‘Dancing With the Stars Juniors’ Deserves a Second Chance To Shine

This past season of Dancing With The Stars was arguably the show’s biggest season yet. According to Neilson, 6.36 million people tuned into the season finale, the largest viewership in four years. Throughout the season, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough revealed that fans kept smashing the voting records. The pros and celebrities have g ained major popularity in mainstream pop culture, from dating rumors between

The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran and pro Sasha Farber, to speculation on young pro Rylee Arnold’s mystery boyfriend, who has since been revealed as USC football player Walker Lyons. This all proves that Dancing With The Stars gained a lot of traction this year, and fans were more involved than ever. That’s exactly why it’s the perfect time to bring back Dancing With The Stars: Juniors.

Young Celebrities Add A Fresh Energy to ‘Dancing With The Stars’

Although the spin-off series was canceled after only a single season, Dancing With The Stars: Juniors, which premiered on October 7, 2018, on ABC, was a hit among many viewers. Instead of recruiting adult celebrities, the show features young stars. The young celebs are coupled with a professional ballroom dancer similar in age and an adult pro, who acts as their coach and choreographer. Just like the original, the show featured celebrities from all walks of life, including reality star Alana Thompson aka “Honey Boo Boo,”Stevie Wonder’s son Mandla Morris, and now famous blockbuster actress Ariana Greenblatt.

Having kids competing on Dancing With The Starselevates the show to another level. First, it shrinks the possibility for some stars to walk in with years and years of dance experience and some with none. All the kids are pretty much on the same playing field when it comes to talent. Last Juniors season, the stars had little to no dance experience except for Dance Moms star Mackenzie Zeigler. The young celebrities also add wholesomeness and positivity to the competition. You don’t get the same cutthroat competitiveness and shade. It’s truly about kids discovering a love for dance and having fun. I also think that the young contestants have the enthusiasm to dance that some adult contestants don’t. This past season of DWTS, contestant Anna Sorokin or “Delvey” was seemingly not thrilled to be on the show. The junior contestants seemed thrilled to learn how to dance and participate in the competition.

DWTS Juniors Gives Young Pros A Chance To Shine

Along with a fresh new cast of young stars, we get to see an all-new set of young professional dancers. Some of the young pros we saw in the Juniors season included So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation finalist JT Church, Dance Moms star Elliana Walmsley, and, of course, now regular season pro Rylee Arnold. DWTS Juniors gave the young professional dancers a chance to shine. It allowed them to work in the dance industry, kick-starting many of their careers. It clearly worked for Rylee, who has now been a pro for two seasons.

DWTS Juniors also brings back several familiar faces. The adult pros who coach and choreograph the juniors’ dances are many of the regular-season pros we see every season. Jenna Johnson, Alan Bersten, Emma Slater, and Witney Carson were among the pros who coached on Dancing With The Stars: Juniors. It was heartwarming to watch the interaction between the pros and the kids. Throughout the season, they developed a special bond that is nothing like the bond between partners and pros in the regular seasons. You ditch the romance rumors and replace them with a special, almost parent-like relationship.

Imagine a DWTS season with contestants like Internet sensation “The Rizzler”, Olympic skateboarder and gold medalist Arisa Trew, or maybe even a Kardashian kid? It’s the perfect time to bring Juniors back for another season, especially after the success that Season 33 had. What makes DWTS Juniors so special is it features bright, young celebrities who bring enthusiasm and fun energy to the competition. It also allows young professional dancers to work in the dance industry and showcase their skills. Finally, bringing back fan favorite adult pros to coach the kids makes for a special bond that is beautiful to watch. I mean come on, who doesn’t want to watch a kid learning how to cha-cha on their screen? Stream Dancing With The Stars in the U.S. on Hulu.

U.S. reality show based on the British series “Strictly Come Dancing,” where celebrities partner up with professional dancers and compete against each other in weekly elimination rounds to determine a winner.

Release Date

June 1, 2005

Cast

Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess

Main Genre

Reality

Seasons

Studio

Expand

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