Let the games begin! ABC announced the celebrities set to dance on season 29 of Dancing With the Stars on Wednesday, September 2, including athletes, actors and many more.
The professional dancers were announced last month, including three married couples: Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy; Sasha Farber and Emma Slater; and Pasha Pashkov and first-time pro Danielle Karagach. Other pros this season include Artem Chigvintsev, Brandon Armstrong, Sharna Burgess, Cheryl Burke, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Gleb Savchenko, reigning champ Alan Bersten and newcomer Britt Stewart.
Season 29 is set to be a bit different than seasons in the past. Tom Bergeron, who has hosted the reality competition series since its 2004 debut, was ousted over the summer, as was cohost Erin Andrews, who joined in 2014. Tyra Banks is set as the replacement, becoming the first Black woman to host the show solo.
“My goal is for a 12-year-old to be sitting on the couch with their parents and grandparents and everybody can relate personally to what they see on that screen,” the America’s Next Top Model creator, 46, who also serves as an executive producer on DWTS, told Us Weekly exclusively. “That’s a hint. Not giving up the goods. You’ll have to tune in!”
She’s also been a longtime fan of the show and promised that this season will be “next level” with her at the helm. “We’re doing all this crazy stuff, taking it into the next level, but still keeping the stuff that we know America loves,” Banks shared on Good Morning America in July. “But you need to get ready because it’s going to be different.”
Many other changes have been put into place due to the coronavirus pandemic, including no live studio audience and no pros spending time together after hours — including the married couples.
“It’s a new stage — very bright, very fancy, a lot of LED screens and there’s definitely going to be a different feel, for sure,” Chigvintsev, 38, hinted about the new season in August. “We kind of have to coexist with what’s happening in the world so they have to restructure the stage to make it top-notch. So it’s gonna be a whole new stage, a very surprising stage. … I heard in the rehearsal room there’s going to be pre-set cameras. It’s going to be, like, no people besides the dancer and the celebrity.”
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“My goal is for a 12-year-old to be sitting on the couch with their parents and grandparents and everybody can relate personally to what they see on that screen,” the America’s Next Top Model creator, 46, who also serves as an executive producer on DWTS, told Us Weekly exclusively. “
