The Ballroom Problem

Kelsy Brown

Staff Writer

“Dancing With the Stars” is about to wrap up their 34th season. However, there has been lots of controversy surrounding many of the celebrities’ past in regards to their dance experience. 

Of the fourteen celebrities that have competed this season, four had prior dance experience. Many viewers have begun to point out the unfair advantage of the stars already having danced in the past. 

Since the beginning of “Dancing With the Stars”, the show has hosted many celebrities with dance experience including Mirrorball winners Jordan Fisher and Charli D’Amelio. But many viewers have begun to question if having celebrities with dance experience veers away from the point of the show. 

Celebrities on season 34 with dance experience include Alix Earle, Elaine Hendrix, Whitney Leavitt, and Hilaria Baldwin. Earle, a social media influencer, danced throughout her childhood while Hendrix, an actress most known for her role in “The Parent Trap”, attended Northside School of Performing Arts. 

However, Hendrix’s dance career came to a halt in 1992 when she was injured in an accident. Leavitt, a “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” influencer, danced throughout her entire childhood and graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in dance. 

Perhaps the most controversial celebrity of season 34, Baldwin, who was  eliminated in week four, has not just dance experience but also ballroom experience. 

Baldwin competed as a Latin ballroom dancer and was a member of the ballroom team at New York University. Baldwin previously had competed in the Blackpool Dance Festival in 2004, the most famous ballroom competition in the world. In this competition, Baldwin placed higher than pro-dancer Emma Slater. 

Celebrities who danced in the realm of ballroom before the show, in my opinion, should not be allowed to compete in “Dancing With the Stars”. 

If stars go onto the show with professional ballroom dance experience, it gives them an unfair advantage compared to celebrities who have never danced throughout their entire lives and even those who danced during childhood. 

Those who danced during childhood may have a slight advantage, but it differs from the training of ballroom dancing. Therefore, “Dancing With the Stars” should not be allowing celebrities who have previous ballroom experience. 

The entire point of the show is to watch the growth of the celebrities who are just beginning to learn how to dance in the ballroom. 

If there are celebrities who already know and compete in the sphere of ballroom dance, the show falls flat. “Dancing With the Stars” should not allow any celebrities with ballroom dancing experience as it compromises the competition and growth of the show and other celebrities as they are given an unfair advantage.