PureDWTS Season 24 – Who’s Dancing with Who? **Couples Spoilers**
What follows is a list of the pairings we have confirmed for this season. If you don’t want to be spoiled and want to be surprised come Wednesday morning, do not venture any further. You’ve been warned 😛
1.) Normani Kordei & Val Chmerkovskiy
2.) Heather Morris & Maks Chmerkovskiy
3.) Bonner Bolton & Sharna Burgess
4.) Charro & Keo Motsepe
5.) Mr. T & Kym Johnson
6.) Erika Jayne & Gleb Savchenko
7.) Nick Viall & Peta Murgatroyd
They really Edyta’d Kym,that’s ridiculous! It’s obvious they don’t ever want Keo to make it far and the Chmer. Bros got Ringers and Peta got the Bachelor…What a shock! This is so upsetting,right now this season is so unwatchable.
Unless Mark Wally Pipp’s Sasha at the last second, it’s gotta be Simone and Sasha. Nancy feels like Artem’s reward for surviving Mischa Barton.
Chris and Witney feels right. Which leaves Lindsay a second NFL player, and Emma paired up with the last remaining mystery man (Shemar? Drew/Johnathan Scott? I’m still holding out a prayer of hope for Geoffrey Zakarian)….
Val got a member of a girl group who has extensive dancing experience, and Maks gets a girl who is a PROFESSIONAL DANCER…. (pretends to be shocked)
Yikes. I feel for Keo.
You didn’t really think Val would be paired with someone without dance experience, now did you??
Charro and Mr. T should be fun to watch.
Thanks for the updates – looking forward to the rest of the reveal.
While the female stars are EXTREMELY talented, I think at least a few will be let down by their pros.
On the other hand… The Female pro lineup is looking awesome, which I feel will balance out the female stars.
I REALLY hope Lindsay and Emma get great partners (One of them should get Rashad, who looks to be at least a decent partner)
I’m actually happy with Nick and Peta, Peta is married and now a mother so there won’t be a showmance
Bonnet and Sharna seem like a nice pairing
I doubt Gleb and Keo will last long this season
Not surprised about Maks and Val’s partners (Maks better step up his choreo)
Praying that Simone and Sasha are partners!!!
Like the pairings but would have preferred to see charo and Val and Normani and keo but they always have to ensure that Val lasts awhile don’t they. I don’t know why i find it hilarious but nick is in for a surprise with peta. She isn’t like the girls on the bachelor lol. Bonner and sharna….interesting.
Zero surprises & 100% predictable casting. Sigh! I am not against ringers per se; however, it’s just zero fun to watch ringers dancing to ho-hum choreography with so-so pros. Again. While the C-bros might have done well in the competitive strictly ballroom world, they haven’t evolved past it, and I think they just do not have the imagination to up their choreo game even if they tried. I find it tiring to watch them. I’m happy for Derek and Mark that they’ve moved on to bigger and better things but oh how they will be missed.
Ugh Val and Maks and their partners are going to have me rolling my eyes to the heavens every friggin week seriously….I hope Peta can reign in the ego that Nick Vail guy, supposedly, has….As much as I enjoy looking at Gleb lol, I kinda hope he tones down the sexiness this time with his partner and keeps it more classy-we’ll see….I kinda feel for both Keo and Kym right now like hmmmm are they both being set up take the falls early in the season with their partners? Gotta give them the benefit of the doubt though. Same thing with Sharna and her partner-honestly I gotta google this one lol-not gonna lie-have no clue who he is but I hope he works well with her!!
The pairing of mr t and kym….I kinda love it. She is a blast to watch and he seems fun. I was expecting Emma to get him to Be honest….fingers crossed this isn’t another David hasslehoff situation (fun but just beyond awkward).
@anyonomus: idk if u have seen him on the bachelor yet but he is like two different people. Half the time he is for lack of a better phrase man child whose choices are a bit weird and the other half he is actually likeable. Peta was one of the few pros I’d imagine could get him to focus.
Hit submit too early: but on the plus side he doesn’t seem fake so for the first time in awhile there was a bachelor that actually seems to not Be afraid to show his real personality.
I would think some would be tired of Nick V since he’s been hanging in Bachelor Nation for what 3 years or more. Maybe Sharna’s partner has a winning personality, can dance, and has a good story which will take them far. At least I hope so.
Am I excited about the C-brothers and their (I’m not a dancer) partners? NOT
Apparently Sharna’s partner broke his neck about a year ago in a bull riding accident, so he definately has the emotional story
Charo with Keo!!?? Unless Keo grew up with her on tv in Africa then it kind of misses the point of having Charo on. It won’t be as much fun if he’s never heard of her. Bummed Kym got Mr. T. Not because he won’t be a perfectly wonderful person but because I’m envisioning her having to exit way earlier then I ever wanted. But some Kym is better than no Kym for me.
I’m really hoping Lindsay, Sasha, Witney and Mark (if he’s on) get some really great celebs. Not really crazy about anyone so far. Interested to see that Bonner fellow though.
I doubt if Lindsay would have another footballer this season. Or could she? If not, maybe Emma finally has a contender. All wishful speculation on my part.
Val and Maks got ringers? *insert gif of Da’Vonne from Big Brother being ‘shocked’ here*
I swear if Maks and Val complain about certain pros getting ringers and celebs with dance experience every season ever again, I might have permanent eye-roll syndrome. I don’t think Normani will be as great as Heather but she has the ability to understand memorizing choreography because of being in 5H.
Still cant believe Heather Morris is on this show…
I would actually love Emma with Chris Kattan so i’m hoping for that. Yes I want her to get a great partner but I could see their personalities together and packages being hilarious!
Had to look up who Bonner is. All I have to say is that will be a pretty pair to look at!
Honestly, I would love to see what Derek or Mark could do with Heather Morris, but not as competing partners.
Kym is a blast to work with and I think she’s actually a pretty good match for Mr. T … That being said – I hope it’s not a David Hasselhoff/Penn Jilette type year for her. But then again with her new fitness/dance studio opening…
Battle of the c-bros… ok, maybe?
Peta’s 2nd bachelor… we only like those guys to go so far in the competition.
If Charro is like a suzanne, tommy, or neenee, maybe..
Duuude – sharna always gets the guys from injury…
Please oh please no more bachelors and housewives…
On the upside there might only be one possible showmance… it would be nice to have a second season with out that…
I’m guessing Artem with Nancy Kerrigan and Rashad with Lindsay? Hopefully they have someone awesome with Emma this season. I’d love to see her go far.
Slightly disappointed in these pairings. Normani and Heather will both be excellent but Maks and Val really need to step up their choreo this season. Excited for Nick and Peta and Bonner and Sharna. Both look like great pairings. Charro and Mr. T both look like fun but they will probably be early exits which sucks for Keo and Kym. I hope I am pleasantly surprised! Anyway, it seems like Lindsay, Emma, Sasha, and Artem will have partners that will be good. March 1st can’t come soon enough!
Sorry, who is Heather Morris?
Atleast this time there is a pretty good chance of Sasha lasting a long time, hopefully going all the way. Sorry, I really want to see Simone win.
Nevermind. I Googled her.
It will be interesting to see how Maks handles the challenge of working with a ringer this time around.
What a fucking joke… Val and Maks both have partners w dance exp and Peta has another hunk… I’m shocked.?
Does anyone know why a professional dancer is on the show as a contestant?? Once upon a time I was a fan of Val, but it’s really frustating to see someone CONSTANTLY being favored! And often being a hypocrit about it. I’m rooting for Artem & Linds. And basically anyone else who’s not in the ‘fam’ and is not dancing w a pro dancer/pop star.
Can’t wait for strictly to come back so I can watch a real dance competition…
Why they had to do kym like that lol. I wanna see her win one 🙁
“This time around?” Maks had the previous biggest ringer of all time – Meryl Davis. I suspect that we’ll get similar, uninspired choreo and (thankfully) no faux dance this time around.
Hopefully he won’t throw a mic pac though
Isn’t Meryl still the biggest ringer of all time? Laurie didn’t have the same level of dance that Meryl had.
Ugh. I was looking forward to this season, and now not so much. I’m already dreading the egos of Val and Maks. And you know we’re going to get a lot of the brother vs. brother vs wife/sister-in-law. The C brothers aren’t as good as they like to think they are and that TPTB want to believe. But unfortunately, I can hear the praising from the judges already.
I was happy to see Kym back, but she won’t be around long. Nothing against her partner, but we all know he’s an early out. Gleb and Keo too. They both should be given better partners. Keo seems to get the short stick every season.
Never liked a bachelor/bachelorette on. I see Nick making it half way at the most.
Please TPTB do something decent and good and give Simone to Sasha. Sasha did great with Nicole and better than anyone expected with Terra. Let’s see what he can do with someone like Simone.
Heather Morris is going to be wasted on Maks. She auditioned for SYTYCD too!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Heather and choreograph better than Maks in certain dances
I remember watching an interview on the actual professional dancers that are part of the cast on “Glee” and Heather Morris was one of them along with Harry Shum Jr. Excited to see her moves she’ll bring, but I think she may have more innovative ideas than Maks (although I will be waiting to see the one unique outfit of the season he’ll design for her).
Quite glad Kym is back. Love the swapping back and forth with Cheryl (if I can call it that)…it satisfies my need for an original pro at least. However, I would be pleasantly surprised if Cheryl signed on with Matt Lawrence. I recall two producers saying something along the lines of “expect romance in the air this season.” I jumped to Cheryl and Matt, but its kind of a stretch with the female line up they already have.
For the Fall season…maybe? Anyhoo, excited to read posts here from the mods again this season! 🙂
Keo has not been given “bad” partners every season! His first partner was a young, fit Olympic athlete. Keo’s 2nd partner was a young, beautiful model. The 3rd was older but a legend of the music world like Patti LaBelle, who had a great time the previous season as Artem’s partner. And after 3 strikes, Keo wasn’t out. Instead, he was given a serious ringer in Jodie Sweetin.
3 out of Keo’s 4 partners forgot the choreography! That kind of points to a problem with his instructing. He not only didn’t know how to cover for them or rescue his partner, he regularly out dances them instead of devising choreography to show off his PARTNER, not himself. And S22, when we finally got to see more of Keo it also showed that his ballroom dancing has some serious problems. Like what the hell was that quickstep?!!
I’m not saying that other pros don’t also need improvement. But TPTB need to get on this. Why bench Sasha and Emma so much in favor of pros with less skills in the ballroom like Keo and Allison? And if they want/need Keo for hotness, height and diversity, how about doing something about his teaching/choreography skills or telling him to get lessons in the off season. Allison does bring newness to DWTS, IMO. And I do see that she’s taking lessons on her own to improve. But could they perhaps institute a mentoring system perhaps. So Allison wouldn’t throw everything AND the kitchen sink in every dance. And perhaps with a mentor, Keo could be a smokin’ hot, successful pro who’s partners could enjoy the experience.
@Rachel I think whether or not Meryl is still the biggest ringer of all-time (obviously until Heather Morris is announced) is kind of debatable. I think you could also say that Alfonso Ribeiro contends for that title, particularly if you consider not only his dance ability but also his ability to work his personality and his knowledge of the workings of the show. I’m certainly not saying that Alfonso was decidedly a bigger ringer than Meryl, just that I think you could make reasonable cases for either of them being the biggest ringer of all-time. One award that Alfonso wins by a landslide, though, is the “most shows attended by a former contestant” award. I swear he’s been at like half the shows since his season.
If he were younger, I would maybe consider him to be the biggest ringer of all time.
@etonline is reporting Mark as definitely OUT….not sure how reliable they are but considering the fact it’s down to him and Artem and we’re not hearing much from either and supposedly Mark and his wife aren’t even in the US, I suppose it could be true, no Mark….bummed:(( Oh well
I’d say that Meryl was a bigger ringer than Alfonso because when Meryl was on, S 18, she and Charlie were FRESH OFF their Olympic Gold Ice Dancing Medal. Something no American Ice Dance team had ever done, win a Gold. Thanks in part to Derek Hough’s chores for their short dance 😉 Kinda Like how Laurie was the next biggest ringer…fresh off the Olympics and 16 AND a gymnast. And yet Val underwhelmed with the choreography, much like Maks did with Meryl.
SO not looking forward to this season. C-bros get the Ringers once again. I’m over them. They really don’t have much else going for them though. Sad Mark is out, was really looking forward to his return!
Are people really surprised when Val and Sharna make the final?? The partners they have had over the years anyone could get to the final. Seems unfair to the other pros when Val and Sharna repeatedly get the hot popular and capable stars. My guess is Peta will join them and probably Make or Witney. Not much point in the others competing.
Why not just make them dance in the final saves all the bother. You can’t put pros repeatedly with celebrities who have no chance of getting past week 3 then complain they haven’t done very well. Wish TPTB would genuinely mix it up occasionally.
I think the show wants Maks, Peta, Val, and Sharna in the finals, for all the family drama. Maks and Val got ringers to help make it happen. Heather is a professional dancer, and it’s ridiculous for the show to put her on to “learn to dance”. I’m not interested in their manipulated game.
Maybe the show is trying to give the Fam a back to back to back win (Peta, Val and Maks).
I don’t know who Heather is or if she really is a professional dancer (or just has been trained in the past) but with Maks’ lack of creativity and no chance for a showmance I believe that, regardless of her dancing ability, it might not be too easy for them. Specially with potential strong competition from Normani and specially Simone and the Football player.
I’m really happy with the female pro lineup. But honestly Both Derek and Mark out is sad. Their creativity will be greatly missed.
Who knows – maybe when the average viewer of this show finds out about Heather’s background she’ll be out? I have never heard of her before (I didn’t watch SYTYCD back in Season 2) and just knowing that she’s a professional dancer makes me NOT want to vote for her. It’s just a tad ridiculous that a professional dancer is on this show to begin with. I understand how people get upset over figure skaters and gymnasts being on the show and yes it gives them an edge but a PROFESSIONAL dancer? That’s in another realm really. Team M Chmer ain’t getting my votes! Should be an interesting season to say the least….
@KellyK – Meryl was also quite a bit younger than Alfonso when she did DWTS – she was in her 20’s, he was in his 40’s…and it took a much bigger toll on his body than it did hers.
I don’t agree with the characterization of Sharna as someone who always gets partners that are clearly destined for the finals. When we analyze the quality of the partners a particular pro gets and make determinations about how much help they’re getting from the producers, we have to analyze the obvious potential of the partners before their seasons began. Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s not fair to say that the producers gave someone a gift when that pro was partnered with someone who turned out to be a dark horse. So with that in mind, if you look at Sharna’s partners, she hasn’t been given the cream of the crop every season, and she’s certainly nowhere even remotely close to the level of Val. Actually, of her 8 partners, 2 of them were pretty certain not to make the finals (Andy Dick and Tavis Smiley). Of the remaining 6, 2 were football players, and I really don’t think it’s fair to say that football players are presumptive finalists given that DWTS has had quite a lot of football players and they’ve been pretty hit or miss (for every Calvin or Emmitt there is a Keyshawn or Michael Sam). Noah was an injured military vet which obviously plays well with the general public, but if he had been seriously bad (and he very well could have been, nobody knew his dance ability going in) there would have been no way he was getting into the finals, regardless of how endearing he was to the viewers. It’s nearly impossible to overcome a lack of ability that makes it so that you’re scoring 6s, no matter how good of a personality you have. Similarly, nobody had any idea how good James Hinchcliffe would be before the season started. Sure, he turned out to be one of the two crown jewel male celebrities of last season, but for all anybody knew he was a poor dancer with no hope for getting good scores. Again, they obviously knew he had a good personality going in, but it’s nearly impossible to overcome truly bad dancing with only personality. That leaves 2 people who legitimately were presumptive finalists: Charlie White and Nick Carter. I don’t think 2 of 8 can reasonably be considered to be getting special treatment in the partners department. Heck, I’d say it’s likely that the majority of pros who have done more than two or three seasons have had a similar experience.
WHAT? Heather Morris? The girl who is a professional dancer? The girl who actually stood on one side of Beyonce doing Single Ladies on award shows? She’s on DWTS? That’s just ridiculous. Maybe she requested Maks (considering who’s left on this show…) and that’s why he’s comming back, knowing he actually has a shot with another ringer, the biggest most insane ringer of all. Who’s next? Paula Abdul? Damn…
As for Val. Well yeah, I understand the automatic “ringer calling”, but if there’s something Fifth Harmony is NOT good at is dancing. Those girls have never been good dancers, they might be performers like Erika Girardi/Jayne, they might not be shy, they have the energy, and the drive to get out there and do it, but I’ve seen these girls be clumsy as hell, silly and huge dorks on shows and videos. It’s not like Morris who can do real choreo, these girls just bump, grind, and specially shake their heads and move their hair…I mean weave…That’s pretty much it. She might still have a hard time doing this and fail at it several times in real dances, unlike Morris. They also kind of got the worst one, seriously, watch any video, the more exciting girls to watch in that group are the two black girls and the other tall one. The one who left and this one are just funny to watch.
Poor Kym, this is how they welcome her back?
“Professional Bull Rider”…my God…can somebody start a list of most ridiculous professions that make you qualify as a star on this show?
And does Charo hold the record for most years without being on this show? Meaning, every single year. I’m sure many people will be shocked she hasn’t done it yet. She could’ve been on Season 1 all the way up to Season 23. Same as Mr T, really.
Finally, my guess right now is that, if confirmed, Heather Morris wins this easily, she might still have the fanbase to do it and she’ll definetly have the skills. Then this Fifth Harmony girl (conspiracy theory: behind the scenes they’ll still make Maks win over Val, so the “family” has two each), and if Simone is in, she’s a serious contender too. The only way these girls don’t make it to the finals is by getting some Bindi situation where an inexperienced person with no relevant fanbase just wins over the entire audience on personality and newly discovered skills. But in the end, that might end up actually being Simone anyway (again, if she’s confirmed). Which would be great, she’s likely a Mark/Sasha partner and who doesn’t want to see those two win?
Sorry for the long post…
Maybe Heather will help Maks with the choreography since she’s a dancer. I wonder if her participation on SYTYCD will ever be mentioned on the show.
Sorry, I think Heather shouldn’t even be allowed to do the show. I don’t have a problem with people with some dance experience, but a professional dancer is a little much, worse than the figure skaters, even. That’s not much different than if Hayley were competing on the show.
Mafer, Normani can dance, she’s obviously not a professional like Heather, but i’d say she’s just a step below Paige. Her mother didn’t own a dance studio or anything, but she did dance competitions as a kid/preteen before she started concentrating on music. I do agree with you know about her probably being one of the least popular 5th Harmony Members, so I think fanbase is going to be her downfall since she doesn’t fit the dwts demo.
I don’t think Normani or Heather are going to win. Normani’s fanbase doesn’t fit the demo, and Heather is probably going to get so much backlash that her great dancing will almost be counterproductive.
I think Nancy is the best bet. Shes got some dance experience, she fits the dwts demo perfectly, shes an Olympian, and shes got the heart wrenching story to boot. I’d say Simone has a decent shot also, and she also has a heart warming story (Olympian/her upbringing) but the audience may have gymnast fatigue, so who knows.
Glee also ended a few years ago, so it’s not like it’s a current hit show like when Amber was on DWTS at the same time. So I don’t think it will be as easy for Heather. Plus the fact she’s a known dancer!
If we were going to have all these ringers, I would rather have the entire cast be ringers then have it be divided like this where none of the men are. I’m really looking forward to the bull rider though as his story sounds interesting.
Can’t wait to find out who the surprise mystery star is.
Thank you as always Pure DWTS for all of your hard work.
@Courtney I totally forgot about the age difference between Meryl & Alfonso. Definitely makes a difference.
I also think Amber was a little more of an inspiration, given the fact that she was one of the few plus sized contestants that was actually good, and probably seen as the first that could actually win. I would assume that she gained a decent amount of support from the predominant dwts demographic. She also had Derek.
If the celebrity participant is a better choreographer than the pro dancer, this show is fuuuucked up.
Well I am out this season. Will keep up with this blog but will be doing something else on Monday evenings.
If that’s all you use to determine how good a partner is, Colleen, then you’re not that much different than the C-bros fans. Honestly. His first partner was, as I recall, a beyotch – the only Olympians who have regularly done well on this show are the skaters and the gymnasts. There are very obvious reasons for this. Models are NOTORIOUSLY bad on this show – they’ve only ever really excelled when partnered by Derek. Derek himself said that models generally can NOT move. Chaka Kahn was over 60 – honestly, come on. You’re grasping at straws.
Again, I don’t think Keo is a great pro on this show…but let’s at least attempt to deal in reality and not make the same mistakes that C-bros fans do. Also, you can’t say that Keo doesn’t have skills in the ballroom – he quite obviously DOES have skills. He’s just not a great teacher. The same can be said for several other pros on this show. Also, last I looked, Sasha and Emma are both on this season. Allison is not. So I’m not sure why you and others are complaining. That said…Sasha’s twitter feed is concerning. Even if Sasha got bumped, it is VERY unlikely that it was in favor of Keo, seeing as how Keo is about a foot taller than him. There is more that goes into this show than just that.
Personality and studying the show so you know the ins and outs are NOT what make someone a ringer. Dance training of varying degrees or having a huge fanbase are what does it. Since Alfonso had both he was a ringer, but his age prevents him from being the “biggest of all time”.
Yeah, I agree with m – Sharna does not fall into the category of someone who is handed a great partner every season. That’s the same thing people say about Derek and it was never true – it’s pretty simplistic and thoughtless, actually.
Maybe so, Mafer, but every other member of a girl band has been labeled a ringer by the shrieking C-Bros fans. Who are no longer shrieking, clearly.
Hey, maybe Hayley can come on as Derek’s partner!! 😉
@Princess Heidi # 61 Lol
I hope, with Heather Morris on, that there aren’t too many complaints from fans about Simone’s gymnastics being an unfair advantage.
Maybe Simone backed out of this season? That could explain Sasha’s twitter.
I just want to see Simone paired with Sasha.
Does anybody know if Heather has previous ballroom expertise? (Maybe she’s the pro of the couple…)
Marintx I agree with you it’s that or something where just not getting cause If what I have been reading is true then he is not for shore in anyway.
I do think Sharna falls into the Val/Derek type to a lesser degree. I can’t see how anyone fails to notice that some pros have stars regularly that will make the final rounds and some pros get stars that regularly make don’t make the second half of the show. Sharna doesn’t get the old, overweight, unpopular, incapable, can’t move/dance/count music type of partner as often as others. Can you not see that the cowboy will get so much further than Mr T. Isn’t it time Sharna got more Mr T’s and less cowboys season after season? When was the last time Sharna or Val had to fight to get past the first eviction? Jenna gets an incapable partner and possibly looses her place over it.
Her’s a prediction, Val and Sharna will be in the final for season 24 and season 25. When it becomes that predictable its not right. Just MHO PS I love both Val and Sharna
For those saying a professional bullrider is a ridiculous profession, I’d say no more ridiculous than an insufferable reality tv star. One of my all time favorite contestants was season 4’s Ty Murray. He worked very hard and got to top 4. He couldn’t really master latin, but his ballroom dancing was pretty solid. So if Sharna gets a guy as gosh darsh likable as Ty, she has a contender.
Fifth Harmony fans don’t mess around. I’m sure they’ll power vote and they also have Val. Personally if anyone is a contender for shock elimination I think it’s Heather.
Coleen #37, if TPTB are searching for “hotness, height and diversity” in a girl, they should get Oti Mabuse from SCD. Love her. Amem.
The young overqualified for this show is a downer. It’s not a wonder that a lot of viewership drops off when the name celebrities leave. I hope that Nancy Kerrigan can at least bring it with Artem. Man that’s a gorgeous couple. I hope she’s not too icy because she wasn’t known for passion in her skating. However, imho It’s time we see another really strong older female contend for the win. I loved when Jennifer Grey did it and the drought has been 13 seasons!
Mr T and Charo well they are on the show to get people to watch initially, but going the distance isn’t there and never was fair to begin with. It will be nice to see Kym back.
Ty was on Season 8, #68 Casanova… and I really liked that guy. His sense of humor and charisma… just great.
I hope Charo plays the guitar and dance a paso in the very first week. God, she knows how to PLAY a guitar. Maybe a song like Malagueña or Granada could be a good choice…
@JTRamone Loot at Lindsay, Witney, Peta, and Cheryl. None of them seem to get partners who aren’t likely to make the finals any more than Sharna does. About the only woman who you can definitively say DOES get partners with no hope of making it to the finals more often than Sharna is Emma, and I think we all acknowledge that Emma tends to get the short stick when they’re handing out partners. Jenna is not a fair comparison because she has only been a pro one season. You can’t compare someone’s one and only partner to another person’s history of partners and call it a trend. One data point, by definition, is not a trend. Additionally, pretty much everybody gets someone who isn’t a ringer on their first season. Jenna didn’t get shafted last season, she got the same deal as Lindsay, Witney, Peta, and Sharna also got in their first seasons.
Additionally, you have to take into account how good a pro is with handling their partners and how popular they are. Derek, Mark, Sharna, and Lindsay are all good choreographers who are good teachers, bond well with their partners, and are very popular amongst the show’s viewers. It would be utterly idiotic for the show to set up a situation in which all of the “best” (i.e. fan favorites who choreograph well and make for fun to watch partnerships) pros get eliminated early on. At this point in the journey of DWTS as a show, it has become the case that the pros are a large part of the reason people watch, not just the celebrities. It would be a really poor marketing strategy to ignore that fact. The bottom line is that the pros who are good teachers, good choreographers, and fan favorites will be given partners who are likely to hang around for at least a little while. This is in the interest of the show’s viewership, and it is completely fair. When it becomes unfair is when the same pro is repeatedly given the celebrity with the largest chance of winning of all the celebrities. That is not the case with Sharna.
To Cassanova
Yes, I agree that being a reality star is just as ridiculous, but at least they qualify as “stars”. Some of these people get more money, ratings, viewers and popularity than what we would call “real stars”. A bull rider? Who here can say they’ve watched/seen a bull riding competition? Seriously speaking, I’m sure somebody will say “me, of course, hundreds of them!”. It doesn’t make you a star for this show. Not even close. But that’s the DWTS we love.
It also doesn’t matter what Ty Murray did or was, that wasn’t the point. Just talking about professions and how far this show will go to get “stars”. This professional bull rider could end up being charming, cool, the underdog, and our favorite half way through the season. Look at James last year. Just like the army vets who weren’t stars (one of them won), the guy on the train who went to the finals who was 10000% not a star, or the daughter of the crocodile guy we forgot existed.
As for Heather not having a fanbase anymore. That’s true. But fanboys don’t forget. They’re still around and Heather/Brittany were really popular, sometimes she could be the best part of an episode. I agree though that she could face backlash.
To whoever said a “competition full of ringers”…that honestly sounds like a good idea. Would really show some pros weaknesses far more easily and let others rise to the top.
Er, Sharna does NOT fit the Val type and neither does Derek. The only way you can see it this way is if you are a C-bros fan looking for other scapegoats to throw under the bus. Sharna had a racecar driver last season that NO ONE thought would go to the finals. She had Noah who was missing an arm and part of a leg. She had Andy Dick and Tavis Smiley – neither of whom was expected to do well. She’s had a couple good partners (when a C-bro had a better, bigger ringer) but she’s had some real, actual challenges. She’s the only pro on the show to be as challenged as Derek was and she has held up just as well.
The ONLY person who has never been challenged in the group of Derek, Sharna and Val is VAL. The only person in that group of three who won the show WITHOUT A ringer is Derek. The only person in that trio who has yet to prove himself is Val.
This isn’t even a matter of opinion at this point.
MF, I’m gonna wager a guess that you’re not from the US…
…and so it goes. Who the heck are these celebrities? Had to dbl ck most of them. So I guess I will be able to vote on ‘skills’ only this year. Unless of course GZ does show up. Or Derek. Or Mark. 🙂
OMG, I love Bonner Bolton. I heard an interview with him once on TV and he came across as very respectful, charming and likable. What kind of a dance he will be remains to be seen, but I have high hopes for him.
@carlos: I love her guitar playing too. I think she is going to be a lot of fun with the Latin ones for sure. Heck I’m hoping she gets cha cha week one to be honest. Just so we can see all her energy out there at least once 🙂
WHAT??? WHAT??? I simply adore Heather Morris but I’m so NOT happy she’s with Maks. Pffft… Maks its easy to win Mirror Balks when you have ringers.
Just in no Alison
Pretty sure that we’ve had Allison as out for a few days now if you would READ our other posts before commenting.
What a line-up so far! I have to say I’m a little disappointed they are having Heather Morris on ~ she is a dancer, after all. I like her, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed watching her dance on Glee but having her on defeats the whole purpose of the show. LOL I don’t know why I’m so surprised, it’s not like she’s the first who could really dance already. Anyways, it just might work against her ~ people won’t vote just because she is already a professional dancer. This just might be the first season I don’t bother to vote but just watch the dancing and enjoy it for what it is. Still hoping Cheryl will be back….
Oh great. So both of the Cocky bros get the two people I was most excited to see….Smh. and I’m here for Mr. T and Kym !!!!
I suspect the shit talking, slander, lies, complaints and disgusting behavior will be at an all time high this season.
This is probably going to be your worst season because the fam are about to dominate(Maks, Val, Peta, Sharna). No Derek or Mark. Even Allison. You might have Julianne to hang on to if she is a judge.
If I was you guys I’d hope Simone and Sasha kill it.
Couldn’t they have given Heather to a better choreographer? Maks’ numbers make me want to sleep. I understand that she may be considered a ringer but contemporary dancers don’t necessarily transition to ballroom dancing well all the time. Most of the time they do but it isn’t guaranteed.
I’ve always been all for ringers but… a professional dancer may be a bit too much. How about making it a little bit more interesting and throwing Harry Shum (Mike Chang on Glee) into the mix? I honestly have always wanted him on DWTS but thought he would never be allowed since he’s a professional dancer but now… Pair him with Lindsay and let’s see some real competition both between the stars and the pros!
Anyway, a season without Derek is never as exciting for me as when he is in but I know he’s doing other exciting stuff (can’t wait to see him on tour!) so I’m just hoping that this season is not totally ruined with a lot of fauxmance and mediocre choreography.
Carlos, thank you yes you’re right Season 8 was Ty Murray, that season along with Season 4 probably stand out to me as a favorite. And Reality “Stars” just aren’t. They are people with middling to mediocre interest, no talent and get a label slapped “star” on them, which is an insult to actual stars.
As for bull riders, well, I am not a fan of rodeos, but parts of the US and Canada are, and their riders are bonafide stars. And their fans are loyal and they are the demographic that votes. Bull riders are tremendous athletes that take a beating out there as much as a football player, maybe even more so. When Ty Murray was on he wrote an amazing blog that detailed his struggle with learning dancing, and we really also got an insight to him as a human being. Straight talk, no bs, easy on the eyes, had a integrity to boot. Since I think Sharna is lovely and a strong choreographer, if this Bonner guy is anything like Ty, we got a horserace because imho, the Glee Gymnast Singer is the same demo.
Normani, to me is going to be the biggest threat. When I say this girl can dance, I say she can dance. I mean forget about 5th harmony, normani is the best dancer in the group and she more than shaker and twerker. This girl can really dance.
@Valerie I have no doubt that Normani is a very good dancer, but at a certain point it doesn’t even matter anymore. Dance ability matters in the first maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the season when there’s some legitimate, consistent disparity between the scores people are receiving. Obviously if one person is consistently getting 7s and another is currently getting 8s and 9s, the person getting 7s will need to make it up in the votes, and it is an uphill battle. However, the judges seem to judge on an absolute scale and not a relative scale. What I mean by this is that they don’t set the best performance as being a 10 and then work down from there with the rest of the performances. Rather, they have an absolute standard for what is a 10, and they will give a 10 to anybody who meets the standard, even if that means every single person gets 10s in weeks 9, 10, and 11. Given the talent of the cast this season, I’d say there are at least 4 people that we can already say will be capable of 10s, provided their pros are coaching the properly. This means that this season is really likely to be one in which the judges’ scores will not factor in really at all for the semifinals and finals.
This leaves it to the viewer voting. As has been show time and time again, the viewers often vote based on personality, story, or journey rather than just who had the best dance. While I agree that Normani will likely have the ability to get the kinds of judges’ scores that will send her far in the competition, and she could very well be one of the two best dancers on the show, I feel that this season is going to be determined by who connects best with the audience and whose fanbase votes most. At this point, I feel like it’s impossible to predict who that will be.
I think you’re sorta right and sorta wrong, m – only because you leave out a HUGE deciding factor on who wins the show: producer pimpage and package editing. Remember how much Derek had to say about the packages last season? And this is from a guy who normally censors himself pretty heavily (and who has a stellar reputation with his partners, unlike some). You know it’s bad when he’s talking about it. If the producers decide that they want you to win, they are going to work hard to manufacture things that make the audience happy and want to vote for you. Conversely, if you’re doing too well and they don’t want you to – look out. Part of it is for the drama of it all, but when you have tours that you’re planning to make big money on, suddenly, the top finisher has a monetary component tied to him or her.
I think this sort of thing also impacts the judges scoring – they throw out 10s all the time to people haven’t met an “absolute standard”.
@Princess Heidi Yes, the producer manipulation, how could I forget?! I think my sleep-deprived brain blocked that part of my memory as I was typing that response.
Honestly as I love contestants like normani, simone and heather. Its kinda a slap in the face to the contestants with limited or no dance experience at all. I think they need to start doing a season of dancers and a season of nondancers to even out the playing field, just sayin.
@valerie That idea sounds far too messy to me. As soon as you try to separate out “dancers” and “non-dancers,” you place yourself into a situation of having to draw an arbitrary line on a spectrum. Where is that line drawn? Is Simone considered a dancer? Is Nancy? Is Rashad? Is Bonner? Is David? How would they possibly be able to draw a line that would make any sort of rational sense? Inevitably, the line would have to be drawn between two people who have a very negligible difference in the magnitude of their advantage. Additionally, I don’t think lacking “dance experience” is a reasonable indicator of an inability to dance well on DWTS. Look at James last season. He had no dance experience, and yet he was able to dance (depending upon who you ask) nearly as well as Laurie, as well as Laurie, or a bit better than Laurie, who by your definition has “dance experience.” The only people who legitimately have no chance of dancing well are the elderly, frail sorts. In the end, everybody knows what they’re getting into when they sign. Everybody knows there will be young people, athletes, young athletes, and whatever other people with advantages. They sign on knowing that this is part of the deal. I would argue that Heather was over the line in terms of casting decisions because while people know that there will be people with advantages, they don’t expect that those advantages will include being qualified to be in the troupe. Other than that though, it’s a spectrum and people know what they’re getting into.
You’re the one making it hard, m, and confusing “experience” with “talent”. “Ability” and “training” are NOT THE SAME THING. There is no reason they can’t simply say “if you’ve had more than six months dance training since the age of 21 OR ballroom training of any kind, you can’t dance this season.” Piece of cake. It would leave the gymnasts/skaters in unless they’ve had dance training – which many of them have – but it will also leave in people like Nicole Scherzinger, Kellie Pickler, Mel B, Sabrina, etc. It would cut OUT Heather and Riker…and Janel, Elizabeth, Mya, Melissa and other women who have adult dance on their resume. It’s not that hard when you think just about training and not about ability. You can make the line stricter if you want and say “no girl/boy band people” – that would cut out Nicole, Sabrina, Mel B, Nick, Lance Bass. It’s all about what you would want to make the exclusion criteria. I personally don’t mind the ringers like Nicole as long as they don’t all go to ONE PRO (Val). I do mind Heather and, to a less extent, Riker, simply because the leg up is too great.
@Princess Heidi I do realize that experience and talent are very different. I was constructing that reply to address the way valerie framed it, which included Simone into the “dance experience” group. It seems that she determined that gymnastics is “close enough” to dance experience. The point I was attempting to make, which I think I made poorly, is that if we try to separate out the people who have dance experience and the people who someone deems to be “close enough” to having dance experience (gymnasts, skaters, etc.) from those with no experience and those who someone deems “not close enough” then the distinctions are certainly going to become very arbitrary.