Dancing with the Stars: Juniors, previously announced last year, is set to premiere on Sunday October 7. A fresh take on an established favorite, the show will pair celebrity kids with professional junior ballroom dancers to perform choreographed routines.
Officially, ABC announced the judges panel on Good Morning America today (July 30). Olympic figure skater and DWTS:Athletes winner, Adam Rippon, award winning choreographer Mandy Moore and former DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy are set as judges.
Introducing your #DWTSJuniors judges!!! ?? @iamValC @nopenother @Adaripp pic.twitter.com/bLutKfiQH6
— DWTS: Juniors (@DWTSJuniors) July 30, 2018
The series will NOT air live. Tapings for the 10 week series are scheduled throughout the month of August. Eliminations will be based on a mix of studio audience and judges scores. Pure DWTS has all the details HERE and HERE.
Tom Bergeron will NOT be hosting. Those duties will be taken over by former child stars and DWTS contestants, Frankie Muniz and Jordan Fisher.
There are twelve kiddos in the cast list. They will be paired up with junior ballroom pros. An adult pro will be assigned to each team to mentor the performances.
Pure DWTS also has a ton of cast spoilers. A few of the stars have been revealed: Reality star Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Miles Brown (Blackish) have already been leaked by US Weekly.
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson – Reality star
Miles Brown – Blackish star (ABC comedy)
Hudson West – General Hospital star (ABC soap)
Sophia Pippen – Daughter of Basketball player Scottie Pippen
Ariana Greenblatt – Stuck in the Middle star (Disney Channel)
Sky Brown – Skateboarder
Tripp Palin – Son of former DWTS contestant Bristol Palin
Mandla Morris – Son of Stevie Wonder
Jason Maybaum – Raven’s Home star (Disney Channel)
Kenzie Ziegler – Dance Moms star
Addison Osta Smith – Masterchef Jr champion
Akash Vukoti – Spelling Bee and Youtube star
Junior Pros
Helpful twitter thread with videos explains young pros backgrounds. There are a TON of SYTYCD Jr. alums in the mix.
Rylee Arnold – Sister of Lindsay Arnold, SYTYCD Jr.
Hailey Bills – Niece of DWTS pro Jenna Johnson
Brightyn Brems – America’s Got Talent, SYTYCD Jr.
Kami Couch
Kamri Peterson
Elliana Walmsley – Dance Moms
Artyon Celestine – America’s Got Talent
JT Church – SYTYCD Jr. Came in 2nd place.
Tristan Ianiero
Lev Khmelev – SYTYCD Jr
Jake Monreal – SYTYCD Jr.
Sage Rosen – SYTYCD Jr.
DWTS Pro Mentors
Lindsay Arnold
Cheryl Burke
Witney Carson
Hayley Erbert
Jenna Johnson
Emma Slater
Brandon Armstrong
Alan Bersten
Artem Chigvintsev
Sasha Farber
Keo Motsepe
Gleb Savchenko
Confirmed teams:
Miles & Rylee, mentored by Lindsay
Tripp & Hailey, mentored by Jenna
Akash & Kamri, mentored by Witney
Mandla & Brightyn, mentored by Cheryl
Jason & Elliana, mentored by Emma
Hudson & Kami, mentored by Hayley
Sky & JT, mentored by Alan
Kenzie & Sage, mentored by Gleb
Alana & Tristan, mentored by Artem
Sophia & Jake, mentored by Sasha
Ariana & Artyon, mentored by Brandon
Addison & Lev, mentored by Keo
