DWTS Season 35 Cast: Dewan, Shum Jr., Stiles Join — SkimNews
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- Dancing With the Stars revealed its Season 35 celebrity-pro pairings live on 'Good Morning America' on September 2, with the cast drawn from reality TV breakouts, athletes, and actors including Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr., Taylor Hanson, Amber Glenn, and Ezra Frech.
- Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. join with professional dance résumés — Dewan began as a Janet Jackson backup dancer and has hosted 'World of Dance' and 'Flirty Dancing,' while Shum Jr. performed as backup dancer for Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey.
- Sharna Burgess returns to the pro cast for the first time since 2011 after competing across 14 seasons and winning once, paired with Tyler Cameron.
- Witney Carson, last season's winning pro, comes back and will dance while pregnant with her partner Guillermo Rodriguez.
- Hailey Bills, a troupe member last year, is elevated to pro and forms the show's second-ever same-sex partnership, paired with Sarah Jane Nader.
- The new season premieres with a live two-night event on September 16 on ABC and Disney+, following what the announcement calls a 'high bar' set by Season 34.
Why it matters: Season 35's roster is unusually heavy on credentialed dancers — both Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. have professional backup-dance credits — a contrast with the show's traditional pitch of pairing non-dancers with pros. The lineup also includes a pregnant returning pro (Witney Carson) and the show's second-ever same-sex partnership (Hailey Bills and Sarah Jane Nader), signaling a Season 34 follow-up built partly on representation milestones.
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