Dancing with the Stars Season 21 – PRO WATCH!!
Here we are again!! It’s about that time of year, folks.
And, as usual, the pros that I don’t want to be in, are already in. Or in Derek’s case….mostly in. ๐ ย He’s been telling fans in Meet and Greets that he’s likely going to be on but doesn’t want to confirm in case something happens to change that. DWTSGossip says that he did indeed say yes to this season – but as she correctly pointed out, he’s said no before and it turned into a yes. But, this is Derek’s life right now (many, MANY irons in the fire) – he’s not doing it for PR, he just doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Drives me crazy. ๐ ย I’ll be writing a blog soon on PureDerekHough.com about my Meet and Greet and how he answered a particular question I asked him that bodes very well for his future.
Val has also said he’ll be back and, as reigning champ, that’s no surprise. He also doesn’t seem to have the options that Derek does. I also will be curious to see how much they pimp and manipulate for him and his partner, now that he actually has a MBT. This could be one of the more interesting things about this season – if their behavior toward him changes, now that it’s mission accomplished. Someone please explain to me why Sharna or Emma don’t get the pimpage treatment?? Their social media accounts can’t touch the men’s, but still.
What about Mark? I expect him back as it helps his music career, and now his studio, for him to be on the show. I think it’s about time for him to have another shot at the MBT again – it’s not like he’s been handed ringers the past couple seasons (unlike some), he’s just been surprised and fortunate, like Derek has in the past. But I haven’t seen any talk from him on the matter.
Kinda bummed that, at this moment, I don’t see a spot for Sasha. But this could change, I guess. He’s certainly earned it, and we could use another humble pro.
I think most of the women that had a spot last year would like to be back, but there always seems to be more upheaval on the female pro side. No clue what’s going to happen there this season…other than the fact that Allison seems VERY SURE she’s back. Since she finished second, this is not surprising either. You’ll also notice that I have Kym Johnson as a no for this season in spite of other claims that the producers are “talking to Kym” about being a pro this season. She’s a judge on DWTS Australia which doesn’t end until 2 or 3 weeks AFTER DWTS US has started. Not sure who’s zooming who, here. ๐ This is one instance where you definitely can’t do both.
ETA: Apparently, Tony may be moving into Len’s judging position along with a new guy. This opens a very large hole in the male pro lineup – start praying for Sasha. Honestly don’t think I could handle the rampant narcissism coming from Henry these days. He beats all the pros hands down in the category of self love. ETA Again…now we’re not so sure on the Tony-as-judge thing, as mentioned in the comments.
The starting positions below are based on the individual pro’s status last season, except for Kym.
ETA: Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Karina is back, as well as Witney – and confirms that Val is back (kinda old news, but whatevs).ย Assuming all the other female pros are back from last season (sans Kym), looks like we won’t be seeing any promotions from the troupe.
LIVE BLOG for Pro Announcement tomorrow – watch this space.
7:30am – they haven’t teased it yet, that I’ve heard.
8:00 – first tease “Will Val be champ again? Will Derek come back??”
Damn, GMA pales in comparison to CBS This Morning. Just sayin’.
Spare me Val, you ain’t no heart throb.
Okay, that was pretty pathetic – I did like that they interviewed Derek and Witney though, in addition to the self proclaimed heart throbs.
I’m not going to call Tony, Keo and Emma as OUT just yet. Remembering what happened with Sharna not that long ago. Personally, I think they announce the pros now because of the fact that leaks were starting. Scroll down for the video.
Male Pros
Val – IN
Tony –ย ??
Mark – IN
Artem – IN
Keo – IN
Derek – IN
Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Peta – IN
Emma – IN
Witney – IN
Allison – IN
Karina – IN
Status of Former Pros
Gleb Savchenko –ย Strictly Come Dancing
Tristan MacManus –ย Strictly Come Dancing
Anna Trebunskaya – ??
Louis Van Amstel – ??
Kym Johnson – DWTS Australia
Lacey Schwimmer – Will she do DWTS BTS again?
Cheryl Burke – Out – committed to another network
Maksim Chmerkovskiy – retired
The Troupe
Lindsay Arnold – IN
Sasha Farber – IN
Henry Byalikov – OUT
Jenna Johnson – IN
Brittany Cherry – OUT
Alan Bersten – IN
Hayley Ebert – IN
New male troupe member – IN
*WOO HOO! One of my most favorite posts of the season. The new season is officially warming up now!!
I just want to say Mark is very close yes too based on some his tweets. He even offered tickets to the guy from Master Chef to be in the audience next season.
Where should I post some of the tweets that I am talking about?
Prays Karina gets the 6th spot for the Girls and Sasha is in instead of Keo or Tony.
Looking forward to your blog about the MLOT and the meet and greet. I would love to see Sasha rather than Keo. I don’t know why but I don’t connect with him.
@Angela – Normally I would say use the “contact us” link at the top of the page, but John/Charlie has been super busy lately and hasn’t really had time to check it. JUST THIS ONCE – you can post them in the comments. ๐
Given that (12) seems to be the magic number for couples each season, and assuming that all of the guys listed return – might we see a new female pro? If Karina continues her hiatus, then maybe this is the season that *cringe* Jenna moves up from troupe. She was originally supposed to be Antonio’s partner in season 19, until Cheryl decided at the last minute to come back for one final curtain call. And then Kym unexpectedly returned last season, which likely delayed Jenna’s promotion again. Unless they pull something out of left field and decide to either promote Brittany or bring in yet another completely new pro (I vote Tanisha), I thin she’s the next (wo)man up on the bench.
Also curious to me: will there be any fallout from Henry’s little diva fit last season? He was notably rather absent from the pro dances for a few weeks after that stunt last season, and he’s clearly not out on tour with the rest of the bunch. If so – will we see Paul Karmiryan finally make it to the troupe? I’d be ok with that. Just as long as we don’t end up with Serge “Gives Court a Serge of Nausea Everytime He Talks” Onik. We have enough pros drinking the Kool-Aid these days…
Okay thanks I’ll just post a couple. I think the tweets means Mark intends to be back and the only way he wouldn’t be back is if the producers don’t ask him back. Which I don’t see happening.
https://twitter.com/MarkBallas/status/624282217343283201
https://twitter.com/MarkBallas/status/616110743579025408 (This one I found the most intriguing because looks like the tweet was deleted, but the person said he should change his bio cuz dwts was not on and this was his reply)
I’m very curious to see who gets that last female pro spot (I’m guessing the male pros are the easiest to predict this season but I’m with you on the Sasha thing and hope he gets a shot a competing pro again hopefully in the spring season….I want to see one more season with Keo before I give up on him) so I’m crossing my fingers that it’s either Anna or karina or Jenna. I also have to wonder if we might get some new troupe members.
Sidenote: thanks for doing prowatch ๐ you guys rock!
I can’t imagine we would see Serge over someone like Paul. Can’t. Imagine. Paul showed up in Elastic Heart as I recall and wasn’t he on last year’s MOVE? That should give him a leg up, in addition to a much more memorable run on SYTYCD. And really, if Jenna gets a shot, we have enough of the FAM on board.
While I’m very tempted to change Mark to in, I generally need more than a pro’s assumption. That said…I assume he will be back too. But to update the post I need a bit more than an allusion.
So glad pro watch is back!! Based on how TPTB handled season 20 casting all DWTS people who were on the winter tour (minus Brooklyn and Paul since they were not DWTS cast at that point) were on the following season. That makes me think that everyone who is on tour right now will be back in some capacity.
I agree with everyone that I would LOVE to see Sasha as a pro this season and stick Keo in the troupe. In the Glamour article that was posted in another thread I found Rob’s answer to Glamour’s question about Jenna and Brittany moving up to pro to be very condescending. Rob talked about how the troupe is the best place for them to be to learn how to choreograph all of these new styles…very funny he says that yet he made Keo and Allison pros their first seasons and poor Sasha has been in the troupe all but one season.
Jenna would be a great pro I think. She is really bubbly and has been trained the same as Witney so I have high hopes for her choreo ability. I would love to see Karina back too…she has been talking about filming a movie…does anyone know if filming has wrapped or if it would interfere with the season?
I would love to see none of the troupe on season 21 as a pro. I would much rather see an old pro come back female or male. I hope Witney, Allison, and Emma are back for 21 as a pro.
I have a question. If Jenna is moved up to pro, do you think she will connect with the audience? On SYTYCD she had a hard time. But all the choreographers and judges loved her and Mary even said she was one of her favorite dancers of all time. She seems like she has an outgoing personality. What do you think? I know Whitney bottomed quiet often on SYTYCD but is resonating well after a few seasons of maturing with the troupe. Also, do you think the fact that Jenna is a brunette is helping her on dwts to get a spot? I mean do you think they would make Lindsay a pro again while having Wit there? 2 Utah blonde girls that are friends? I wonder if Jenna was blonde If TPTB wouldn’t promote her cause there would be too many blondes. Haha Idk maybe that’s just me thinking out loud. Also, these girls should thank SYTYCD bc it opened opportunity for them to get noticed by DWTS!
For the love of God.. NO JENNA please! I just can’t seem to like her..she’s got no spark or charisma. Too bland.
Instead bring LACEY …gosh i miss her energy (IF possible)! Do you guys think she’ll ever be back?
Also, NO KEO. Agree he’s a great dancer..but not a good choreographer or a teacher. He could’ve done so much with Charlotte or even Lolo…but he failed. After watching his live rehearsals with Charlotte…i totally get it why..so i hope he’s demoted to troupe next season!
SASHA deserves to be the pro, big time!!!
Would love to see Sasha as a male pro instead of Keo. I’m sorry, but he dissapointed me with his ability to learn others AND his choreography. I know, he hasn’t had the most talented partners, but still… Whose idea it was to make him a pro without even seeing how everything works? I think that being a part of the troupe gives you an awesome insight.
Derek is in… Last season I was literally screaming at my computer screen and jumping across my room out of happiness (because he said that he’s not coming back first) and my boyfriend asked me what the hell is wrong with me… ๐ But this season? After seeing how they treated Nastia last season… I have mixed feelings if they are worth his involvement in the show, because he has million other opportunities.
Still waiting for your blog, Miss Heidi ๐
Just heard new cast reveal will be on September 2 on GMA. Possible pro announcement ahead of that date. They are just about finished with the celebrity contestants.
Along with Tony and Keo, I am so bored with the current troupe with an exception to Sasha. I wish they’d bring in a whole new bunch and a couple of new faces for Pros too. I’d love to see Paul in the troupe.
And I like Julianne as a judge, but, girl is still a wicked dancer. She’s killing it on the Move tour this summer. I’d love to see her as a pro too, but, I know that’s an impossibility.
Yes margaret, WE KNOW – we talked about it here. #thisisnotnewinfo
I think they’ll give Keo another shot. At the tour stop, Val was the male dancer that elicited the most screams, hoots and what not from the female crowd. After that it was Keo. The ladies were going gaga for him.
He also had several bits where he came out, turned his butt toward the audience and showed off his heiney by shaking it and even bending over. The women went nuts. It was obvious it was scripted. I even felt embarrassed FOR him. You’re a trained ballroom dancer, not a Chippendale boy. His willingness to follow along and let TPTB make him into a sex symbol makes me think that they’re going to try and make him the next big thing.
If he’s back, he really needs to focus on teaching his celeb more technique and to really be there for her emotionally and mentally. This isn’t some anonymous student you teach in the studio for an hour a week. These celebs are living that hour ALL WEEK on camera and then performing on live TV in front of millions. He needs to step it up and be a stand up guy.
I would dearly love Pasha to be a male pro. They stole Artem from SCD, can they please steal lovely Pasha?
And hell yeah to Tanisha on the show. She just lights up the stage when she dances and seems to be a humble and kind person.
I’ve always said that Keo’s biggest issue is that he’s a performer first, a competitor second, and a teacher third – and he needs to switch the order up. He seems to be more concerned about putting on a show for the audience than actually teaching his celebs – so all of his routines seem to be all style and no substance, and he’s out by week 3. He REALLY needs to focus more on communication and figuring out how to verbalize what he wants his partners to do. We have enough beefcakey male pros that know how to remove their shirts and seduce the ladies in the audience – we need more good male TEACHERS.
I wouldn’t be so sure they’d give Keo another shot? He’s already had TWO shots and that’s more than Gleb got and Gleb was way better as a performer, teacher, and dancer(imo)and more likable.
Court, I agree. I’ve had enough of beefcakey pros. I want substance, really good choreo, and better teachers.
And please TPTB, no pimping, favoritisms, manipulations, and a “he/she hasn’t won before mindset”. Just let the show unfold for us and let the competition play out on it’s own.
While I do not subscribe to the Pee Wee Football(TM) mentality and think the whole “it’s so-and-so’s turn to win” bullsh*t, I would be totally ok if TPTB decided to throw Emma a bone this season and give her a contender…and I would probably be ok if they even pimped them a bit, too. She has put up with more challenging partners than any of the female pros we currently have – Bill E., Billy D., & Mike were all non-dancers, and Foo had an attitude problem. Sharna is probably a close second in the crappy partner race, but she at least got Charlie; Witney had one non-dancer (Chris), one decent dancer that was hard to control (Cody), and one amazing dancer (Alfonso); with the exception of Tommy (who really ended up being pretty decent), Peta has only had young, able-bodied partners. It really is a shame that the female pros do not get the same “propping up” we’ve seen TPTB undertake for some of the male pros – the only thing remotely close to a female pro getting actively pimped was William & Cheryl in season 14, but that seemed like it had more to do with keeping William fresh in viewers’ minds that it did promoting Cheryl. But I guess the female pros are not their “moneymakers” – the male pros are, because that’s who the viewers seem to gravitate towards. So I guess that leaves me with this question: is it partially the fault of the viewers that we see the male pros pimped and promoted, while the female pros don’t get the same attention?
@Courtney, Bill E., and Mike may have been non dancers, but they were both great guys, IMO and who knows how far Billy Dee would’ve been voted through had he not bowed out on his own. They all really let Emma drive the train and were rewarded with being there longer than expected. Foo’s only downfall, IMO was wanting to do his own thing.
I totally get your point of wanting Emma to have a “good” partner, so she can show her stuff from a choreography standpoint, but strictly from how things can be on this show specifically, she’s had some of the best partners, IMO.
I think Sharna may end up with a dud just because it seems to go back and forth with her. Relatively long run with Andy, first one out, semis with Charlie, Week 2 ouster, finals with Noah, …? Guess it all depends on who they cast.
I still think they will give Keo another chance because he brings diversity, especially since Cheryl is not on the show anymore. The professional dancers are basically either the Utah/SYTYCD set (Witney, Derek, Allison, Jenna, Lindsay, Alan) or the European Internationals (Val, Kym, Artem, Emma, Sharna, Tony, Peta, Sasha, Henry, Karina). Cheryl, Mark and Keo are the only ones that do not really fit the two categories. Many of the dance styles performed on the show originated in Latin America, however there are not any Latin American professional dancers on the show.
I also would like to see Emma get a contender.
They may have been “great guys”, CM, but I wouldn’t fool yourself into thinking that any of them would have given Emma a fighting chance at the MBT. I want her to have a CONTENDER. Someone she actually has a decent shot at winning with – all the other female pros have had one except her. Even Foo was not a stellar dancer, though some assumed he would be.
That’s a nice assumption, Meghan, but it’s one season isn’t enough to point to as solid evidence of anything. Pros are on the show based on available partners – if they don’t find a partner for, say, Keo, then he won’t be a pro, whether he was on the tour or not. I also think the driving force is backwards – they want pros who had partners to go on the tour, not pros who were on the tour to have partners. The audience for the show is MUCH bigger.
No, I don’t think Lacey will ever be back. But who knows?
I really, really want a serious contender for Emma. She totally deserves it and boy can she shake her money maker!! I’m not crazy for Jenna either but I do think there needs to be a “pro shake up”. It’s the same ol’, same ol’ every single season really. I also would love to see Kym back again. A spot for Sasha would be great too!
I did read the Glamour article and it was saying that Maks might be on again? Is this possible? I just can’t see that happening – he does have bad knees and he was adamant that he was never going to return. On the other hand, he just can’t stay away from the show and seems like a drifter these days with nothing going on in his life right now. I kind of really feel bad for him a bit… Anyway, maybe this is the producers way of stirring up drama for the show? Just wondering what you all think of that!! I personally think he won’t be back but what do I now?!
How about if they just don’t pimp anyone?? The show was a smashing success back in the day and I don’t recall any pimping to the level they go to now. In addition to blatant manipulation. You watch last season, then go back and watch something like season 5 or 6 and the difference is pretty striking. And so much of it is just the tone the judges set with a particular contestant, in addition to the length of the packages (in addition to the content). The most disgusting things I saw last season was the camera spying on Robert and Kym (what, is this fucking TMZ now????) and the treatment of Nastia that was then replayed multiple times – the former served to play to the disgusting shippers (waves to Jessica) and the latter served to tear down Rumer’s main competition quite effectively. How about if they give Emma a contender and just let it unfold…kinda like when Derek got Brooke Burke.
If you aren’t watching UNReal on Lifetime, you should be watching it. It mimics the Bachelor, but I think it’s hits close to home in some aspects of DWTS.
Vogue, from your mouth the Rob Wade’s ear.
We’ve talked before about the core viewership of the show being primarily female. Which probably has a lot to do with the male pros being the ones gifted with pimpage. What’s the typical age group of women who watch the show?
I’m guessing that it vears more toward the 30 to 50 age group. They must think we’re all starved to see hot male dancers as either sex objects or romantic fantasy partners.
Now don’t get me wrong, male dancers are beautiful to look at, but it seems like lately the show has gotten all Magic Miked up with regards to their male pros. Their’s nothing wrong with Magic Mike, I enjoyed watching it, but I don’t need to see it on DWTS?
Actually my top three favorite pros are females, Karina, Emma and Peta. Am I the odd duck?
Yes to Emma getting a wee bit of pimpage.
I think that’s part of the problem, Courtney. It’s hard to tell who might actually be a contender when they are pulling the cast together. It was assumed that Foo would be – but not so much, which was really surprising. Maybe they meant for him to be a contender for Emma and he let them down. By the same token, fans thought that Denise Richards was Brooke Burke reincarnated and were thrilled when Maks got her, while Derek got Lil’ Kim. Kim got fifth place, Denise was second one out. Then look at Kellie Pickler. Yeah, she was young and fit, but did anyone actually look at her when she was cast and expect her to win?? No, it was Zendaya.
All I’m saying is that there are really obvious ringers (nearly all of Val’s partners, Nicole, Meryl, Kristi, etc.) and those who you think may be good…or SHOULD be good, in Foo’s case. And there are surprises.
@ExerciseFan – I’m all for diversity amongst the pros – it’s good to have a diverse group that will appeal to a wide spectrum of fans. But here’s the issue I have: in the quest to “diversify” the group of pros, it’s important that TPTB are still trying to recruit pros that will actually be able to teach their partners. I think the mistake they might have made with Keo was not testing his teaching skills first – from what I can tell, he has only ever been a competitor or a performer; he doesn’t seem to have any experience with actually teaching students…and unfortunately, it shows. It’s a disservice to anyone that gets him as their pro – because he doesn’t really have a teaching skill set, he probably won’t able to help his partners really excel on the show until he really works on honing those skills. Cheryl may have been Asian and added some diversity to the group – but she was also an EXCELLENT teacher.
I know fans have been complaining about the “lack of diversity” amongst the pros for awhile – and there has been a particularly vocal group that has demanded a pro of African descent. But the unfortunate reality is that competitive ballroom is still not a very diverse sport – it’s far more popular in Europe and North America (and to a lesser degree, Australia) than it is in Africa, South America, or Asia. And when TPTB are trying to pull from the group that’s at the top of their craft – those that are current/former champions – there are woefully few that are of Asian or African descent, and there’s only some from Latin America. I would have LOVED it if they could have gotten Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine as a pro (he’s from Haiti, and he’s an American rhythm champion), but his interests right now lie more with competition than with teaching. Victor Fung is a standard champion that I would have loved to see on the show – but, like Emmanuel, his interests right now lie with competing, rather than teaching. Not sure what Jose DeCamps is up to these days, but he would have been a good choice if they were looking for a Latin-American pro. But I digress – the point I’m driving home: aim for diversity – but make sure you’re still getting pros that are at the top of their craft.
Do you think Keo was recommended by the pros who did Burn the Floor, so the producers kind of trusted the pros judgment in that regard because of how many of the other newer pros came from it?
@PH – In an ideal situation, there would be no pimpage. But call me petty, cause after seeing the great lengths they went to give Maks & Val a win, I would like to see some of the lady pros get some of the same love.
@CM – I think Keo was low-hanging fruit – he was part of the BTF group, and likely didn’t have much else going on. Thing is, though, all of the other BTF transplants still had to do at least a year in the troupe before they made pro – Peta, Tristan, Henry, Sasha, Emma, & Sharna all had to pay their dues first. Keo didn’t – and I think that was a mistake.
@Carrie M – I think the interview said something like “Maks said he’d only come back if Talluluah (Rumer’s sister) or her mom (Demi Moore) did the show!” And I think that’s just Maks being his typical, attention-whoring self. Who knows if he’s ever actually “done” or not – he’s pulled this sh*t so many times, and I think it’s just for attention. I don’t see Demi ever doing the show, and I don’t see DWTS casting Tallulah anytime soon. Full disclosure: Jessica at Glamour is a HUGE Maksyl shipper, and just seems to salivate at any Maks-related news. Would not be surprised if the response was an embellishment on her part, coupled with Maks being Maks the drama queen. I think he’s done, whether he wants to be or not.
But the female pros dance with MEN also, Susan2.
I don’t blame you Court. I’m just tired of the seemingly desperate need to manipulate this show to high heaven. They’re not even subtle about it any more – but then, maybe they don’t have to be cuz the audience appears pretty dumb. I still see Maksyl shippers saying, “What happened to Meryl on photos of him and Peta.” So ridiculous.
Keo is also very tall, which is a big point in his favor, sans Maks.
I would not be at all surprised to learn that Maks would only come back for a serious ringer.
My male list is Mark, Keo, Artem, Alan, Sasha and Henry. I know that my dream team isn’t going to happen but there it is. Derek is insanely talented & after the nasty way they treated Nastia last season, I cringe to see what the producers will do this season to try to keep Derek from the finals. These last seasons it’s been ‘Val must win at any cost’ but also its been ‘Derek must not win again!’ After last years Val pimpage, I wish he would take a season off. And Tony, well I just feel like he isn’t on the same level. I know Henry was a jerk last year. I know but I still feel bad for the guy. All these years on troupe with one shot at pro? I just feel like he should get another shot. Of everyone SASHA deserves a pro spot!! He was amazing last year pinch hitting for Derek. SASHAFORPROORWERIOT!!!
I’m with everyone else. No Serge!!! I don’t really have an opinion on Paul Kimryan but I loved Alan this season on troupe
For the females I would like Emma, Sharna, Witney, Karina…. As for the other spots..IDK. I guess Allison. Allison improved technique wise in S20 I think. I’m sure Peta will be back but honestly I’m getting a little bored with her. She is just all about lifts and sometimes that’s awesome but sometimes it gets a little old. I think that it’s probably a bad thing that Lindsey, Jenna, and Brittany in my opinion are not ready to be pros. I know Karina is probably 100% done and kudos to her. I don’t really miss Cheryl. I used to like Anna as a pro but listening to her on AfterBuzz makes me not want her back. I would like to see Cheyenne Murillo bumped to troupe. I thought she did great on Latin night. Please no Brooklyn.
I wish we could vote for the pros. You know, like we did that one season with Anna Demidova. Put Lindsey, Jenna, Tanisha, Brittany and everyone else in a head to head battle. Winner take all! Same with the males. It could be really cool.
I forgot to mention my most wished male pro……..TRISTAN!!! I know he is on Strictly but I miss him! When I watch old opening numbers on YouTube I see him and wish he was back. I don’t think we ever saw Tristan shirtless but we loved him. Take a lesson from that producers!!
I remember seeing an interview where Keo said that during his dwts “interview” the only thing they seemed to focus on was whether he was single or not. He said they asked him over and over and over and over again, are you sure you’re single. That made me wonder if when Gleb was being interviewed he was less open about having a wife and child, perhaps he wasn’t specifically asked and didn’t volunteer the info, but remember how a few weeks in to things with him people discovered he had a wife and child…? Maybe he rightly sensed that producers hope to be able to create the illusion of potential romance whenever possible, so he kept his personal live private, but in the end back fired so that he wasn’t asked back. Why else not ask back tall handsome great dancer? And from Vogue reports from dwtsRussia, apparently an exceptional choreographer as well.
@Courtney I really agree with everything you just said about the diversity aspect of pros. I couldn’t agree more that having pros with the ability to choreograph and handle the “stars” is the most important part. Also I think it is regularly overlooked that people like Emma, Sharna, Val, Peta, Tony, Artem, Sasha, Henry, etc. are all diverse too. I think people tend to overlook them as being diverse because they are “white” but they all come from different countries and backgrounds.
Onto a lighter note @PH I think you are really right about Keo’s advantage for being a pro again is his height. I think that might be a reason that Alan was brought in over Paul last season. Alan is close to Keo’s height, if not the same height, which offers him the possibility of moving up to pro if they need more tall guys. Plus I get a vibe that they are trying to make him into a “mini” Val.
It could maybe be a lack of TV experience for Keo, as well. He always seems like he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, so he goes over the top with everything like he’s too desperate to impress instead of just being himself.
@Meghan – This is very true – sometimes I feel like all white people get lumped into a category where everyone assumes that we all have the same story or come from the same background. But just look at how varied our pros’ life stories are: Emma grew up in England. Tony comes from a tumultuous eastern European country. Peta’s from New Zealand. Sasha is of Russian descent, but grew up in Australia. Mark & Derek are American, but spent a significant portion of their childhood in England. Lindsay & Witney have both gone on mission trips to 3rd world countries. Artem’s lived all over the place. We’ve all got such different stories to tell. So why get hung up on skin color?
I guess what bothers me most about the whole thing is that I’m starting to see accusations of racism lobbed at anyone who doesn’t just ADORE Keo (there’s a certain poster here that seems to crop up the minute anyone says anything not 100% complementary of Keo). I like Keo as a person – he seems good-natured and passionate about dancing, and seems to get along well with the other pros. Do I think his teaching skills could use some work? Of course, but I have also said the same thing about Artem and Witney. I think his teaching skills are weak because he hasn’t had a lot of teaching experience; not because he’s from Africa. I also think his shortcomings as a teacher are absolutely fixable, if he just works at it.
@jess – The fact that they seemed so hung-up on Keo being single sends up a lot of red flags to me – if I were Keo, I would feel a bit insulted that they didn’t seem to give a rip about my dance skills, competition record, personality, etc. I worry that in their minds, they only had two boxes to check off in their heads as far as Keo was concerned: a) black, b) single.
I honestly feel more excited about the pros than the celebs ๐ Kind of hope they bring back Lindsay rather than Jenna, if they were to promote someone from the troupe. Also, I think Keo could use a season or two on the troupe. He doesn’t really cut it as a pro to me. I agree with #Herbie, Tristan is definitely missed.
@courtney @princessheidi
Does you guys know much about the new Strictly guy, Giovanni Pernice. He is from Italy and he looks incredible. I think DWTS needs an Italian pro ?
@Courtney, thanks for your comments about diversity. Yes, I agree that the Pros should have teaching experience or should be in the troupe first. However, Allison did not have ballroom training and did not compete in actual ballroom competitions. I also agree there is diversity among Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics according to the country and/or region they are from.
Dance is diverse in different countries just like food. Most of the Latin dances originated in Latin America. So the skin color of the dancer would not matter (i.e. White Latinos and Black Latinos), just the country of origin. This is just my opinion, but I think it would add a different flavor or style to see an authentic Latin American ballroom dancer where it is part of his or her culture and background. For example, going to Italy for authentic Italian food instead of England.
However, I like all of the dancers on the show and I also think great dances and choreography is what matters most.
I Like the idea about voting in the Pros from the troupe.
I think they should put Keo in troupe and upgrade Sasha to pro. I was prepared not to like Snooki and Sasha made her seem more relatable and made her look good and bring out a side to her not many see. Keo had an athlete and a model and was still not really able to bring out the best in either one of them. I think Lolo had potential but Keo wasn’t strong enough partner to help her through a lot of her insecurities and she just didn’t look like she was having fun. Charlotte could’ve been good just based on her legs, but she didn’t put in the effort and he couldn’t reign her in and get her to get serious.
As for the female side, I wish they could somehow get Flavia Cacace from Strictly! I think she would fit in fine in terms of some creative choreography and she’s not a blonde. I’ll give Jenna a chance, but I’m not sure on her teaching abilities. She’s a phenomenal dancer, but not too sure on her teaching abilities. I’m fine with all the other female pros coming back though.
Maybe I’ve been living under a rock and this question has already been answered but whatever happened to Chelsie Hightower? Is she off the show for good or could she come back?
She was a victim of Conrad’s “oh I’m bored let’s cut a pro for no reason” itchy trigger finger kuuipo. With the emergence of Witney now I don’t see Chelsie getting back in anytime soon.
My problem with Keo is simply that I think he’s a poor teacher that gone thrown in to the deep end to fast considering how inexperienced he is teaching, choreographing and performing on live television. The fact that he was tall and SCD was offering him a pro spot at the same time was probably the reason why DWTS offered him pro straight away rather than send him to the troupe. To be honest SCD would have been a better environment for him, the pros get a lot more help if they need it and their would have been a lot less pressure on him to succeed. I don’t believe in the BS about his partners being duds. I absolutely guarantee that if Charlotte had any other male pro she would have done a lot better than how she did.
Saying all that I still think his spot is safe and I do believe that is due to both his skin colour and his height rather than his abilities as a pro unfortunately. The only change I see happening is either Jenna or Lindsay in for Kym and I think Jenna being brunette may seal the deal. I’m guessing one of the females that guest appeared last season will get the new female troupe spot like Brooklyn Fullmer or Cheyenne Murillo. Like I’ve said previously though I’ve got my fingers crossed that Paul goes in for Henry. Also I wouldn’t mind cutting Alan, honestly his shirtless selfies are worse than Henry’s now. So self centered and smarmy it’s unreal. I think he reckons he’s a big shot now he’s spending all summer on tour with Val and Artem.
@M8: Thanks for the info!
@M8 I’m not so fond of Alan either.
Thanks for the fun Pro Watch! Always a fun time in the comments ๐
As many have said, I kinda hope they sit Keo out this season. His teaching is just not doing it for me and I’ve gotten this cocky vibe from him lately (I am very close to unfollowing him on Instagram, tbh) that’s just annoying. Sasha, on the other hand, is such an awesome dancer and person… Such a shame he can’t be a bit taller. Has anyone perfected a growth potion of some sort for him yet? Still crossing my fingers they found a short lady for him. I have a whole list of short women if TPTB need.
On the subject of Jenna… I don’t really have any feelings towards her. Meaning I don’t really care if they bump her to pro or not. However, if they are going to make a troupe member a pro.. in my opinion, it should be Lindsay. As I said last season, I feel like Lindsay has evolved a lot since Season 16 when she was first a pro. I think she might do better a second time around and would love to see her get another shot — even if it means having quite the handful of blonde female dancers ๐
All I am gonna say is keo is a great teacher and he is still learning. Obviously some ppl didnot watch his n charlotte rehearsals. She was not motivated in interviews keo said he tried to push her cause he saw her potential but she broke down and he doesnot believe in yelling. I love all the pros much respect for them all. I know keo will be back haters gonna hate but he got a lot of supporters too
God, I’m so sick of the mindless “haters gonna hate”. It’s so simplistic and silly. No one here was “hating” on Keo – they were discussing their concerns about him. Grow up, people.
Steve #50, I’ve always loved Flavia and have watched many times her pro dances with Vincent on YouTube. I would be ecstatic if she Cha Cha’d over to DWTS but I don’t see it happening. It seems that they want younger new pros. The better to mold to whatever they see fit I suppose.
As Courtney mentioned, Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine as a pro on the show is a great idea. He’s an electrifying dancer to watch and his Mambo dancing makes me swoon like a young fan girl.
Victor Fung is so elegant and romantic. I would love to see him dance every week if he was a pro on the show, but he’s placed very high in the rankings with his current partner in Standard and I don’t see him abandoning that.
I freaking love Maurizio and Andra from pro Latin. Maurizio is very masculine and theatrical in his dancing. However, I can’t see him leaving active competitions to become a pro on the show.
With the recent retirement of several top ranked couples from pro Latin, he and his partner have a great chance of moving up.
Diversity in the pro line-up shouldn’t be at the expense of experience and teaching ability. Keo needs to step it up if he comes back as a pro.
Ditto Heidi! I don’t “hate” Keo in the least. After two tries (which is more than many others better than him have had), I just don’t think he’s cutting it as a Pro.
There needs to be a ”pro shake up” big time.. i’m tired of watching the same pros for like 3 seasons now.
They should bring some new faces, and kick out Tony/Keo and instead promote Sasha as the pro and bring Travis Wall/Twitch from SYTYCD.
Steve #50 and Susan #58 – I can’t stand Flavia on Strictly, but I’d be interested to see her Tango’d her way to DWTS. To think about it, I actually enjoyed her performances with Vincent (they totally had the best chemistry in dancing than any other pairings on Strictly ever), I just disliked her as a pro. And I miss them performing together. I know the chance is super slim but I’m looking forward to it. Same with Iveta.
About Keo, don’t care about him at all now. He’s a terrific performer (I LOVE it when he’s doing the bumpers) but I agree he’s limited as a teacher. I still would like to see what he’s capable of with a better celeb though; Kristina from Strictly got duds over and over on her earlier years, but once she was paired with Jason Donovan? Bam. Fantastic choreography one after another.
DWTSFan #50, if the show hired Travis Wall or Twitch I’m afraid that would be the end of the road for me. I don’t want to watch So You Think You Can Dance With The Stars. I want to see ballroom dancing with ballroom dancers teaching it.
HAHA I’m sorry #60, I love Twitch and Travis but DWTS is so far out of their wheelhouse, even farther than Allison. But imagining them as pros is making me laugh so hard, so thanks for that ๐ They probably wouldn’t be interested anyway. Or is that not what you meant and I misunderstood (sorry if so).
#60 – I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you about tWitch. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE the guy and I act like a lovesick school girl when’s he’s on TV but he is SO not DWTS material. It would be worse than his wife! But like I said – I ADORE him and his more urban flair.
As for Travis? Not feeling that either. But everyone has an opinion and that’s good!! ๐
#63 @Floppy. Well i agree Travis/Twitch wouldn’t be interested doing DWTS.
But if they ever do DWTS …i think they can choreograph proper ballroom routines as well with great creativity, like Allison did with Riker. These guys are very talented and creative (a lot more than some of DWTS’s boring pros like Tony/Keo etc, IMO).
The Pirates Paso that Allison choreographed was IMO one of the best paso on DWTS ..such a creative concept!
Twitch doesn’t choreograph in his own style, what makes you think he could choreograph ballroom?? Travis? Maybe, but I doubt it. Allison at least trained – Travis never has, and his contemporary choreo is spotty. AND I have to vote a very loud NO on any more non-ballroom dancers on this show.
Again, DWTSFan – you confuse choreo and concept. Was Allison’s concept good? Yes, very. Her choreo?? Pretty standard. And she still has a ways to go as a teacher. Riker was gifted…and a Hough. And a ballroom trained dancer. Not much of a stretch for her there.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But how many of you voicing your “concerns about keo” watched his interviews and saw all his and charlottes all access rehearsals? And how many have read charlottes interviews. All I am saying and I would say the same thing for any pro. You have to have the whole story first.
How arrogant of you to assume that we don’t have the whole story, denise. Because we disagree with you we must be uninformed? How charming. Not.
You are right about one thing – we are entitled to our opinion. Instead of making baseless assumptions, how about you state your actual case for why we are wrong?? Or can you not?
ETA: and your follow up was just stupid. You’re entitled to your opinion, but you aren’t free to post whatever you want here.
Denise, you don’t think we have the whole story? lol Sorry…but, I saw Keo and Charlotte’s all access rehearsals and I still feel the same about Keo and that he can’t teach (despite how Charlotte could be at times too). You need to get over it. Not everyone is going to agree that Keo is all that like you do.
If it’s not worth the bother, then why bother to post again and again? Get over it and move on.
Yes, it’s very obvious you just started posting. :::rolls eyes::: I asked you a question, dear – can you not answer it?? Or only ask questions that we’ve already answered?
I like twitch but at the most is only want to see him as a special guest performer or something like that. As for Travis……the less I see of him the better lol. Don’t get me wrong he is super talented but something about him makes me want to change the channel 80 percent of the time.
I agree with lots of you. No more non ballroom pros. The technique isn’t just something you can take a crash course in IMO. It’s an ease and precision that’s noticeable. Allison is good but she sticks out. She just does, especially in the group numbers. There is an awkwardness or something. There was a pass with her and Alan on Latin night opening number. I watched her then I watched Witney with Artem. Noticeably different.
I agree with PH above. With Ryker Alison looked better because he already knew A LOT. The paso was good but not extraordinarily original. Good song, good costuming, popular Latin style. Audience generally loves a paso. It wasn’t just that Allison did good choreo. If that song had been Mark & Willow I bet it would have been epic. Just my opinion.
I’m all for non ballroom people choreographing opening numbers & stuff and I hope we get more variety & less grinding & hair flipping but when it comes to the celebs & competition it’s unfair to give someone a non ballroom pro and then let the judges trash them.
This is why I get all bent out of shape sometimes about how ballroom technique is dismissed as not as important as contemporary, ballet or good grief, even hip hop.
Developing good ballroom technique takes years and many, many hours taking class after class. Much like you have to take at least three to fours years of ballet classes before a teacher will put you on pointe.
It takes that long for muscle memory to kick in and become automatic enough that you can start working on the artistry within your technique.
You can’t just take a few classes and bada boom, bada bing, you’re a ballroom dancer! I would’nt expect a trained ballet or ballroom dancer to take a few classes and then dance like Twitch or Tabitha, and vice versa.
In my opinion, I think Allison is slowly improving on DWTS. I do applaud her efforts to try and improve her understanding of ballroom technique, but it’s a slow, not overnight process.
The best Paso on the show is of course an objective thing, but seriously, take a look at Derek’s 50’s Paso with Nicole. Technical, entertaining, flawless and perfect.
Just a question. Why aren’t you guys connecting with Jenna? What does she have to do for people to connect with her more? She faced this prob on SYTYCD sooooo much. But the judges and choreographers loved her. I feel the fellow pros love her cause she seems super chummy with them. And I feel TPTB like her too cause they always use her. Also, do you guys think Alan was chosen over Paul because she is more muscular and hot and sexy looking? Paul is more cute charming Disney boy (worked brilliantly on SYTYCD with teens) and Alan is more hot, sexy, confident swagger-mini Val.. And TPTB like that?
And also anyone else find it interesting that TPTB take literally any contestant that makes top 12 on to DWTS troupe but I mean like really.. Theres like 6 of them currently on th show ( Linds Britt Alan Allison witney Jenna). It’s like their #1 scouting place haha. Well that bodes well for SYTYCD kids, all they gotta do is make Top 12 and tour and all of a sudden BOOM they’re on DWTS?
Sure you can’t teach someone who doesn’t want to learn, but at the same time, if you’re a celeb and you are afraid of making a fool of yourself and somehow you just aren’t getting it I think you could shut down and then it appears you don’t care. An experienced and good teacher would have the ability to teach in the way the student needs. Oh, I see that this way isn’t working, lets try a different way…
The very sad thing for me as one who was so excited about Keo to begin with, which seemed to be the common feeling about him before and after his first season, and it seems that live access ruined the feelings for more than just me, is that tptb rushed him into a situation so far over his head it wasn’t funny, if he’d gone to the troupe first to have a chance to get over his star struck feelings of being on tv, and see how hard it is to be a teaching pro, and be involved in some of that, I wonder how much different it could have been for him.
TPTB shouldn’t be so quick to like the Alan-Val type over the Paul type. Look how Derek turned out. Look how Val hasn’t really turned out.
I think it’s more likely that Paul had other things going on. He seems to be busy, from his twitter account.
Well, Kassie, four of the troupe you mentioned were also well connected to either Derek and/or Mark. Therefore they are likely known in the dance/ballroom community. So, they get on the show. But it does help that they have live TV experience. Since SYTYCD is one big audition for the dance world, no I don’t find it interesting or surprising. It’s quite natural. The whole point of SYTYCD is to bring attention to/celebrate dance….and get a bunch of dancers jobs.
Exactly, Jess.
And I remember what he said on camera the first time he was eliminated. Instead of talking about his partner he was all about “This was my chance to show myself on TV” or some such self-centered thing. He needs to mature beyond that. If he’s always thinking about himself (and that showed that he was), then he can’t be a good teacher.
Maybe height played into it? Alan seems pretty tall and buff. Paul doesn’t look that tall. Although I don’t know what his actual height is. But if he’s short maybe tptb didn’t want a repeat of the whole Sasha height thing? Btw guys how tall is mark? I read online he’s 5’6 but not sure how accurate that is.
Mark’s 5’8 – I don’t know who is trying to make him shorter. ๐ Sasha might be 5’6″.
I don’t know that height would matter in the troupe.
speaking of the height….how tall’s Val actually? I can’t find it anywhere. I always thought that he’s the same height as Derek but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen them standing exactly next to each other.
They’re about the same height, Lucie, although I’ve seen some pages – I think his Wiki page – trying to claim Val is 6 ft. No, don’t think so. The only time he’s that much taller than Derek is when Derek’s in bare feet. ๐
I am so with you, Miss Heidi. I’d rather have Derek/Mark,Paul K type versus the Val/Alan muscle type any time. Derek, Mark, and Paul are more creative.
And this new video with Paul is so cool (choreo by Niki Kljun)…
I don’t remember the name but the guy that turned down the spot on sytycd this season could be really good for the troupe.
The pros I really want and care about being back are. Derek, Mark, Val and Artem; Peta, Sharna, Witney and Emma.
I can do without Keo, Tony and to be honest Alison just doesn’t grab me though I loved what she did with Riker.
Would love Sasha to get a partner and would love Karina or Kym though both seem unlikely. One new pro a season is always interesting so. I hope there’s at least one.
If there are ringers Up for grabs, I vote for Artem and Mark from the guys or Emma and Sharna from the women to get them.
Wow I loved that concept video with Paul! So creative:)! We definitely need creative pros! And Paul can choreograph right? He helped nappy tabs choreograph thinking out loud in the behind the scenes video. And he’s bff with Brittany and seems to have a LOT of friends from sytycd and dwts. Only thing is.. I remember on sytycd he never did standard before when he was doing the Viennese waltz? Unless he has learned since then- probably. He’s not as sharp as Alan in technique if that matters too. But he is cross trained.
Also, allison may not have much ballroom technique or training, but some pros like Val or tony don’t have contemporary training to choreograph proper contemporary?? If it matters that they make a proper contemporary on dwts? Most are just lifts I feel. That’s why I get so stoked when Derek and Allison choreograph a proper contemp. But DWTS is a mostly ballroom show, so I totally see what people mean
I really want Karina and Cheryl to come back.. They were everything!!! Definitely break out stars from dwts in Hollywood and moved on to great stuff. Tons of charisma. I miss Julianne too as a pro. Those three and witney in my opinion just have this IT factor and are very likable among casual viewers and made the show.. The show!
#86 Vin his name is Denys Drozdyuk he was the winner of season 3 of sytycd canada he went to Julliard and trained in both ballroom and modern dance so definitely a perfect fit for the show troupe to start than becoming a pro in a season or 2
The “Pirates” paso was another case of DWTS going to the Maxim Kozhevnikov/Yulia Zagoruychenko well and paying homage, if you will. Derek/julianne’s The Mask quickstep, Mark and Chelsea’s 2nd samba are two others that come to mind that borrow heavily from M&Y’s show dance concepts. I can’t imagine Alison came up with it on her own…
if allison is going to be a pro, can she be an all star on sytycd this year? in one of the interviews she said she might be dancing with one of the contestants soon, implying shes probably going to be an allstar. i wonder how strict the contract is?
also i wouldnt be suprised if jenna is an allstar on sytycd this year. producers loved her and shes their go to ballroom girl now, although witney was the go to ballroom girl on season 10 so it could be either.
how exactly does the contract thing work?
Shelby, stick to one user name, ok? Also, did you read Miss Heidi’s first post? She already posted about Allison and that she’s “in” with a link to an interview that was done at the same time as the interview link you left. And btw, don’t post links in comments. Send them to our Contact Us link instead. Thanks.
The DWTS producers have to give permission for the pros to be on SYTYCD in any capacity. Nigel straight up said that the reason Derek has never been on is because the producers won’t let him. But it clearly varies by pro, because they let Mark choreograph a dance a couple seasons ago – then Nigel totally hosed him. Nigel had to beg DWTS to let Allison dance last summer – can’t remember what the event was.
So, that’s apparently how it works. DWTS decides if the pro can do it or not. And their big name pro will likely NEVER be on SYTYCD – if he is on there, it will be because his DWTS contract has run out. Allison? I suspect they’ll let her, since that’s where she started.
@KJ – While Maks & Yulia were great, not every routine on the show is derivative from something they’ve done – and I think you’re selling Allison short by claiming you “can’t imagine she came up with it on her own”. It was a paso doble to a song from Pirates of the Caribbean during Disney week. It was a no-brainer that she & Riker were going to dress up like characters from the movie. You really think she had to turn to a former pro Latin couple to get inspiration for that???
Yeah, I think Allison’s routine was pretty obvious – and well done. As for Derek/Julianne’s the Mask? I can’t for the life of me figure out what you’re talking about. What dance is that? Clearly, it made no impact on me.
Heidi, I am thinking KJ is referring to Hey Pachuco.
Here’s the thing about “Hey Pachuco” – it was used in the movie The Mask, kind of like how “He’s a Pirate” was used in Pirates of the Caribbean – so again, it’s not a stretch to think that someone might use the theme of The Mask if they’re using that song. Again, Yulia Zagoruychenko did not invent the idea of dances done to songs from Pirates of the Caribbean and The Mask, no matter how much some may worship her and think she was the first to do pretty much everything. Besides, Maks & Yulia’s version was a combination of a bunch of different dances – a little quickstep, some jive, some stunts, etc. It’s certainly not like Julianne copied the choreography step-for-step. Now Mark and the samba with Chelsea to “The Beat” – he actually seemed to copy whole sections of choreography from Maks & Yulia’s routine, and I recall even calling him out on it here. But there’s a big difference between simply using the same song and same theme, and copying choreography step for step. You can’t copyright a theme and music – but you can claim copyright on choreography.
What confused me was the use of “Derek/Julianne” as if they had danced it together instead of choreographing two completely separate dances. Don’t know about Julianne’s, but to claim Derek’s with Shawn borrowed anything from anyone is pretty ludicrous.
Seriously, if all it takes is the same song for people to claim borrowing, then everyone in the world is guilty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KE6us-VwNI
2:37
Allison’s in.
Peter, WE ALREADY HAVE ALLISON AS “IN”. Don’t be the asshat that a) doesn’t read the post and b) posts links in the comments. First and last warning – next time you go on moderation.
I hope that mark ballas. Derek hough Val tony. Come back along with. The girls Emma peta Karina. Sharna. And. Allison. Come. Back for season 21 dwts
I don’t mind Allison coming back and to be honest, she came second last season…I just had a pretty good feeling they would bring her back after that.
What I do hope to see from her is how she does with someone who’s not a Riker…no ballroom experience and not a “Hough”. We’ll have to see!
I don’t know how I feel about Derek coming back as a pro because there’s so many people who say they’re tired of him and don’t want him to win because he’s won 5 times, and that alone gives them reason to not vote for him. It’s unfair but it is how it is.
The show is not the same as it used to be, but it’s still entertaining and I look forward to each season!
Carla, I can’t imagine that there are “so many people” who are “tired” of Derek! He is the main reason that many people keep tuning into the show – just to see what he will come up with for whoever his dance partner is. I do want him and all the pros to be treated fairly by the judges and hope for an agenda-free (if that is possible) judges table this year.
I agree, nl! I’m not tired of Derek in the least. He’s what the show is about imo and it’s not the same without him. I know a lot MORE people who feel the same versus those who don’t. Those who don’t are most likely Maks and Val fans and they have huge jealousy issues.
Derek and Julianne just did a 50+ show summer tour on just their two names – and it was 95% or higher sold in theaters much larger a lot of the time than what DWTS Tour did. That is huge. Derek was also the star of NYSS at Radio City, and it sold out nearly all the weekend shows.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that the only people tired of Derek are die hard fans of other pros. Derek makes the finale a LARGE chunk of the time and has only finished as low as 6th ONCE, in his second season. Yeah, so not tired. They may not want him to win every time, but there’s a lot of landscape between winning and being “tired of him”. It’s a mistake to think of internet noise as representative of the audience as a whole.
+1 Miss Heidi!!!
Some other perspective on Derek: look at how far TPTB had to go in order to keep Nastia & Derek out of last season’s finale – they had to give Nastia the most unflattering edit ever, and replay it several times. If people were really and truly tired of Derek, I’m guessing TPTB wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to oust Nastia.
Have you guys been paying attention to all this chatter (rumors) today that Tony is going to be a judge to replace Len? I’m very worried.
@Floppy – No, because it’s just that: chatter. From the fans. Not any sort of official source. We reported on it here, but all it was was Tony saying he’d love to judge if asked. You’re working yourself up over nothing.
I agree. Derek is a huge name and fan favorite. Hence why He got nominated for a TCA! Along with twitch and Allison and Chloe and maddie. They are the dancers with fan bases who are relatable and people will follow and like. They have a big social media following and I’m not surprised his tour was so successful. A lot of the public audience love him. A lot of my friends who are casual viewers really like him too and aren’t so much a fan of the dramatic pros
Do you know when the Pro’s will meet their partners? Am I correct in guessing it will be about a week before the GMA announcement?
On the top of my wishlist for DWTS Season 21 is for Emma to get a partner that can take her to the finals, for Sasha to be pro again, and for Derek to take over for Mandy Moore and choreograph all the pro openers an/or just all the pro dances and NOT compete (if he is contracted one more season).
I don’t have a strong desire for any current male pro to come back, but I do have a strong desire for who I don’t want to come back and that includes Val, Tony, Henry. The pimping of Val and Rumer last season was just as ridiculous as the season of Maks and Meryl. Just tired of the manipulations of TPTB and the entitlement/arrogance of these pros. Plus Val starting twitter shit with Derek the other day just made me disgusted with him even more.
I would love to see Paul Karmiryan either join the troupe regularly or even be given a pro spot. I think he would be interesting and fun to watch if paired with a female teen celeb.
My wishlist for the female pros is much easier because I enjoy watching most of them with my fave being Emma. Would love to see Emma, Allison, Witney, Sharna back. Kym appears to be out because of other obligations. I always loved Karina, so would be happy if she ever returned.
FYI, I watch the show mainly for Derek though and I only vote because of Derek. I was very turned off by how the show treated Derek and Nastia last season, knowing their grueling bi-coastal schedules and adding to that Derek’s horrible injury. There was just a complete lack of respect towards someone who worked her ass off with so many challenges and someone who is just so faithfully loyal to the show. However, if Derek has one more season to fulfill his contract, I will continue to support him as much as I can. Sigh….
Does anyone know if they have ever talked to Armen Way? Some of the stuff I have seen of his on YouTube has been pretty awesome. He seems like he would have the ability to choreograph ballroom but a lot of other genres.
@herbie – Armen has the same problem Sasha has: he’s too short to be of much use on DWTS. I doubt they’ve talked to him, as he would basically be another Sasha…and they’re already having problems finding things for Sasha to do.
Im honestly just excited for the show to come back on! I attended the last DWTS tour show and Peta was in a lot of pain while dancing the few numbers she did do and it was obvious. I was really close to the stage and I’ve watched DWTS enough to know the difference between her ballroom face and a look of discomfort so I really hope she’s well for the show!
I’m really excited for Witney she’s by far my absolute favorite (since SYTYCD) and I just wanna see her on the floor with an older guy I like her best when she’s being more of a guide to her partners like all last season with Chris!
I would really like to see Lindsay given another chance at Pro! The two seasons did wonderful for Witney on Troupe and these past few Seasons Lindsay has really grown being apart of the Troupe.
I’m not really a Jenna fan I just can’t connect with her. When watching her dance I just get this false sense of enjoyment like maybe she’s trying to connect too much with the audience and not who she’s partnering.
I’m ready for Emma to show us what she really has watching her on tour this summer has really opened my eyes to how amazing she is.
I was a fan of Henry for a while until season 19 I felt he had a sense of arrogance about him that didn’t sit well with me. And the whole Nastia and Derek thing kinda bothered me.
I’d like to see Tristan or Anna back in the ballroom. I liked them a lot.
One thing I’d like to change though is the negativity that the show brings out of people. I remember being like 12 years old and watching the first season with my Nan every week and it was awesome but now I feel like some how social media has turned that around. My Nan doesn’t even watch it even more and I just want the old feeling of DWTS to come back if only just a little.
I never heard of this new guy from South Africa. Apparently not many others have either, when I looked at twitter he had 997 followers. I hope he is good and doesn’t have an agenda, IOW, like Carrie Ann who will score high because she likes a celeb male’s ass. WTH? Not too thrilled with Tony as a judge. He will be partial to Val, Artem, Peta, Sharna. The are all considered “fam.” However, I would rather have Tony, than Maks. Maks is another pro who is in competition with Henry as far as self love goes. I guess since he is dating Peta, has a brother and best friend, not to mention other pros as “fam” he wasn’t even considered to be a judge. I would have liked to have seen Shirley Ballas or Corky Ballas as a judge. They are hands down more qualified than any of the pro dancers. I guess I am guilty of taking DWTS too seriously, just need to chill and go with the flow. It’s not changing my life anyway.
Don’t Artem and Keo have injuries too? Artem missed like 14 shows and was only doing a few of his numbers when he returned. Keo also missed a few shows due to his ankle. I don’t see any of them, not even Peta, sitting out
Henry…..as long as he doesn’t suddenly become like maks and refer to himself as sex on a stick (I think that was it lol)…….I can tolerate him lol.
I totally agree with you richie! show has lost a lot of its positivity.
I agree with Richie and Jody. DWTS has lost a lot of its positivity, and while the explosion of social media has played a part, I largely blame TPTB for it. There’s a mean-spiritedness lately in their video edits and in the curve balls they throw at the couples, not to mention the pimping of certain pros and the sabotaging of others all in the name of creating drama and to ensure their larger agenda is met.
If Tony is, indeed, a new judge (gag), they really need to replace him with another tall pro. So I still don’t see much of an opening for Sasha, which breaks my heart. However, maybe, just maybe, they have a petite celeb signed up this season that will be perfect for Sasha, and they can get a tall pro next season.
No, no, no to Henry the Narcissist. He showed his true colors, and I don’t need to see anymore of him.
Tony as a judge? I would rather they beg Len to come back. In my opinion, that would not be a good move.
While I do find social media a bit to blame for the tone the show has taken, I’m with Cidra in blaming the producers. But I also put a LOT of the blame on Maks/Meryl and Val/Janel and their respective showmances. It’s like the producers saw what lemmings some of the audience became for a romance and decided that they needed to play that aspect up more to keep those viewers interested (and to keep them tweeting). Hence the stealth cam of Kym and Robert – which is one of the most disgusting and ridiculous things I’ve ever seen on this show. They NEVER used to do shit like that.
I think that Maks and Val also saw how popular that was with the audience (dating back to Mel B, even) and decided that in order to win, they needed to play up that angle. They can’t compete on choreo and feel Derek and Mark breathing down their necks all the time, so use what you have. Problem is, unlike creativity, you can only go to that well once or twice before people realize you’re full of shit.
I’m really not keen on the idea of Tony as a judge but if he is, please DWTS do not let Henry be a pro! I had to unfollow him on instagram after his “you should be kissed by someone who knows how” (or sth similar) and his several photographs of him auditioning for something like a Christian Grey’s role.
If Tony is not a pro I would really like to see Tristan back but since he’s on Strictly, I’m all in for Sasha! He did an amazing job with Snooki and I loved how he worked with Nastia and Derek so I think he deserves another chance.
Yes. I am more and more disheartened with the show after the M&M ludicrous showmance that ran over all the other contestants during that season. It left such a bitter taste to my mouth that I could barely watch it now. It also completely changed my perception of Meryl Davis(not that I was a fan of her but I did like her skating)and I just can not stand Maks. Never did and never had.
Please Mark Ballas, come back and become a 3x MBT Winner…!!!…
It appears that Karina is coming back for this next season. It was reported by Entertainment Weekly and she is quoted in the article. I am not sure where I can send the article for you.
Yes, we have the article posted – gonna start getting irritated pretty quickly if people continue to tell us about the article…
I am so happy that Karina is returning. She’s always been my favorite pro and an inspiration. I hope she’s more lucky this time than her last two seasons.
I’m SO happy that Karina is coming back! I definitely missed last season without her even though I was so excited to see Kym again
Is Peta going to be able to dance? If not, I think that’s where we’ll see a promotion, unless something goes really weird.
Yes! Love Witney and Karina are back for season 21.Cant’ wait to see who they get paired with. If Kym could not do this season glad Karina came back.
YAY Karina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Double-YAY for Bruno and not Tony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Forgive me, ashley – it’s been a rough morning at the office and I am HANGRY. Gonna excuse myself to go get lunch now…:-)
So excited to have Karina back!
So excited about Karina! I really missed seeing her dance last season AND she knows how to actually teach celebs. Pretty funny to see fam stans losing their shit over “QUEEN JENNA” possibly staying in the troupe another season. Hate to break it to you kids but Karina can dance circles around Jenna.
@ DLT, I think Karina could dance circles around most people on the show (not to be bias or anything) LOL
I still maintain that, technique-wise, Karina is the best dancer ever to do the show, male or female. MILES ahead of all the other female pros.
YAY! I’m so happy Karina will be back! WOO HOO!!!
I agree, Karina, technique-wise is the best dancer and I also think here choreo/teaching has definitely improved over the past 7 or 8 seasons too.
Obviously, Derek is the best choreographer/teacher on the show, with Mark and Sharna (and even Emma) behind him but I do love Karina’s choreo when she has the right partner (Ralph, Corbin, JR)
Very happy to have Karina back! Also, since some sources have said in the past few days that they are pretty sure Tony’s going to be a judge, unless something changed which is completely possible, I wonder if Tony’s going to be a judge and Michael a pro? Although, Tony’s golf therapy instagram pic from a few days ago could be pretty telling if he is indeed not a judge this season after all.
I highly doubt that Tony got the judging job.
Made my day to learn that Karina will be back!
The news of Karina coming back just made my day. She’s always been one of my favorite pros and season 20 seemed weird without her.
Maks and Val are not helped when their friends take to social media to harass the show for not catering to the clan members. Their new buddy JT Simon is giving the show grief now for Jenna not making pro.
Yes, Karina is the best dancer ever on the show, and so far ahead of everyone else, especially the females. But not only do I adore her technique and choreography, I just like her personally as well. I also know my boyfriend will be thrilled, haha.
Never thought I’d be hoping for word that Tony is a pro, but the alternative – him as a judge – would just be too icky for words. Even better would be him feeling slighted and deciding not to come back after the judge rejection. Let him do All-Access or something for those that really enjoy seeing him.
Karina is back? Gosh! I can’t stand her..i find her obnoxious and overrated. And i hate her duck lips too..yikes! I would’ve been so happy if LACEY came back instead! TO ME, the best female pro was/is/will always be CHERYL! I miss her energy ..but she has done so much for herself now and raced ahead of her contemporaries.
Anyways, i hope DWTS don’t pimp her cause she came back like Maks.
You guys are hilarious with your comments to the possibility of Tony becoming judge! ๐ My fingers are crossed as well that doesn’t happen ๐
Glad to see Karina back too..
I am THRILLED that Karina is back. I prefer her over Kym and pretty much any other girl Pro. Jenna is too immature but that obviously isn’t stopping some male pros from making the show.
I’m sick of all this judges crap. There is too much emphasis on them anyway… just pick them and let’s move on
Well, DWTSFan, I hate your attitude, so I guess it all evens out in the end.
Thank you for that Court. I was biting my tongue so hard I almost drew blood.
+1 Court!!
*dies after screaming endlessly at Karina coming back*
Holy shit. Best news ever, even better than when Kym was coming back (no Kym I love you too!). Of course then TPTB will gave her someone far from being talented now. But whatever, she’s coming back! And my bias towards her aside, I agree with Courtney, I really think Karina is the best dancer, technique-wise, to ever do the show. Go ahead, sue me.
Kinda OOT but I love to be guaranteed seeing a dark-haired female pro this season (other than Sharna), especially on female pro dances (sick of seeing sea of blondes tbh).
Thank you so much for these updates! Love Karina is back, such a gorgeous dancer. And hopefully that means no Tony as judge with Bruno back.
Amanda, the same source that said that about Tony retracted it the next day – I think that was DWTSGossip. I’ve lost track. My sense is that the situation is fluid or there was a misunderstanding.
The sense of entitlement that some of these douche bags have is unbelievable. What on EARTH makes anyone on the show believe that one of their little friends deserves to be made a pro on this show?? I mean, really.
Beyond happy to have Katrina back!
If all pros are announced can one assume all their celebrities have been determined?
Ugh. Karina is back. It was nice not having her last season.
And I hope keo gets moved down to troupe. He needs to learn the show a little more and step Sasha up.
Erin dropped out of a speaking engagement today due to the DWTS taping schedule so I guess that’s confirmation she’s back. I thought TPTB might replace her with Melissa after she just did the tour.
Wow, this season is already full of surprises and what a nice surpise to have Karina back! I love her! I really prefer having her back as pro to someone being promoted from Troupe ๐ We never know what the (former) pros and producers are up to, so maybe one day Cheryl will also be back-that would be great!
I heard Melissa was not that great – Erin was never in danger, IMO.
In my opinion, Karina is the best dancesport dancer ever to be a pro on the show. I’m praying to the dance Gods that she’ll be confirmed as a pro this upcoming season.
I’m super excited about the pro reveal tommorow on GMA. I’m astonished at the excitement I feel for this show so many seasons after I started watching it.
Woohoo!!! ๐
Susan2 – Karina announced it on social media that she is in fact, returning. I’m very happy!
PH – as hard as I was on Erin at first, and as much as her voice still irritates me, she’s definitely improved as the co-host over the past season, and I’m sure much of that has to do with her comfort level in front of the camera. Melissa seems nice enough and smiles a lot, but I never got the vibe that she’d be able to run with a live show quite so well.
Ditto Court #150, Cidra #151 and Vogue #152!
I have to wonder though: now that Katrina is back does that mean no kym in the spring?
*(Sorry for length)* I agree that the overall tone of the show has taken a turn for the worse since the rise of social media. There’s nothing wrong with friendly competiton amongst pros but in no way is it professional to trash peers, celeb competitors & even ex-partners (looking at you, Val) who call you out for being fake in front of millions like so many do. I do blame the producers for turning this into a show that now exclusively caters to the pros’ egos & thirst for fame. Let’s face it, nobody cares much about the “stars” anymore & we’ve reached the point where a lot of the seasoned pros have larger fan bases than the celebs. Perfect example = Val & Rumer. At the time of the S20 cast announcement Rumer had HALF (if that) the IG followers Val had. Val’s followers literally doubled from his partnership with Janel (who had like 5x what he had at their start), yet even now after their “win” he STILL has more followers than Rumer. In catering to these fools, the producers resort to humiliating & manipulating the celebs, throwing in random new styles to frontrunners whenever they want (Charleston?!, Burlesque?!)… anything to keep the pre-selected pro winner in the game so that they can headline tour. The second problem is the trash that DWTS chooses to employ, aka the Chmerkovskiy “fam” and associates. They do more shading / “feeding their ships” on social media than anyone which creates little monsters out of their voting minions. Between Val getting his panties in a bunch over Derek’s tour post – I mean sorrynotsorry that people would rather pay money to see real dancing instead of repeat choreo & Val in a fat suit motor-boating Jenna (yes, really). Then we have the Val vs. Nastia fiasco which was hysterical to watch unfold because as he feigned innocence his precious NYC fam took to twitter to further bash A COLLEGE CLASS TAKING OLYMPIAN (Ben straight called white bread more interesting than Nastia). We have Alex calling out Riker for competing against them when they were little but conveniently forgetting/blatantly lying about the fact that Zendaya, Elizabeth & Rumer (yes, innocent “never danced worked out had plastic surgery before” Rumer) were all accomplished dancers before their stints. Peta and Sharna supposedly shaded Witney for the Emmy mishap. And Jenna (who is so thirsty for fam-status it’s not even funny) has been shamelessy favoriting passive-aggressive “make Jenna pro” tweets for days, supported by fam member JT who by the way also fights anyone who dislikes Val. We have Maks who used Meryl’s vulnerability to win a showmanced MBT all while secretly dating Peta, then ignorant Val trying to follow in his brother’s footsteps but failing miserably once Janel called him out after the season. These people are trash. Sure Mark and Derek aren’t perfect but they’re far classier than Val and his cronies. So I say remove the Chmerkovskiy factor (let them move onto their acting LOL) and DWTS could probably return to the light-hearted show it once was. Use Sasha, who’s humble and funny and at 5’5 could easily be a great matchup for a shorter celeb, plenty of which they’ve had already (Snooki, Kelly, Janel). He dances with Emma and they look fine so what gives? And PS: Yes Val lies about his height – he’s 5’9 to 5’10 tops, clearly seen when he stands side by side next to a tall, barefoot Elizabeth or Zendaya. #teamDerekMarkSashaKarinaAllisonKym ๐
If Henry is promoted to pro over Sasha, I will have a fit. I think it was obvious last season who of those two had a better attitude and is more deserving of a pro spot. *fingerscrossed* I am also glad to see that Karina is back ๐
#Heather. It is sad to read this. But it is reality. I’m sure a lot of people understand it. All this crap with C family/mafia. I think this is one of the best trueful posts on this site.
So lets see what is occurring and what we are playing with this season
God DWTS can’t even do a pro reveal properly
Well that “pro reveal” could have used a little bit of that pink pill that GMA was discussing earlier.
That was pretty terrible. And only 9 pros? Ugh. -_- They couldn’t just reveal the last three. Emma better be in. And with Keo not being mentioned I am hoping Sasha maybe took his spot.
Tony not being mentioned? Now that worries me a lot. Still praying it isn’t what I think………
Man, why didn’t they do the pro reveal like the past? This was poor. It went too fast. I was expecting a party and some fun. It didn’t give any of them special props and are they only going to have 9 pros? Confused!
The Producers at DWTS could not even organise a p*ss up at a brewery, they are really that bad. If you are gong to be that half harted about it all then don’t bloody bother in the first place, just do a simple press release on the website and fans can talk about it in a more holistic way. Why the bloody hell does everything have to be a big crappy extravaganza, when you can’t do it properly? Simplicity is sometimes the key. As per every passing season my hatred for the producers grow more and more. They have the audacity to treat everyone so badly, not just the pros but also the fans, the judges and the celebrities. It really is a dire situation. I love the show and the format I will always, but it is the clowns that drive the car I really hate. They did the same in the sprinng time by only revealing 10 pros leading to the s**tstorm about the two missing pros oh and this time last year during “SharnaGate” How DWTS manage to get it so wrong time after time after time just sickens me.
Jeez, watching paint dry was more entertaining than the GMA pro reveal.
Yeah Karina! Boo Val.
I sincerely hope Emma and Sasha are just awaiting confirmation of their celebrity partners.
The weather might be saying 72 F but I have been left feeling cold
I hate to keep complaining, but, that was just so bad. I was expecting a Pro party like in the past, maybe some Getty photos from NY later, etc etc. The promo before hand was awful. They should have been teasing a Pro reveal last week. You can tell they put this all together on a whim either yesterday or the day before. Oh well.
With that said and most likely three pros left to be revealed, I hope it’s Sasha, Emma, and someone brand new (unheard of before).
I agree Vogue. I was like and I got up for what this morning. And spare me Val with we are the heart throbs. Paleeze. Let the pimping begin.
Jennifer, DITTO! Same here. And yeah….pimping already. Sad!
I agree Nathan. If they can’t go full out, then just do a Press release.
Val declaring himself the heartthrob of the show reminded me so much of Donald Trump bragging about himself. What self respecting person does that?
Court mentioned at twitter they might not be done casting yet or they will only have 9 pros. I actually like the idea of having less pros. We’d get longer dances and more pro dances.
So scary thought, do we think Tony is going to be a judge after all since he wasn’t announced as a pro, or just Rob Wade trying to build more drama. Definitely a poor pro reveal.
Note to self: Do not eat breakfast when Val is talking on your TV. I almost “tossed my cookies” when he said heart throb. Even more delusional than ever. But I had to laugh when the reporter said, “even if you do say so yourself”. He’s the only one saying it.
Emma and Sasha better be pros!
That being said, the most boring pro reveal ever! It did seem like they threw it together at the last minute. Sorry our Charlie’s Angels had to get up early to report this to us. The extra hour of sleep would have been more satisfying than the producers’ big reveal!
Question: Loree at PDH asked if Hayley Erbert is in the video. Do you guys see a new girl dancing in the rehearsal part with long dark hair? It does look like Hayley. If so, Omgggg she would be an awesome addition.
Thanks Linz!!x
Not saying he’s a reliable source AT ALL, but that JT Simon guy (who is a #fam employee/hanger-on of some kind) said on twitter that more announcements are coming once contracts are signed. This guy I think has as much “insider info” as I do but he does technically know Tony so it’s possible he gave him some info. I personally do think more pros are coming and they just haven’t confirmed the celebs yet. 9 is such a random number…if they were having a smaller cast I would think they would want at least 10 couples.
As the mods said before, I think to me, the interesting thing of the season will be to see how the producers treat Val going forward. Now that he’s won, how much will he be pimped? Eventually they are going to shoot themselves in the foot because the more they pimp (especially after winning) the more people will be turned off. Derek is almost an underdog at this point!
Looks like Hayley Erbert to me. Woohoo.
What a joke! I concur with everything Nathan UK said. If ABC can’t be bothered to do the thing properly, just don’t.
For God’s sake, announce all the pros or none! Guess I’m left hoping Emma and Sasha will be announced later. The producers fall all over bottom-feeders and treat decent people like dirt. It’s becoming more obvious every day why Tristan has said repeatedly he has no desire to return to DWTS.
Thank you Heather (#168) for your insightful comment. You eloquently said what I’ve been feeling for a while now. It’s disgusting how TPTB have allowed (and assisted) one crass, low-class faction to hijack a show that was so good for so long and turn it into a cheap parody of its former self.
@Vogue – Just one problem with Hayley: she’s not a ballroom dancer…and I don’t think we need any more contemporary dancers pretending to know ballroom when there are plenty of decent ballroom dancers out there to pick from.
What a cop-out of a “pro announcement”. That felt more like a 3rd grade book report that got hastily thrown together with Cliff’s Notes the night before, than anything with any sort of pre-planning. It also felt like the “Val Show” once again, with us being baited by GMA with questions like “Can Val win again? Will Derek be back?” and Val asserting himself as a “heartthrob” (HA! If he’s a heartthrob, I’m the goddamn Queen of England). I guess I’m left with the question “Why even bother if they didn’t have all the pros settled on yet? Just announce them at the cast announcement!!!” Guess they just needed to create buzz…and plant the seed of Val
winningbeing given back-to-back wins…Would love to see Hayley on the show. But that means she’s under contract to DWTS and wouldn’t be able to dance in Move Live On Tour if they tour again next year.
I think that does look like Hayley. I definitely see Alan and Jenna in there too.. I think she had the short dark hair next to Witney at one point. And the one girl definitely appears to be emma.. I feel like I’ve seen her in that tan and black outfit on livestream before lol
I will be furious though if Emma is not a pro and Jenna is…
I think only 10 couples would be great. The dances have gotten short compared to earlier seasons and they could show more unedited(fixed) behind the scenes. I think alot of people like to see more of the process.
I agree with #168 in that I think the WHOLE attitude of the show would improve if they got rid of all the “fam” with their absolute drive to create factions and division in the show instead of working for quality and concentrating on their celebrity.
I didn’t bother to get up. Derek already said he’d be back—all I care about. I look forward to watching all he has to offer because I can always be certain I will be entertained by him, enthralled by his work and he won’t leave me feeling like I need to keep a barf bag next to my remote or go to a kick-boxing session to stop me from ripping the tv out of the wall.Also I can always be certain that if there is a fam member involved GMA will always add their pimpage. And actually after the last couple of seasons there coverage of DWTS is almost like an afterthought(unless of course a fam member wins). Guess they have much more hard news to cover like The Batchelor/ette crap and all the other news they now seem to pick up from the rags.
And I know I’m being repetitive, I have said it so many times, but Val would be so much better off if he were mute, if he would just shut his mouth, zip it. It doesn’t matter WHAT it is he’s trying to say, or if he is trying for sarcasm, or if he thinks he’s being funny…he just always ends up sounding like an arrogant a**.
Yayy !! to no Henry or Tony and I really hope Emma and Sasha are those last 2 pros! Go Derek! thanx for coming back !
Can someone explain to me how legally JT Simon, a leech from Val’s NYC fam, is legally allowed to tweet insider DWTS info the morning of the GMA announcement? He says no Tony no Henry… Fine but where is it his place to make such things known? He also says there are 3 more pros they’re waiting to announce which makes me think they just can’t find enough real celebrities. Get ready for another celeb kid or YouTube star is my guess? I vote to bump Keo down to troupe (he needs to learn the ropes a little more) and bump Sasha up. If they don’t reward Sasha for all his hard work last season I’m done. And as far as Henry/Tony being gone, good riddance. 2 less C-fam members to pollute the DWTS atmosphere.
What a disappointing Pro promo, I agree. And according to Val, he and Artem are considered the DWTS heartthrobs? Now I’ve heard everything! That is like Trump complimenting himself for having the sexiest hairdo, ha ha. Glad I can look forward to enjoying watching the one and only Derek work his magic for another season. Karina returning as a Pro is good news, but have to say I will miss the personality and dancing of the beautiful Kym…hope she can return in the Spring season. My only worry is about Tony…I was initially thrilled that he wasn’t listed a Pro because he is well past his prime,and his partnering and dancing bore me to tears, but the thought of having him as a judge is painful….I hope that never happens. Len provided gravitas to the judging panel, and balanced the antics of the others. I believe his replacement needs to have at least the same credentials and experience, and in my mind, Tony does not fit the bill. Now I’m worried.
If Tony were the new judge, I doubt this JT asshat would be able to shut up about it. So if he says “No Tony, No Henry” – I take that to mean we aren’t going to see them on the show in ANY capacity.
And I’m ok with that. ๐
Glad I didn’t get up to watch that. I’m sure they’ll be 12 couples like what’s already said. I have experience working in TV news and believe me that package would have taken two hours tops to put together, this has literally been conjured up at the last minute at very short notice probably just to get people excited and create drama.
It’s amazing how different things are now, five years ago you could announce the cast and if pros were missing you’d never hear anyone complaining. Now social media has exploded and all the pros (bar Keo) have all built up big fan bases so if anyone is missing, their is a massive fallout. That’s probably why they do pro reveals now, because they know it gets a reaction from fans.
ME TOO, COURT!
Something else I noticed in the dance footage is I don’t see Brittany. While I’m fine with Haley being added I would be bummed if Brittany is no longer in the troupe. There were about 9 girls and only 5 guys at rehearsal so I’m just hoping that not everyone was there.
Oh, the look on Artem’s face when Val said that they were the heart throbs on the show! LOL.
I wonder if the talks with Tony about judging fell apart – and maybe they weren’t even really serious from TPTB, but rather throwing their old dog a bone (and his publicist or whatever) by “entertaining” the thought. Now that Tony knows it ain’t happening, maybe his ego is bruised enough to not want to dance this season – or if he handled it poorly and TPTB are showing their might by leaving him hanging for the remaining pro announcement – or not at all.
All just speculation on my part, but it does make me wonder since Tony was always a “guarantee as long as he wants it” pro.
Didn’t Tony sign a new contract with DWTS earlier this year?
@M8 – Contracts on DWTS are kinda weird – if you’re “on contract”, it just means that you agree to be available for DWTS to use as they see fit for the time frame specified in the contract. They are under no obligation to actually use you during that time – just means they can if they want to. Doesn’t guarantee you’ll even be on the show – let alone get a spot as a pro.
No Emma will break my heart. Derek in an undershirt is more heart throb material, Val. You can not use that ego heart throb talk in THAT outfit and raggedy beard.
No Tony at all will improve the show. Tony’s bitter edge does not fit well with the show.
Please bring Sasha as a full Pro. Such a good heart. Powerful dancer who is energizing to watch.
I will miss Brittany if she is not in the troupe. Keo is fun.
I think the announcement without Tony is interesting. I wonder if he was up for a judging spot (whether it was serious or half hearted) and missed it, which is why we saw the golf therapy post……..particularly about his value…maybe he is miffed & isn’t coming back but if that were the case I think you would have FAM members flipping clean out on Twitter. How dare you etc. Since no one that I’ve seen is having an epic meltdown, maybe it isn’t that. Maybe they just wanted him to sit one out or they couldn’t come to an agreement. Maybe they won’t pay him what he demands, hence his ‘value.’ You know the producers have been on this ‘younger’ kick so maybe they decided he doesn’t fit their plan anymore. One way or the other I’m excited to maybe have a season sans good ol’ Driton Dovolani.
I am so so hoping this means Sasha was made a pro. I just love him & he deserves a spot!!! The second male spot I’m assuming will be Keo but I’m not sure. I just can’t see them demoting him to troupe. I know they demoted Lindsay & Henry But that was after just one season. Keo has had 2 plus he has been on both tours.
Female spot better be Emma. That’s all I can say.
If Brittany isn’t back I’m okay with that. I didn’t care much for her dancing when she did the trio with Ryker. I don’t know anything about this Hayley but dude we don’t need another non ballroom dancer! I would prefer Cheyenne. I thought she did great on Latin night S20
When Val makes those kind of ridiculous statements like the “heart throb” crap, it makes me wish I was a graduate of Hogworts, able to use my magic for the greater good. Like making Val trip and fall into an enormous pile of elephant dung. Or replacing his Axe body wash with permanant blue ink. You know, stuff like that.
@Heather I agree with everything you wrote about Val, the fam etc… I mean, you pretty much nailed it. As a viewer since season one, it really is very sad and frustrating to see. I was curious about something u mentioned. What did Val say about Derek’s your post? I must’ve missed it and I can’t wait to hear what that pretentious, entitled, bottomless pit of Me me me had to say about something Derek posted.
I am wondering if Henry was dropped and Keo is moving down to the troupe to, replace him. Keo posted a selfie yesterday and used the hashtag #lifeisgood. that could mean anything though.
The pro announcement felt rushed because producers are too busy trying to manufacture the show once again. Fitting Val into their script title “Val won again”. It’s a hard task this time around because it has to be better than last season. First, they will give Val another dancer who will say “I don’t dance, AT ALL. I may move like a ballet dancer but trust me, I don’t even exercise.” LOL. As for Val as a heartthrob? Does this guy has histrionic personality disorder? ๐
Anyway, YouTube here I come watching my favorites this season.
I could be totally off base her but it looked to me like wit was dancing alone in the video. She being one of the shortest ladies, does that mean maybe Sasha did finally make pro? I know it’s a stretch people……..
Also, I think Hayley is replacing Lindsay. I didn’t see Lindsay anywhere.
@ph & vogue & court
When the anchorperson first walks in the room, there is a guy standing there watching. Is that Michael Riccio?
Val thinks he’s a heartthrob – probably why he is telling everybody that he going to try acting next. Brad Pitt, eat your heart out! LOL!
I saw somewhere (think it was a Glamour article) that Rob Wade has announced that Len is definitely out this season (but might be involved in some way) and that they will have guest judges some weeks.
That explains why there has been so many different rumours – I’m guessing that both Michael Wentick and Jean Marc Genereaux will turn up as guest judges at some point.
Will Tony sit out this season as a pro to get a shot as a guest judge? I somehow doubt it.
@ herbie I think I saw Lindsay in the video, she was in the background with a grey shirt on. So if Hayley is replacing someone on troupe, it will most likely be Brittany.
I hope Tony will be neither a judge nor a pro, I definitely could do without him. The last female spot should go to Emma, and I think that’s what’s going to happen since she was at rehearsal and moving her down to troupe after 4 seasons as pro would be kind of ridiculous. I am praying for Sasha to be pro!! Don’t really care about the other male spot, I am not a fan of Tony or Keo so…
And the heartthrob comment made me laugh really hard! Thanks Val.
I saw lindsay too in the grey shirt
but I really want EMMA!!!!!!
@jodie – Emma was there next to Lindsay. Tan top, black pants.
Shim, Derek posted an article where the writer basically compared the Move Live tour to the DWTS Live tour and said that essentially Move was way better. It appears Derek has since deleted the post (could be wrong) but Val responded with “cool write up bro” on twitter. Both guys then unfollowed each other and their fans went to war, per usual. Now I don’t personally feel that Derek posted it as a shot at DWTS considering it is in fact his employer as well and Mark was a part of the last tour (though he himself, after making an appearance in Move said it was phenomenal). If anything I feel like it was just a post showing how proud he was that they could keep up with the DWTS tour considering the funding behind ABC etc. But god forbid Val keep his mouth shut, because of course everything revolves around him. Not that after the Nastia comments Val & Derek have the greatest relationship, but it should make for an interesting season 21.
The article was ABOUT MOVE Live on Tour. My theory is that Derek saw the writer raving about Move and posted it. He then saw the part of about MOVE versus DWTS and deleted it. The post was deleted literally 15 minutes after he posted it, so it’s not like he waited till a million people complained and then took it down. Hell, I didn’t even see the original post and had to ask someone to tell me what was in it. Val likely never saw it either and was responding to what his asshole fans were whining to him about.
Personally, I think Derek is not the most internet savvy person around and forgets that he has stupid people who hate him parsing his every word in addition to his fans.
Val’s personality really grates on me. He acts like such an entitled, vain, pompous, self centered, egotistical a-hole. Such a turn off for me. Modesty definitely does not run in the Chmerkovsky family. Like his brother Maks, his ego knows no bounds. It is no doubt guaranteed that he is going to get another ringer. Rumer was a ringer, even though she denied she ever danced or worked out, what a freaking little liar. One interviewer even asked her after the win if she ever had any dance experience, and she and Val smirked at each other, before lying through her teeth about having no dance experience. It looks to me like the Chmerkovsky bros and their “fam” are trying to take control over DWTS, complaining that immature, thirsty for fame, attention wh*re Jenna should be a pro, having Tony (fam member) as a judge. Maks even stated in an interview a while back that Val and Peta were the “new faces” of DWTS. Um, no they are not. And I really didn’t want to see Peta again this year. I don’t like her dancing, her costumes are too skimpy, and she is also thirsty for attention. I love Sharna, her buddy. It’s hard to imagine that Peta and Sharna are friends, their personalities seem so different. Oh well, can’ wait for DWTS #21 to start. Ready to bring on my snark! LOL!
Great post @Heather and Linz #186 I laughed at you almost tossing your cookies – I felt the same way!
Did anyone else see the new commercial for DWTS – looks like it was filmed during the DWTS tour -Val and Artem are featured prominently – turned me right off.
Herbie, I can’t tell. It kind of looks like it could be Alan Bersten.
From Val’s interview with Us Weekly:
“I finally believe in myself and in my abilities when it comes to DWTS,” he tells Us Weekly exclusively. “Did winning the trophy erase certain doubts? Absolutely. I’m excited to do this show with a new perspective and approach, that only a champion can have.”
“Winning Season 20 validated, at least to myself, my role on DWTS,” Chmerkovskiy says. “It’s been a long journey for me, and to finally be able to say, ‘Wow, I did it,’ gives me tremendous relief and confidence to say, ‘Wow, now let’s do it again.'”
I really wonder if the producers realize that they’ve created a monster or if they plan to go full steam ahead with trying to make him happen.
OMG, I finally went and looked at Henry’s Instagram/Twitter. You guys weren’t kidding – I had a total pukegasm.
Princess Heidi, I stand corrected! I really only saw a fleeting glimpse of the post and didn’t think much more of it until I saw the drama from Val & and his goonies on twitter so thank you for clarifying! And yes I think Derek forgets the impact social media can have. Darlene, I agree, I don’t see how Sharna and Peta are friends. Sharna is so humble and sweet and classy for the most part (except the Witney Emmy shade… A little confused about that). I thought Peta’s trio with Tommy was disgusting and she has the C-fam knack for tacky choreo. My other issue with the Chmerkovskiy’s and co. is that they justify their rudeness as being a result of their Brooklyn upbringing. To me all it represents is the fact that clearly they were all raised with a sense of entitlement and were all put on pedestals. I’m from the Northeast as well and no, it’s not kosher to be rude just because “you’re real”. Just admit you think you’re better than everyone else so that you can fully live up to your douchebag potential.
I’m going to try to ignore Val and concentrate on the positive. Namely Mark, Derek, Karina and hopefully Emma and fingers crossed Sasha. I like Sharna as well and hopefully Artem will be a sweety like he was last season.
I can take or leave Peta and Allison. They just don’t thrill me. And please don’t throw rocks at me, but America’s sweetheart Witney just grates on my nerves for some reason.
I just want to see some great dancing and fall in love with some previously unknown to me celebs.
Well, think about it. They claim to be “real” and “honest” and their rudeness is because they’re from Brooklyn – but Derek posts one little instagram that he didn’t even write, that is someone else’s honest opinion (aka REAL) and neither Val nor his fans can take it and become big babies. Val has thrown plenty of shade and called it being real – but has a hissy when anyone else does the same thing. If you can dish it out, you have to be able to take it, bitch.
I really enjoy watching Brittany dance and so hope she is in the troupe. I’m not sure but is that her dancing with Mark in the video? She has on a white top and light shorts. Otherwise, I am not sure who that is.
I’mma just leave dis here…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder
I think the difference between say Val and Peta versus Derek and Sharna is a sense of false bravado I get from the former and genuine self confidence I get from the latter.
Val and Peta seem to need outside validation to find their confidence whereas Derek and Sharna seem to work hard to find ways to give it to themselves.
Thanks CM! So happy emma is back, saw that on tumblr in a pic too! ๐ I thought peta seemed really sweet in the live stream rehearsals with Michael Sam. But I really dislike maks, and I have always felt that you can tell a lot about a person by who their friends are and who they date/marry :(, so I dunno :((((
Sometimes I wish I knew someone who like worked on the show and was neutral who could REALLY tell me what everyone is like behind closed doors…I don’t want to be voting for a pro or a celebrity who in real life is an awful person. ๐
I see what you mean Dee, Allison for some reason lately has been giving me off vibes. Like since dancing with riker she thinks highly of herself, or something, and it still bothers me that she and riker never came clean about his dance experience. I know many others did too, but being dishonest irks me a lot. And something about witney bothers me too. ๐ but I did think she and alfonso were the best choice for mirrorball last season even if I’m not a particular fan of hers.
Derek and Witney were cute fun in there interview together. Glad both are back. If there are 3 spots left. That means one spot left is for a girl and 2 spots for a guy to have even 6 of female and male pros. I hope that last spot female is for Emma. The guys would love to see Sasha one of the spots left.
Glad Derek is back. I’m also fine with a season sans Tony and Henry. Tony is so very dull with his choreography…he just needs to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Now, I could totally do without Val. I cannot stand another season like last. Shoving a couple down ones throat…NO JUDGE should be making a comment in week one that it’s a certain pro’s “season”. Let the chips fall where they may.
the hate towards Derek has already started..on FB, Instagram, etc. People are saying that Derek needs to be challenged. I replied to one..”wasn’t a double amputee challenge enough? If Amy Purdy had been paired with any other Pro, I’d bet she wouldn’t have gone beyond week 3. Does Derek’s partner need to be over 60, overweight, blind, deaf and missing 3 extremities to satisfy you people?
Well my family has lived in Brooklyn for over 200 years and we are “honest” and “real” but NEVER rude. We are way too secure for that.
That family in NO WAY represents Brooklyn and that is the truth.
Val is so jealous of Derek is makes me sick.
@kelly
Derek has had a double amputee (amy), older person (ricki lake), overweight person (amber riley), and ex-convict (lil’ kim). He has had a variety of partners. The only ones I think who have gotten the short end of the partner stick are tony (who is bitter and rude to the judges), and emma (who maintains a wonderful disposition nonetheless). So no one besides tony and emma should complain. Emma wont, so that should only leave tony complaining by himself.
the only partner type I can think of that derek hasnt gotten is someone under 18 (like sadie and willow), or someone past 50 (unless im forgetting someone). Besides that hes been pretty varied in his partnerings.
I know what kind of partners Derek has had. I’m saying that his detractors are not gonna be satisfied unless Derek gets a partner who is over 60, overweight, blind,deaf and a triple amputee…but I don’t know of any celeb who fits those qualifications ๐
Courtney, that link says it!!
Ahh yes to Courtney #230. Yours is better ๐ Val sometimes act like a girl I forgot he’s a “heartthrob” thus the diagnosis is a bit off ๐ Kelly, “Derek needs to be challenged” is a motto on FB on every season of DWTS. That, and “Val needs to win”. Oh yeah, and this “Julianne shouldn’t be judging. She never criticize Derek and always mean to Val’s partner.” Some people have tunnel visions and hearing. And people wonder why Jim Jones or David Koresh had followers? The producers need to tone down Val (and his fans). Loud, as in “should we start a riot?”, is never a good reason for your voice to be heard or to resolved problems, JMO. Ok, let me go meditating now. Namaste.
Ur totally right kelly, haters gonna hate
I”ve seen some of that towards Derek already this season – and the sheer stupidity and lack of conscious thought or intelligence is mind bogging. It makes you realize that what the show does WORKS – the manipulation and innuendo. Derek doesn’t really fight it, while certain other very insecure pros play it up big time for their fans who then stupidly regurgitate it.
@jodie Jennifer Grey was either 50 or early fifties when she was his partner. Also lets not forget that he got Jennie Garth who had zero experience and really needed to be taught as his very first partner. He got her to fourth place which is pretty impressive.
Hell, you guys aren’t even naming the partners he had who couldn’t really dance but Derek disguised it very well – one got him an Emmy nomination! Joanna, Shannon and Maria, are just three who were not good dancers but he crafted dances in a way that made you think they were.
Val’s had no challenge at all, beyond his first partner and they went out first.
I fear one of those male pro slots is being held open in case they’re able to sign Demi or one of the other daughters.
JT Simon, Alex, Eugene, Serge, the tea man. I’ve never understood how their friends are ballsy enough to publicly bitch about the show that’s allowing them all the perks they get from riding Maks and Val’s coat tails. But they’re a bunch of lemmings and they’re just following their leaders.
As for Maks saying Val and Peta are the faces of the show now…..hey buddy tell that to Derek and Karina.
Val’s not only had no real challenges, but the kid gets handed ringers, and STILL doesn’t even make the most out of them!
Val & Peta are the faces of what is wrong with the show.
Val looks more like a serial killer than heart throb in the above pic. JMO
Wow sorry to be so negative… New diet… must not drink…lololo
I bet THE FAM fans are making Derek responsible IF Tony is out and Henry doesn’t get a second chance.
Donna, I prefer charismatic dancer and creative genius of the show over FACE of the show.
PJ, I disagree with you on Peta. I may not be a fan of Val, but, I love love Peta. She and Donald are one of my fave DWTS couples of all time. I loved her with Tommy too and the other side we saw of her that season.
I didn’t dislike Val during his first seasons (I didn’t like him all that much either but I could stand him) but now he seems to be turning into his older brother which is scary. I wouldn’t be surprised if following his self-proclaimed title of heart throb, he said something like “dwts is my show” to mimic his brother.
Let just hope that now that Val was given (notice my choice of words) a trophy, the producers just let things be and stop the manipulation (a girl can dream, right?)
@ Vogue I go back and forth on Peta. I do agree she has her moments. I think my dislike of the fam often colors my opinion of her.
I do strongly agree with you re she & Donald. Great pairing.
Honestly, I’m beyond happy it’s 12 becuase that means Emma can be back possibly and that makes my day. Saying that, they better make Sasha a pro becuase he is such a cool guy.
The sad thing is, Irene, Val is more talented than Maks but is squandering it. I think he could choreograph, but for some reason has decided that’s not the way to go.
Brittany Cherry just said on her periscope that she will not be in troupe this year because she has other things in store.
Brittany just told everyone on her Periscope she isn’t returning to DWTS but is working on other projects!
And she also said the ‘official announcement’ would be tomorrow.
Just read an article from e online. This just shows Val’s desperation and greed here. Take a look at this, already trying to get the producers to manipulate in his favor and kissing butt:
And fans shouldn’t expect Val Chmervoskiy to rest on his recent win with Rumer Willis, as the show’s casting director Deena Katz told us, “Three days after he won, he texted me like, โBabe, I need another one.’ I was like, โYou just had one!’ And he’s like, โI need to do it again!'”
So yes, expect Val to return as well. (He even called and left a voicemail for Wade as we were speaking. No joke!)
Why is Val calling the casting director “Babe”? Not very professional is he?
@PJ – Nothing Val does anymore is particularly professional, from what I see.
I’m just going to say this when it comes to the “fam”, Karina’s break-up from Maks is probably the best thing that could have ever happened to her. Even though it felt she was sort of tossed to the curve and bashed by them for many years, her not being associated with them, she, for me, become less “like them”, which is why she’s one of the fan favorites imo
(if that makes any sense)
but it just goes to show, sometimes associating with the fam just makes you less likable because of their ego and narcissistic personalities
Well… at least Derek is back and I can enjoy him for another (hopefully) 10 weeks. But Val, man….. His ego can fill a concert hall now! I wish that Chippendales would finally call him and offer him his own show along with Artem, Tony, Henry, and his minions and be long gone from my TV and once favorite show.
Emma better be back as a pro or I will seriously cry! But I am so happy to see Karina back….. she looks incredibly happy to be back also. =)
Can’t wait to hear the cast announcement… all the rumors have got me very excited!
Is there any word on whether or not the livestream rehearsals are coming back? I hope so, as I would love to watch Karina teach.
you’re right guys I did forget all of those partners. I forgot jennifer grey was that age, plus jennifer had just finished cancer treatment and was having all sorts of pain and other issues if I remember correctly.
And you are right PH, derek does a masterful job of hiding peoples lack of talent (lol) and making them seem like good dancers (bethany mota also came to mind for me personally).
My feelings for peta likewise go back and forth. She has had so many moments on the show that make her seem like a great person at heart. I likewise think that val is more talented than maks.
I actually think val is a fantastic dancer, but lacks a lot in the choreography department.
I think Hayley Erbert pretty tall and she can be paired with tall guy in the troupe. Keo possibly will be downgraded to a troupe (had two chances as a pro didn’t impress me much)to dance with her. Glad that Henry is out for good and sad Brittany missing this season. She mainly danced with Sasha. Hope they will promote him to a pro again. Dude done
amazing job last season. Is anyone knows when remaining 3 pros will be annonced?
I hope that Emma,Sasha and Keo are named the 3 remaining Pros…I’m willing to give Keo another chance. I DO like watching him dance!
I might be okay not to see Sasha as a pro one more time, but no Emma as well? She should’ve been given a ringer by now if anything. Ugh please please let Emma got one of those last three spots.
My thoughts on Val: Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever really liked him as a pro, but I liked him best during his first season, with Elizabetta. I was willing to give him a second chance to see if I liked him as a pro. In my opinion, it seems like the only time we got to see Val “honestly”. And the dance he did with her (I think during the finale?) for her fiance who passed away during the tsunami was incredibly beautiful and vulnerable. I haven’t been able to find it again though.
Since then, though, my opinion goes further south each season.
It’s so frustrating to read that Derek is already getting hate, though given the fans who are doing the hating, I’m not surprised. Even more maddening is the fact that I think if Derek did have a partner who was older, had no dance experience, was overweight and was missing limbs, people would then say they were getting the sympathy vote. It all comes down to jealousy at Derek’s success, jealousy at how sincere and real Derek’s connections are to his partners and the fact that he has truly taught most of his partners to dance and it wasn’t about feeding his ego.
I’m already so done with Val and his back-to-back desperation.
Lori- are you thinking of Petra and Dmitry? Her fiancee died in the tsunami and they did a beautiful dance together. I don’t recall Elisabetta being known for anything at the time other than George Clooney’s exgf.
Well probably, @fig, thanks! Probably why I couldn’t find that dance! Still, I do remember that Val with Elisabetta being the best of Val (to me).
Yeah, this is the finale version of that dance, when Josh Groban surprised Petra by singing it himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrlZER_04eQ
The week 3 original dance was quite lovely as well. I really liked Petra, but it was a tough season because there were so many likable dancers.
(Feel free to delete the link, guys)
Hayley is not that tall, Love2dance. I would put her at 5’4″ or so.
So glad Karina is back. I agree she may be the best female dancer ever on the show. Other than that its been a bit disappointing this week. A pathetic reveal show, several of the C-bros friends being jerks online, and a certain troupe member having her fans do her whining for her. I know theres a lot of entitlement showing up, but seriously what 21 yr old with a yr of experience with an employer thinks they are owed a top spot? And don’t get me started don her lack of ability. Personally I don’t think she even belongs in the troupe.
I saw the suggestion that Derek take over for Mandy, does anybody know if that is ever a possibility or do they keep Derek for the special effects – wow factor – type choreo? He is getting older, so could that be his next step?
Glad Henry is gone, his posts prove he is even more arrogant than the Nastia mess showed. Lets hope the celebs are great this season – any rumors yet?
Of course it’s possible, sarina – although probably not at the same time as he has a celeb partner. That seemed tough when he was doing Macy’s at the same time as having a celeb. Either way, they could get Emmy winning choreo which is very important to them.
Has Henry actually been fired? Is this 100% confirmed? I hope so, but I’ll be somewhat deflated if they’ve got that Rudy as his replacement. He’s too loud for my liking, I want Paul K to finally get his shot.
To #M8: I have a sneaking suspicion that Henry isn’t going to be on for DWTS #21 because he was not a team player regarding the Nastia situation. His gigantic ego took over and I don’t think TPTB liked that. I also think another reason that Henry started to act like an a-hole is because Derek and Nastia were competition for Val and Rumer. They were a threat to getting Val the MBT. Henry is part of the “fam” and I think he wanted Val to win it. I am glad he is not on DWTS and would suit me fine if he never showed up again.
I was watching the Leah reminei show yesterday and tony and Henry were on and Tony was his normal self and just the usual but Henry seemed so happy and nice and just fun. If he is back I want to see that Henry and not the weird one.
@Heather & Princess Heidi
At first when I saw that tweet from Val, I immediately thought of the Derek post, but then DWTS Gossip posted a screen shot of that Alan guys bio on a dance studio site and it listed him as an associate choreographer for DWTS (Witney, Val, and Allison) and I wondered if that was the write up Val was pissed about. Wouldn’t be surprised since he got called out.
Vin: I thought the same thing. Henry seemed more like the old Henry that I thought was fun. Him dancing the tango with Leah’s husband was hysterically funny. You know it was kind of oddly quiet when Henry suddenly wasn’t helping with Nastia and Sasha stepped in. I wonder if we know the whole story about that. It was obvious Henry was not a team player but I just wonder if there was more.
Could be, Lauren. He certainly got called out in a worse way by Alan.
Pretty sure between our source and what Shirley said, we have the gist of it.
@Lynne
I’m with you. I still cant quite wrap my head around what happened with Henry. Trying to take credit for Nastia’s training was super foul. But I just didn’t get it. Even if he has massive ego, he has always seemed really nice on the show. So why all of a sudden did he let the ego fly for all the US to see? I liked him with Giselle when they auditioned for SYTYCD and I have liked him in all of his trios. A lot of the bumpers that I have favorite on YouTube have him in them. LOVED him with Sharna on Cher night S17. Maybe its all his relation to the fam and trying to take down Derek but I do wonder if TPTB had something in it too. They certainly are trying (and failing) to make Val happen. I have tried to be open minded and kind about Henry even with Nastiagate but his twitter these days……just EW……why would you do that?? Do you actually think that’s attractive???
@PrincessHeidi what did Alan say? Oh Im dying to know!
Alan had a biography on a dance site – can’t remember which one – and he basically let the cat out of the bag and said he was “associate choreographer” for Val and Allison, and for Witney with Alfonso. The show has kept that pretty secret – as has every associate ever to work on the show – and Alan pretty much took a lot of credit.
Henry’s twitter was foul BEFORE Nastia, as was his ego. He has a history here that is not nice.
I just looked at Alan Salazar’s choreography reel on YouTube. It says ‘contributing choreographer’ and then shows the following clips: Allison & Jonathan’s trainwreck of a samba, Val & Janel’s trio with Keo and several of Wit and Alfonso’s dances (contemp, trio, jazz and freestyle). If he helped on those dances like it says Wit got A LOT more help than I thought in S19.
That Alan guy explains Every dance he helped with in relatively detailed fashion on his facebook, and he states that he helped Val with the 10 sec intro portion with keo on that trio.
I highly doubt that was what Val was talking about in his twitter post or that he would even feel called out by that.
I definitely think Val’s tweet was about Derek. I guess they both unfollowed each other right after the tweet and Val started blocking Derek fans, lol. Peta also liked some edit about the Val/Derek drama. Although, I can see Val getting pissy about people knowing he gets help with choreo. Actually, I can’t think of much that Val doesn’t get pissy about because he’s quite the little bitch. ?
Well, what kind of guy would call himself associate choreographer for a 10 second intro??
I don’t believe Derek ever followed Val, actually (Derek doesn’t follow all the pros and doesn’t just unfollow people – he followed his ex-girlfriend up until the day she married someone else – you think he’s going to unfollow Val?). And Val has been blocking Derek fans for a very, very long time – even if they’ve never tweeted him, like me. The arrogance of doing that is just astounding. I wasn’t following him and I had never tweeted him – so I guess I’m supposed to be devastated?? LOL. I can still read ya tweets, ya bozo.
I am praying so that Henry will be made the pro. IMHO he is very sexy looking and has attitude like Maks. He has the capacity to be the new Maks -Show wants Maks so bad but sadly he retired and has other opportunities lined up. Henry can become ballroom’s new heartthrob bad boy which the show is lacking now. Derek is becoming old and soon will be gone. Mark, Tony are not as popular as Val, Derek, Maks; Therefore, they need to make other pros happen for the show to survive in the coming years and Henry has got the right attitude for that.
LOL Heidi! Ditto! He blocked me and I never even tweeted him.
Spence…sorry but, I don’t agree. Henry isn’t a “heartthrob” or “sexy” to me. Also, I don’t think the show wants Maks “so bad” like you said or he would still be on the show. And Derek is not becoming old. lol You wish.
Derek & Val have never followed eachother. So I doubt anything is going on between them, probably the same as they have always been.
What person would call themselves an associate choreographer for 10 seconds? One putting up a resume. It’s like you go to one or two club meetings at ur college, and put ‘active member of so & so group’ on your resume…it’s not uncommon.
He states on his facebook it was the 10 sec intro himself
I’m of the opinion that men get BETTER as they age and Mr Hough is proof of this! He’s definitely improved in looks and his choreography since joining the show on S5. I daresay that Derek is THE most popular Pro past or present currently on the show.
Henry is not that tall, tbh. He was very sweet and such when first a member of the Troupe in Seasons 14-16..He followed me back on Twitter…he’d actually TWEET back to me there as well and I was part of the lets make Henry a Pro campaign. Well…along comes S17, Henry is finally promoted to Pro…and guess what? He almost immediately unfollowed me on Twitter, nice huh? Guess the little peons who supported him in his quest now meant nothing to him. DOUCHCANOE at it’s finest!! Now that we hear that he won’t have ANY part of S21? I’m rather overjoyed to hear that…Karma, it’s a bitch sometimes and has definitely come back to bite Henry in his Australian ass!
Henry is a legend in his own mind, for sure. You’re right, Spence, Henry is younger than Derek – MONTHS younger. :::rolls eyes:: As in a year. Wow.
Maks has other opportunities liked up?? Like what? Name them. All the pros have opportunities lined up, yet still manage to do DWTS. Look at Derek and Mark. They have a lot of things going on.
Henry has exactly the wrong attitude for everything. Look how Val had to be pimped to a win and he still has a fraction of the social media followers that Derek has. Yeah, not as many are as enthralled as you think.
Spence lost me at Maks has other opportunities lined up. That’s when I figured it was Peta or Henry since anyone else would be laughing too hard to type that.
No seriously what is Maks upto these days? I think after he won in ssn18, I have not heard him do anything specific apart from Sway.Anyone know what he has been doing apart from run around Dwts. His personal life is his so I wont go that route he has every right to hang out with Peta. I am curious to what he has been doing? He seems to have lost weight and actually looks sick these days.
He, Henry and Sharna apparently signed up for some kind of Internet dance network thing. I don’t know what this will involve. Plus, Maks and his posse recently spent a couple of days in Texas and hinted at upcoming big things there.
Maks was supposed to be in a movie with Jonathan Rhys Meyers this summer but I think that fizzled.
oh okay thank you #Maria2 so he has something at least going for him good.
It does seem that the Fam promises much, but delivers little. Remember a few months ago when they were going to put on an interactive theatrical experience thing (knockoff of Sleep No More)? One photo of Serge looking all creative, then they never mentioned it again.
The texas thing sounded like another DWM. The movie might have happened – if he had a very small part it wouldn’t take long to shoot.
Does anyone know what is going on with Trueheart starting to represent some of the dancers? Looks like it is mostly the fam dancers, but I don’t think val is included. It seems a little odd that all of his cohorts seem to be going there but he isn’t. Or is his current rep somehow tied to Trueheart? It seems they are getting the mediocre talent there with the exception of Sharna
@ #292 Spence: Derek is getting old? Maks is clearly older & I doubt that DWTS wants him back so badly…and I think Henry and Derek are about the same age…And Maks has probably things going on with keep him occupied but I’m pretty sure none of them are as big as DWTS.
First I want to say I’m still upset they added Alisson to the cast as a pro. It isn’t fair, she isn’t trained at ballroom dancing while many other unique girls trained it their whole lives!!! Lindsay Arnold, Jenna Johnson, Britanny Cherry, Brooklyn Fuller, etc.
She doesn’t belong on the show, she doesn’t deserve to steal a spot of those hard-working girls!
Today I read that Brittany is out. She announced it on her instagram.
In the video I saw Hayley Erbert. ANOTHER contemporary dancer who doesn’t belong on DWTS (come on people, this show is about BALLROOM DANCERS TEAMIN’ UP WITH CELEBRITIES).
I’m furious she took Britanny her spot.
I also wish for Jenna and Lindsay a spot as pro!!!
Well, to be fair to Allison, she WAS trained in Ballroom while growing up in Utah. In fact, she went to one of the same dance schools as Derek. Not sure about Hayley though, but, is it possible she had some ballroom training in her younger life? Anyway, I love Allison (always have). She really proved herself last season imo. And sorry, she is just as hardworking as the other girls.
I also want to point out that just because someone has been on SYTYC or that their main talent is “contemporary” doesn’t mean they haven’t been trained in ballroom or they can’t dance other dance styles too.
ADDING: Also, if Derek recommended Hayley (and that is “if” as I’m not sure he did, but, I’m assuming he might have being she was on the MOVE tour this summer), I can’t see why he would do so if she couldn’t handle ballroom as well.
And on Brittany…..how do we know it wasn’t HER choice to leave? In her instagram she said she was excited on a “new journey”. Maybe she is moving on to something bigger and just doesn’t want to do DWTS anymore.
Val is gloating about being a lucky s.o.b. On Twitter. Sounds like he met his new partner. And sound like a ringer. What else is new
Voguerista, I doubt that Brittany has something bigger going on than DWTS and it was probably not her choice to leave as she favourited a tweet which said that replacing her on DWTS is a big mistake…but if she has in fact something better in store-good for her!
Saw Val’s tweet as well, Shim. If Val’s Twitter is anything to go by, he has another ringer :/
It wouldn’t surprise me if Val gets another ringer. I’m sure boredom will ensue.
Meanwhile on Instagram Mark just started following a British actress named Kylie Hutchinson. She hasn’t been in much And she’s 5’71/2 so maybe too tall. She’s very pretty. She doesn’t have many followers and hasn’t tweeted anything on her Twitter yet. She might just be an old friend though. Still fun speculating.
Oh gee, what a surprise Val is tweeting about how lucky he is. Of course he has another ringer. TPTB know that’s the only way to keep their “reigning champ” from getting his sorry a$$ eliminated by week 3. They can’t have that happen, now, can they? It would show everyone with even 1/4 of a brain what a lazy, self-absorbed, entitled, incapable poser he actually is.
Somehow after seeing the comments on here, I ended up on Henry’s Instagram page… and I haven’t stopped laughing for about 10 minutes. ๐ I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much narcissism in a while. What’s with all the pics of him looking through women’s legs and posing? It’s almost vomit-worthy.
#303 Heidi Maks made a comment when he had his knee surgery that I took to mean the movie role had fallen through. Finola Hughes took a LOA from GH to film it so I believe he was dropped from the project.
#304 Sarina I believe the Trueheart thing is somehow tied to Sway and the organization that’s sponsoring the show in Miami. The woman is an event planner with no management or PR experience and suddenly she’s a manager repping all these Sway dancers. Only Maks could leave Lizzie and find someone even more incompetent than she is LOL! I don’t think Sharna is with them after all. She was listed as one of their “superstars” when they started out but she’s since been removed from their web site and their client list.
Checked out twitter trending under #dwts. Posted that on monday first celeb will be announced on ABC GMA. Is this a mistake or correct?
Well, when Val tweeted something like he is lucky then I’m 100% sure he has yet another ringer. If I’m not mistaken, he did the same when he got Janel. He doesn’t get excited when he gets someone like say Bethany Hamilton. I think he got Shay Mitchell.
Maybe Brittany got a role in a play on Broadway or maybe she’s going on tour again but with a music artist this time. Those two gigs sound pretty hudge I think.
Side note: Carlos PenaVega (former member of the band Big Time Rush) just followed Witney on Instagram a few days ago. It made me ponder a little bit as to why he would just follow Witney out of blue like that but idk if its dwts related or not…..
Val appparentl responded to someone saying that No,he has not met his partner and he doesn’t know who his partner is – this was after his claims of having a good day.
Most of these pros call it a “good day” for the tiniest little things. I wouldn’t read too much in.
I’m not sure if it’s connected or not, but I am pretty sure that Carlos PenaVega is going to also be in Grease Live. So maybe he’s looking for someone to teach him some dance so that it’s easier when they begin rehearsals for Grease? Maybe he wants to get in shape?
That said, I don’t know the schedule for GL, if it’ll interfere with DWTS if he does it or not. Or if he goes far on DWTS, would he be able to handle learning things for both?
Witney and Carlos would be an interesting pairing. Also, he is married to the spy kids actress Alexa. Cant’ wait to see who Witney and the others get soon. I wonder if Mondays celeb is a female or male we get first shown to us? Should interesting who it is and with which pro.
Cool so Hayley is in I hope the other guy is Paul. thnx for the update ladies
๐
It is so sad. Sasha Farber missed pro again this season. Why? Didn’t he
done not well last season and tour Everybody loves him. He has a good fan base.I think as long as all current male pro dancers are on, he’ll never has a chance, even if there is a short female contestant. I fill very disappointed.
I have tried to not think about Sasha NOT being a pro yet again, but it does sadden me. I wanted that for him more than anything else about this show – except no manipulation by the producers. Such a shame. I’ll just try to enjoy whatever role he plays in the troupe, and hope that he continues to shine as brightly as he always does.
Derek has mentioned more than once that he has one or two seasons left (first he said two, then he said one – which I think is accurate), plus he has some very exciting opportunities should he accept them. I think that him leaving will open a spot for Sasha, even though Sasha is a good bit shorter.
PH, that would be lovely. I completely agree with you that no pro deserves a place on the show, a contender, or a win, but it grates when a decent guy like Sasha who’s shown he’s a hard-working team player and capable of doing more isn’t given the opportunity. However, as you also said, DWTS is in the business of making money, and if they need pros like Keo (whom I feel is sub-par) more than they need a pro like Sasha to make more money, well then it is what it is–business.
Of course (because I’ve been a downer all day) I have to add that the producers have to NOT destroy the show between now and Derek’s departure in order for Sasha to get a shot. ๐
I agree with you on Keo, Cidra – he’s had his shot and hasn’t really done well at all. He also seems extraordinarily self centered to me every time he opens his mouth. He’s not focused on his celeb. Say what you want about Val, but he can’t touch Keo in this area, I’m afraid. I keep remembering what he said when he was eliminated the first time. “Me, Me, Me” I could have attributed that to being a newbie and a non-native english speaker, but a recent article had much of the exact same verbiage. Very unfortunate, because he’s tall and handsome.
Keo is definitely very handsome and seems really nice, but just very immature. However, from what I hear he’s pretty popular with the ladies in the tour audience – and at home – so I can see why they are trying to give him another shot. I’ll root for him, but my expectations have been significantly lowered.
Over at DTWS360 on twitter they are saying there will only be two guys in the troupe (Sasha and Alan) but there will be 7 male pros.
So even if Tony is back (which I can’t see why he shouldn’t be) we’re still one male pro short.
I wonder if they’re bringing someone back or if it’ll be someone new.
lol – I meant DWTS360, sorry about the typo
All this negative talk about Henry is baffling to me. Love, love him. In interviews and conversations he seems like such a humble, decent and respectable guy. Has only good things to say about everyone. Wish him all the success in whatever he does.
Henry: And so what if he’s channeling “Christian Grey’ on his social media. It’s harmless and he does have cute one liners. As least he’s not on there naked flashing some body part. He’s a good looking man.
Maybe if you had been reading the site for a while, Jules, you would be well aware of why we have issues with Henry. Lots of issues. You like him? Good for you. Just be careful you don’t start criticizing other’s opinion.
Am in no way criticizing anyone’s opinion. Just simply stating mine as I’m sure I have a right to. Thank you!
Actually, there are no “rights” here. This is our site and it is moderated how we see fit. You step over the line and you get deleted. My first post was a word of caution. This one is a second. I don’t give out that many when someone is new to the site and they start out on the edge of criticizing and exhibiting bad netiquette.