to watch. Overall, I feel like it’s more fair and fun when the playing field is actually balanced.”
McCulley and Rivera’s answer to the question just further helped me realize that the topic is very debatable. Some may believe that the celebrities with previous experience can help the show by adding more skill and more of a competitive element. At the same time, they must be careful when casting by making sure there is still room for growth, which makes the show more entertaining to watch.
