Key Points
Dancing With the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli addresses his future with the show.
Tonioli notes he will return to judge the reality series “until they [don’t] want me.”
He co-judges the dancing competition alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough.
After 20 years on the air, Dancing With the Stars is set to return for its 35th season this fall. And Bruno Tonioli will be firmly planted in his judging seat.
The 70-year-old dancer and choreographer has been a longtime fixture on the reality competition series, first appearing as a judge in 2005’s season 1 alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and the late Len Goodman. Years later, he still shares energetic feedback with celebrity contestants as he continues to evaluate their ballroom routines with Inaba, 58, and pro-turned-judge Derek Hough.
And Tonioli doesn’t plan on quitting anytime soon.
“The thing with me, I’m kind of the least planning person,” Tonioli told TVLine in an interview shared on Thursday when asked if he’s given his timeline on the show any thought. “I love my job. I really, really enjoy it. That’s really the reason. I enjoy the public.”
Tonioli continued to note that he loves that the fan involvement and reaction feels “like a Broadway show.” “There is such instant feedback you get from the audience,” he shared.
Tonioli also said that the choreography the pros come up with, and the execution from their celebrity partners, truly impresses him week by week.
“The kids really excite me, I’m not making it up,” he told TVLine. “They deliver work of the highest standard and I’m always excited about watching what they’re going to do.”
Tonioli on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney
When revisiting the question of whether or not he’d ever leave the program, Tonioli insisted, “Until they [don’t] want me, I’ll be there. Because I really love the show. I really do.”
When TVLine reporter Andy Swift noted “there’s no Dancing With the Stars without Bruno,” the judge cheekily mused, “Oh, I don’t know about that. I hope so!”
“[Hopefully], we never find out, darling,” he added, laughing.
Tonioli, Inaba, and Hough, 41, will return as judges on season 35 alongside cohosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. The season has already cast stars including Love Island‘s Maura Higgins and Summer House‘s Ciara Miller. It is expected to air in September.
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ABC is also launching a brand new spinoff: Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. The show is set to premiere on July 13 and feature 12 young ballroom aces who will to compete for a permanent position in DWTS‘ pro cast. Pro Mark Ballas and his mom, fellow dancer and “the Queen of Latin” Shirley Ballas, will co-judge while season 34 champion Robert Irwin will host.
“I don’t think we always see the grit, the determination, the challenges of what it is to be a pro,” Ballas told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s one thing to be a great dancer, a great executor of choreography. But to be a pro on the show, there’s a lot of things you have to do between creativity, choreography, being a friend, being a mentor, and staying on a schedule, pivoting on a dime.”
Ballas summed up the spinoff succinctly: “We’re not looking for a celebrity; we’re looking for a professional.”
Dancing With the Stars returns in the fall. DWTS: The Next Pro airs on ABC July 13.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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