PureDWTS Season 24 Debate – Battle of the Ringers: What Makes Heather Morris So Ringer-y?
So I think it’s been established that, as a professional dancer, Heather is pretty ringery, in terms of DWTS. I would even go so far as to say she’s the ringiest ringer the show has ever had – although judging from some of the chatter I’ve seen here, on Twitter, and on Facebook, some of you don’t agree. And there’s also those that don’t really seem to understand what some fans of the show are so upset about – “So Heather’s a dancer? Big deal, so was Nicole/Shawn/Amber/etc.” And it’s those comparisons to other previous ringers on the show that seem to contribute to some of the misunderstanding of just how ringery Heather really is – so I put this together to address some of the questions I’ve gotten about “Well what about [insert previous contestant here]? He/She was a big ringer, too!”
Let me start off by recapping Heather’s background for those who don’t really know it: Heather’s been dancing since she was 9 years old, and has trained in jazz, tap, and contemporary, primarily. She tried out for season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance, and made it through Vegas week to the “Green Mile” (the stage of the competition where the judges select who will and won’t advance to live shows) but was not chosen as one of the final top 20. She landed a gig dancing backup for Beyonce in 2007, and also nabbed a number of small dance roles in various TV shows and movies. She was eventually brought to the Glee set in 2009 to help teach the “Single Ladies” dance to some of the cast, and was so well-liked by the cast & crew that Ryan Murphy actually created the role of Brittany for her. So to be clear: Heather started off as a PROFESSIONAL DANCER – she only dabbled (only semi-successfully, I might add) in acting & singing as a result of her role on Glee. She is a dancer that (kinda) acts and sings – not the other way around. Yes, this is an important distinction to make – and generally the biggest factor that sets her apart from previous ringers. Read more..