Dancing with the Stars is back with a new, dynamic cast of 13 celebrities on a special two-night premiere. No elimination until night two. Also on night two–the cast of DWTS Jr. will be officially revealed. Read on for ALL the details.
The competition begins with a two-hour season premiere, live, MONDAY, SEPT. 24 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. The show will kick off with an opening number featuring the full cast dancing to Erin Boheme’s “I Won’t Dance,” choreographed by the show’s own Emmy®-winning Mandy Moore.
Each couple will perform a jive, cha cha, foxtrot, salsa or quickstep, vying for America’s vote for the first time. There will not be an elimination on this night.
Each couple will dance to the following songs (in alphabetical order):
- Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten – Jive – “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard
- Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess – Jive – “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” by Travis Tritt
- Danelle Umstead and Artem Chigvintsev – Foxtrot – “Rise Up” by Andra Day
- DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold – Cha Cha – “Sweet Sensation” by Flo Rida
- Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe – Foxtrot – “Do You Believe in Magic” by Aly & AJ
- Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and Jenna Johnson – Quickstep – “Fish Out of Water” by Leo Soul
- John Schneider and Emma Slater – Foxtrot – “Good Ol’ Boys from Dukes of Hazzard” by Waylon Jennings
- Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke – Salsa – “Dinero” by Jennifer Lopez featuring DJ Khaled & Cardi B
- Mary Lou Retton and Sasha Farber – Cha Cha – “Treasure” by Bruno Mars
- Milo Manheim and Witney Carson – Cha Cha – “Free Free Free” by Pitbull featuring Theron Theron
- Nancy McKeon and Val Chmerkovskiy – Quickstep – “It Don’t Mean a Thing” by Club Des Belugas
- Nikki Glaser and Gleb Savchenko – Salsa – “YES” by Louisa featuring 2 Chainz
- Tinashe and Brandon Armstrong – Jive – “I’m a Lady” by Meghan Trainor
On part two of the season premiere Dancing with the Stars live, TUESDAY, SEPT. 25 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) the night kicks off with an opening number, featuring all of the pros dancing to “The Greatest Show” from “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack, choreographed by Mandy Moore. Also, singer/actress/model Mackenzie Ziegler will perform her song, “Wonderful.”
In addition, the cast of Dancing with the Stars: Juniors, which premieres on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, will take the stage and be revealed. The youngest cast ever, features 12 celebrity kids and professional junior ballroom dancers. Each couple will be mentored by one of Dancing with the Stars professional and troupe dancers.
The “Juniors” cast will then complete a performance to DNCE’s “Dance.” Additionally, the “Juniors” pros will also perform a dance to “Born Ready” (by Disco Fries featuring Hope Murphy). Both numbers will be choreographed by Mandy Moore.
Each Dancing with the Stars couple will prepare a jive, cha cha, foxtrot, salsa or quickstep. At the end of the night, one couple will be eliminated.
Each couple will prepare dances to the following songs (in alphabetical order):
- Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten – Jive – “Shake the Room” by Gamu
- Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess – Jive – “Gimme Some Lovin’” by The Spencer Davis Group
- Danelle Umstead and Artem Chigvintsev – Foxtrot – “Strong Ones” by Armin van Buuren featuring Cimo Fränkel
- DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold – Cha Cha – “I Like It (Like That)” by The Blackout Allstars
- Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe – Foxtrot – “Rewrite the Stars” by Zac Efron & Zendaya
- Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and Jenna Johnson – Quickstep – “Check It Out” by Oh the Larceny
- John Schneider and Emma Slater – Foxtrot – “Orange Colored Sky” by Nat “King” Cole
- Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke – Salsa – “Tu Sonrisa” by Elvis Crespo
- Mary Lou Retton and Sasha Farber – Cha Cha – “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer
- Milo Manheim and Witney Carson – Cha Cha – “Good Feeling” by Austin French
- Nancy McKeon and Val Chmerkovskiy – Quickstep – “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves
- Nikki Glaser and Gleb Savchenko – Salsa – “Tres Deseos” by Gloria Estefan
- Tinashe and Brandon Armstrong – Jive – “Yes” by Merry Clayton
For Tuesday’s show, which airs at 8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT on Sept. 25, the eliminated couple will be determined based on that night’s judges’ scores, along with the previous night’s judges’ scores and viewer votes, along with the results of a live viewer vote during the live broadcast of the show.
Fans can vote online during the live broadcast in the Eastern and Central time zones at www.DWTSLiveVote.com. The live viewer vote will open after all of the eligible couples have finished their dances and will remain open for approximately five minutes before the elimination is revealed.
Hosted by two-time Emmy-winning host Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, “Dancing with the Stars is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines that are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts, including head judge, Len Goodman, and dancers/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.