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CU Boulder | Culture > Entertainment

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 35 Hot Takes

Aleesha Frostenson Student Contributor, University of Colorado - Boulder
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

As an annual Dancing with the Stars watcher, season 35 has definitely got me intrigued, to say the least. This season the stars are all relatively young and fit, and we have two new pros. Now, I am writing this after the two day premier, so there will be spoilers as to which two couples were eliminated this week. These are my hot takes on this upcoming season.Ā 

Letā€™s begin with the cast lineup. My first genuine reaction was ā€œdamn this is a stacked lineup.ā€ But, I genuinely have no idea who some of the people are.. Looking at the male pros, we have: Guillermo Rodriguez, Harry Shum Jr., Jackson Olson, Conner Leavitt, Taylor Hanson, Connor Wood, Tyler Cameron, and Ezra Frech. Now some of these guys like Guillermo, Harry, Jackson, and Connor W. create a stacked lineup. These people not only are actual stars, but funny and outgoing people that the fans want to see.Ā 

Now, Connor Leavitt- why is he on this season? Genuinely, I am confused- he is only a husband to someone famous. Whitney, his wife, was on the show last season and has brought a lot of media attention to their family. She started her fame from the show Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which is hilarious, but the show is about the wives, not the husbands. This man hasnā€™t even been on that many of the five seasons before. He just isnā€™t a star, he is famous-adjacent.Ā 

While watching this show and the introduction of the new cast I was surprised. As a viewer of the show, do you even know who Taylor Hanson or Tyler Cameron are? I legitimately have no idea who these people are. Taylor Hanson is a music artist but like one: from when? Two: like how famous are you?Tyler Cameron was apparently on the Bachelorette one season as a potential fiance, but he didnā€™t even propose to the girl of season he was runner up in. Who knows, maybe they are famous and I just personally have never watched or seen them in anything.Ā 

The girls for this season is such a stacked line up, honestly: Ciara Miller, Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Giada De Laurentiis, Maura Higgins, Amber Glenn, Tatyana Ali, Sarah Jane Nader. Now come on, this is such a good line up for the women. I mean, Julia Stiles: I am genuinely in awe. Not only are these women actually famous, but they are pretty, young, and fit, offering an equally leveled playing field while they compete throughout the season. This allows all of the pros to have a more equal playing field of being able to teach their skills to people who all generally have the same physique and fitness status.Ā 

Now besides Guillermo, the whole cast is actually very young and fit. Now, Guillermo does have America in a chokehold-though solely for his personality and stage presence. Even though his pro Whitney Carson is pregnant, I do feel like this couple will make it to at least week five. This castā€™s athletic ability will be interesting to watch. Even in the premieres from both the men and the women, some of those dances were insanely impressive. This is going to be a hard season to judge, solely based on how much talent was presented within the first dances.Ā 

Watching the premiere made me a little sad, as it was a double elimination. Being eliminated after your first dance just feels wrong for me, let them at least dance twice, I feel like. However, I am not entirely mad that Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader were the ones that were eliminated. These people are the two that are primarily famous-adjacent rather than being actually famous. It was a little sad that the two newest pros did get eliminated right away, but it does typically happen. Riley Arnold was the only exception really to this. Now, Adele Zaikman, (aka Connerā€™s partner) I am not too sad about because she just got off of Dancing with the Stars the Next Pro. But, Hailey Bills, Sarah Janeā€™s partner, did make me sad to watch leave the show. I honestly thought that based on Haileyā€™s large platform she had built that she would have stayed longer. Based on how the scores work, the person with the lowest score and lowest amount of viewer votes gets eliminated. I would have thought Hailey having such a strong media presence would have gotten her more votes, especially at the beginning.Ā 

Overall, I am excited to watch this season. It will be very interesting to see how this many talented stars will impact who leaves and who stays each week. I am also excited to see their progress as the season goes on. Hopefully the odd pros will be eliminated soon.

Aleesha Frostenson

CU Boulder '28

Aleesha Frostenson is a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is majoring in finance on the personal financial planning track and minoring in leadership studies. She is passionate about understanding financial systems and how financial decisions impact everyday lives. During her time at CU Boulder, she hopes to expand her education in personal finance, as she aims to explore the positive impact that personal finance can have.

As well as being a full-time student, she currently holds two part-time positions that have helped her become a well-rounded individual. She works for the CU Boulder Testing Center, she support students and staff by maintaining an organized, efficient, and respectful testing environment. As well, she works for a local family-owned popcorn store within her hometown. She has been able to strengthen her customer service skills, adaptability, and communication skills, contributing to a small business that values community.

Balancing multiple roles has taught her the importance of time management, accountability, and organization. These are qualities she brings to every project and team that she is a part of.

Outside of school and work, she loves to read, bake, and explore creative hobbies like arts and crafts. She enjoys environments where she can collaborate, learn, and contribute. Which is why she is very excited about the opportunity to be a part of this club.