With the start of DWTS season 34, there are a lot of first-time watchers out there, so let me save you the hassle of 25 separate Google searches and give you all the facts in one place.
rules
DWTS has a very specific structure that hasn’t changed much since its first season in 2005. Producers pair the celebrities with a professional ballroom dancer who is in charge of creating and teaching the choreography for the season, but they have less control over the dance style and music than you might think. While pros are often allowed to suggest music given the particular theme of the episode, producers always have the final say and can determine musical arrangements as they see fit. At the end of a week’s rehearsal, the stars and their partners perform their dances live and are scored by the judges. A combination of the judge’s scores and the viewer voting poll is used to determine each week’s elimination.
Dance styles
There are fourteen total styles of dance featured on the show, including five ballroom, five Latin, and four modern styles. Classic ballroom dances are the foxtrot, quickstep, waltz, tango, and Viennese waltz. These dances are often characterized by a specific ballroom hold that enables smooth, graceful movements across the floor. The Latin styles include the cha-cha, jive, rumba, samba, and Paso Doble. They are typically defined by sharper, more dramatic movements. Although there are other styles that occasionally make an appearance, the most common modern dances are the Argentine tango, jazz, contemporary, and freestyle, which is reserved for the finale of every season. Producers choose which dance style each couple will be assigned every week.
judges
For a long-running competition-reality series, DTWS has had a surprisingly stable lineup of judges, with only five people holding a full time spot since the beginning of its run time, although there are occasional guest judges depending on the episode’s theme. The original judges were Len Goodman, who sadly passed away in 2022, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. Carrie Ann and Bruno are still judging, and Len was replaced with former pro Derek Hough. Derek’s sister Julianne Hough also served as a judge for several seasons, and now co-hosts the show with season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro. Judges give every dance a score of 1-10 based on their assessment of the couple’s technique, stage presence, and choreography. Those scores are added together to determine the contestant leaderboard each episode.
pros And Contestants
There have been numerous professional ballroom dancers on the show, as pros typically retire after ten or so seasons. Many of the pros are selected from a ballroom studio in Salt Lake City, Utah, although there are some from other backgrounds. The producers match pros with celebrities based on personality and general ability, so neither side has a say in which partner they get. During the season, couples practice four hours a day every day of the week, and the show’s creators believed it was important that pairs got along well, as on-screen chemistry is a big part of the competition. Speaking of chemistry, there have been several instances of partners, and sometimes even fellow pros, dating while on the show. Season 31 contestant Daniel Durant married his pro, Britt Stewart, earlier this year, and longtime dancers Pasha Pashkov and Daniella Karagach have been married since 2014. The pros do a fantastic job of educating their partners and viewers about traditional dance styles, and I can’t wait to see the rest of season 34!