Dancing With The Stars is a reality dance competition show where a celebrity is paired up with a professional dancer and they compete every week in the style of ballroom dancing to advance to the next round where they compete until the end. The partners compete for judges’ points and audience votes as well. The couple with the lowest amount of judges’ points and audience votes is eliminated until only one pair of dancers is left and they become the champions of DWTS. Now that were heading into week three, let’s do a quick intro of all this year’s castmates.
Week 1 Recap: Not only did the judges surprise us with a no-elimination round for week one, but we also saw great performances all across the board with mostly 6s and 7s from the judges this first week. Chandler Kinney finished on top this week with a score of 23 points, with a great tango to Hot To Go! by Chappell Roan. Bringing up the rear for week one is Eric Roberts with the lowest overall score of 15 points. This week Eric Roberts and his professional partner, Britt danced to Old Time Rock In Roll in the style of a Cha-Cha. This week each celebrity contestant chose an anthem that represents them and that is how they decided what they would dance to for week one.
Week 2 Recap: Since there were no eliminations last week, this week was a double elimination round and with it being Oscars night on DWTS where many paid tribute to Hollywood’s greatest with tunes from The Godfather, Barbie, and Dirty Dancing. The two celebrities to get eliminated this week were; Tori Spelling with a score of 19/30 for week two bringing them to a total of 36 points from both weeks. Spelling danced a rumba to This is Me from The Greatest Showman. The second contestant eliminated was Anna Delvey with a score of 17/30 bringing them to a total of 35 for both weeks. Delvey danced with Ezra Sosa to Suddenly I See from The Devil Wears Prada.
The Judges
Carrie Ann Inaba: Carrie Ann is a dancer, choreographer, and philanthropist who has been a DWTS judge since 2005. Inaba has been in many TV shows for dancing and has helped to choreograph many hit TV shows as well like American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance. She also serves as a national spokesperson for a program that supports dance therapy to support pediatric patients. She often advocates for autoimmune diseases and uses the online community to help people lead healthy lives.
Bruno Tonioli: Bruno Tonioli is my favorite judge with his playful and inviting energy he makes it so much fun to watch. Tonioli has choreographed countless films, plays, concerts, commercials and so much more. Bruno joined the DWTS family in 2005 and has stayed ever since, he is known on the show for his unique commentary style and jumping out of his chair with descriptive examples.
Derek Hough: With a very broad background in dance spanning from age 11 to now and joined the DWTS family in 2020. As an 11-time Emmy nominee and one of the top decorated male choreographers in the dance world. At the impressive age of 12, he moved to London to go to one of the top performing schools; Italia Conti where he studied dance, theatre, music, and dance. He has won DWTS six times and then was invited to come back as a judge.
The Celebs
Danny Amendola: Danny Amendola is a former NFL wide receiver who played for a total of 13 seasons and has won 2 Super Bowls. His professional football career began in 2008 with the Dallas Cowboys, he was a free agent and after one year on the practice squad, he got moved up to the pros shortly after. Amendola and Tom Brady soon became good friends on and off the field thereafter where they made their biggest plays when the stakes were highest in the NFL. Amendola retired in 2021, then in 2023 he accepted a coaching job for the Los Angeles Raiders which he is now also retired from.
Anna Delvey: Eliminated. Anna Delvey is an artist and fashion icon, she gained popularity when Netflix bought the rights to her story and made her life into a TV show called “Inventing Anna”. Delvey’s life has been the subject of many other podcasts, movies, and TV shows as well, she is seen as a cunning scam artist to some and as an intelligent businesswoman to others. Although she may be in an ankle bracelet in the show she has obtained special permission from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement with very strict rules about where she can go and how she travels as well.
Joey Graziadeil: Joey Graziadeil is a professional tennis coach who is known by most due to his time on The Bachelor. This is where he met his fiancee Kelsey Anderson who are still gushing over their love story on social media as well. Graziadeil keeps busy traveling the world, raising awareness for cancer research, and spending time with friends and family as well.
Dwight Howard: Dwight Howard is one of the most veteran NBA players currently and has been playing basketball for 19 years professionally. He is considered one of the greatest NBA players, he has one of the most extensive resumes in the NBA being an eight-time NBA all-star member and a three-time defensive player of the year. Howard is also an entrepreneur, community leader, and philanthropist he is also now the co-owner of a professional basketball league in Asia. He is dedicated to being a father, traveling, and being an ambassador of basketball.
Chandler Kinney: Chandler Kinney has been dancing her whole life and has been acting since age 9. She is most known for Pretty Little Liars spin-offs and the Disney franchise Zombies.
Ilona Maher: Ilona Maher is a two-time Olympic champion, she is also a social media sensation. Her whole brand is empowering young girls to be comfortable in their bodies and an ambassador for the game of rugby. She is also part of an organization called ChildFund Rugby which is an organization that inspires positive social change in the world of rugby, by integrating rugby and life skills to help vulnerable communities.
Brooks Nader: Brooks Nader is an actress and supermodel who is widely known for her amazing style and how she owns the runway. Since her modeling debut with Sported Illustrated Swimsuit, her career has skyrocketed. Nader has worked with some of the most esteemed fashion companies and modeling agencies, earlier this year she was named as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Legend where she was featured on the cover for a second time.
Stephen Nedoroscik: Stephen Nedoroscik who is more popularly known as the “pommel horse guy” is a very distinguished American gymnast. Earlier this year at the Paris Olympics he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team secure their first medal within 16 years. He is also an advocate for men’s gymnastics and works to raise awareness for the sport. He uses his platform to support those with low visibility and accessibility in the gymnastics community.
Phaedra Parks: Phaedra Parks is a multifaceted woman with many talents. Parks is an attorney, businesswoman, author, mortician, TV personality, motivational speaker, activist, certified reiki master healer, and a mother to her two children. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Wesleyan College, as well as mortuary science from Jefferson State College as well as a four-time Emmy nominee.
Eric Roberts: Eric Roberts was born and raised in Georgia, he got his first professional acting job at age 19 and at the ripe age of 21 was nominated for his first Golden Globe and Oscar. He has also appeared in many music videos including Mariah Carey and Rhianna along with many other artists worldwide.
Tori Spelling: Eliminated. Tori Spelling is best known for playing Donna on the hit show Beverly Hills; 90210 which she also executive produced. She has also created and produced many TV shows and is a five-time NY Times bestselling author for the first of her six memoirs which also was named best celebrity autobiography of 2009. She has dabbled in the world of writing children’s books and has multiple product lines as well as 2 podcasts that she hosts.
Jenn Tran: Jenn Tran is known for her sweet and bubbly personality and dedicating her life to helping others. She is currently studying to become a physician’s assistant. She lives in Miami and loves watching The Bachelor, reading, traveling, and paddleboarding.
Reginald VelJohnson: Reginald VelJohnson is known from many sitcoms, and is often seen as a cop on many TV shows and movies as well. He also appeared in Avengers: Endgame which ended up being a mega successful part of the franchise. He is also a recurring character on many Disney+ shows.
You can watch Dancing with The Stars on ABC, Disney + on Tuesdays at 7pm, or on Hulu the day after it airs. Now that DWTS has been airing for thirty three years, it is an esteemed show, and it is a very high honor to be invited on the show. Through all the legends who have come on DWTS, did you know multiple presidents and first ladies have been invited on the show including Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately all of these candidates have denied the invitation to be on the show. Dancing with the stars is a national icon of dance and an aspiration for many celebrities. Tune in this week on Dancing With The Stars to see if for yourself!
