"Dancing With the Stars" professionals are defending the season 35 cast against claims of an unfair advantage regarding their extensive prior performance experience.
The cast, revealed Sept. 2, features actors Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum Jr. and Julia Stiles, alongside musician Taylor Hanson and Savannah Bananas baseball player Jackson Olson. The 16 couples will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy starting Sept. 15, relying on a combination of judges' scores and viewer votes.
British professional Emma Slater is partnered with Olson. Slater told E! News at the cast reveal that she had already thought about how to coach the athlete before they were paired. She noted she had found herself thinking, "If he was my partner, this is what I would do."
However, she said she "would never have the balls or the confidence to go up to the producers and be like, 'Hey, I want to dance with him.'" She also dismissed the idea that his background gives them an edge.
"I love how much you love music," Slater told Olson during their interview. "And I love how much you embrace the musical theater aspect and learning choreography, which is great. But dance experience? We're working on that."
Slater said Olson has stepped up to the plate. "We're getting some quality technique in there," she said. "He hasn't had that posture training and technique training, but we're getting there. And he's a quick learner."
Olson said the shift to ballroom shoes has been difficult. "I've never put on ballroom shoes before!" he said. "So, it's been a transition for sure."
Other cast members have shown their dance skills on screen. Shum featured heavily in musical numbers on the television show "Glee." Stiles starred in the film "Save the Last Dance," where her character auditioned for Juilliard and danced at a Chicago club called STEPPS.
Stiles joked to E! News that she now dances for her three children with husband Preston J. Cook in their New York City apartment. They "see me dance every day and every night in my kitchen and in my living room," she said. "They're like, 'Oh, there goes Mommy again.'"
Hanson, the middle brother of the pop rock group Hanson known for the song "MMMBop," is partnered with professional Britt Stewart. Stewart said his musical background is an asset.
"Taylor's said it many times: Music and dance, they're so connected," Stewart said. "So it's definitely a strength that I'm using this season."
Hanson agreed, adding, "It's the strength that I have to bring to the table."
Ballroom choreography challenges
Dewan, partnered with professional Val Chmerkovskiy, began her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. She has also danced with Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake.
"I have performed before," Dewan said. "I can learn choreography. But, however, ballroom is a whole different language. It's actually very, very challenging for me. And I wanted that challenge."
Dewan said she joined the show to impress Everly, her 13-year-old daughter with former husband Channing Tatum, who is an avowed fan of the series. "That was one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to come and do this," she said. "I haven't trained this hard in so many years."
"This isn't the first time we've had a contestant that had experience," Chmerkovskiy said.
"To do ballroom at the highest level is a huge challenge for anybody, with experience, without experience," Chmerkovskiy said. "And that’s the goal. It’s not to rest on our laurels, but to really step it up. No pun intended."
Because if they fail to bring that magic, he added, the fan vote is "the great equalizer in this competition."
Previous winners with performance experience include Nicole Scherzinger, Melissa Rycroft, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Charli D'Amelio. However, experienced dancers like "Glee" actor Heather Morris, singer Normani and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, considered the greatest of all time in her sport, have been eliminated earlier in the competition.
Celebrity and professional salaries
Celebrities earn significant payouts for their time on the show. A 2019 report by Variety stated contestants receive $125,000 for the rehearsal period and the first two weeks, with a maximum possible earning of $295,000.
Radio personality Bobby Bones, who won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018, said on a September 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's "Trading Secrets" podcast that he earned more.
"That show pays OK," Bones said. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."
Bones said he received a base salary of around $110,000 and "ended up making close to $400,000 from that show." ABC has not publicly confirmed these figures.
Professional dancers see their pay tied to their time in the competition, though they do receive guarantees. Jenna Johnson, who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon and season 33 with "The Bachelor" star Joey Graziadei, discussed professional salaries on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast "The Morning After."
"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Johnson said. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."
Professionals receive a bonus for reaching the finale, but they do not receive extra prize money for winning.
"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," Johnson said. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."
Troupe members earn considerably less. Professional Lindsay Arnold said on a 2022 episode of "Trading Secrets" that her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from a professional role to the troupe.
Partner selection and rehearsals
Professionals have no say in their celebrity pairings. Arnold said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' "Hot Smart Rich" podcast that dancers are simply given a partner.
"You get no say," Arnold said. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"
The pairings are kept secret from the professionals until they meet on camera to ensure a genuine reaction.
"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Johnson said on "The Morning After." "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."
Former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015 that pairings are based on height, build, personality and compatibility. He said the show avoids pairing people who will not get along.
"It's too intense. It's not like 'The Bachelor' or something, we couldn't do that," Wade said. "That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."
Once paired, couples face a grueling rehearsal schedule. Rylee Arnold, who partnered with gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, outlined the routine on a September 2024 episode of the "Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis."
"Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Arnold said. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."
Outside of practice, professionals meet with producers, plan choreography and study videos. "Literally my whole life is devoted to it, but it's my passion and it's what I love," Arnold said. "So, it makes me so happy."
The schedule runs from Wednesday to Sunday with straight rehearsals. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again," Arnold added.
For the weekly performances, professionals have a say in the music. Slater and Stewart said in a September 2025 Instagram video that they mostly pick the songs, "though it's a collaboration with producers."
Costume design process
The show's costume department operates on a tight schedule, turning around custom outfits in a matter of days.
Costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider in 2017 that the team meets with set and lighting designers, dancers and talent to create a story before sketching ideas.
"We have five days, max, to make all the outfits," Gschwendtner said. "That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."
Costume designer Steven Norman Lee noted that while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," the wardrobe is generally custom-made each week. Dancers often try on their outfits for the first time just hours before the live broadcast.
"We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition," Gschwendtner said. "We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."
