Dancing with the Stars, The All Athletes Season – PRO WATCH!!!
It’s time! Time to come back from your vacation and start chatting DWTS once again. 🙂 So, how ya’ll been? 🙂 I’ve been on something of a vacation from DWTS and even from Derek. But now it’s time to start winding back up again for our abbreviated, all athletes season.
What do we know about the pros right at this minute? Well, Maks, Val and Peta are out for the season due to their tour – likely planned before this season became a thing. Derek is on another network and a different dance show. Mark kinda sounded out – but you never know. Julianne is out as a judge as she’s working on her and Derek’s scripted show “Blackpool”, among other things. Have I left anything out? I think that’s all I’m aware of right at this moment. OH! Kym is also out due to the impending arrival of her twins.
So, what have you heard? Be sure to provide a source if you have something to share….
ETA: It’s a GO for Gleb Savchenko as a Pro for this season. Yayy!! Please read more details HERE. ~Vogue
ETA2: Per the DancingABC Instagram, these are the pros this season – fairly predictable lineup, identical to my hypothetical list on Twitter last week. -Court-
Male Pros
Val – OUT
Gleb – IN
Mark – Out
Artem – IN
Derek – OUT
Sasha – IN
Maks – OUT
Keo – IN
Alan – IN
Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Kym – OUT
Emma – IN
Witney – IN
Lindsay – IN
Jenna – IN
Cheryl – OUT
Peta – OUT
I’m assuming there will be a Troupe???
ETA: According to this Kristyn Burtt interview with Britt Stewart, there will be a troupe for this season. Thanks Kristyn. ~Vogue
The Troupe
Courtesy Hayley Erbert
Yay! Bring it on!
I believe Lindsay has said she’s in. Gotta defend that MBT
I also heard Lindsay and Jenna , that’s the reason she’s not doing the Confidential tour.I would add Morgan to the troupe list .I haven’t heard anything but you never know.
I noticed Kiril is out doing a Baz Luhrman show in Los Vegas
As I said…I need LINKS. I do believe Lindsay is likely back. Jenna isn’t doing Confidential because she’s not allowed to – and I believe that is direct from Val. Doesn’t mean she’s in for the Athletes season, it just means her contract with DWTS prevents her from doing another tour.
Wonder if basketball player Kobe n sister/brother Olympic skaters will be on this season. Is it true that it’ll b a short season?
True. Only four weeks, I believe I heard, but it will be dictated ultimately by the network.
bring in new ballroom from so you think
Kiki Nyemchek
Sydney Tormey
Brooklyn Fullmer
Tanisha Belnap
Malene Ostergaard
Serge Onik
Marcquet Hill
Iveta Lukosiute
Ryan Di Lello
Karen Hauer
Ashleigh Di Lello
Janette Manrara
Jonathan Platero
Pasha Kovalev
Anya Garnis
Faina Savich
Benji Schwimmer
Stanislav Savich
Heidi Groskreutz
and bring back
Chelsie Hightower
Lacey Schwimmer
Dmitry Chaplin
Welcome back, PHeidi. Thank you for putting up this post. Getting closer to April, I’m ready for some ballroom dancing, even if it’s only 4 weeks.
To DWTS: You really should not change the show. Please do not
Make it shorter or change it in any way. Those of us who have watched it for years do not like changes. Also we wait for your show to come on each season. We love it just as it is. DO NOT SHORTEN IT! Wrong
Thing to do.
If Jenna is in, she will be the only pro remotely close to a Chmerkovskiy, and that makes me very happy.
I personally like the idea of a season without all four of the “big name” male pros. I would love it if Mark or Derek came back, but it will be interesting to see a season without any of them. In my recollection, the only two male pros not named Maks, Val, Mark, or Derek to make the finals in recent history were Tony and Gleb- and each only once. Depending on how many celebs there are, I’m interested to see who ends up in those male pro slots and how they perform.
Overall this season is hard because I think only 4 weeks is a huge disadvantage to celebs without dance training and/or a built in fanbase. It’s going to be difficult to build up that storyline. On the other hand, it may be more difficult for TPTB to manipulate things, which would be wonderful. I’m curious to see how this all works.
Witney named a specific rehearsal starting date for the new season that I can’t recall, which might be an indication she will be involved. I believe she said this in an Instagram story way back a few months ago and I’m not sure if anyone recorded it.
My predictions for the pro line-up:
Male: Artem, Keo, Gleb, and either Sasha or Alan (that last one will depend on whether there’ll be a particularly short female athlete or not)
Female: Sharna, Witney, Lindsay, Emma, Jenna
Troupe: Hayley, Britt Stewart, Morgan, Brandon, Artur, and whichever doesn’t get to be pro between Sasha and Alan
Morgan gained a sizable amount of exposure and appreciation from the public thanks to her standing in for Witney throughout this latest tour, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see her promoted to full-time troupe dancer, to which I wouldn’t have an issue with at all; she’s so cute and bubbly and talented and seems like a lovely person. Brittany Cherry will definitely be missed (if she really definitely ditched DWTS for World of Dance), but that won’t stop me from welcoming Morgan with open arms.
Brittany is definitely involved in WoD in some way. I had heard (don’t remember where) that it was a behind the scenes gig and then I actually saw her in a photo or video from backstage.
Julia, while I’m pretty sure they will make room for Witney (if she wants it) her knowing the rehearsal start date isn’t really indicative of anything. Anyone under contract is probably informed of when they might be needed so they don’t try to schedule something else.
This is going to be fun I think becuase they need to cast wisely and really
Can’t really play with the format to make certain pros stick around like they do sometimes. A bad week could spell disaster in a short season. But back to the pros: I think we are getting (and I’m probably wrong but want to take a guess): Alan, Sasha, Artem, gleb, and Mark for the guys and sharna, lindsay, witney, Emma, and Cheryl out of the female pros. I could see Jenna making her pro return too though
I am not thrilled with some of the athlete names that have been thrown out for sure, but I am going to watch because it is a “Family-less” season- unless Jenna shows up, of course. I am going to give the new guy a chance to impress me with a true dancing competition. The minute I see manipulation I will flock to another channel or a more interesting activity. Truthfully, I have enjoyed the option of selecting only the Pros and partners I want to watch and avoiding the manipulative crap over the last several seasons by watching YT several days after the live broadcast. Will wait and see what happens this time.
According to another post here on pure Lindsay is coming back. I’m pretty sure it was from January 10th. I just went to look for it because I was a little surprised she wasn’t listed as confirmed since I swore I saw that on here anyways.
These I would say are a safe bet :
Girls- Lindsay, Witney, Emma, Sharna
Boys- Gleb, Artem, Keo, Sasha, and Alan
Possibilities
Girls- Cheryl, Jenna( but I’m not a fan so hoping not)
Boys- Mark( although idk how likely bc he came back for Lindsey)
Toupe to Pro possibilities
Girls – Hayley( I’d love to see her get a chance)
Boys- Brandon or maybe whoever someone totally random I only watch DWTS so I have no outside dance knowledge
Final note I would just love to see Allison Holker come back i always loved her and miss her presence. It feels unlikely but I’d love it.
THRILLED the ‘fam’ will be MIA for this mini-season!!! Yay!!! That’s a break well-needed for this viewer!????
If Jenna has a pro spot for this, I can deal with it-I think she’ll be far more tolerable without her BF around besides the fact that she is a talented dancer so i kinda would like to see her be given another chance at pro for this short season????
Isn’t it supposed to be 10 couples or am I wrong? So I say for pros:
Jenna
Lindsay
Emma
Witney-if she’s up to it after the death of her father in law poor thing
Sharna
Sasha
Artem
Keo
Gleb
Alan
*In my opinion, Mark is out for this short season-I see him as being just too busy lol
If this spring season is only on for 4 weeks, how many contestants can they manage? 6 at most, I’m thinking, if there’s one double elimination?
I’m all zazzed up for more DWTS after seeing last night’s tour stop in Seattle! Alan shimmied with a lady right next to my seat and we saw lots of Brandon from the troupe. All the fans were very nice – mostly ladies having a good time with girlfriends or their grandmas. Made me wonder how many of the folks seated near me were Pure readers or posters? Also made me wonder why I’d never noticed Brandon before. I hope he gets featured more in troupe or bumpers!
Kinda disheartened about new showrunner that seems to think the “D” stands for drama instead of “dancing.”
@Linde, asper the news articles there’ll be 10 athletes.
But i was also wondering.. how will they fit in 10 couples with the eliminations & all that? Maybe double elimination every week? Or else i fail to understand how will they do it?
@Pure admins, can you please shed some light?
That’s what I’m guessing too Linde….six or seven.
DWTS Lover, “10 couples” was an idea from TV Line (not an official site) being they thought 10 sports winners from the past would be a cool idea. That’s not an official number from ABC.
@Vogue
I haven’t seen anything recently, but the official ABC press release from November does say 10 athletes. I’m very curious as to how they’ll do eliminations if that’s the case.
http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2017/11/21/a-special-all-athletes-edition-of-abcs-dancing-with-the-stars-is-set-to-premiere-in-spring-2018-on-abc-309324/20171121abc04/
In the Deena Katz interview with 11alive that came out recently it mentioned 10. “Katz estimates there will be one or two Olympic athletes – new or old – that will make the contestant list, which will only consist of 10 “stars” this upcoming season”
I hope Derek hough is back for the short season of dwts season 26. 2018. Along with Mark ballas. Keo. Tony. Atrem Shasha the ladies Sharna. Lindsay. Emma Whitney. Anna Jenna
I hope to see Mark & Cheryl return back.
MALE PROS
Mark
Artem
Gleb
Sasha
Keo
FEMALE PROS
Cheryl
Emma
Lindsay
Sharna
Witney
Oh that’s right. Thanks for the reminder, Guys!
According to @DWTSgossip, ETnews is reporting that Witney replied to a fan on instagram that she WILL BE RETURNING to the show; but she didn’t say specifically this short season or the fall season???? I think it was just a general answer YES I will be returning….
I’ve been thinking about this really short season with 10 couples and only 4 weeks, and I suddenly am not as excited about this season, because each elimination will be difficult.
It all hinges on how many they decide will be in the finals. 4 couples? We will be losing 2 couples every week. 3 couples? We will have to endure losing 3 couples in one week, and 2 couples in the other 2 weeks. Very painful!
Lori, I agree. “Less is more’!!! That way we can get to know them better and there is a better chance of having good stories, etc. Adding: plus, I want more pro numbers…but, there probably won’t be any time if there are ten couples. 🙁
I’m with you Lori – the more I think about the less I like it. Initially I was excited for the all athletes season, knowing the level of talent and entertainment many of past athletes have shown. But if we only get to see half of them dance once, maybe twice, what’s the point? Seems like a lot of work to lose – what, a third of the cast? – the very first night! This is sounding more and more like a hot mess.
And Vogue – you make an excellent point as well. We will barely get to know any of the contestants, even the one that ends up winning.
I think we will know who the winner will be as soon as the names are released. They will need a huge fanbase and the ability to not fall down. If any skater, hockey aside, is on the list – he or she will win.
There is no way Mark is comming back after how he was treated last season and how he has been treated over the years. That includes not giving him any attention in the media like they do the other pros.
@PureDWTSAdmins, is it possible that it could be a 4 week competition, but the last week could be a biweekly show? Like they have the Semifinals on Monday and Finale on say Wednesday or even Saturday. It would allow for a single elimination until week 3. Then a double elimination on Semi finals night. That would bring them to 5 for the finale, you eliminate one celebrity at the beginning of the finale then you have 4 celebrities doing their routines fighting it put each round. Just a thought.
Just wondering if maybe they should have cancelled the spring dwts. It seems as if quite a few pros are not going to be available this season; it may affect the popularity of the show. Anyway, it would be great if they had a season where the celebrities had some dance experience, but were not pros. That way, you wouldn’t have any comments about the contestants being experienced as opposed to no experience. It would also put the dance competition on a higher scale of judging. Just a thought….
Random question: is Brittany a contestant on world of dance?
I don’t see how a 4 week season could work. Athletes are not all dancers. Skaters and gymnasts would likely pick it up the fastest.
WIll be interesting for sure!
Male pros season 26 dwts. Derek hough Mark ballas atrem Keo. Tony Shasha Alan Female pros. Lindsay emma Sharna. Alison Jenna Whitney
I wonder how Len Goodman feels about a four week season. He quit Strictly Come Dancing because doing both shows was too much for him. The shows overlapped in the fall.
There is a pic on the DWTS Instagram that is definitely Emma with a basketball player.
On Instagram today, DWTS posted headless pics of the pros with athletes. One baseball, football and basketball player. I think the female pros look like Emma and Sharna and the basketball pro’s nails might be Lindsay? What do you think?
Can’t post the image/link since it’s in her instagram story, but Witney was posting looking for GMA outfit help. So unless she’s going on for some other reason, I’d say she’s in!
Yawn. Fairly predictable pro line up. I realize that a shortened season left a lot of experienced pros out (like Cheryl) so it would have been a good time to try some new blood. Less room for major error. Let’s see how Jenna and Alan do, also. Alan really impressed me with his first season I definitely think he should be given another shot if there is a spot for him. Jenna…I’m not a fan of AT ALL so I can’t really give an unbiased opinion on her first season. If she and Adam are paired together though, they will be INSUFFERABLE. Adam by himself is fine but I think with Jenna it would just be too much as Jenna is extremely over the top.
I’m hoping Jenna is flying out to NYC as part of the troupe! I do not want Adam paired with her either.
Never mind, just saw the DWTS Instagram post. Darn it. Jenna is in. Glad that witney Lindsay Sharna and Emma are in though!!
Any word why Cheryl not included? I know the Cs are currently busy on the tour, but Cheryl seems available for a GO! Mark as well?
Try reading all the comments, Love. We’ve speculated many times that Cheryl is a “fall only” pro.
Ya. Kinda sad that Jenna is back in. Not unexpected, but still meh. Not a fan of her, and if she gets Adam Rippon, i’m gonna flip. She does not deserve a celebrity like Adam as a newbie that has so far just proven she’s really back at it. I mean Alan’s first season showed he’s way better than her by a mile.
sorry I meant bad at it in the previous comment. Apologies!
Mark, Maks, Val, Derek, and Peta are all not competing this season. Has anyone heard from Mark? I have always felt like he gets no attention in the media and Val, Maks, Peta, and Derek are in the the media almost everyday. I mean I don’t get it. I’m starting to get the feeling that most of the media don’t care at all about Mark or Alexander Jean.
Mark gets plenty of media when he’s doing something visible. He’s not right now. He got lots when he was doing Jersey Boys. He will again when he’s visibly working. He just got back from something where he was hidden. Much like Derek is right now. Maks/Val/Peta are doing a tour and their publicist is working overtime to promote them – that’s how it works.