Val Chmerkovskiy is getting ready to hit the ballroom dance floor with partner Alix Earle on Dancing With the Stars.
The pro dancer, 39, who is partnered with the social media personality for the 34th season of the reality dance competition show, exclusively caught up with Parade on the red carpet at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
When asked how Earle, 24, is doing in rehearsals, Chmerkovskiy said at the VMAs, “She’s killing it. I’m proud of her already. I’m excited for us this season. I’m excited for all of her fans that I’m already feeling a lot of love from. I’m excited to take them on this journey with her. I think she’ll surprise a lot of her fans.”
The new season of ABC’s dance competition will once again be co-hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough, and judged by Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
Also in this season’s cast are Jen Affleck with partner Jan Ravnik, Hilaria Baldwin with partner Gleb Savchenko, Jordan Chiles with partner Ezra Sosa, Baron Davis with partner Britt Stewart, Earle with partnerChmerkovskiy, Dylan Efron with partner Daniella Karagach, Corey Feldman with partner Jenna Johnson, Elaine Hendrix with partner Alan Bersten, Scott Hoying with partner Rylee Arnold, Robert Irwin with partner Witney Carson, Lauren Jauregui with partner Brandon Armstrong, Whitney Leavitt with partner Mark Ballas and Andy Richter with partner Emma Slater.
Although the Dancing With the Stars cast for Season 34 was finally confirmed last week on Sept. 3, a source exclusively told Parade there was some drama leading up until the long-anticipated announcement.
“The final cast was being put together up until the 11th hour,” the source said. “The network seems to be doing things very differently this year, and were in discussions with a lot of different people going back and forth between which direction they wanted to go casting-wise.”
The source added, “There were several names for the show who were asked to put their schedules on hold for filming, leading up to very close before the announcement. They were kept in the dark, even the day before the big reveal.”
Related: Robert Irwin Was Attacked By a Crocodile Right Before ‘DWTS’ Cast Announcement (Exclusive)
Dancing With the Stars Season 34 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 16, live on ABC and Disney+, and streams next day on Hulu.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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