Dancing With The Stars would be nothing without the partnerships between the contestants and the professional dancers. The pros, who have competed in numerous competitions and championships in the dance world, are paired with celebrities from the world of music, TV, sports, and politics.
The celeb and the pro aren’t just randomly paired together; the production team has a method to ensure both the celeb and the viewers have the best experience. Things like height and size are just as important as personality when it comes to making good TV. With 32 seasons under its belt, Dancing With The Stars is clearly doing something right.
How Stars Are Matched With Pros On Dancing With The Stars
Dancing With The Stars producer Rob Wade opened up about the casting process. “It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” Wade told E! News. He also explained that they try to create pairings who they think will get along with each other.
“We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”
Casting producer Deena Katz revealed that some celebs have input into the pairing, but production ultimately “100 percent” decides the couples. “There are some celebs that have wishes, and we always say we can’t guarantee it. That’s why we meet all the celebrities and know all the dancers, because some celebs think they know better,” she told Glamour in 2015.
The producers wait until all the celebrities are cast before they start to put together the on-screen pairings. “Normally, we just have our pros and then once the cast is booked, we decide the pairings,” Wade explained.
Wade also admitted he tried to pair the long-term professional dancers with a star who they think will bring out a new part of their personality. “You also want to give the viewer something different…,” he explained.
“There’s some things that you just want the viewer to see a different side.”
“So when we put Peta [Murgatroyd] with Tommy Chong, it was really the best thing for her because we saw a whole new side to her. So you want to see the different dynamics of the dancers.”
Why Cast Romances Are Encouraged On Dancing With The Stars
Producers are delighted when Dancing with the Stars romances occur between the celebrity competitor and the professional dancer. The show has become infamous for causing affairs and romance fizzing between the pairings.
The long hours spent in close contact in the studio have become a breeding ground for romance. These romances are sure to hit the headlines, promoting the show and bringing it to the forefront of conversation.
On the UK version, entitled Strictly Come Dancing, the frequent romances have been nicknamed The Strictly Curse by the British press. Numerous marriages have ended after celebs have appeared on the reality show, with some people even getting caught kissing their dance partner by the paparazzi.
The Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkelman explained her theory on why so many couples get together due to the competition. “It’s intoxicating, Strictly, because you’re all part of this extraordinary juggernaut. So I don’t think people fall in love with people; they might just love the experience.”
Although many couples deny that anything happened on the show, putting the tension to good chemistry as dance partners. Karina Smirmoff defended Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis’ connection as being “great acting.”
“When you’re on the dance floor … you want to create that story, you want to create something where people believe that what you demonstrated was real,” the DWTS alum who was once engaged to Maksim said. “And [Maks and Meryl] were able to do that.”
Although the romances encouraged by producers are short-lived, some have blossomed into something long-lasting. In 2015, pro dancer Kym Johnson fell in love with Shark Tank‘s Robert Herjavec. Nearly ten years later, the couple married and have twins.
“I’ve got so much to thank Dancing with the Stars for,” Johnson told People. “I ended up meeting my husband on the show. So, thank you! But it felt like the right time to step away.”
In 2017, former WWE wrestler Nikki Bella was partnered with Artem Chigvintsev. They started dating in 2019. “I have never met anyone who’s so supportive, and I have no fear that he’s ever going to leave me for my imperfections, which is so amazing,” she told reporters at the 2nd Annual Girl Up #GirlHero Awards, according to People.
DWTS Pros Don’t Have A Say On Which Star They Are Paired With
Mark Ballas explained that the professional dancers don’t choose their celebrity partner. “They pair us on height and size, so it feels comfortable for the women and vice versa for the women when they’re dancing. They also try and make us compatible based on personality, and what they think will work well.
“Each one of the pro dancers has a different way of teaching, choreographing, and also just different personalities, as well as time-stamps on patience. They kind of try to pair us accordingly,” the dancer added.
Celebs will often request certain professional dancers that they are fans of or their friends recommend. These celebrity requests typically hold more weight in production than the demands made by the pros. For example, Lindsey Arnold requested to have a star of The Bachelor when she renegotiated her contract.
Either way, the producers always have the final say and make the big decisions when it comes to pairing together professional dancers and their celebrities.