PREVIEWS OF SEASON 35 OF DANCING WITH THE STARS AND ITS SPINOFF TO FIND A NEW PRO
So far, the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars should be subtitled “A trio of nobodies and Guillermo!” That’s right—I’m jumping right into the only good news so far. And that is that Jimmy Kimmel’s adorable and genuine sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, will compete on the show in September. And…he can actually dance! Or he at least has rhythm.
Guillermo Rodriguez getting ready to rumba!
Since the best dancer rarely wins, and popularity matters most in votes, Guillermo has a great chance of winning. (And he actually may turn out to be the best dancer! He will at least be the most charming.)
I’m for sure voting for him. Just when I planned to not watch this nonsense anymore, they had to do this to me. I think they booked him now in case Orange Hitler succeeds in his vendetta to get Jimmy off the air, resulting in Guillermo not being relevant anymore. He’s so cute and entertaining, but I hope he’s been investing his money because I don’t see many other job ops for him if that show is ever over.
Before Guillermo, the first two people the show booked this season are nobodies, (named Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins,) who I believe I read are from reality shows, but I prefer to not use any of my time to research them. Shortly after that, Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson was announced. They may possibly all be nice people, they may be fun, and they may even be able to dance. But, as much as I enjoy the Savannah Bananas on occasion, they’re all very far from being “stars!!!”
And it was waaaay too early for the producers to choose anyone—those three have the gargantuan advantage of an extra six months of learning how to dance!!! That’s so unfair to the competitors who will come later. (So note to all nobodies everywhere: Start practicing now because you’ll have the best chance of being one of the new chosen ones down the line.)
(Center, L-R) Mark Ballas, Robert Irwin, Shirley Ballas.
While all this nonsense is not beginning again until September, (by what time I should be even more riled-up about the complete lack of celebs,) their new spinoff show, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, will be happening in a matter of weeks!
The official description of that series is that it “features twelve exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer” on the new season of the regular show. But that all means the winner of this one will look lesser than his fellow pros on the real show. The situation will truly be that they just won a competition his-or-her-self, not that they got hired by DWTS because they’re someone who’s successful in their field of ballroom dancing, even though they may be really be that! Shame. (The only good thing about this spinoff is that dance fans will be made aware of a dozen good dancers as opposed to just one.)
Karen Salkin and Mark Ballas a few years ago. Photo by Jeanine Anderson.
More weirdness is that, since it’s already been completely shot, the public can’t vote for their favorite contestants. And there are only two full-time judges—mother-and-son duo, Mark and Shirley Ballas. But at least there will be guest ones. And mentors, even though it’s sort-of insulting to imply that these contestants need any—they’re all pros, not amateurs! They don’t need mentors at this stage of their careers, although the show will make them act like they’re sooo grateful for the help. Oysh.
Karen Salkin and Shirley Ballas a few years ago. Photo by Robyn Shreiber.
Case in point, one of the competitors, Alex Joseph Pritchard, was even already a pro on Britain’s Strictly Come Dancing for three years! And because of that, he was also on that country’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here and Celebrity Chef! So, he’s a pro on the original and a celeb, so why in the world would he have to audition for this one?! That’s just nuts! He’s already a celebrity in England, while all of the dancers who became pros on DWTS, from the very beginning and over the years, were unknowns here. They all had to audition, of course, but in private, not in front of the world on a judged TV show. And they definitely did not have to live together while doing so!!! It’s all so ridiculous.
The only really good thing about The Next Pro is that the host is Robert Irwin, the adorable Aussie wildlife conservationist who deservedly won DWTS last season. Mr. X and I, (along with everyone else in the world,) love him, so that spot of happiness will be nice. I just realized—that must be why the show was taped in Australia! To accommodate young Robert. So good on ya, mate.
