Dancing with the Stars Season 20 – PRO WATCH!!

LIVE BLOG is happening here,  which is where all the pros will be added as it happens. 

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote one of these posts. In fact, I normally post pro watch for the spring season in early February – yet here we are. Why? Well, Derek is taking a season off to star at Radio City (looks so happy he may never come back), Cheryl appears to have retired from DWTS and is moving on to a different (reality-based?) show, and Val and Sharna are both blabbing about the next season. And as of last night, Karina is OUT. Hell, I had this post scheduled for tomorrow and here I am posting it today – ya’ll gotta have somewhere to be sad about Karina. (ETA: Vogue was at last night’s show and came away with different and new info re: Karina. Stay tuned.)

In Sharna’s case, I think her hint means she’s definitely IN – after last season I don’t think she would be coy if there were any doubt. And if there is doubt? Bad move, girl. As for Val – I don’t think there’s any way in hell he won’t be on, with Maks and Derek gone and Mark making noise. No way. And he’s saying yes, he is back.

Speaking of Mark – I loved him last season with Sadie – I hope that’s the one that comes back. 🙂 And for the love of god, give the boy another contender. I’m getting sick of Val showmancing his ringers right to third place (or lower). Give Val someone who really has no experience at all. Challenge the man and see what he does with it. Do SOMETHING to make this season interesting (for me, sans Derek). All the whining about Derek over the years and I hear nary a peep from certain quarters about Val’s partners. Give him a Joanna Krupa – engaged model with ‘tude and little natural ability – and see if he can take her as far as Derek did the actual Joanna. Without the romance angle, Val. It’s SO cliche now. 😀

Who will take Derek’s spot?? Well, he can’t be replaced, obviously, but there is a spot that needs to be filled. Louis has been making lots of noise about his chances of coming back, but then he always makes a lot of noise. I tend to think it’s more likely he comes back for a one-night, anniversary thing. I hope that’s it, anyway. Lose Derek and get Louis – not a fair trade. And sorry girls, totally not a fan of Henry AT. ALL. He’s much too big for his britches these days and anyone that thinks that highly of himself is a disaster for this show. But fun for blogging about. 😀 If we need a short guy, my vote goes to Sasha – love that dude. I also like Paul Karmiryan – he was fab on MOVE Live on Tour and he seems to be doing well on the DWTS Tour.

Keo and Artem are question marks. Lots of people get a season as pro and don’t come back. Tested and failed. I don’t think either Keo or Artem are going to fall into this category and if one does I think (hope) it will be Artem. I don’t dislike him, but he doesn’t do anything for me. He and Henry are a bit too fond of the shirtless selfie sort of thing. I find that to be a turn off, no matter how impressive the chest. Let me tell ya, boys, the thing that made me swoon this past week was Derek in a white tuxedo jacket and black tie. Lord have mercy. Word to the wise – some women love a gorgeous suit. Leave something to the imagination. That said – I much prefer Artem to Serge Onik – please, no. That is all.

As for the remaining ladies? I think Peta, Emma and Witney are locks for this season. I think Witney really is the new Julianne, in terms of popularity potential. The girl has “IT” in a big way – I’ve thought that since SYTYCD. Sharna we’ve already discussed – and no, I don’t think it has anything to do with any “fan backlash” from last season. I think some overestimate her popularity based on the squeaky wheels. Sure, she’s popular – but I don’t think many of the women have the oomph to cause producers to change their minds over some internet outrage. Nothing personal about it, just my perception that the female pros in particular are driven by the celebs who sign on to do the show. I think that Sharna knows now simply because they might feel bad for treating her badly last season – I mean, finding out on TV? Harsh.

So, that leaves Allison and someone to take Cheryl and Karina’s spots. I wonder if Kym Johnson might be back – I think they’ve always loved her on the show (as do I) and her being on the tour is a sign that she’s still tight with the producers. She could easily ease the pain of Cheryl’s departure. But what about Allison? Allison is different from someone like Tyne in that she (and her husband) have pretty sizable fanbases thanks to SYTYCD – will it be enough?? Hard to say. I’m on the fence. Rumor was that Jenna was moving up to pro in Cheryl’s place last season until Cheryl changed her mind about leaving – chances are she could take either Cheryl or Allison’s spot this go round. Then there’s Anna Trebunskaya – she’s been hinting much like Louis has, but is this an anniversary thing or will she get a partner? And what about Tanisha Belnap? Anyway…with it being the 20th season/10 year anniversary, I wouldn’t be surprised to see both Kym and Anna.

Next….the word of caution I hand out EVERY season: everyone who works on this web site is on twitter, we see what the pros tweet. I suck at facebook, so if it’s posted there I may miss it (Thanks, Karina). That said…give us a few minutes (20 or so) to post something before you come running to “scoop” us.  It’s terribly annoying when people do that. Believe it or not, it actually takes a few minutes to update this site. 🙂 If you find something out and it’s been half an hour and we haven’t posted it?? Scoop away. 🙂

Normally, I would give a larger word of caution such as: a pro saying they are “looking forward to” season 20 is NOT confirmation they have a celeb partner.  We need more than that. You’ll know it when you see it. 🙂

ETA: Ha! Vogue was right. Karina didn’t say she was out for the season. That doesn’t automatically mean she’s IN, mind you, but it’s not a sure thing. I removed the link to the other article.

ETA 2: Louis is very excited. :::sigh::: I could say so many things right now, but I will try to refrain. He’s sounding pretty confident.

ETA 3: Please note that “reached out to” does NOT equal “yes so and so is dancing this season”. From Vogue’s recent post we know the pros will be announced on Wednesday, February 11th.

ETA4: As we suspected and feared, Karina says she’s OUT. We will miss her terribly. 🙁

ETA5: Boy, Lizzie just can’t keep her pie hole shut can she?? Braggy…which works well with her clients, I guess. Calling Artem tentatively in. Would love to see him land in the troupe though.

ETA6: You be the judge…is Allison in??

ETA7: E Online is confirming both Mark and Val. Adding: According to Val’s twitter, he’s also announcing the new pros on GMA today. ~Vogue

ETA8: Is Peta IN? Another You be the judge!

The starting positions below are based on the individual pro’s status last season.

Male Pros
Val – IN
Tony – In until hell freezes or the wife says “no” (rumor)
Mark – IN via E Online
Artem – IN??
Keo – ??
Derek’s spot?

Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Peta – IN ??
Karina – OUT for Real
Emma – ??
Witney – ??
Allison – IN ??
Cheryl’s spot?

Former Pros, Status Unknown
Tyne Steckline – Likely Out
Gleb Savchenko – Likely Out
Tristan MacManus – Possible
Anna Trebunskaya – Possible
Louis Van Amstel – Possible
Kym Johnson – Possible
Lacey Schwimmer – Will she do DWTS BTS again?

Out for the Season
Derek Hough – Out for Celeb Partner, may be back for pro dance
Cheryl Burke – Likely out for good
Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Likely out for good
Karina Smirnoff – Possibly out for good

The Troupe
Lindsay Arnold – ??
Sasha Farber – ??
Henry Byalikov – ??
Jenna Johnson – ??

Super Troupers, Past
Oksana Dmytrenko
Kiki Nyemchek
Nicole Volynets
Ted Volynets
Dasha Chesnokova
Julian Tocker

Potential Future Troupers??
Armen Way
Serge Onik
Tanisha Belnap
Marcquet Hill