Dancing with the Stars 2015 Season 20 (1 Viewer)

The new cast announcements snuck out there and I nearly missed it!

Noah Galloway Combat soldier & personal trainer Sharna Burgess
Robert Herjavec Shark Tank panelist & businessman. Kym Johnson
Patti LaBelle Soul singer Artem Chigvintsev
Nastia Liukin Olympic artistic gymnast Derek Hough
Riker Lynch R5 singer & actor Allison Holker
Charlotte McKinney Model & actress. Keoikantse Motsepe
Redfoo LMFAO singer, producer & rapper. Emma Slater
Michael Sam NFL football player Peta Murgatroyd
Willow Shields Actress Mark Ballas
Suzanne Somers Television actress & author. Tony Dovolani
Chris Soules The Bachelor star. Witney Carson
Rumer Willis Actress Valentin Chmerkovskiy

Thats a pretty diverse cast of stars I'm mostly not familiar with! Two of the pros are not returning this season, Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff. The judges appear to be the same as last season as are the hosts. Starts Monday, looking forward to more dancing.

I thought Derek Hough wasn't going to participate in this season, since his sister is one of the judges? And it seems like he always gets paired with someone predisposed to go the distance. This is his second Olympic gymnast, and the last one won the whole shebang.

I thought I saw that the old guy judge was staying across the pond for that version of the show this year.

Adam Lenhardt said:

I thought Derek Hough wasn't going to participate in this season, since his sister is one of the judges? And it seems like he always gets paired with someone predisposed to go the distance. This is his second Olympic gymnast, and the last one won the whole shebang.

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Why would that matter for Derek.

It isn't like athletes are guaranteed. Liukin is older than any of the other gymnasts were(at the time) on the show.

May got hurt(she was the shoe-in her season)

Scherzinger beat people in better overall shape than she was in(granted Derek made her work. She could have quit...she was hurt)

What kills me. Tennis players. None have done squat.

I love the show and am looking forward to it, but I would really like them to break the recurring pattern on the pro-celebrity pairings:


Derek gets the odds-on favorite

Tony gets the AARP member

Mark gets the jailbait

Peta gets the 'controversial' star


I know it's not like that every season, but it's getting to the point where you see a star's name and can usually guess with 1-2 chances with whom they will be paired. I would have guessed they would put Emma with the Shark Tank guy as he's more in her usual partners' age range.

DaveHof2 said:

I love the show and am looking forward to it, but I would really like them to break the recurring pattern on the pro-celebrity pairings:

Derek gets the odds-on favorite
Tony gets the AARP member
Mark gets the jailbait
Peta gets the 'controversial' star

I know it's not like that every season, but it's getting to the point where you see a star's name and can usually guess with 1-2 chances with whom they will be paired. I would have guessed they would put Emma with the Shark Tank guy as he's more in her usual partners' age range.

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Val got jailbait first...

(Was Zendaya the first under 18? Or was Shawn Johnson. Could have sworn SJ was already 18. They just stay away from the Rumba. Unless they could find a fellow age appropriate dancer for one...)

I too read that Derek bowed out of this year. He was going to be in a movie or something. I am glad he is back. I am going to miss

Cheryl a lot. I am glad to see Kim back.


Len Goodman has said that this is his last year in the States but will continue to be a judge on Strictly Come Dancing. He is just

tired of all the back and forth air travel he has had to do over the past few years.


Looking forward to another season of DWTS.

The DWTS producers must have worked out a deal to keep Derek as he seems to be a big asset to the show. He does get paired up with the most likely to win partners though, but he doesn't always win the trophy.
He does some really great choreography and pushes his partners.

I can see that after some fame on the show some dancers want to try to capitalize on that but I don't think it worked out for Julianne.

Maks was a huge draw too but I suspect he grew tired of the grind of the show. Maybe after Len leaves Maks will come back. Maybe Cheryl was burned out too. I recall in the earlier seasons her star rose a lot and she has dance studios near my neighborhood in the SF Bay Area. Maybe she wanted to go back to that, or they didn't meet her price?

I read that Len not only is tired of the flying, but he's missing out valuable family time with the wife and his kid and has an ailing mother. So you can't blame him for that. Though it will be really unfortunate that he's no longer there. Another judge trying to be old and grumpy might not work out. They could just stick with Carrie, Bruno and Julianne next year. It did make sense to have an older pro as a judge to keep check with the proper rules of some of the traditional dances. Maybe he can skype in.

Nelson Au said:

I read that Len not only is tired of the flying, but he's missing out valuable family time with the wife and his kid and has an ailing mother. So you can't blame him for that. Though it will be really unfortunate that he's no longer there. Another judge trying to be old and grumpy might not work out. They could just stick with Carrie, Bruno and Julianne next year. It did make sense to have an older pro as a judge to keep check with the proper rules of some of the traditional dances. Maybe he can skype in.

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Len added gravitas to the proceedings, which certainly added to my appreciation of the show. Ballroom and Latin dancing is an art form and Len respects the traditions behind each dance and wants them performed correctly. I still remember when some rapper buffoon refused to wear the proper shoes and Len opened up a can on him. While Bruno and Carrie Ann are busy swooning over the male celebrities, Len provides actual criticism. I'll miss that if he's not back after this season.

Len added gravitas to the proceedings

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I couldn't agree more. While I like Carrie Ann and Bruno for there "out there" personnas I am going to miss a judge that I felt was never afraid to let someone know if they really sucked or if they were great. If you get a 10 from Len it really means something to both the celebrity and especially to the pros. I have always felt that the pros took what Len had to say a lot more to heart than anything Carrie or Bruno could gush out. And everyone worked that much harder to get the 10 from Len each week because they all knew he only gives them out when they really deserved it.


There was a real uproar a few seasons ago with the change to the opening of the show and with the movement of the judges table to stage left instead of stage right. With Len gone I have a fear that the show might just lose enough audience to have ABC kill it. Or it might end up going the way of American Idol where they keep it on the air but nobody cares anymore.

Personally, I love the pairing of Nastia and Derek. He is by far the best male dancer on the show, his choreography is stellar and his partners always have the best technique. Nastia is gorgeous, as well. Can't wait.

Wow, Cheryl *and* Karina? End of an era. They probably begged Derek to return when they those two quit (and with Len on the way out) -- that's a lot of original cast members to lose at one time.

That was another good start of the season.

No surprises the older stars were not going to be able to move as fast or extreme as the much younger stars. I was surprised by the enthusiasm by Robert Herjavec's performance. I somehow expected more from Suzanne Somers.

Also cool to see both Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in the audience to root on Rumer. I thought her dance seemed so low key so it was a surprise she scored the highest. Goes to show I still don't know what the judges look for. Though Vsl chose substance over flash, so he might be on his way to win.

I did think the dance that Derek choreographed was over the top showy!

Funny how the Bachelor again extended their TV time by going straight to Dancing.

I think the burger girl might be the first to go. Though I thought Patti LaBelle was in danger too.

Nelson Au said:

That was another good start of the season.

No surprises the older stars were not going to be able to move as fast or extreme as the much younger stars. I was surprised by the enthusiasm by Robert Herjavec's performance. I somehow expected more from Suzanne Somers.

Also cool to see both Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in the audience to root on Rumer. I thought her dance seemed so low key so it was a surprise she scored the highest. Goes to show I still don't know what the judges look for. Though Vsl chose substance over flash, so he might be on his way to win.

I did think the dance that Derek choreographed was over the top showy!

Funny how the Bachelor again extended their TV time by going straight to Dancing.

I think the burger girl might be the first to go. Though I thought Patti LaBelle was in danger too.

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If the burger girl goes, that'll be 2 less reasons to watch this season

Burger Girl (BG) was hilarious in the Austin Powers cheeky send-up for her introductory package.

Patrick Sun said:

Burger Girl (BG) was hilarious in the Austin Powers cheeky send-up for her introductory package.

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If burger chick shows any improvement, she'll stay a bit. Although her dancing was even worse than I expected given the "I want to show I'm more than just boobs"(The sendup had nothing to do with the validity of the prior statement...)

And Suzanne...uggh.

Noah Galloway Combat soldier & personal trainer Sharna Burgess - very moving performance. Great connection. Some of the dances will be very tough but I will be rooting for him all the way.


Robert Herjavec Shark Tank panelist & businessman. Kym Johnson - he had a ball. The crowd loved him.


Patti LaBelle Soul singer Artem Chigvintsev -- she was very elegant.


Nastia Liukin Olympic artistic gymnast Derek Hough - both guns blazing. She has some work to do but I have no doubt she will make it to the finals. Her athletism and experience coupled with Derek's chops will get them there.


Riker Lynch R5 singer & actor Allison Holker - surprising performance. He can move.


Charlotte McKinney Model & actress Keoikantse Motsepe - painful performance. She is like a newborn horse. Typical of someone treated as a sex object all her adult life and she has no chemistry with her partner. She's an empty vessel.


Redfoo LMFAO singer, producer & rapper. Emma Slater - he's game on but his persona will wear thin quickly.


Michael Sam NFL football player Peta Murgatroyd - dance of the night #1. He needs to work on technique but he's already on the road to the finals.


Willow Shields Actress Mark Ballas - she's awful young but performed well.


Suzanne Somers Television actress & author. Tony Dovolani - brutal to sit through. She won't last long.


Chris Soules The Bachelor star. Witney Carson - not too shabby. He's having fun.


Rumer Willis Actress Valentin Chmerkovskiy - dance of the night #2. A total surprise. She was elegant, graceful and their connection was palpable. She'll be in the finals.


Great start to the season.

Nice summation Brett!

Since Herjavec had his neck tightened he looks like one of those JibJab video clips.

I don't get the fuss over Willow(and other under 18 contestants)...

Hello...Maddie Ziegler.