It’s time for DANCING WITH THE STARS, once again!!
Last season of DWTS was so fun, but I missed writing about each episode! With the big premiere tonight, I am excited to get back to recapping the show!
Season 31’s cast was announced a couple weeks ago, with a few interesting additions…
THE PROS:
Returning to the ballroom from last season are Daniella Karagach, Sasha Farber, Witney Carson, Cheryl Burke, Artem Chigvintsev, Alan Bersten, Emma Slater, Britt Stewart, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Brandon Armstrong, and Val Chmerkovskiy. Returning to the show after taking a hiatus are Peta Murgatroyd, Mark Ballas, and Louis van Amstel. There will also be one new cast member, Koko Iwasaki, who performed on the Dancing with the Stars tour.
THE CONTESTANTS:
This year, DWTS did something interesting: When announcing the cast, it was also announced which pro each contestant will be paired with. The last few years, that information was revealed during the live premiere.
Joseph Baena (with Daniella)--a professional bodybuilder and actor with a famous father.
Selma Blair (with Sasha)--an actress, I know her from playing Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde.
Wayne Brady (with Witney)--an actor who’s done many things, but the credit of most interest to me is a stint playing Lola in Kinky Boots.
Sam Champion (with Cheryl)--Good Morning America meteorologist.
Charli D’Amelio (with Mark)--a social media personality who I don’t follow, but I see she has a lot of dance training, so I’m sure she will be one to watch this season.
Heidi D’Amelio (with Artem)--Charli’s mother
Jessie James Decker (with Alan)--a country music singer. If I remember correctly, they’ve had a country music singer on the show for at least the last three seasons. Interesting. I wonder if that’s a coincidence?
Trevor Donovan (with Emma)--an actor with a long list of credits, none of which I am familiar with.
Daniel Durant (with Britt)--an actor who has done film, television and theatre. He is also deaf, and if I remember correctly, there have been at least three deaf contestants on the show previously, including Season 22 champion Nyle DiMarco.
Teresa Guidice (with Pasha)--a star of the Real Housewives franchise.
Vinny Guadagnino (with Koko)--a reality television personality known for being on Jersey Shore.
Cheryl Ladd (with Louis)--an actress who’s known for Charlie’s Angels, which I’ve never seen.
Jason Lewis (with Peta)--an actor most known for Sex and the City, but I know him from his role in Brothers and Sisters.
Shangela (with Gleb)--a television personality known for appearing in RuPaul’s Drag Race, a show I’ve never seen, but know a lot of people like.
Jordin Sparks (with Brandon)--a singer; I don’t think I’ve ever gone out of my way to listen to her music, but I feel like she’s always been around.
Gabby Windey (with Val)--this season’s obligatory Bachelor franchise participant. According to Wikipedia, she was an NFL cheerleader, so I’m sure she has a lot of dance training and will do well.
I’m noticing a lack of athletes on the cast list this year, which is interesting, since athletes are usually the best competitors. Still, I’m looking forward to getting to know all the contestants as the season progresses.
THE HOST(S!!):
Big, exciting news for this season: Alfonso Ribiero, actor and Season 19 champion, will be joining the cast as a co-host! I couldn’t imagine a more perfect choice (early readers of my blog may recall me mentioning him in my very first post). As a contestant, he truly embodied the joy of the show and it’ll be wonderful to see him back.
I am so excited for the premiere tonight! Follow along for my upcoming recaps/commentary on Dancing with the Stars, Season 31!