Key points
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro got off to a thrilling start during Monday’s premiere.
Canadian dancer and actress Briar Nolet slipped and fell during her first performance before a shocking double elimination.
The Next Pro airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET on ABC.
This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.
Dancing With the Stars has officially entered a new era.
Monday evening saw the premiere of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, the latest spinoff of the ever-popular dance competition series. This time around, rather than trucking in a group of singers, actors, athletes, and influencers to compete on intricate ballroom routines they (usually) have no prior experience with, The Next Pro has assembled 12 rising stars in dance to compete for a spot on the main series’ crew of pro partners.
The series is hosted by season 34 winner Robert Irwin and judged by longtime pro Mark Ballas and his mother, Strictly Come Dancing judge and “Queen of Latin” Shirley Ballas, with the inaugural episode welcoming guest instructor Derek Hough, a current DWTS judge and the former pro with the most wins to his name.
Irwin and Ballas took Entertainment Weekly inside the new series back in May. At the time, Ballas teased that after 21 seasons as a DWTS pro, the series’ producers “keep finding ways to shock me” — but nothing could prepare viewers for the twists and turns in store in Monday’s premiere.
Briar Nolet, Stephani Sosa, and Derek Hough on ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’Credit: Disney/Vince Valitutti
The Next Pro cast is dotted by bright-eyed newcomers and familiar faces alike. DWTS superfans are likely to recognize Stefani Sosa, not just through her sisterly bond to current pro Ezra Sosa, but also because she previously danced in the troupe on the anchor series.
There’s also AJ Pritchard, who danced for three years on Strictly, which DWTS is based on. Pritchard also comes from a reality dynasty of sorts, as he’s not only appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, but is the brother of Love Island star Curtis Pritchard.
Plenty of dancers with no TV experience shot to front of the pack over the course of Monday’s episode too, like Atlanta-based hip-hop dancer Tristen Sanders, USA Dance National DanceSport champion Nina Mayster, and four-time World Smooth champ Natalie Jolley. But one of the brightest potential stars from the episode’s jump seemed to be Briar Nolet, a Canadian actress known for The Next Step and The Chosen who has also danced on tour with Jennifer Lopez.
“I do have over a million followers on my social media. I’ve done TV and film, working with high-profile celebrities, but I started doing ballroom about two years ago now because Dancing With the Stars is my dream,” Nolet said during a mid-episode confessional, “and I will not stop until I get it.”
Unlike the flagship show, The Next Pro does not air live. The cast also lives together Real World-style, meaning rivalries, feuds, and friendships are likely to add spice to the competition.
But before all that could set in, Hough split the group down gender lines and then formed six pairs to prepare samba and jive routines to be judged on the basis of technique. Briar was paired with Stefani and had a longer road ahead of her than most, given she lacks classical training in the fundamentals.
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During a coaching session, Hough advised Briar not to “worry about traveling too much,” or moving laterally around the dance floor. “I’d rather see the action, because if you travel too much, then all of a sudden we lose the rotation, we lose the hip action.”
Briar attempted to take Hough’s wisdom to heart but stumbled in the opening seconds of her joint routine with Stefani. As Boricua Boys’ “Mi Gente” was still kicking the number off, Briar fell to her hands and knees, prompting a gasps from the judging panel before she recovered.
Briar Nolet on ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’Credit: Maarten De Boer/Disney
“I want to give her a hug,” Nina said backstage, watching the performance on a monitor with her fellow contestants. Her partner for the evening, Adele Zaikman, added, “Look at her face — she’s pissed at herself. She’s not down, she’s mad at herself.”
Mark led off the judges’ initial comments on the routine by asking Briar if she was okay. “I know you slipped,” he said. “It happens, we’ve all slipped. It’s not about falling, it’s about getting up and carrying on, and you got up and you had that stank on your face and you launched yourself into that backflip and you kept going. I love that.”
The cast of ‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’ with Derek HoughCredit: Disney/Vince Valitutti
Shirley’s critique was more trenchant. “Briar, on the upper part of the body, you have a sensuality that cannot be denied,” she noted. “But when you walk from A to B, you do not walk correctly. When you stand, you stand with your toes together and your heels apart. So my suggestion is that you would go back to the drawing board and study from the waist downwards.”
Finally, Derek noted that the performances being judged primarily on technique had him “a little concerned with this particular performance, but honestly, great job.”
Ultimately, the bottom four was composed of Briar, Natalie, Tristen, and Jake Monreal. The judges sent Jake and Briar packing in a stunning double elimination. “It sucks to hear your name, but I’m so proud,” Briar said after receiving the news. “I have lessons from some of the greatest in the industry through the comments, good and bad, and I’ll take them in and figure out what’s next.”
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the following day on Hulu.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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