Dancing with the Stars is finally back! I have been looking forward to watching every Tuesday, and I am currently in two fantasy leagues, so I feel quite qualified to judge. Dancing with the Stars has been on since 2005, and each season has 16 stars paired up with pro dancers. The “stars” range from people you may actually know and are excited to see to random people who appeared on one episode of the Bachelor. Each week they perform a different style of dance until one person wins the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in the finale. So, without further ado, here is my ranking of all the couples on Dancing with the Stars this season, based on who I want to win. Also, honorable mention to my queen Britt who was eliminated last week.
12. Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy
Meet the Couple: Val is arguably one of the most iconic Dancing with the Stars pros and has won three times since he started in 2011. He’s married to Jenna Johnson, another pro on the show, and they are the most beautiful couple I’ve ever seen. His partner this season, Jenna Dewan, is an actress and dancer who started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. Her most well-known work is her role as Nora Clark in Step it Up.
Okay, I am usually a big fan of Val but I just feel like the favoritism is getting to be too much for me. I also just haven’t gotten great vibes from Jenna so far. I think it’s insane that she was literally a professional backup dancer and is now on Dancing with the Stars. There have been some stars with dancing experience in the past, but I really don’t love when professional dancers are on because they have such an advantage over people who have never danced before. I feel a little more connected to some of the other stars this season, and I like when a non-dancer wins instead of someone with experience. So, sorry Jenna.
11. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson
Meet the Couple: Jenna Johnson has been a pro since 2014 and has won 2 times. Her partner this season, Harry Shum Jr., is an actor and dancer. He is best known for playing Mike Chang on Glee, and his roles in Step it Up, Grey’s Anatomy, and Crazy Rich Asians.
This is similar reasoning to the last one but I just think it’s so unfair that these literal professional dancers are on the show. Also, there’s a video of a different pro, Britt saying her dream partner is Harry Shum Jr before the season started. They got him on the show and then paired him with Jenna, which makes me so mad on Britt’s behalf. She deserves so much better. Obviously that’s not Jenna or Harry’s fault, but this just gave me bad vibes around this couple. I also thought it was so annoying this week that Harry said that the judges are being too hard on him because he has dance experience. I fear if you worked as a dancer and literally danced for Beyonce, then you would be judged more harshly than people who have never danced.
10. Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess
Meet the Couple: Sharna was first on the show in 2015, and is back this season after taking a break beginning in 2021. She has won one time. Her partner this season is Tyler Cameron, who was a runner-up on season 15 of The Bachelorette with Hannah Brown.
I always have an ick about bachelors on the show. To be honest I felt fine about him until last week when he barely danced and just ripped off his shirt. So yeah, it’s a no from me. Sorry Tyler.
9. Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson
Meet the Couple: Witney Carson has been a pro since 2014, and is the current reigning champion after winning with Robert Irwin last year. She’s won two times total. Her partner this season is Guillermo Rodriguez, who is best known for his role on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
I do feel bad because Guillermo is so happy and he’s working so hard, but I fear he’s just nowhere near as good as everyone else. I do actually think he’s improving so much though, and he has such a good attitude and is so happy to be there. I feel like he’ll go a few more weeks just because everyone loves him, but I do think I’d be a little upset for the others if he actually did win. I know objectively he’s way worse than Harry and Jenna, but I just appreciate when the stars actually have to work hard and learn how to dance. I mean, I’m sure the others are working hard too, but I lowkey I would support the major upset of a Guillermo win over one of the professional dancers winning.
8. Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong
Meet the Couple: Brandon has been on Dancing with the Stars since 2017 and has never won. His wife is an influencer on TikTok (Brylee Armstrong) and makes videos with him all the time. His partner this season is Ciara Miller, who is famous for appearing on Summer House.
I have nothing against Ciara, and I actually do think she’s improving. I had never heard of her before and I overall just feel kind of neutral towards her, but I did really like her week 2 dance so I hope she keeps doing well.
7. Jackson Olson and Emma Slater
Meet the Couple: Emma Slater joined the show in 2012 and won once in 2017. She’s currently dating fellow pro Alan Bernstein. Her partner, Jackson Olson, is a baseball player and social media influencer best known for being on the Savannah Bananas baseball team.
Going into the season I was thinking Jackson would be a front runner, but I feel like so far he’s been very much in the middle of the pack. I love Emma, and I’m so happy she finally has a partner who is not one hundred years old and can actually move his body. I was honestly feeling a lot more excited about this couple before the show, but none of their dances so far have really wow’ed me. I’m hoping he’ll find his footing in the next few weeks and I would love to see Emma go far this season.
6. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
Meet the Couple: Mark has been on the show since 2007. His mother, Shirley Ballas, is a well known dancer and coached many of the pros on the show. Mark has taken a few breaks from the show, and returned after a five year break to dance and eventually win with Charli Damelio. He then took another break, returning last season to dance with Whitney Leavitt. His partner this season, Maura Higgins is an Irish model who became famous after her time on Love Island. She and Mark became friends after competing in Traitors together in 2026.
All I knew about Maura Higgins before this season was that she’s Irish and was on Traitors with Mark, and to be honest that’s all I knew about her until I googled her just now to write that intro. I loved their week 1 dance and she is just a very graceful and elegant person. Overall I like this couple and their friendship is very sweet, but to be honest it bothers me how Mark randomly comes back whenever he wants and gets whichever star he wants, so I’d love to see some different pros getting to go far this season. She is a super impressive dancer though for someone who has never danced before, and I think she has potential to get really good as the season goes on.
5. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold
Meet the Couple: Rylee Arnold was first on the show in 2018 and is one of the pros who is credited with the resurgence in popularity of the show. She is the younger sister of a former pro, Lindsay Arnold, and has never won but has made it to the finale one time. Her partner this season, Connor Wood, is a TikTok comedian and podcaster.
I learned recently that Connor is the creator of the “I have purse” TikTok sound, and that’s really all I know about his TikTok presence. I just think he seems really funny and happy to be there, and Rylee and him are a really good duo. He hasn’t had any crazy good dances so far, but I think he has a lot of potential and we’ll see something really good from him in the next couple of weeks.
4. Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa
Meet the Couple: Ezra Sosa was first on the show in 2021 and has never won but was in the finale one time with Jordan Chiles last season. He is best friends with fellow pro Rylee Arnold and the two of them make a ton of tiktoks and content that have promoted DWTS over the past few seasons. Julia Stiles is an actress best known for Ten Things I Hate About You.
I love this pairing so much. Julia seems so nervous and unsure about being there, and Ezra really seems to be helping her come out of her shell. I think once Julia starts to feel more confident she’ll have some really amazing dances, so I’m excited to see more from them.
3. Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik
Meet the Couple: Jan Ravnik joined the show last season, and prior to that, is best known for being a background dancer for Taylor Swift in the Eras Tour. Tatyana Ali is an actress and singer who became famous for her role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Honestly I had no feelings at all towards this pairing until the season started. I just think Tatyana seems like such a good person, and her improvement has been insane.I thought her dance this week was one of the best and was definitely underscored. I also think Jan is so funny and I’d love to see him get to the finale this year.
2. Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach
Meet the Couple: Daniella joined the show in 2018 and is known for being the best female dancer on the show. She is married to fellow pro dancer Pasha Pashkov, and she has won once. Her partner this season is Ezra Frech, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist in track and field.
Ezra has been so amazing to watch. He’s insanely good and he and Daniella have been doing so well. I would be so happy if he won and I definitely think he’s going to go far. I’ve also really been liking how they have Daniella explain the challenges of the choreo with Ezra’s prosthetic, and then talk about how they modify the dance. I’ve just been loving this couple and they’ve been killing it every week.
1. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov
Meet the Couple: Pasha Pashkov has been on the show since 2019 and has never won. He’s married to Daniella and has made it to the finale once. His partner this season is Amber Glenn, an Olympic gold medalist figure skater, and the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to compete in women’s single figure skating.
I was so excited that Amber was on this season, and so far she has been so so good. I guess figure skating is a bit like having dance experience, but I also feel like it’s different enough that it doesn’t count. Pasha has never won and has been on the show for 7 years, so I would be super happy for him to win too. Overall, I just want the mirrorball in the Karagach-Pashkov household this year, and then I’ll be happy.