Dancing With The Stars Season 22 Cast Reveal Date Set For March 8th!
This morning on Good Morning America they revealed the cast reveal date for Dancing With The Stars Season 22. It takes place on March 8, 2016. Stay tuned for video!!! Thanks to @idolxfactor1 for the heads up!
ETA: Video added. Geez, how are they going to keep it under wraps for three weeks?
ETA2: Official statement by ABC added below…
#DWTS Season 22 Cast Reveal Confirmed For March 8th #GMA pic.twitter.com/h1ytxMcRtB
— Al Kahn (@idolxfactor1) February 19, 2016
On March 8th, we will reveal the cast of the new season of @DancingABC LIVE on @GMA! #DWTS #DWTSonGMA pic.twitter.com/0IislD24ZH
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 19, 2016
All-New Celebrity Cast Of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” to Be Revealed Live, Tuesday, March 8, on “Good Morning America”
THE ALL NEW CELEBRITY CAST OF ABC’S “DANCING WITH THE STARS” WILL BE REVEALED LIVE, TUESDAY, MARCH 8,
EXCLUSIVELY ON “GOOD MORNING AMERICA”“Dancing with the Stars” Premieres on Monday, March 21
This season’s exciting new cast of “Dancing with the Stars” will be revealed live, TUESDAY, MARCH 8, exclusively on “Good Morning America” (7:00-9:00 a.m. EST) on the ABC Television Network. The competition begins with an all-new cast of celebrities who will brave the dance floor for the very first time. Each week these celebrities will leave their comfort zones and endure hours of grueling rehearsals to master technical choreography and entertaining performances. In the end, only one star will rise above the rest to be crowned champion and win the coveted Mirrorball trophy.
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning host Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and Erin Andrews (sports host and “Dancing with the Stars” Season 10 finalist), “Dancing with the Stars” is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts including head judge, Len Goodman, dancers/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba. The all-new season of “Dancing with the Stars” premieres MONDAY, MARCH 21 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST).
“Dancing with the Stars” is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Rob Wade and Ashley Edens-Shaffer are executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs. “Dancing with the Stars” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG, L parental guideline.
About BBC Worldwide Productions
BBC Worldwide Productions is a key business under BBC Worldwide North America, the U.S. division of the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), BBC Worldwide. Based in Los Angeles, BBC Worldwide Productions develops and produces scripted and unscripted projects based on BBC formats/brands for cable and broadcast networks, as well as digital platforms. The production company is producer of “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Getting On” (HBO), “Top Gear” (HISTORY) and the upcoming limited series “Crime” (HBO).
ABC Media Relations
I’m so excited about the next DWTS!!!
I’m not sure who chooses the pros on the dwts poster but Keo and Witney really? Not doing a good job like last season choosing two pros who ended up not even pros in the season.
Witney is young, cute and a former winner. Maybe not an iconic pro but a good enough choice for the poster. Much better than Keo, who I feel was chosen for reasons of “Hey, we got a black guy!” Is that politically incorrect to say? Because I’m all for equality, and God knows my Twitter feed is full of praise for another black pro dancer (Keo’s fellow South African Oti Mabuse) but I feel like he’s had enough chances already.
Keo isn’t on the show just because he is a black guy. He is a world class ballroom dancer. Yes, he hasn’t done well with his partners, but lets look at his partners. Lolo was robotic in her dance, but it was her horrible attitude after the dance that was uncomfortable to watch and probably sent her packing. Charlotte got the raw end of the deal with the video package that basically just played up her boobs to an audience of mostly conservative women. The fact that she forgot her dance didn’t help. And then people like to compare Chaka to someone like Patti, but once again, personality-wise they were so different. Chaka was really reserved and somewhat boring in front of the camera, where as Patti was engaging, funny and warm.
I agree Keo should have probably gone into the troupe first and he does not dance down to his partners’ levels. But this line that he is on this show just for diversity sake completely downplays his legitimate talent. Seasoned pros have gone out first with seemingly bigger and better partners. I mean Kym went out with David Hasselhoff first who was one of the bigger gets of that season. We all know that there are a lot of factors that play into voting and he’s unfortunately had people that don’t seem to have natural ability and don’t have the personalities or showmanship to compensate for lack of dance skill, like many of Emma’s partners.
So the cast will be revealed all at once? Not like the all-over-the-place disaster of a reveal from last season?!
Oh god, here we go with the “Keo has just had bad partners!” argument. Once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern – three of Keo’s partners (all from different backgrounds) have all had the same issue on DWTS: forgetting choreography. What’s been the common denominator in all three partnerships? Keo. After watching his rehearsals with Charlotte, I can see why: he seems more content to goof off during rehearsals than actually buckle down and drill his partners on their choreography. That’s an issue – and I feel like it’s one that Keo’s fans seem to conveniently sweep under the rug the minute anyone says they don’t really like him.
Do I think they initially hired Keo as a pro to bring some diversity to the cast? Yes. Do I think he has developed his own following since then, and deserves to be on the show in some capacity? Yes. Do I think he needs to bone up on his teaching skills before he can really be successful as a pro? Yes. Do I think they maybe were in such a rush to cast someone “diverse” that they didn’t bother to really check on Keo’s teaching credentials before hiring him? Yes. Do I think he’s better suited to performing and competing than teaching? Yes. Do I care that he’s on the poster? No.
+1 Court. You said it all for me. I have a whole new respect for him as a performer after seeing him on the DWTS tour, but, none as a teaching pro.
I take no issue with legitimate criticism of him as a teacher and I am no big Keo fan. My issue is with people saying he is there just because is black, as if he has no legitimate qualifications. If people want to write him off, then that is their prerogative. I personally would like to see how he would do with someone who takes more naturally to dance. If a pro has a good celeb and they totally screw it up, then I am more inclined to write the off.
I agree that what I said about Keo was somewhat harsh, that I shouldn’t have led off with the point about race, which makes it seem more important than it is, and that you can’t always tell much from someone’s early seasons (Val’s were nearly as bad.) On the other hand clearly there’s an issue. I agree with Courtney that 3 diverse partners falling victim to exactly the same issues sure looks like a problem with the teacher. Besides the obvious “forgetting choreo” problems, I think there’s an issue with likeability. Maybe it’s not his job to make his partners likeable, and maybe he didn’t see Lolo’s snafu coming but I can’t think of anyone else with two such hated partners as Lolo and Charlotte (actually not by me but in general it seems.) I very much hope someone’s had a word (maybe one of the seasoned pros could even coach him) because I’d really like for his work as a pro and a teacher to match his work as a dancer, but at the minute it doesn’t.
I really like Keo, and he has a nice personality besides being a great dancer. Sometimes I felt like he gets into himself and likes to put himself in the limelight. Maybe after watching other (Pros) and how they do with their celebs maybe he has acquired the knowledge that he needs to make it all about his partner, and make her shine no matter whether she is a “ringer” or never danced. Brushing up on this and his creativeness would help him a great deal. I would like to see more of him, as I enjoy watching him dance; but he’s not the main character on the dance floor.
@Mr. A – I understood what you meant. I think the show did set out to specifically cast a “pro of color”, and I think they may have gotten so honed in on that that they maybe overlooked his shortcomings as a teacher. Keo himself even mentioned in the interview that the only thing they seemed super-concerned about when they interviewed him for a pro spot was that he was single. They didn’t seem terribly concerned with his teaching experience or anything else – just that he could give the impression of being “available” to female fans. I see that as a bit of a red flag – to me, only being concerned that Keo was a) black and b) single seems pretty racist, whether it’s got a positive connotation or not. I don’t think a lot of fans realize that Keo’s experience stems mainly from competing as a pro in South Africa, and performing as part of Burn the Floor. I get the feeling he just does not have a lot of experience with actually teaching anyone else – he’s a performer first, and a teacher…not really. 🙂 And I find myself getting super irritated when I dare to point out that Keo, while a great performer and nice/attractive guy, is severely lacking as a teacher – and I get labeled as a racist. What’s worse: pointing out that Keo is maybe not the best teacher, because I feel he should be held to the same standard as every other pro; or refusing to acknowledge that Keo’s not a great teacher, simply because he’s black?
As for his partners – I actually do think it’s partially the pros job to at least try to guide their partners on how to act, what to say, etc. on camera – Derek has always really good about coaching his partners through this. “Don’t give them anything to work with” has always been a good piece of wisdom he’s imparted on his partners – and it’s one some of the other pros probably could have stood to tell their partners. Tamar’s slipup about thinking she was “the best” comes to mind – the producers and camera guys deliberately try to bait the contestants. Whether they take the bait or not is up to them. I think Keo probably could have tried a bit harder to get Charlotte to conceal some of her less savory tendencies (i.e. constantly being on her phone) and could have taught Lolo how NOT to get riled up by the judges’ critiques. It all kinda boils down to being a good teacher, and how able a pro is to recognize their partner’s strengths and weaknesses, and how to manipulate those in order to ensure they’re successful on the show.
@Courtney Glad you understand me. I agree about their motives, I’d been wondering. Diversity is good, but if someone is cast purely for diversity it’s unfair, not least because that person can end up unintentionally being an ambassador for the community they represent. The point about media coaching is pretty much the point I was trying to make. Derek always does make sure his stars know how to act, and I thought Keo could certainly have done better on that front with Charlotte. Whether Lolo’s implosion was preventable or even foreseeable I’m not so sure. Either way though, I am rooting for him and I hope he does better this season. If we’re back in the same place in the fall for season 23 I might be less positive.
I tend to be frank, not PC. It’s my considered opinion that Keo will not be dropped from the pro line up by DWTS producers. Not anytime in the foreseeable future, even if they add more PoC to the regular on air cast. Fact is, while the roster of stars has always been diverse, the ongoing cast is not and it’s a touchstone in TV today.
If the producers are doing their jobs well, they are also aware of the mixed feelings about Keo’s results on the show. I think all fans are unhappy about his 3 early exits but differ on how they think it should be dealt with. Some feel Keo should be demoted to troupe. (Seriously, you’ll knock me over with a feather if TPTB do that.) Others are calling for “poor” Keo to be give a “good” partner (ringer?) so that it won’t happen again. Frankly, that’s the route that I expect TPTB to take. But my preference would be for them to get him help/ advice BTS. We know that help with choreography is available. Why not have someone on hand BTS to help with teaching? And maybe have a past MB champion advise the current pros on techniques to help them get there instead of TPTB obviously manipulating the procedure for the results they want onscreen, where it aggravates savvy viewers.
I think the producers are invested in Keo’s success, in part because of his race (and I’m glad for that because I do want it to be more diverse), but also because he is very good-looking, charismatic, and a fantastic dancer.
Apparently he has also taught ballroom in his studio in South Africa – but what he still hasn’t caught on is that teaching for the ballroom/class is MUCH different than teaching and choreographing for DWTS and with the cameras, lights, and stress of it all, it’s a totally different ballgame. Hell, even Tony and Maks and Val – and even Louis – really haven’t adapted for the show as much as other pros. I think that is what Keo lacks the most, and maybe some maturity.
I hope for his success, but until he figures that part out I think he will continue to struggle. What will help? A contestant like a female Alfonso – someone who knows the game, is comfortable in their own skin, determined, disciplined, and has some training/ability already. I would be fine with Keo getting a partner like that and seeing what he can make of them – and learn from the experience. Unfortunately in Witney’s case, I don’t think it helped much as she reverted back to the type of pro I don’t care for at all. But maybe Keo would have a better response to it.
Well, Keo’s likability is an issue as well. I’ll never forget his first season when he got the boot and was asked what he though of his partner, all he talked about was himself. He seemed very full of himself and perhaps wrongly focused.
And I think Val STILL has this problem so Keo ain’t alone.
Ya know Colleen – I say give Keo a ringer and let the chips fall. Take away the excuses.
True, Fig – and Tony, Maks and Val needed a LOT of help in winning the show even with ringers. As I’ve always said, instead of bitching about Derek, they should be taking NOTES.
Yes, PH, if I read you correctly, I agree. I don’t think even a true ringer will see Keo to a Mirror Ball win. Just hopefully beyond the third week! We know of other pros who need experienced dancers and help from TPTB to be finalists. That’s why my preferred solution is off screen help in teaching/ coaching and for someone to tell Keo and others not to upstage/ outdance their non-pro partner!
I do objectively see Keo as hot and understand why his spot in the line up is more secure than Tony’s. He is a very talented dancer and I like watching him with other pros. So far, Keo doesn’t aggravate me as much as Val and Tony. I’d like to believe that he’s a good guy that could take constructive criticism and learn to do his job better if TPTB would give him the chance. Of course, the bigger issue is, the producers seem to have taken the “sex sells” motto too much to heart and they seem to think it the key to keeping the show on air instead of actually concentrating on what their main audience actually wants.
Did anyone else get the idea that someone from GMA was going to be on? The way they said it would be hard to keep it a secret had me wondering. If so, my guess is Robin or George.
@ST – I didn’t when I first watched it, but now that you mention it I do wonder.
@ST – I remember something like this happening before and I was convinced that Sam Champion was going to dance… But it never happened. Sometimes I think GMA just plays along with the DWTS game. But then again….
Wasn’t there speculation that one of the ladies (Robin, Lara, maybe?) was Derek’s original S20 partner? I recall that as well as Cheryl really wanting to dance with Sam Champion several seasons ago.
As for Keo, I have had the tendency to say if (Lolo, Charlotte, Chaka) had (insert different male pro here) as a partner would they have done better, and I honestly think the only one who would’ve is Charlotte. And I don’t think Lolo would’ve had such a bad meltdown, but she’s such a notorious choke job that it didn’t surprise me. As for Chaka, I think I enjoyed Miss Patti so much the season before that i put Chaka right up against her and she couldn’t compare, and it didn’t help that she basically trashed the entire show after the season ended.
However, I do think he doesn’t get dancing down to your partner. I mean, look at Mark, that was what he was criticized most for for a long time and then he simply grew up. I think Keo is what? 23 or 24? Yes, several pros have been younger, but hey, environment, everyone matures differently. I do wish they put him in the troupe first just so he could “get” the show. I’m not sure if he’s ever done TV before, but he does seem kind of starry eye wondered by it all.
@CM – I think you make a pretty good point about Keo’s age. He’s 25 now (was 24 when he joined the show) which I’m pretty sure makes him the 3rd youngest male pro ever (after Mark and Derek who were 21 and 22, respectively when they joined) and it took Mark until he was 27 or 28 before he finally stopped out-dancing his partner. I know there have been several younger female pros, but we all know guys mature more slowly. 😛
That being said, I kinda wonder if Lolo would have choked as badly if she’d had a pro who drilled the choreography more. That way even if she was panicking in her head, her body could have taken over and gotten her through the dance a bit better. Also, a more experienced pro might have been able to do a better job of coaching her through it during the dance. As for Chaka, maybe she would have had a better experience (and therefore not trashed the show later) if she had been better paired up personality-wise.
Unless your celeb has a lot of entertainment performance experience a pro would be smart to keep the choreography such that their partner is physically connected to them during the beginning and perhaps the whole dance for the first week or so to see how they will manage. I hear people criticize Derek for holding on to his celeb but imo he’s only doing his job, ie, helping his celeb succeed and look good. It seems Keo has had his celeb start and he make an entrance while they are left on their own, maybe I’m misremembering. I remember Tony having iconic tennis player(name escaping me) up rubbing against Len to start a dance and she had a hard time getting on time and into the dance, to me that’s a huge fail on the pro to set your celeb up for such failure.
I’m honestly fine with Keo being on the show, don’t love him but also don’t hate him. Do I think he’s the greatest teacher on the show? No. But I also don’t think he’s the worst. As someone who has taken ballroom classes before and watches competitive dancing, I can usually find info about a dancers competitive history (usually on dancesport.info.net). I had never heard of Keo before, but he’s certainly not the worst pro in terms of dancing – that doesn’t always equal teaching level and other things that the producers look for in a pro on the show.
Also, I may get hate for this, but I am so over Witney as a pro. She’s highly overrated imo. But like I said, we all know dancing/teaching ability isn’t the only thing that goes into play when selecting pros for this show. Popularity, good looks and charisma on camera are among the other things the producers probably look for. It is a reality TV show after all, not a real dance competition.
Amanda, you’re not the only one who’s sick of Witney. I LOVED her in her first 2 seasons, but I think her win got to her head a bit and she started developing/showing a bit of an attitude that doesn’t carry across well onscreen. Her choreography last season wasn’t near its best either, so I think it might do her some good to be bumped back to troupe for a season so she can get inspired again.
I think it was the weather girl, CM – but then she found out she was pregnant? Is the timing right for that? Or did she just chicken out?
PH-Ginger Zee? She announced her pregnancy in June after S20 was over, so maybe.
I think Witney has earned her pro spot but she does need a wake up call. I hope she gets someone who is an obvious challenge or is eliminated early so she realizes she still has to continue to up her game in order to do well on the show.
I know it’s not pc to say that but even though Keo is really talented as a dancer I do think diversity is the reason why he’s on the show instead of someone like Dmitry or Gleb who are the same hight.
I’m kind of over Keo. The thrill is gone.
The way Keo outdances his partners, the way all three of his partners have forgotten choreography. It’s no coincidence anymore and Court hit the nail on the head. I’m on the list of people that believe he’s on the cast due to his skin colour and no other reason. I don’t think TPTB are invested in him being a success or care if Keo keeps going home in week 1, they just need to keep him because it looks good on their diversity tick list. He is the worst teaching pro on the show, by an absolute country mile. Compare his teaching to every other male pro, yes even Tony. It’s embarrassing how far behind he is. I could possibly accept Lolo being a disaster but give Charlotte or Chaka another male pro and I’m convinced they’d have both made it further than they did. Likewise had Keo got say Patti LaBelle for example, she’d have been out in week 1 rather than week 6. I’ll be very interested to see who he gets this season and like Heidi I’d be happy to see him with a massive ringer like that UFC girl perhaps. Let’s see him fail with her and get knocked out midway through the competition when another male pro would get her to the final.