A sports editor weighs in ahead of new season
The Boston Globe • • entertainment
Key Points:
- DWTS casts typically feature a diverse mix of personalities, including older contestants aiming to reclaim youth, sports stars, reality TV personalities, and lesser-known figures, which adds variety and intrigue to the show.
- Sports stars often perform well due to their physical training, with this season featuring figure skater Amber Glenn, baseball player Jackson Olson, and paralympian Ezra Frech; however, dance experience does not guarantee success due to ballroom dance's unique technical demands.
- Some cast members have professional dance backgrounds, such as Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum, and Julia Stiles, but judges note that transitioning to ballroom dance requires different skills, making the competition challenging even for trained dancers.
- Judging on DWTS introduces subjectivity that can favor contestants who show charisma, sincerity, and improvement, sometimes allowing less technically skilled dancers to advance based on their effort and storytelling.
- Judges like Bruno Tonioli emphasize the importance of performance quality and emotional connection over technical perfection, highlighting that the "way" a dance is performed can captivate both judges and audiences alike.
