Back to the ballroom! The first two contestants on Dancing With the Stars season 30 are Sunisa “Suni” Lee and JoJo Siwa.
ABC announced during DWTS’ Television Critics Association panel on Thursday, August 26, that the Olympic gold medalist and the pop star, both 18, will be the first of 15 stars to compete for the mirrorball trophy this fall. The network also revealed that Siwa will be making DTWS history by partnering with a woman.
Lee rose to fame earlier this summer when she and the rest of the Team USA gymnasts represented their country at the Tokyo Olympics. The Minnesota native won three medals at the tournament, including gold in the women’s all-around competition, silver in the team final and bronze in the individual uneven bars event.
She will try to add mirrorball champion to her résumé before heading off to Auburn University as an incoming freshman.
Siwa, for her part, is no stranger to the pressures of the spotlight having conquered the worlds of music, television and film after becoming a social media sensation in 2016.
The Dance Moms alum is set to star in and executive produce The J Team, a new live-action musical for Paramount+, but first she will battle Lee and the rest of the DWTS contestants for the coveted trophy.
The remaining 13 celebrities will be announced on Good Morning America on Wednesday, September 8. When the ABC reality dance show returns, Tyra Banks will be back as the solo presenter after replacing longtime cohosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews in July 2020 ahead of season 29.
“I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning. The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances,” the former America’s Next Top Model host, 47, said in a statement last summer. “It’s always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk. Tom has set a powerful stage, and I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.”
Banks reflected on her debut performance once the season wrapped in November 2020, telling Us Weekly and other reporters how she’d rate herself if she were one of the show’s judges.
“OK, I’m gonna be Derek [Hough]. ‘Girl, you came out here! You’re, like, ‘Yo, I’m new and I’m gonna do this thing! You know you kind of got your groove, it took you a little while to get it, like around halfway through, girl it was yours, you took it, you were going. Go miss thang!’” she said. “You know how he does that? ‘I give you a 11!’”
Banks will be joined by veteran judges and ballroom experts Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Hough, 36, as she navigates her second season. The DWTS pros, like the remaining celebs, have yet to be announced.
Dancing With the Stars season 30 premieres on ABC Monday, September 20, at 8 p.m. ET.
