It’s Monday night, you’re at home alone and you’re channel surfing, looking for anything that will distract you from the physics test that you haven’t studied for. You stumble upon Dancing With the Stars and you decide it might be a fun thing to watch.
This is the situation I found myself in this week after an incredibly long day of working and studying. I grew up watching Dancing with the Stars, so I thought I knew what I was getting myself into when I clicked on the title. What I didn’t know was that I was about to watch the first episode of the most ground-breaking season in DWTS history.
Monday night was a night of many “firsts” for the show. Matt James joins the season 30 lineup after being the first black Bachelor in Bachelor history. His presence on DWTS this season has been monumental in advancing people of color in the entertainment industry. Matt James, partnered with Lindsay Arnold, scored a 24 out of 40 for their first dance of the season. Hannah Brown and Kaitlyn Bristowe, two members of Bachelor Nation, are the winners of the mirror ball trophy from the past two years. Are the odds in Matt’s favor? We will find out. Tyra Banks also takes the stage as the host of the show for her second season. Since she debuted as a model, Tyra Banks has been a role model and advocate for people of color and women. Bringing her in to host the past few seasons has given her another platform to use her voice to help those who don’t have the same platform.
Among the season 30 cast is actor Brian Austin Green, known for his role on 90210, paired with Sharna Burgess. Burgess and Green are not only partners on the show but are also in a romantic relationship off-camera. For the first time in DWTS history, a couple is also dating in real life. Many fans wonder what this is going to mean for the rest of the season. Will this relationship give them an edge over the others, or will their chemistry distract them from winning the mirror ball trophy? The two performed a foxtrot on Monday night, resulting in a 24 out of 40 from the judges.
If you have any presence in the world of social media you have probably heard about the biggest “first” from the season 30 premiere. 18-year-old influencer, Jojo Siwa, has stolen the spotlight this year on all social media platforms. In January of 2021, Siwa announced on TikTok that she was bisexual and in a relationship with another girl. The story immediately gained traction and many people expressed their support for her and their excitement for her support of the LGBTQ+ community. On Monday night, it was revealed that, for the first time, Jojo Siwa would be dancing with another woman for this season. Given that Jojo got her start as a young child on the hit show Dance Moms, it is no shock for us to hear that Jojo and partner Jenna Johnson had the highest-scoring performance of the night with a 29 out of 40. Their quickstep was a hit among the judges and a beautiful challenge to what dance partners have typically looked like on this show.
If you didn’t watch Monday night’s episode, you missed out on a monumental night for the entertainment industry. There is no telling what else will happen this season; it’s anyone’s game. So, who will take home the mirror ball trophy this year, and will this season continue to be as ground-breaking as its first episode? One can only hope.
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