Get your dancing shoes on! After months of anticipation, it’s finally time for Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.
For more than 20 years, Dancing With the Stars has assembled celebrities from the worlds of music, sports, reality TV, movies, and more. But longtime fans of the series know the real stars are the professional dancers who choreograph the routines and train their amateur partners in a wide variety of ballroom and Latin styles. Those pros have become stars in their own right, but for the first time the show has assembled 12 hopefuls to compete for a chance to join the main event — and perhaps even win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Fresh off his own victory last fall in Season 34, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin takes the stage as host. Three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother Shirley Ballas are the regular judges. They will be joined every week by a special guest from among the current crop of DWTS pros, who will also mentor the hopeful hoofers as they endure what Irwin calls “the toughest dance boot camp on television.” Contestants are eliminated every week until one is named to the Season 35 cast of the Emmy-winning reality TV mainstay.
Read on for our recap of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 1, titled “The Journey Begins: Technique with Derek Hough,” which aired July 13 on ABC, with episodes available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
“Some of you have close connections to Dancing With the Stars, but on The Next Pro, connections count for nothing.” — Robert Irwin
Let’s meet the cast. Stephani Sosa’s brother Ezra Sosa is already a pro on DWTS, and she was previously part of the show’s troupe, but wasn’t invited back as a pro — until now? “This is my second chance, and I’m not letting anything get in my way,” she said. AJ Pritchard danced as a pro on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK and is now looking to cross the pond. Jake Monreal competed on Dancing With the Stars: Juniors and So You Think You Can Dance before finding his way here. Allen Genkin and Nina Mayster have known each other for years; she managed his first studio, and then they lived together as roommates.
Tristen Sanders went from gymnastics to hip-hop battles to ballroom. Adele Zaikman was a semifinalist in multiple major Latin dance competitions around the world. Selena Hamilton is a commercial dancer who performed on tour with rapper Doechii and recently started her ballroom dance journey. Similarly, Briar Nolet has worked in TV and film and amassed more than a million social media followers, but she has only been dancing ballroom for two years. Benji Castro has a Latin and commercial dance background. Natalie Jolley is a ballroom champion. And Erik Linder is a Latin dance champion.
Their first challenge, given to them by six-time Mirrorball champion and four-time Emmy-winning choreographer Derek Hough, was all about technique. The six gentlemen would dance the jive, while the ladies had to contend with the samba, notoriously one of the hardest styles to learn and to teach on DWTS. Derek divided the contestants into pairs: AJ and Jake, Erik and Tristen, Allen and Benji, Briar and Stephani, Adele and Nina, and Natalie and Selena. Their performances would consist of side-by-side choreography taught to them by Derek as well as solo sections choreographed by the dancers themselves.
After group training, Derek counseled the performers one-on-one. He thought Natalie needed a little more wildness while maintaining finesse. “Over-accentuate everything,” he told her, but her weakness is her limited flexibility. Then there was Tristen, who disastrously forgot the choreography he wanted to show Derek, which worried the DWTS legend because the show is live and the pressure is on as soon as you step on stage. No do-overs. You can’t afford to forget the steps. Meanwhile, Jake was easing into his choreography when he should have come out hot right out of the gate. Derek was actually disappointed in all of the fellas, who didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the competition. “I’m a little underwhelmed with your solos,” he told them bluntly.
“I know what I have to do, and I’m so ready to show that I’m not in any way ‘underwhelming.’ I don’t ever want to hear that word again.” — Tristen Sanders
On show night, it was time to put up or shut up for the 12 contestants, knowing that one male and one female dancer would be ousted by the end of the night.
Erik and Tristen: Derek thought this first performance was a big improvement from what he saw during rehearsals. He liked Tristen bringing his own interesting flavor to the jive; his eyes were drawn to Tristen throughout the routine. Shirley thought Erik had fantastic posture, but Tristen didn’t include enough actual jive content during his solo. Mark was conflicted because he likes to break the rules a little when choreographing routines, but he also wanted to see more jive from Tristen.
Jake and AJ: Derek thought the performance was also an improvement on their rehearsals, but overall, “it lacked oomph.” Mark thought AJ demonstrated strong technique, but Jake’s focus during the dance seemed to be directed at the floor, and he lost steam and needed to work on his stamina. Shirley observed that Jake danced ahead of the music, while AJ needed to take more risks. Derek agreed: “Too safe.”
Benji and Allen: Mark thought this duo delivered “the most dynamic performance so far.” Benji’s opening pose had Mark drawn in right away. Shirley wanted to get up and dance with them both because they had “remarkable energy”; Benji showcased just enough jive during his solo, and Allen really used the music to express himself emotionally. Derek wanted to see more from both of them. This was the best pairing among the men, according to Shirley.
“I want you to take risks. I don’t ever want to get the feeling from you that you are playing it safe.” — Shirley Ballas
Selena and Natalie: Shirley said Selena is a “superstar” and her samba walk was “outstanding.” She was “fluid,” while Natalie needed to work on flexibility, as she herself admitted during rehearsals. Derek agreed that Selena is a star, but Natalie was a little bit safe and stiff in the samba. Mark thought Natalie danced with ease, but needed more wildness. As for Selena, Mark raved, “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”
Briar and Stephani: Uh-oh! Mark saw that Briar slipped during her routine, but she was resilient and kept going. Stephani’s transitions were a bit wild, but he loved how locked in she was from beginning to end. Shirley praised Briar for her upper body movement, but from the waist down her posture and positioning were off. Compare that to Stephani, whose dancing took Shirley right back to Brazil. Derek also expressed concern about Briar’s technique.
Adele and Nina: Derek loved Nina’s openness, while Adele danced with the expensive class of a Rolls-Royce. Adele was visibly moved by Derek’s praise, and the judges further praised her for her vulnerability. Mark called Adele “killer, focused, an assassin” and said Nina was “magnetic,” albeit ahead of the music at times. Shirley agreed with Derek about Adele being a Rolls-Royce, but Nina had a warmer presence. Shirley suggested they both learn a thing or two from each other’s performance.
“It sucks being the first one to go home, but honestly I wouldn’t have done anything differently.” — Jake Monreal
When the time came for results, Shirley announced the women in jeopardy: Briar because her fundamentals were quite weak and Natalie because she needed more dynamics and power.
Mark revealed the men in jeopardy: Tristen because he struggled with some of the technicality of the jive and Jake because of his underwhelming foot action.
It was up to Shirley to reveal the bad news. “Tonight was the last dance for Briar and Jake,” she announced, so Natalie and Tristen lived to dance another day.
‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’: Meet the cast, host, and judges for Season 1
