The start of a new season of Dancing With the Stars means an all new cast, and for those who aren’t avid fans of the show, these casting pair ups can often go beyond simply dancing in terms of drama and chemistry. To better understand this opportunity for drama to unfold, we need to explore the pro dancers’ history on the show and which celebrity they’ve been paired with.
Jenna and Corey
To start off the cast, we have last year’s winner, pro dancer Jenna Johnson, and Corey Feldman. Jenna is known for choreography that truly pushes boundaries and being married to another pro on the show: Val Chmerkovskiy. Some of her most notable seasons were her partnerships with Adam Rippon and Joey Grazidaidei where they took home the coveted Mirrorball Championship Trophy and the show’s first ever same-sex pairing with Jojo Siwa. Jenna’s partner Corey is most notably known for The Goonies. While Jenna often is a very intensive partnership on the show, often yielding high-scoring results, as of this week she and Corey were one of the two couples eliminated, meaning that we most likely won’t see any more dances out of the couple until the finale special of this season.
Ezra and Jordan
Next, we have second-season rookie Ezra Sosa and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles. Ezra was a troupe dancer for the show until last season where he finally joined the group of pro dancers that would receive a celebrity to compete with. While Ezra was trending online last year for his partnership with Anna Delvey, due to her lack of excitement towards the show, the couple was the first to be eliminated, causing fans to still be somewhat unsure of Ezra’s dynamics in a partnership. While there is still much more we can expect to find out from Ezra this season, he has already taken critiques on his choreography quite well and is showcasing much more of Jordan’s athleticism and larger than life personality.
Gleb and Hilaria
Another notable pairing on this season is pro Gleb Savchenko and his partner Hilaria Baldwin. Both dancers in this pairing are known for more controversial reasons. This primary reason for Gleb is due to him entering a messy relationship with his celebrity partner on the show’s prior season that ended in a messy and public breakup all over social media. Meanwhile, Hilaria has been accused of over-embellishing her Spanish roots to the public and entering the show with prior ballroom dance experience, giving her an unfair advantage compared to other celebrities.
Emma and Andy
One of the less controversial pairings is Andy Richter and Emma Slater, a fan favorite this season. Emma is often known for being paired with the older and more inexperienced celebrities, due to her patience and ability to highlight her celebrities quite well in dances. Emma is dating current co-star and pro Alan Bersten. Andy is most well known for serving as a cohost on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien and his many voice acting roles, such as Mort in the Escape from Madagascar franchise.
Witney and Robert
Another quite popular pairing is Robert Irwin and Witney Carson. Robert Irwin is most known for being the son of the legendary “crocodile hunter” and famed zookeeper in Australia. In a prior season Robert’s sister Bindi took home the Mirrorball Trophy and it’s clear to see that their dance skills run in the family. Robert not only is a fan favorite, but his technique has been amazing this season. Meanwhile, Witney is most known for her pairing with current show host and previous Mirrorball winner Alfonso Ribeiro. Given her track record of Emmy-nominated choreography and strong bonds with her partners, Witney is definitely one of the fan favorite pros and is expected to go far in this season’s competition.
Mark and Whitney
Another pair that is expected to go far in this season is pro Mark Ballas and The Secret Life of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt. Pro Mark has retired from the show in the past, only returning when the celebrity cast has a clear ringer or great potential for him to win another Mirrorball. This seems to be exactly the case with Whitney, who was a dance major in college and popular in the TikTok subculture “momtok” for her quick dances and charisma. With Mark’s skillful technique and challenging choreography and Whitney’s flexibility and dance foundations, fans are debating if this couple is too overpowered for this season.
Jan and Jen
This season, the cast has gained a new pro, former Era’s Tour dancer Jan Ravnik and his partner Jen Affleck, another star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. While little is known about what attributes Jan will bring to this show and his partnerships. Currently being underscored by judges due to having many lifts and tricks in their routines, Jen and Jan both show a lot of promise and dedication to good ballroom technique. It will be exciting to see how they progress throughout the course of the rest of the season.
Britt and Baron
Joining Corey and Jenna, pro Britt Stewart and former professional basketball player Baron Davis were also eliminated this week. Britt is most known for her partnerships with figure skater Johnny Weir and Daniel Durant, whom she learned ASL for in order to communicate with him throughout their partnership. Britt later married Daniel. Her partner, Baron, had no dance experience going into the show and after only three weeks of training, showed great improvement and energy.
Val and Alix
A more well known celebrity pairing is Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy. Alix is famed for being a TikTok influencer from Miami, where she receives great support for her “get ready with me” style videos. While Alix is a quite popular star on this season, many fans have turned to social media to comment on what appears to be a “lack of chemistry” between the two. Hopefully as the season goes on, we can expect to see the pair grow closer and push themselves in terms of their dances and choreography level.
Alan and Elaine
A pair that appears to have great chemistry is Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten. Elaine is most known for her role as the cruel step mother in The Parent Trap, yet has captured the hearts of many fans with her energetic approach to the show and zany TikToks with her partner Alan and other couple Emma Slater and Andy Richter. While Alan is quite known for his presence on TikTok, he was also popularized for his partnership last season with celebrity and Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher. Fans wonder if Alan and Elaine this season will make it as far as he did last season, when he competed in the finals with his partner Ilona.
Rylee and Scott
Another pro who made it to the finals last season is Rylee Arnold with her celebrity partner and member of Pentatonix Scott Hoying. While this pairing has a close bond and is popular with many fans on TikTok, some are beginning to question Rylee’s choreography and Scott’s technique, as they approach week three. With this being only Rylee’s third season as a pro and coming off of an impressive season with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik the year prior, many are expecting her skills as a choreographer and working to accommodate her partners’ dance backgrounds to continue to grow as she progresses in the show.
Brandon and Lauren
Another singer-pro pairing this season is Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui and pro Brandon Armstrong. With Brandon being most notable for his TikTok presence with his wife, where they recreate many of the show’s most popular skills, fans quickly took to this pairing. Many fans online have commented on just how close these two are outside of their dance relationship and how quick both are to defend each other, following comments from the judges.
Daniella and Dylan
A pairing that has been praised on TikTok is the brother of Zac Efron, Dylan Efron, and pro Daniella Karagach. Daniella is most known for her consistency in making the final four in the show as a relatively newer dancer. Further, Dylan is most well known from his documentary with his brother Zac depicting global pollution and their efforts to solve it. Given Daniella’s track record and Dylan’s dedication to the show, can we expect to see Daniella in the final four once again.
Pasha and Danielle
Finally, the last pairing of this season is Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel and pro Pasha Pashkov. After a remarkable week one dance showcasing Danielle’s strength after battling cancer, judges gave high scores and set high expectations for this couple. Yet, the week after, it was clear to see that this couple wasn’t able to achieve the same effect due to Danielle tearing her hamstring. Given how skillful this pair were in their debut, many hope to see a quick recovery from Danielle and the pair continuing to push themselves in their routines.
With a greater deep dive into the history of this season’s pros and celebrities, many fans old and new should be able to watch the show with a greater insight now of what truly is at stake and just how these pairings will pan out.