‘DWTS’: Willow Shields Proves That She’s Almost As Flexible As Nastia Liukin

Willow Shields might be the youngest contestant to ever compete on Dancing with the Stars, but her Instagram page is evidence that she’s going to be a very formidable foe.

The 14-year-old Hunger Games: Mockingjay star recently proved that she’s almost as flexible as fellow DWTS competitor Nastia Liukin. In the Instagram photo below, Willow Shields shows off her ability to do the splits. Flexibility comes in very handy on Dancing with the Stars, so being able to bend like a willow might help Willow make it far on the show.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Derek Hough and Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin seem poised to be the season 20 frontrunners. Nastia’s brutal gymnastics training has provided her with a set of skills that her fellow competitors lack, and Derek is always one of the most popular pro partners on DWTS.

Carter Matt recently ranked this season’s Dancing with the Stars contestants, and the site agrees that Liukin and Hough are the deserving favorites. However, the talented twosome shouldn’t think that they’re simply going to cruise to victory — Willow Shields and Mark Ballas are sitting pretty in that second-favorite spot just waiting for their chance to take down one of DWTS‘ most intimidating couples of all time.

Shields might get a boost from the millions of Hunger Games fans who love seeing her play Katniss’ little sister, Prim, in the extremely popular film franchise, and Carter Matt points out that her age may endear her to viewers. According to Just Jared, she and Mark Ballas are also going to have a catchy hit song on their side during the season premiere — they’ll be doing the cha cha to Meghan Trainor’s “Lips Are Movin.” It’s a pretty fast song, so hopefully Willow Shields can move her feet faster than a tribute running away from a tracker jacker.

Before Willow Shields came along, Zendaya was the youngest-ever competitor on Dancing with the Stars. During season 16, the then-16-year-old got extremely close to snagging the Mirrorball Trophy. Unfortunately, she and partner Val Chmerkovskiy ended up finishing second behind Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough.

Right now Nastia Liukin’s fellow Olympian, Shawn Johnson, still holds the title of being the youngest celebrity winner of Dancing with the Stars. When the pint-sized gymnast was just 17, she and Mark Ballas snagged the season 8 Mirrorball Trophy. Mark Ballas and 17-year-old Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson finished second behind the unbeatable Alfonso Ribeiro last season, so if anyone can take a youngster like Willow to the top, it’s Mark.

The Dancing with the Stars season 20 premiere airs Monday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Do you think Willow Shields will surprise everyone by waltzing away with the best score of the night?

[Image credit: Willow Shields/Instagram]