‘Dancing With The Stars’ Pros Head To The Dance Studio With Celebrity Kids For ‘DWTS: Juniors’ Season
Dancing with the Stars: Juniors, the kid-themed spinoff of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, is in full swing. Stars for the pint-sized version of the celebrity ballroom competition were spotted heading to the studio in Los Angeles for rehearsals.
Just Jared posted photos of DWTS pro dancers Cheryl Burke, Jenna Johnson and Hayley Erbert as they entered the L.A. studio. The fan favorite dancers were later joined by fellow pros Lindsay Arnold, Artem Chigvintsev, Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson, Keo Motsepe, Sasha Farber, and Emma Slater. In addition, Hailey Bills and Brightyn Brems, two of the “junior” celebrity dancers the DWTS pros will be mentoring, were also spotted at the studio.
Dancing with the Stars: Juniors will feature a cast of young celebs and kids of celebs as they compete for a mirrorball trophy. In a synopsis of the show, ABC described the spinoff as “a fresh take on an established favorite” as it pairs celebrity kids with professional junior ballroom dancers to perform choreographed routines. DWTS: Juniors comes on the heels of last spring’s successful DWTS: Athletes season.
According to Gold Derby, DWTS: Juniors will air on Sundays ahead of Monday night’s regular Dancing with the Stars run. The hour-long spinoff will run for 10 weeks, but unlike the original, it will be pre-taped to accommodate the schedules of its younger contestants.
Cheryl Burke, Hayley Erbert, Jenna Johnson and more #DWTS pros head into the studio to work on the new season! https://t.co/siO9PcJK0h
— Just Jared Jr. (@justjaredjr) July 15, 2018
While the full Juniors cast has not yet been announced by ABC, Dancing with the Stars pro Witney Carson has some ideas of celebrity kids she would like to see in the competition. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Carson teased the possibility of some Disney kids joining the DWTS spinoff.
“I don’t know who I have yet,” Carson said of who she will mentor. “Probably somebody Disney, for sure, but I don’t know, so we’ll see. I think Jenna Ortega would be so cute.”
Carson also added Mason Ramsey, the viral sensation better known as the Walmart Yodeling Kid, to her DWTS: Juniors wish list.
DWTS: Juniors pro Gleb Savchenko told ET that the spinoff won’t be a technique-driven as the flagship series, and he explained how the format will work.
“[Mentors] choreograph, and all of [the competitors] are different ages,” Savchenko said. ” It’s kids, so it’s a different energy in the studio. You have a mentor, and two kids — one who’s danced before and one who hasn’t. So, it’s kind of, not just teaching a celebrity with no dance experience, you’re teaching both. It’s going to be different, challenging and very enjoyable and exciting to watch. They’re kids! They’re so cute, all of them.”
Dancing with the Stars and Dancing with the Stars: Juniors will air Sundays and Mondays this fall at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
