DWTS Rob Wade, Deena Katz, And Mark Ballas Weigh In On How The Pairs Are Selected
How does Dancing With The Stars decide on the 12 couples prior to each season? E Online talked with Executive Producer Rob Wade, casting director Deena Katz, and pro Mark Ballas about it. Read on….
“It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” Wade tells E! News. “We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”
Mark Ballas, who says the dancers “don’t get a say in their partners,” echoes Wade’s sentiment, telling us, “They pair us on height and size, so it feels comfortable for the women and vice versa for the women when they’re dancing. They also try and make us compatible based on personality, and what they think will work well. Each one of the pro dancers has a different way of teaching, choreographing, and also just different personalities, as well as time-stamps on patience. They kind of try to pair us accordingly.”
And just because the pairs get along, it doesn’t mean DWTS there won’t be clashes, with Katz explaining, “There’s still the drama. There’s still the fights about their cha-chas that are silly.”
Now that many of the professional dancers have become household names, with some of them more famous than their star, Wade likes to find celebrities that will show a different side of longtime cast members. “You also want to give the viewer something different, there’s some things that you just want the viewer to see a different side,” he says. “So when we put Peta [Murgatroyd] with Tommy Chong, it was really the best thing for her because we saw a whole new side to her. So you want to see the different dynamics of the dancers.”
Some viewers have noticed a trend in pairings, with Tony Dovolani often getting the older female celebs (he was recently paired with Suzanne Somers and Betsy Johnson), Ballas getting the youngest (think Sadie Robertson and Willow Shields) and so on. But Wade says it’s not intentional, saying, “Every dancer gets a different range of type of peopleā¦and then they say they only get those people.” Wade acknowledges that some of the dancers may have picked up on some pairing trends, saying, “The hindsight is always very 20/20 for the dancers, but actually, they get a variety of different people!”
More at E Online. This is getting me even more excited. Here’s to the Good Morning America Pro and Celeb announcement tomorrow.
I do think that in almost all the cases, they are looking for compatible partners rather than antagonistic ones – and they almost always do a wonderful job. I think in the cases like Hope and Maks, they didn’t expect such a toxic relationship.
I’m grateful that they don’t go for the cheap drama of fights, bickering, or whatever, because it’d be easy headlines to do so, but that’s not the kind of show I want to watch.
But they do take serious advantage of things that just happen. Like Kim and Robert. Hope and Maks. Etc. They don’t HAVE to do that, but they choose to. Well, Hope and Maks were always like that, from what we heard, but the spy cam on Robert and Kym was just disgusting.
word PH! I agree totally
Interesting how they make absolutely no mention of the fact that some of their top “gets” have requested and been paired with certain pros. That said, you can see why they’d have to keep quiet about that or every no-rate reality personality who fancies themselves a “star” would demand their favorite pro. Then it would be even harder to cast the show.
They also don’t mention that their assistant producers (or whatever they call the minions in the room with the camera person) poke at the couples to say/do things to get something for the camera (e.g., goading Nastia to “look bad” after an exhausting 8 hours of rehearsal).
The first thing every pro should do is teach their celeb the Nicole and Derek’s “The Camera is On Us” song, and sing it at the start of every rehearsal.
Oh totally – they absolutely do take advantage of and manipulate the dynamics before them TONS, and it’s the only thing I don’t like about the show at all – but at least they don’t go so far as to pair people with the express purpose of creating a bad relationship – which I have to say, for a reality show, is kind of refreshing.
I can understand that pairing celebs and pros each season isn’t necessarily a walk in the park, and it takes some careful consideration – but for the most part, they do seem to get it right, and there have only been a few mismatches. The first one that comes to mind is Michael Bolton & Chelsie – yikes – but I don’t know that they really could have avoided that one with all of the last-minute partner switches that had to occur after Edyta unexpectedly bailed that season. Hope & Maks? I don’t know that anyone could have predicted initially that those two would have been so volatile, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t create some real “pass the popcorn” drama that season. I wouldn’t even call them a mismatch – cause they made some compelling TV. Mismatches for me are when a couple is so terribly awkward or completely lack chemistry to the point where it actually makes it uncomfortable for the viewer to watch. Michael & Chelsie were that special brand of mismatch; I think Pam & Tristan were, too, and so were Kate & Tony (although I can’t imagine that woman would have done well with any of the pros).
Perhaps I don’t blame Henry for leaving DWTS. There is no future for him or Sasha.Henry always was in the shadow of current male pros in way of publicity,money.I know all troupe dancers trying hard to impress TPTB,
with hope to be promoted next season, but until someone from current pro
decide to sit out or has an accident (Dereck or Peta),there is no chance.
Look how many short female celeb this season,Henry and Sasha still missed it.What is the point to work your ass of?
Well Henry has burned some bridges with his huge ego and some things that’ve come out of his mouth. He doesn’t appreciate the opportunity like Sasha does. Henry threw a FIT after several weeks of fillling in for Derek on Sunday Camera Blocking days last season and hence, Sasha took over that role….then got to be Nastia’s partner when Derek got injured. So, I don’t feel sorry for Henry ONE BIT! His attitude has grown to that of Val and Maks in thinking that they’re ‘too good’ for things. Well buddy if ya don’t like it, LEAVE! Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!! BYE FELICIA!!
Henry deserved to sit in the Shadows. Sasha will get his chance.
Er, threw a fit might be a bit extreme. But Derek didn’t care for the way he was talking and then he was no longer involved. The “too good to be a standin” comments came from Shirley. Which I’m sure are correct along with Derek being less than pleased. At the end of the day, he was basically refusing to DO HIS JOB.
Wait, what’s this story about Henry throwing a tantrum? I hadn’t heard about this until very recently in the cast reveal comments
@Anna R – We’ve told the story numerous times, and Shirley Ballas even confirmed it on Afterbuzz, but here it is one more time: Henry started overstepping his boundaries last season when assisting Derek with Nastia – he was trying to change choreography, was confusing Nastia, and was trying to take more credit than Derek for Nastia’s success on the show. Derek asked him (politely) to just be honest when explaining his role in the partnership; Henry throws a diva fit, says he “doesn’t want to help anymore”, and Sasha steps in to assist with Nastia. Long story short: Henry went all douchey diva, and he paid the price.
Thanks, Court – I didn’t actually see the story anywhere. But wow, major screwup on Henry’s part. If he had handled it differently, maybe he’d be a teaching pro instead of, like…fired.