Witney Carson Teases Her “Different Role” on DWTS: The Next Pro

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Witney Carson is taking a turn in the judges’ seat. 

Oh my gosh, you guys, can you believe it?! Our reigning Dancing With the Stars queen is back, and this time she’s not dancing! She and Robert Irwin – seriously, Robert Irwin – are joining forces again, but for Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro! It’s amazing! She’s going from dazzling us on the dance floor to sitting at the judges’ table! I’m SO excited to see what she thinks of the new pros!

Witney shared exciting news about the upcoming season of Next Pro. Speaking with TopMob News at a recent event in New York City, she revealed she participated in three episodes as a judge. She and Robert will also be collaborating on something new – it’s not dance-related, and she’s keeping the details a secret, but described it as ‘very cool’ and ‘very fun’.

Even though she’s won the Mirrorball trophy twice, the 32-year-old dancer isn’t confident she’d do well in the Next Pro competition – a search for a new professional dancer for season 35.

Oh my gosh, when Witney said she wasn’t sure she could’ve done it, my heart just melted! She said it was SO intense, but honestly, seeing her in that judging role was amazing! She’s unbelievably talented, of course, and while she did still dance (because, duh, it’s Witney!), getting to see her judge instead of compete was just… really cool. I was totally living for it!

Fans will be happy to see Witney back as a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars. She’ll be joining judge Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas, on the judging panel.

A new Dancing With the Stars spinoff premieres July 13th. The show follows twelve talented young dancers as they live together and compete for a chance to become professional dancers on season 35 of DWTS, according to ABC.

Witney believes the intense competition is a transformative experience for the dancers. She noted they face significant challenges but are exceptionally talented and impressive.

Having just won season 34 of Dancing with the Stars with her partner Robert, the dancer from Utah is already thinking about the upcoming season, which will begin this fall.

Although only Ciara Miller from Summer House and Maura Higgins from Love Island UK have been confirmed as contestants so far, Witney is thrilled about the overall group of celebrities who will be dancing, even though she doesn’t know who they all are yet.

She hinted that they’ll be announcing a celebrity participant soon, but wouldn’t reveal who it is. She added that she’s hoping it’s a man, as she’s interested in understanding the perspectives of male celebrities on the show.

We’re expecting a strong lineup this year. The show is incredibly popular right now, and we’re hoping to cast some compelling personalities. I think Ciara and Maura will be fantastic – they both have great personalities and I believe they’ll be physically capable, which will make for interesting viewing.

Witney confessed her dream dance partner would be Tom Holland, the actor famous for playing Spider-Man.

She playfully said, “If he’s ever bored, tell him to come over.” While he’s a bit preoccupied at the moment, she’s seen him dance and do flips, and thinks he’s incredibly talented.

While fans eagerly anticipate the celebrity pairing for the professional dancer in season 35, here’s a look behind the scenes at some secrets from Dancing With the Stars.

In 2019, Variety reported that celebrities appearing on Dancing With the Stars initially earn around $125,000 for rehearsals and the first two weeks of the show. According to sources, contestants who continue past that point receive additional payments each week, potentially reaching a total of $295,000.

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

The radio personality revealed on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets, in September 2025 that the show’s pay structure is unusual. They explained that they didn’t get paid for the first episode, then earned $10,000 for the second. After that, the pay increased to around $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, and $20,000 per episode, ultimately reaching $50,000 an episode for those who continued with the show.

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, similar to the contestants, it appears their pay increases 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.

I was chatting with Kelly and Hank Winchester on their podcast, The Morning After, recently, and we were talking about contracts. I mentioned that there’s usually a guaranteed period, but honestly, it really depends on the specific agreement. Every contract is different, and I can’t speak for how things work for everyone else.

Apparently not.

Cheryl Johnson, a two-time champion of Dancing with the Stars (winning with Adam Rippon in season 26 and Joey Graziadei in season 33), explains that the professional dancers don’t receive extra money for winning the Mirrorball Trophy—now named in honor of Len Goodman. However, she points out there are still benefits to reaching the final rounds, beyond just the prestige.

She explained on The Morning After that reaching the finale means you get paid for the entire season, plus a bonus. However, winning isn’t a huge financial prize – it’s just a shared trophy, not a million-dollar payout.

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 50% when she moved from a principal dancer to the ensemble.

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

Lindsay explained on the May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers’ podcast, Hot Smart Rich, that people in these situations have no input. She described it as being told, ‘This is your partner, now you need to 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 are committed to keeping the cast a secret until the live reveal. They prioritize capturing authentic reactions from the contestants, and deliberately avoid sharing the cast list with the show’s hosts. While leaks sometimes happen, the producers strongly prefer a complete surprise – they don’t want anyone knowing who their partner is until they meet face-to-face.

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 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 stressful enough. Unlike shows like The Bachelor, forcing incompatible pairings would create a negative experience for everyone involved – the celebrity contestants, the production team, and the viewers. Wade admitted they’d made that mistake in the past, pairing people who simply didn’t click.

As a huge fan, I’ve always been amazed by how much work goes into Dancing with the Stars. Rylee Arnold, who danced with Stephen Nedoroscik, recently shared on the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis just how intense it is. They rehearse for four hours every single day – 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 that’s not all. After rehearsals, she’s often meeting with producers, working on the dances, or even studying videos to improve. She basically said her whole life revolves around the show, but she loves it, and that’s what makes it all worthwhile. It truly is a job where there are no days off! She explained they perform on Tuesdays, then rehearse straight through Wednesday to Sunday, do camera blocking on Monday, and then it’s back to show day on Tuesday. It’s incredible to see that level of dedication!

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in a September 2025 Instagram video that they were mostly on board with something, 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 – sometimes only half a day per costume, not even counting the time to add rhinestones – to create everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus a separate tailor shop, making it a large operation.

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

Gschwendtner added that while they’ll reuse items for group performances or promotional photos, they avoid reusing anything for the actual competition. They aim to keep each dancer looking fresh and new every week to maintain the excitement of the show.

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2026-05-09 02:48