PureDWTS Seasons 23 & 24: Who Might Get An Emmy Nomination? **PREDICTIONS**

I apologize that this is being done in the 11th hour, but aside from this just being an unusually and insanely busy time for Heidi, Vogue, and myself, we’re also having all sorts of problems with the site since we got migrated to a different server by our provider, and it’s driving us each to the brink of insanity because the site…loads…impossibly…sloooooooow. So thanks for bearing with us 🙂

So the Primetime Emmy Award nominees get announced tomorrow at 11 AM EST – we’ll be sure to post if DWTS ends up getting nominated in any category.  But I see many of you are already speculating on whether or not any of our pros might get a nod for any of the choreography we’ve seen the past two-ish seasons – so here’s where we speculate 😉

Some background and things to keep in mind: the eligibility period runs from (roughly, and bear with me as I’m going from memory) late May 2016 to late May 2017, so it’s basically anything from seasons 23 or 24 (Heidi will have to elaborate on exact cutoff rules). DWTS generally is lucky to eke out one nom in the Outstanding Choreography category – two or more is a miracle, as they’re usually up against any number of professionally choreographed & performed routines on SYTYCD, as well as any other random choreography (a set of routines from My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won last year) or numbers from awards shows or musicals aired on TV. Submissions can either take the form of a single piece (i.e. Julianne & Derek’s Emmy-winning “Elastic Heart” routine) or a body of work (i.e. Derek winning for a combined body of work of Shawn’s quickstep, Shawn’s mambo, and the rotating room dance). Because the site is being really, REALLY hinky right now, here’s a link to Questions We’re Tired of Answering, The Emmy Edition, and last year’s Emmy nomination prediction post.  Here’s a link to the big “Emmygate” controversy involving Witney a few years ago, too, because that seems like it’s bound to come up – anywho, those three links are good reads if you’re looking to get a feel for how the nominations tend to go.

So who do I think we might see on the ballot? I think the strongest candidate is probably Julianne & Derek’s “Unsteady” performance:


It’s got the emotional gravity, the right execution, and the choreographic merit. Plus, Derek’s probably the only person from DWTS with enough peers on the voting panel to get the appreciation necessary for a nom.

Now, we’re in a bit of a unique position this year, because the potential nomination pool from last season of SYTYCD is unusually weak, due to the format change with the kids and the mentors. Does that mean there’s more room for nominations from DWTS? Yes and no. The Academy isn’t required to nominate any certain number of routines each year – ostensibly, if they feel the nomination pool is too weak, they don’t actually have to nominate anyone (it’s never happened, but I’m just illustrating that there’s not a set number of spots to fill). But with SYTYCD significantly weakened, I think it is possible that it might open the door for some DWTS routines that were just as meritorious but maybe weren’t as favored due to being ballroom (the Academy tends to favor contemporary and has an odd history when it comes to nominating ballroom routines). So that being said – who else do I think might be in the nomination mix?

I think Sharna, Lindsay, and/or possibly Emma might be able to slide in with a “body of work” nod – Emma for a few of Shad’s routines, Lindsay for a couple of Calvin/David’s, and Sharna for one or two of James’. I think Emma might actually stand the best shot, if they submit she & Shad’s two Viennese waltzes (the ones that were connected), and his contemporary:

These three just feel like a nice, cohesive narrative, and the choreography is moody & unique enough to stand out.

I keep going back and forth on Lindsay, because while we saw some pretty genius stuff out of her these past two seasons, her partners weren’t exactly fantastic dancers – and unfortunately, that does tend to come into play when they’re making the nominations. But I think she could cobble together a decent package using Calvin’s Argentine tango and maybe David’s salsa:


As for Sharna – she’s unfortunately a little bit screwed, given that she had one really good partner (James) and one pretty lousy one (Bonner) to cull routines from, and the good one seemed to get stuck on a season that was bogged down in gimmicks & themes more often than not. But if I had to pick one routine that might be able to hold its own – I think I would actually go with the Suicide Squad Viennese waltz:

I think Heidi mentioned Derek’s Kairos routine as a potential contender too – I can’t remember it, and this connection is scheisty AF right now, so someone feel free to link to it in the comments.

So who are your predictions for Outstanding Choreography nominations?