dancing with the stars 2024
“Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Tori Spelling and Olympic rugby sensation Ilona Maher, the viral star who helped propel the U.S. women’s team to a historic bronze medal in the Paris Summer Olympics, have joined Season 33 of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Spelling, 51, and Maher, 28, will compete in the reality ballroom dance competition against a cast of celebrities that includes “Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei, shocked “Bachelorette” star Jenn Tran, former NBA star Dwight Howard, two-time Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Danny Amendola, Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts (brother of Julia, and father of Emma) and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Phaedra Creonta Parks.
ABC also confirmed that convicted Manhattan con artist Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorokin, the real-life subject of the Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” will also participate. Olympic gymnast Steve “The Pommel Horse Guy” Nedoroscik had already been announced to compete in the “DWTS” season kicking off Sept. 17 (8 EDT/PDT).
‘Pommel horse guy’ Stephen NedoroscikJoins ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 33
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U.S. Olympic rugby star and TikTok sensation Ilona Maher aims to medal with ‘DWTS’
What a month it has been for Maher, who became a sensation during the Paris games while playing rugby for Team USA women’s squad and sharing videos of herself on TikTok, where she has 2.3 million followers.In September’s digital edition of Sports Illustrated, she posed as a bikini cover model, and she also joined “DWTS.”
Maher tells USA TODAY, “It’s almost like this is a cool rite of passage.””All of my favorite Olympians, including Simone Biles and Suni Lee, participated in ‘Dancing.'” Additionally, it’s a new ability that pushes me outside my comfort zone.”
The athlete, paired with pro dancer Alan Bersten, admits that ballroom dancing on a national stage is daunting. Even thinking about the hours of training and live performances in front of an audience can be “overwhelming,” she says. Maher has no formal dance training, and few required skills carry over from hard-hitting rugby.
“A lot of rugby is just going full force and throwing your body at (your opponent). So we’ll see how I can move my body here,” says Maher. “And my dance skills, I don’t think, are really up to par. My dance-with-my-friends vibe skills are OK, my ballroom is zero. Hopefully, having-fun-with-my-friends vibes can translate into this ballroom.”
Accustomed to wearing sweat-and-dirt-stained uniforms on the rugby battlefield, Maher is especially thrilled about the extravagant “DWTS” outfits.
“The glitz and glam is such a big part of this, and I love getting dressed up,” says Maher. “It’ll be really fun to wear more sparkles and more sequins.”
For Tori Spelling, it’s been a ‘crazy journey’ to ‘DWTS’
Spelling turned down an invitation to participate in the inaugural season of “DWTS” in 2005, and she has turned down offers to join on the show every year thereafter.
“It’s been a crazy journey because for 32 seasons, they’ve made the call, and I’ve said no,” adds Spelling.
Her excuse had always been an extreme dread of dancing on national television, which was made worse by her support for fellow “90210” alumni Ian Ziering (from Season 4) and Jennie Garth (from Season 5), as she was seated in the studio audience. “Both those experiences terrified me even more, and just seeing how rigorous it all was,” recalls Spelling.
But after enduring public health struggles, money problems and estrangement from her husband Dean McDermott, the mother of five says she is starting fresh after turning 50 (she filed for divorce from McDermott in March).
“They say after 50 is a second chapter for a new you. And my life in the past year definitely is a new me,” says Spelling. “Timing is everything. So this year, when the call came, it was gut-check time. It terrifies me, still. But I need to let go of this fear.”
Despite lacking professional dancing experience, Spelling has consistently displayed energetic performances on TikTok throughout her TV career.Avoiding any physical training for a long time might be another “DWTS” barrier.
Spelling states, “I come to this with zero physicality; I don’t work out.” “I’m the girl searching for the spot closest to the store by driving around the Target parking lot. Even yet, as I was shopping for school supplies, I was breathing heavily.”
Spelling confided in two friends, “90210” alum Brian Austin Green, who performed on “DWTS” Season 30 with pro dancer Sharna Burgess, about her anxieties and the “DWTS” casting secret.
“I explained to them my limitations,” says Spelling. “And they gave me some really good advice.”
After two practices with her professional partner, Pasha Pashkov, Spelling felt confident enough about her chances of winning the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, but the chat was not helpful enough.
“To be honest, I just want to get past the first week,” Spelling admits. However, this process has shown me that I am extremely powerful and fiercely competitive, primarily against myself. I don’t give up easily. I’m a combatant. I persevere and push through anything.”
Meet the cast of 2024 ‘DWTS’ season
Introduce yourself to the 2024 ‘DWTS’ cast.
- Anna Delvey, a convicted scammer, with new professional dancer Ezra Sosa
- Pro dancer Gleb Savchenko and bikini model Brooks Nader from Sports Illustrated
- Actress Chandler Kinney from “Z-O-M-B-I-E” alongside professional dancer Brandon Armstrong
- Danny Amendola, a former NFL player, and professional dancer Witney Carson
- Dwight Howard, a former NBA player, and professional dancer Daniella Karagach
- Pro dancer Britt Stewart and actor Eric Roberts
- Ilona Maher, an Olympic rugby player, and professional dancer Alan Bersten
- Pro dancer Jenna Johnson and Joey Graziadel from “The Bachelor”
- Phaedra Parks of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy
- Pro dancer Emma Slater and actor Reginald VelJohnson
- Professional dancer Rylee Arnold and Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik
- Pro dancer Tori Spelling and actress Pasha Pashkov
- “Bachelorette” Jennifer Tran
- “The Bachelorette” Jenn Tran with pro partner Sasha Farber
Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough will return as the “DWTS” judges, while Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will serve as hosts.
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