The 30th season of ABC’s hit reality show “Dancing with the Stars” has begun, and many fans are talking about the new celebrity cast and the changes to the show’s format.
According to IMDb, “‘Dancing with the Stars’ is based on the British series ‘Strictly Come Dancing,’ where celebrities partner up with professional dancers and compete against each other in weekly elimination rounds to determine a winner.”
“I actually really like ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ I’m not a dancer, but I used to watch shows like that all the time when I was a kid with my family and so now even as an adult, I still look forward to watching every season,” said senior Patrick Coyne.
The show’s host is super model and television personality Tyra Banks, who is joined alongside a panel of judges including Len Goodman, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
The celebrities on the show change each season and include a wide range of professions. Most commonly, the participants have included actors, athletes and musicians. However, “Dancing with the Stars” has recently branched out to different types of celebrities, including but not limited to race car drivers, fashion designers and online influencers.
One of the celebrity contestants invited on the show this season is JoJo Siwa. 18-year-old Siwa is best known for her past role on the Lifetime reality show “Dance Moms.” Since her time on “Dance Moms,” Siwa has become a singer and an online influencer, tailoring her content to a younger demographic.
Siwa is the first contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” to be paired with a professional dancer of the same sex, Jenna Johnson.
In an interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” Siwa said, “When I read the email it was like, ‘Would JoJo prefer to dance with a girl or with a boy?’ And I was like, ‘Wait, that’s an option? Let’s absolutely do it!’ It was like, whoa, I’m changing the future because I have such a kid demographic. It’s making it acceptable, and I love that and I’m so proud of that.”
Some Sacred Heart University students reacted positively to the star’s choice to change the show’s traditional format.
“I think it’s so cool that JoJo chose to dance with Jenna Johnson. She’s opening doors that are just making it easier and easier for people to feel comfortable as themselves,” said junior Hailey Morelli. “What a cool role model for kids. She’s the Hannah Montana of their generation!”
Another celebrity contestant who has received a lot of press surrounding her place on the show is online influencer Olivia Jade. Daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, Jade has remained hidden from the public eye since her involvement in the 2019 “college admission scandal” was publicly exposed.
Some Sacred Heart students were divided on the choice to bring Jade onto the show.
“I was personally happy to see that Olivia Jade was going to be on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ I used to love watching her YouTube videos, and when everything happened to her family, I missed getting new videos from her. So, I’m happy that people are giving her a second chance again,” said sophomore Bianca Castaldo.
“I feel kind of indifferent about the whole thing that happened with her college admission scam, but honestly I don’t think she deserves a platform. Why give her fame and attention when clearly, she doesn’t know what to do with it,” said junior Reagan Daly.
Along with casting, an obstacle for the show this season has been allowing the dancers to perform their pieces in person while still adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines. One set of partners, Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke, recently performed their dance routine virtually after Burke contracted Covid-19 mid-season.
In an interview with Us Magazine, Banks said, “There will be some nostalgia on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ But we still want to stay fresh and relevant and constantly looking to the future, and doing that thing that makes people go, ‘oh my gosh!’”
