Dancing With the Stars Secrets Revealed: Eye-Popping Paychecks & More

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Dancing With the Stars is no waltz in the park.

I was absolutely thrilled when Robert Irwin and Witney Carson won the Mirrorball Trophy on November 25th! It was such an incredible moment, especially knowing he and his sister, Bindi Irwin, have now made history as the first siblings to both win the show. I’m so proud of them!

It’s been quite a ride for the 21-year-old! Robert and everyone else on Dancing with the Stars put in a lot of hard work and practiced for hours.

So, exactly how much do they practice before performing in the ballroom?

Rylee Arnold, who danced with Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying this season, shared on the Lightweights Podcast in 2024 that rehearsals lasted four hours each day. They typically ran from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., or 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The level of competition has increased dramatically, as judge Derek Hough recently explained in an interview with TopMob News, stating, “It has exploded.”

Even with her dance experience, Alix Earle felt challenged by her recent work. She admitted to TopMob in September that she was really stepping outside of her comfort zone.

It can be a bit daunting when you compare yourself to the other contestants – they’re all incredibly talented. But that competition also makes this season exciting, because it pushes me to work even harder and stay on top of my game.

Even though his sister, Bindi Irwin, won Dancing with the Stars in 2015, Robert said preparing for the show was surprisingly challenging, exceeding all of his expectations.

He told TopMob in September that it was impressive how well the contestant was doing, especially considering they were competing against professional dancers. He emphasized that their success was a direct result of their dedication and hard work.

Want to know what really goes on behind the scenes of Dancing with the Stars, and how much the celebrities and professional dancers make? Read on to find out…

In 2019, Variety reported that contestants on Dancing With the Stars initially earn $125,000 for rehearsals and the first two weeks of the show. According to sources, their earnings increase weekly if they continue to advance, potentially reaching a maximum of $295,000.

However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.

The radio host mentioned on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets, in September 2025 that the show’s pay structure was unusual. They explained that they earned nothing for the first episode, then $10,000 for the second. After that, the pay seemed to increase, going from $10,000 to $20,000 per episode. They estimated that if someone stayed on the show long enough, they could eventually earn around $50,000 per episode.

In addition to a salary of about $110,000, Bones revealed he earned nearly $400,000 from the show.

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

Details about professional dancers’ earnings haven’t been widely released either. However, like the contestants, it appears they earn more the further they advance in the competition.

But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.

Jenna Johnson explained on the June 2025 episode of the The Morning After podcast, hosted by Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester, that dancers are typically guaranteed work for a specific number of weeks. However, she added that contracts vary and she couldn’t comment on everyone’s situation.

Apparently not.

Cheryl Johnson, a two-time ‘Dancing with the Stars’ pro winner – once with Olympic skater Adam Rippon and again with Joey Graziadei from ‘The Bachelor’ – explains that winning the show (now symbolized by the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy) doesn’t come with a bigger prize. However, she points out there are still benefits to reaching the final rounds, beyond just the prestige of winning.

She explained on The Morning After that reaching the finale means you receive full-season pay plus a bonus. However, winning doesn’t come with a large cash prize; instead, winners share a commemorative trophy with their teammate.

That doesn’t appear to be the case.

In a 2022 appearance on Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold shared that her pay was reduced by more than half after she moved from being a professional dancer to a troupe member.

The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.

On the May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers’ podcast, Hot Smart Rich, Lindsay explained that people in these situations have no input. She said it’s simply, ‘Here’s who you’re with – now make the relationship succeed.’

In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.

Jenna explained on The Morning After that the show’s producers intentionally keep the cast a secret until the live reveal. People often assume the show knows who’s participating and is just withholding the information, but that’s not true. The producers don’t even tell the hosts who the contestants are, wanting to preserve the genuine surprise and avoid leaks until the partners meet for the first time.

As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?

According to former showrunner Rob Wade, the show’s pairings weren’t random. In a 2015 interview with TopMob News, he explained that they considered height, body type, personality, and how well contestants would get along. They avoided putting people together who they thought wouldn’t connect, as the experience was already intense enough. Unlike shows like The Bachelor, forcing incompatible matches would create a negative experience for everyone involved – the celebrity, the production team, and the audience. Wade admitted they’d made that mistake in the past and learned from it, as viewers don’t enjoy watching people who dislike each other.

Dancing with the Stars requires a huge time commitment. Rylee Arnold, who partnered with Stephen Nedoroscik in season 33, explained on the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis that rehearsals typically last four hours, either from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. But the work doesn’t end there – she often has meetings with producers or the creative team, works on choreography, or studies dance videos. Rylee says her life is completely dedicated to the show, but she loves it and finds it fulfilling. It’s a demanding schedule with rehearsals happening Tuesday through Sunday, camera blocking on Monday, and then back to show day on Tuesday.

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in a September 2025 Instagram video that they were mostly in agreement, but it involved working with the show’s producers.

If you think the quickstep dance is fast-paced, you should see how quickly the costume department works! Costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner explained to TV Insider that they collaborate with set, lighting, and dance teams to create a unique story for each dancer’s outfit. Then, they have just five days – often only half a day per costume, before adding all the rhinestones – to make everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus a separate tailoring team, making it a large operation.

Steven Norman Lee, another costume designer, revealed that dancers often don’t try on their costumes until just hours before the show. While they might occasionally re-use pants for the male dancers, most costumes are custom-made each week.

As Gschwendtner added, they do re-use items for group performances or promotional shoots, but never for the competition itself. The goal is to keep everything fresh and new each week to maintain visual interest for the audience.

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2025-11-26 17:23