Recently, I have rediscovered a love for Dancing With The Stars, so, let’s talk about it. This year, the Disney Production show is on its 33rd season. This season’s casting has relevant stars, causing a larger surge in viewers from a younger audience than the show is typically used to.

Some of this season’s stars include 2024 Paris Olympians like Ilona Maher and Stephen Nedoroscik. There are also athletes like basketball star Dwight Howard and Super Bowl Champion Danny Amendola.

A special aspect about the show that I like is that you are allowed to vote for the stars you like the best. This season, I have been rooting for Ilona! What makes these stars so interesting is that none of them have ballroom dance experience and viewers get to see them improve each week. So far this season, I have grown so attached to the friendships and dynamics that are being built on the show.

Other students seem to agree with that thought.

“I really like the friendships this season,” sophomore Occupational Therapy major Gabby Oliphant said. “Like, between Stephen and Rylee, Ilona and Alan, it really adds to it all.” 

Each week the stars and their professionals are given a style of dance and have to learn a new routine to perform live at the end of the week. They are given a new song and costume to match their theme, which keeps the show super exciting.

Along with this, the show always tries to add twists to gain attention and make the competition a bit more complicated. For example, on week five, they held the Disney night and had the stars split up into two teams to compete against each other. This was a fun twist for the stars, and it encouraged viewers to vote for their favorite routine.

Some people take the voting aspect very seriously and even use multiple devices to ensure the safety of their favorite star from being eliminated.

“I am rooting for Ilona and Stephen. I love their dances every week, and I love watching the show on Tuesday nights with my roommate,” sophomore Ava Gates said.  

Though the show is innocent and straightforward, there has been some gossip circulating around the show and some of the stars on it this season. A controversial star the show invited on this season was Anna Delvey. Delvey, 33, is most commonly known as a con artist, who got their own documentary series in 2022. People had some wildly mixed opinions on her being on the show as a star as many argue she is not a celebrity and is a criminal. Personally, I have mixed feelings, I think Anna deserves a second chance, but this may not have been the way to do it.

Surprisingly, that is not the only controversy of this season. Gene Simmons was recently a guest judge on the show and some people did not appreciate his feedback to the contestants, finding it rude and distasteful. I saw many people online saying that he was giving unfair scores based on the attractiveness he felt towards the couples. I hate to say it, but I feel the same way. A lot of his scoring was biased, and his comments to the females performances were frankly uncomfortable.

Regardless of this, Dancing With The Stars has been a personal hit recently, and I look forward to seeing which talented couple wins the Mirrorball this season!