Dancing with the Stars - Season 31

[screech]

The first official casting announcements have come out The thus far confirmed 'stars' are:

• Joseph Baena - Actor and bodybuilder (best known as the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger)
• Wayne Brady - Comedian, actor and TV personality
• Charli D'Amelio - Social media personality and dancer (ugh, another trained dancer. I'm anticipating her win since I wouldn't be surprised if her zillions of followers organize voting campaigns for her)
• Heidi D'Amelio - Charli's mother and a social media personality
• Daniel Durant - Film and television actor. He is deaf and was in the Oscar winning picture CODA.

The full roster will be announced September 8.

Poor Sasha has it rough this year - not only are he and Emma recently separated, but he's being sent back to the troupe (which returns for the first time since season 27). Confirmed pros this season (who appeared in a promo for the season) are Daniella, Pasha, Artem, Witney, Brandon, and Cheryl.

Of course, we already know that for some reason Tyra has kept her job, and Alfonso Ribiero will be joining her as co-host. All 4 judges from last season are returning.

 

[Debbie S]

I'm thinking I won't be buying a Disney+ subscription. I was hoping they'd have some Winter Olympians (not necessarily skaters). And boo to putting Sasha back in the troupe.

 

[overedge]

Just waiting for the inevitable "disgraced Republican on the redemption tour" cast member....

 

[Firedancer]

I definitely won’t be buying a Disney+ subscription. I have never heard of 4 of the 5 people. This will be the first season I haven’t watched.

 

[annie720]

Oh no, sorry to hear about Sasha and Emma as well as his being back in the troupe. Haven't watched since Tyra took over but Sasha was my favorite pro the last few years I did watch. We got Disney+ to watch Hamilton and still have it, but I no longer have any interest in DWTS and it has nothing to do with the stars.

 

[love skating]

Wayne Brady's the only one I know. Emma and Sasha are separated! How sad. They were just on SYTYCD this summer choreographing together, but I don't know how old those shows were. No Disney+ here and so far not making me sad that I'll miss DWTS.

 

[overedge]

Also, not that this is Joseph Baena's fault, but he is the "son of Arnold" from the affair that Schwarzenegger had with the family's housekeeper. When Maria Shriver found out that Arnold was the father - which she didn't know until Joseph was in eighth grade - that was when she ended the marriage.

 

[screech]

Apparently Arnold didn't know Joseph was his son, until Joseph started getting older and began resembling him. To be fair to Arnold, though the affair was a crappy thing to do, he seems to have been a supportive father to Joseph.

As for the stars, there's still time! I do anticipate at least one Olympian, but since they no longer do a spring season, I don't think there's as much of a draw for winter Olympians like there was back when Meryl/Charlie or even Adam/Mirai were on.

I think there'll be at least one politician, and I said in the other thread, I wouldn't be surprised if Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft takes part (especially since she's not a part of Amber's appeal).

Also, I kind of feel like Wayne Brady is almost too much of a star to do this show at this point. I always liked him on Whose Line, so I hope I like him as a dancer too.

And Bruno has left Strictly Come Dancing, which he's been part of since season 1. He has said it's 'unsustainable' to be traveling back and forth between the US and England for each episode.

 

[jkl]

Dr Jen Ashton (ABC Medical Correspondent) and pro Alan Bersten are now following each other on social media.

 

[On My Own]

It would be hilarious if Wayne Brady dances badly when he's judged So You Think You Can Dance a few times now.

 

[screech]

According to Wikipedia, Jordin Sparks (winner of season 6 of American Idol) has been announced as another contestant.

Sharna was apparently on the list of pros, but yesterday announced she is not. She did say, however, that she will be part of the show in some capacity, but she is not ready to be away from her infant child for 10+ hours per day.
Lindsay is not taking part as she lives in Utah and doesn't want to have to uproot her family (including her young daughter) to take part.
Unsurprisingly, Jenna will not be part of the show, since she's pregnant.

In exciting news, LOUIS VAN AMSTEL is back for the first time in 10 seasons!

Returning pros include Britt, Peta, Emma, Val, Alan, and Gleb (ugh). Koko Iwasaki, runner up of season 14 of SYTYCD will be joining the show as a first time pro (she was part of the 2022 DWTS tour). I didn't watch so I know nothing about Koko's dancing, though Wikipedia says her style was contemporary.

 

[Desperado]

Am I the only thinking that DWTS picked Emma over Sasha after their divorce in sending him back to the troupe?

I won’t be watching due to the platform switch, but I will keep following this thread.

 

[On My Own]

Koko Iwasaki, runner up of season 14 of SYTYCD will be joining the show as a first time pro (she was part of the 2022 DWTS tour). I didn't watch so I know nothing about Koko's dancing, though Wikipedia says her style was contemporary.

Koine has been taking classes in ballroom, and dates Kiki Nyemchek, who IS a ballroom dancer (partnered with Jenna in his and Koine's season). Am I to take that she made pro before him, lol?

She was good for a contemporary girl in ballroom. Alison Holker was also good for a contemporary girl in ballroom, and that didn't work out well, for me.

 

[Rob]

There are Rumors that Bachelorette Gabby Windey is on. Koko (competed as Koine I think?) is a contemporary dancer but so was Allison Holker.

 

[screech]

Am I the only thinking that DWTS picked Emma over Sasha after their divorce in sending him back to the troupe?

My thought is that once they signed on Heidi D'Amelio (or maybe someone else 'older') they either reached out to the 'older' pros to see if someone was interested in partnering, or maybe Louis reached out to them. And once he was signed on it was a choice between him and Sasha.
Or, maybe they didn't have a star short enough to be aesthetically pleasing with Sasha (who is 5'6ish I think), though Pasha is a similar height (but is married to the reigning champ, so...)

I wish they'd keep Sasha as a pro instead of Gleb. Other than being objectively attractive, there's nothing appealing about him as a pro. They need to send him off to wherever they're keeping Keo.

There are Rumors that Bachelorette Gabby Windey is on. Koko (competed as Koine I think?) is a contemporary dancer but so was Allison Holker.

IIRC There were a lot of complaints about Allison's ballroom abilities and choreography when she was on the show...

 

[screech]

Some other DWTS info:

It's speculated/reported that Wayne is partnered with Whitney, Joseph is with Daniella (with his bodybuilding and her fearlessness, prepare for some awesome lifts), Daniel is with Britt, and Jordin is with Brandon.

Bachelor alum Colton Underwood has been seen at the DWTS studios

I'd forgotten that Wayne has done Broadway - he was Lola in Kinky Boots (co-starring with Mark Ballas). He's also been Billy Flynn in Chicago and has appeared in productions of Rent, Merrily We Roll Along, Kiss Me Kate, Hamilton, and more.
I'm hoping this means he's got some moves. At the very least, due to Kinky Boots, we know he can move in heels.

 

[Lilia A]

Or, maybe they didn't have a star short enough to be aesthetically pleasing with Sasha (who is 5'6ish I think), though Pasha is a similar height (but is married to the reigning champ, so...)

Louis is around that same height too. Google says that Heidi D'Amelio is 5'7" so I don't see her with Louis. Then again, they once paired up Mark Ballas with Bristol Palin and they were roughly the same size (yeah, I'll never forget that season and the insanity that it was....).

 

[screech]

Latest update is Gabby Windey (apparently she's from Bachelor/ette?) is apparently on the show.

 

[taf2002]

Latest update is Gabby Windey (apparently she's from Bachelor/ette?) is apparently on the show.

I've never considered ppl from reality shows "stars" unless they're from a talent contest like for stand-up comics, singers, or dancers. Being pretty is not a talent imo.

 

[screech]

Colton Underwood is apparently not one of the participants, and has said that photos labelled as him entering the studio were not of him (the stars have been wearing identity-hiding masks).

Newest confirmed 'star' is Trevor Donovan, who's apparently paired with Emma. He's is an actor and model best known from the 2000s version of 90210. Looking at his wikipedia it seems he's also done a LOT of Hallmark movies.

Charli D'Amelio has worked with Derek Hough recently - she did the Dirty Dancing dance with him in his and Julianne's 'Step Into the Movies' special a few months ago. She did pretty well, though was a bit tight.

 

[overedge]

Every season I think DWTS can't scrape any deeper into the C-list "celebrity" barrel, but they always do

 

[screech]

Every season I think DWTS can't scrape any deeper into the C-list "celebrity" barrel, but they always do

I'd personally consider Wayne Brady to be a legitimate celebrity. Jordin Sparks too, though not to the same level of being 'known' by the average person. I just looked her up and she was on the Masked Dancer last year, where she came in 5th place.
Though I'm not a TikTok user, I've at least heard of Charli D'Amelio. And at least she's 'known' for an actual talent, compared to the yearly Bachelor/ette alum. I don't think we've had the usual Disney star confirmed yet, have we?

 

[overedge]

I'd personally consider Wayne Brady to be a legitimate celebrity. Jordin Sparks too, though not to the same level of being 'known' by the average person. I just looked her up and she was on the Masked Dancer last year, where she came in 5th place.
Though I'm not a TikTok user, I've at least heard of Charli D'Amelio. And at least she's 'known' for an actual talent, compared to the yearly Bachelor/ette alum. I don't think we've had the usual Disney star confirmed yet, have we?

I didn't mean all of them. Wayne Brady genuinely has talent and is known for things other than being on reality shows. But the "less C-list than C-list" ratio is very high this year.

 

[MacMadame]

Looking at his wikipedia it seems he's also done a LOT of Hallmark movies.

If enough of them are Hallmark Christmas movies, I've probably seen him.

 

[screech]

The full cast has been announced. Previously unannounced stars are bolded:

• Joseph Baena (bodybuilder and actor) paired with Daniella Karagach
• Selma Blair (actress) paired with SASHA FARBER!
• Wayne Brady (actor, comedian), TV personality paired with Witney Carson
• Sam Champion (Good Morning America meteorologist) paired with Cheryl Burke
• Charli D'Amelio (social media personality and dancer) paired with MARK BALLAS!
• Heidi D'Amelio (social media personality) paired with Artem Chigvintsev
• Jessie James Decker (country music singer) paired with Alan Bersten
• Trevor Donovan (actor) paired with Emma Slater
• Daniel Durant (actor) paired with Britt Stewart
• Teresa Giudice (Real Housewives of New Jersey) paired with Pasha Pashkov
• Vinny Guadagnino (Jersey Shore) paired with new pro Koko Iwasaki
• Cheryl Ladd (actress and author) paired with Louis van Amstel
• Jason Lewis (actor) paired with Peta Murgatroyd
• Shangela (drag queen) paired with Gleb Savchenko
• Jordin Sparks (singer) paired with Brandon Armstrong
• Gabby Windey (Bahelorette) paired with Val Chmerkovskiy

Yay, Sasha got promoted, and I love that he ended up with probably the most 'A-List' of all the stars! I'm interested to see how Selma does and want all the best for her - I don't believe we've had a contestant with MS before.

Also, SHANGELA! First drag queen to participate (I would not have expected Gleb for her partner, though)

IMO we can crown Charli and Mark as the champions already, as I suspect he'll put them in a league so far ahead of anyone else.

 

[nickp]

Mark Ballas being back on Dancing With The Stars is going to right the world again

 

[Debbie S]

Yay for Sasha! I'm surprised Peta and Val are dancing this season (didn't Val say last year would be his last on the show?) but glad to see them. Glad for Mark returning, but there isn't really anyone in the cast I want to pay to watch. Guess I'll look forward to the YouTube vids.

 

[skatfan]

Looks like the returning producer was able to lure back some of the old-time pros (Louis Van Amstel, Mark Ballas, etc). Curious to see how the season progresses.

 

[screech]

IMO between Selma, Wayne, Jordin, and Shangela, this is probably the most legitimate 'stars' we've seen on the show in a long time. I think they probably did all they could to get the 'names' to take part (and brought back Mark) as a way to convince people to actually watch. I think they'll lose a lot of viewers with the Disney+ move.
Also, I'm surprised there's no Olympic athletes or the usual Disney star taking part.

 

[Desperado]

Damn, now it looks quite interesting and I’m sorry to miss it. I know Cheryl Ladd, Selma Blair and Wayne Brady and happy to see Mark and Louis back.