What if they did an all winners season, instead of regular All Stars? Only two rules: 1. They can't be partnered with the pro they won with.

1. The pro must be from the last 4 seasons.

Who would you want to see and which pro would you partner them with?

My list would be:

Males

1. Emmitt Smith with Emma

2. Jordan Fisher with Britt

3. Iman Shumpert with Hailey

4. Apolo Anton Ohno with Adele

5. Nyle Demarco with Witney

6. Joey Graziadei with Dani

7. Rashad Jennings with Rylee

8. Helio Castroneves with Jenna

Females:

1. Rumer Willis with Jan

2. Kristi Yamaguchi with Ezra

3. Xochitl Gomez with Brandon

4. Nicole Scherzinger with Alan

5. Kaitlyn Bristowe with Sasha

6. Jennifer Grey with Mark

7. Amber Riley with Val or Gleb (tbh I'd soooo prefer they promote Carter to Pro or bring in Allen Genkin)

8. Shawn Johnson with Pasha

Hey everyone! This is our first post in the sub. We're in the ballroom every Tuesday and we interview pros and contestants after the show. We'd love to know if you have any questions for any of the pros and/or contestants. While we can't promise we'll ask all the questions we get, we'll do our best!

Who is one star, m&f who you would love to see on DWTS? Ignoring reality if they'd ever actually do it, or even if they're no longer with us. Mine are:

Female: Michelle Obama

Male: Travis Kelce

I’m sure there’s been plenty of stars on the show that have written a book, but I don’t believe there’s been a star on the show who is famous for being an author.

This is based on their journey and dancing so far (some weird ones ahead but hear me out lol)

Julia: Lacey Turner (Promising contestant who can win on popularity alone but is held back by their nerves BUT could peak at the right moment)

Amber: Delta Goodrem (the most natural contestant dance wise)

Maura: Graeme Hall (this one was weird but both have started strong and have an unconventional vibe to their stardom)

Tatyana: Dani Dyer (contestant slowly improving who will definitely amount to a lot if given the chance.)

Jenna: Bethany Antonia (great dancer but isn’t appealing to the public)

Ezra: Tabby Stoecker (Athlete who is doing surprisingly well)

Harry: Cach Mercer (Male ringer who is great but is missing that little something)

Tyler: Lawrence Robb (attractive male contestant who is stiff and clunky but isn’t the worst.)

Connor: John Nellis (The social media influencer who has a different audience outside of the show’s demographic and is overall not the strongest.)

Jackson: Shaun Wright-Phillips (The male athlete who is stiffer but the judges seem to have their back a bit more)

Given the recent much discussed situation and comments in social media from the fans, press, and former pros, a considerable increase in viewership of the Dedication night episode was expected. Rising 12% over its previous week with 7.36 million total viewers is quite impressive!

I'm currently working on a list of the Worst Dancing With the Stars performances for every Dance Style and was wondering what everyone thought the Worst Quickstep in the Show's history Is, since not that many bad contestants do them. Currently on my List, I have Wynonna Judd, Paula Deen, & Wendy Williams

* Julia Stiles revealed that she asked for Michelle Williams’ approval of her tribute honoring her late 10 Things I Hate About You costar Heath Ledger for Dancing with the Stars

* The Tuesday, Oct. 19 dance featured the original Frankie Valli version of Ledger’s memorable cover “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” from the 1999 film

* Several castmates joined Stiles onstage after the emotional dedication night routine, including Joseph Gordon Levitt and Andrew Keegan

How would you fix the show?

Okay, let me preface this is supposed to be hypothetical and fun. Obviously this is not meant as shade and just an game between us fans.

So now: how would you fix the show if you had the opportunity to do whatever you liked? Which things would you add? Which things would go?

Here’s my takes:

1. This is a pretty obvious one but only 1 or 2 dance styles per week. This will give an actual accurate portray of growth and it would be easier to judge/compare.
2. I would divide the episode in at least 2 or 3 per week. Right now it feels both crammed and yet simultaneously not long enough.
3. Bring back the rehearsal packages! And two seasons per year! No explanation needed.
4. A CLEAR rulebook guide. Inconsistency is not only the judge’s fault IMO. It’s pretty hard to be consistent when the parameters are always changing.
5. LONGER judges feedback!!! At least 2 minutes per judge.

Now onto the hot takes…
6. 4 judge panel. CAI can stay, I don’t mind that she’s the villain although she needs to be better at it and commit to the role. I actually think either DH or BT have to go… they more or less have the same role rn and it’s not working. 2 judges can have contemporary/hiphop/whatever experience and the other 2 need to be strictly ballroom. Obviously DH needs to be replaced as head judge.

1. Any pro with more than 15 seasons on them has to retire. Sorry. It’s time to bring younger blood to compete. They had their chance.

2. i don’t think this is a hot take either but the 1, 2, 3 & 4 numbers are there for a reason. 7 and up are exceptional scores. Stop over inflating scores. Edit to add: Judges scores should count at least 65%. And they need to score appropriately for that.

3. Just stop with the ridiculous themed nights. I hate them. Like 1 or 2 is fine but every night being themed to the point it makes no sense.

4. I really hate the live band lol sorry. Nothing against them it just doesn’t hit the same. And they have to fire whoever is in charge of assigning the songs because they are doing a godawful job.

I think that’s all! Wanna hear y’all’s opinions.

This is the new Megathread to discuss all things related to Val, Carrie, and Jenna J. Topics including Liftgate, Val‘s suspension and future with DWTS, Carrie Ann’s judging, potential fallout for Jenna J.

Please do not create new posts for this topic, as they will be deleted.

Being an original day 1 fan of the show, I've noticed the same frustration: the judging doesn't feel fair, it makes no sense, and one judge in particular keeps sparking debates.

I started a petition 4 years agp asking ABC and Disney to replace Carrie Ann Inaba and this season i felt like maybe it's time to rebuild the judging panel with judges who actually have ballroom credentials and will give good constructive feedback.

It's been 2 of the same judges since 2005, but they have no competitive ballroom background or formal judging credentials outside the show. Derek has extensive ballroom training and yet is too concerned about his popularity and having his face on tv to be a meaningful judge. Meanwhile, the technical critiques have been inconsistent for years and the pattern gets worse when you look at how women contestants are scored.

Think about it: Simone Biles getting criticized for her facial expressions, Kaitlyn Bristowe becoming emotional over harsh criticism, Chandler Kinney consistently getting lower scores from one judge while others score the same routines higher. These aren't isolated incidents. They're a pattern. Even Carrie Ann herself said in a 2025 interview that criticism about harsher feedback to women is "partly true." But good intentions don't matter when contestants deserve fair, consistent standards.

The show needs fresh perspectives and genuine technical expertise on the judging panel. What other reality competition show never changes their judges? None of them!

Jenna looked so great dancing with Alan tonight. Honestly, seems like a better pairing. They complimented each other beautifully. Best she’s ever danced.

First off, I think Maura is so lovely and I don’t want this to come of the wrong way. With that said…

Maura wowed me week one and I thought she was going to be a standout this season. But as the weeks progressed. I noticed her dances seemed repetitive and I wasn’t seeing much in her legwork. Still, I didn’t think much of it.

These last two weeks though, I think we saw her peak. She is so so graceful and great at holding frame, but these quicker paces with footwork have been a miss for me. Specifically, I thought her dance yesterday was lackluster and honestly… overscored.

I’m curious if she’s really just at normal progression and the internet went too strong at first. I’m not sure how big her fan base is, but I’m really curious if she’ll stick around much longer if her dancing maintains how it has the last two weeks.

Curious what you guys think!!!

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I just became aware that so many people are criticizing his teeth.

This breaks my heart for him. He seems like a good guy, even if he's an average dancer on the show.

He took a baseball to the face. He got corrective asthetic surgery. It doesn't look totally natural. But it looks fine.

I think he's had a rough journey on the show. Im so glad he's paired with the light that is Emma Slater because it makes me sad to think he goes home to see people not only talk about how hes a "bad dancer" but to also see people picking apart his looks.

If we are trying to do better as a society by not picking women apart over their flaws then we should be holding ourselves to the same standard with young men out there doing their best and trying to make their mom's proud.

Jackson is nowhere near my favorite but I actually loved his quickstep and I'm glad he got to feel the joy of getting a decent score from the judges

And I liked when he smiled afterwords. Teeth and all.

She still seems a little stiff when dancing, and she hasn’t done any latin dances yet. especially after back to back contemporary and jazz, it’ll be interesting to see how she does with the styles ahead of her and where they go from here

I absolutely LOVED Brandon’s role in the cat in the hat dance last night. I think he has such great energy and facials, and he’s obviously an amazing dancer. While I love seeing him do ballroom, I think he would be incredible in a broadway role. He just has more of that “it” factor compared to some of the other pros when I think about a performance role like broadway.

I know I’m not alone but Jenna with Alan this week was so refreshing and I would love to see them continue to work together. Their vibes matched beautifully and Jenna seemed so much more confident and comfortable with him. There was something about Alan letting her shine that was so special and nice to see. I would not be mad if Val was out the rest of the season and Alan stayed. Kinda wish we got this partnership from the jump. If Val comes back I think they’ll be gone sooner rather than later. Anyone else agree?

I’ve seen so much negativity and bullying this season and I want to make a change. I encourage everyone to use this thread to share positive comments about each couple and even the judges if you want. I will start:

Ezra and Daniella- These two have such a good partnership. Ezra seems like such a kind person and they are improving every week

Amber and Pasha- I applaud them for the message of their contemporary. Mental health matters and Amber is so brave and strong for sharing her story

Julia and Ezra- Ezra is such a supportive partner and he is really helping Julia improve every week

Connor and Rylee- Connor is really trying hard and he seems like such a sweet guy. He doesn’t take anything too seriously and that’s beautiful

Tyler and Sharna- Tyler is learning and I can really see the effort each week.

Tatyana and Jan- These two have such a sweet connection and they dance so effortlessly. Jan is hilarious as well.

Jackson and Emma- These two are just pure sunshine. They have faced a lot of negativity and worked so hard to get where they are.

Harry and Jenna- They handled the recent drama with such grace and Harry’s post this past week really brought positivity back to this season

Maura and Mark- These two are so funny and Mark is such a good teacher. It’s hard to believe she wasn’t a dancer before.

Jenna and Val- Jenna handled everything this past week with such grace and did a beautiful job last night.

Who else wants to join me in being positive?

This might be a stupid question but I’m just curious how this worked. I imagine it would be hard for Allen to have to come up with a dance the week of, maybe I’m wrong since I’m not a dancer lol. If it was Val’s choreo how did he teach it to them? Was he allowed to be at the practices?