Dancing with the Stars: Juniors has added another pint-sized dancer to its cast. The kid-centric version of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition will roll out the red carpet for Sophia Pippen, the 9-year-old daughter of NBA legend Scottie Pippen and Real Housewives of Miami star Larsa Pippen.
TMZ reports that Larsa Pippen and her pal, Kim Kardashian, were spotted at the Dancing with the Stars studios in Los Angeles last week watching Sophia rehearse. Kardashian, who competed on the seventh season of the show with pro dancer Mark Ballas, posted a peek of her pit stop at the DWTS dance studio to her Instagram Story last Thursday.
“Guess where I’m at guys…Mark Ballas, they tried to get me to dance and I said it would be like cheating on you.”
Sophia Pippen will join a cast of celebrity kids that includes reality star Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Black-ish actor Miles Brown. According to Just Jared , junior professional dancers that will be matched with the celebrity children on the new show. DWTS pro dancer Lindsay Arnold’s sister, Rylee, and Jenna Johnson’s niece, Hailey Bills, are reportedly cast on the series as junior pros who will be mentored by seasoned Dancing with the Stars veterans.
The Dancing With the Stars Juniors cast has a new addition! https://t.co/77WDItRu59
— Just Jared Jr. (@justjaredjr) July 22, 2018
Just Jared previously revealed that Dancing with the Stars pro dancers Cheryl Burke, Jenna Johnson, Hayley Erbert, Lindsay Arnold, Artem Chigvintsev, Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson, Keo Motsepe, Sasha Farber, and Emma Slater were all spotted at the rehearsal studio in L.A. last week.
ABC described the spinoff, which comes on the heels of last spring’s DWTS: Athletes , as “a fresh take on an established favorite” as it pairs celebrity kids with professional junior ballroom dancers to perform choreographed routines.
Dancing with the Stars: Juniors pro dancer Gleb Savchenko gave Entertainment Tonight the scoop on how the spinoff series 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.”
The hour-long Dancing with the Stars spinoff will run for 10 weeks and it will be pre-taped. ABC has not yet confirmed the Dancing with the Stars: Juniors cast list.
Dancing with the Stars: Juniors will air Sundays this fall at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
