Back to the ballroom! Before Dancing With the Stars makes its debut on Disney+, several of the show’s pros showed off their stuff for the official promo shoot.
“The mirrorball’s makeover? It’s a 🔟 from us. 👏,” the reality TV series’ official Instagram wrote alongside the poster on Thursday, August 18. In the pic, dancers Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Brandon Armstrong, Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov danced underneath a Mickey Mouse-shaped mirrorball.
“YESSSSSS CANT WAIT,” Carson, 28, wrote via Instagram comment at the time.
The six dancers who starred in the Disney+ photo shoot — and an accompanying commercial — will return to the ballroom when season 31 returns next month. However, the full slate of dancers has yet to be announced since contracts have not been finalized, Us Weekly can confirm.
The So You Think You Can Dance alum, for her part, previously sat out season 29 while she was pregnant with son Leo. (Carson and her husband, Carson McCallister, later welcomed their baby boy in January 2021.) While Carson and Lindsay Arnold were both absent amid their pregnancies, many of their fellow DWTS pros hit the floor last year, including Burke, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson and Sharna Burgess. Karagach, 29, eventually took home the mirrorball trophy alongside NBA star Iman Shumpert.
Earlier this year, Disney executives announced that season 31 — and next year’s season 32 — will stream live on Disney+ rather than ABC. While the casting lineup had yet to be announced at the time, the pros were on board with the move.
“I actually find it very exciting,” Chigvintsev — who won DWTS season 29 with Kaitlyn Bristowe — exclusively told Us in April about the switch. “What also is really exciting is we’re actually gonna be one of the first big shows … to go live on a streaming platform. So, it’s great to be part of Disney family. It’s always a good time. I think it’s very exciting.”
Johnson, for her, part was equally enthused by the change. “I’m so excited,” the 28-year-old pregnant reality star told Us in June. “I think change is scary in general, but I think it also ignites a new spark and [brings] this sort of refreshing energy. … I’m just excited to see where the show goes. I think it’s amazing that we’re gonna be the first live show to be on their platform.”
While the Utah native hasn’t confirmed if she would return to the show amid her pregnancy, she told Us that the Ukraine native, 36, was “really excited” about returning to the stage despite exit speculation.
“So, the funny thing is we actually don’t know if we’re coming back until right before the season [starts],” Johnson said at the time. “But yes, I know that Val is definitely excited to come back for another season and I think that he’s in the best shape of his life right now. I’m not sure what happened to him [this year], but he is snatched.”
DWTS season 31 — which will be hosted by Tyra Banks and former champ Alfonso Ribeiro — premieres on Disney+ Monday, September 19, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Scroll below to see which DWTS pros are returning to the competition:
