Originally appeared on E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s time to tango.<\/span><\/p>\n But before season 34 of <\/span>Dancing With the Stars<\/span><\/a> premiered Sept. 16, many from the show\u2019s cast gave a peek at how they prepared to take the ballroom by storm.<\/span><\/p>\n Influencer <\/span>Alix Earle<\/strong><\/a> shared a \u201cGet Ready With Me\u201d video that revealed she had to be in the makeup trailer starting at 7:45 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe get ready and then we’re gonna do a full dress rehearsal,\u201d the 24-year-old said on <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/span>, \u201cand then it’s showtime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She also sat alongside <\/span>Secret Lives of Mormon Wives<\/span> star <\/span>Whitney Leavitt<\/strong>, noting, \u201cWe\u2019re trying to calm each other down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For her part, Whitney revealed what she and her pro partner <\/span>Mark Ballas<\/strong> will be wearing during their dance number. As seen in a <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/span> video taken from the dress rehearsal, she\u2019ll be in a golden lam\u00e9 skirt over a pink, gold-encrusted unitard, while he\u2019ll be donning a black satin suit.<\/span><\/p>\n Traitors<\/span> alum <\/span>Dylan Efron<\/strong> also showed off his and partner <\/span>Daniella Karagach<\/strong>\u2019s sky blue sheer costumes on his <\/span>Instagram Story<\/span><\/a> while fueling up with a Baskin-Robbins milkshake\u2014an apt treat since his and Daniella\u2019s dance number was paired to <\/span>Kelis<\/strong>\u2019 song \u201cMilkshake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n More from E! Online<\/strong><\/p>\n Late conservationist <\/span>Steve Irwin<\/strong>\u2019s son <\/span>Robert Irwin<\/strong><\/a> showed a <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/span> clip of himself rehearsing alongside partner <\/span>Witney Carson<\/strong>, which proved to be tiring as the 21-year-old ended up sprawled out on the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n Amid his exhaustion, he used his sister <\/span>Bindi Irwin<\/strong>\u2014who won season 21 of the dancing competition series\u2014as inspiration. <\/span><\/p>\n Dylan Efron\/Instagram<\/p>\n \u201cHave a look who’s in my trailer,\u201d Robert said in a separate <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/span>, while zooming in on a framed magazine cover of Bindi\u2019s <\/span>DWTS <\/span>win. \u201cThat’s so cool. The whole family are gonna be in the audience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He added, \u201cIt’s happening. I can’t believe it. Thank you so much. I’m just so grateful to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, <\/span>Alec Baldwin<\/strong>\u2019s wife <\/span>Hilaria Baldwin<\/strong>\u2014who is paired with dance pro <\/span>Gleb Savchenko<\/strong>\u2014revealed she got some encouragement from former competitor <\/span>Shangela<\/strong>, who finished in fourth place during season 31.<\/span><\/p>\n Whitney Leavitt\/TikTok<\/p>\n \u201cI have such a special place in my heart for Gleb, and I’m so excited that the two of you are dancing together,\u201d the <\/span>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race <\/span>told Hilaria in a voicemail, as seen in a <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/span>. \u201cYou got a great partner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Shangela added, \u201cThe excitement of the audience is like nothing else. Enjoy as many moments as you can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Read on to learn other behind-the-scenes secrets from the show. <\/span><\/p>\n How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Citing multiple sources, Variety<\/a> reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars<\/a> contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000 (ABC has not publicly confirmed the figures).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they’re on the show, the more money they can make. <\/p>\n But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.<\/p>\n “You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks,” Jenna Johnson<\/strong> said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford<\/strong> and Hank<\/strong> Winchester<\/strong>‘s podcast The Morning After<\/a>. “I think there’s different contracts though. I can’t speak for everybody.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Apparently not. <\/p>\n While Johnson\u2014who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam<\/strong> Rippon<\/strong>, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei<\/strong>\u2014says the pros don’t get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman<\/strong><\/a> Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there’s still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).<\/p>\n “If you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale,” she explained on The Morning After<\/a>. “If you win, it’s not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n That doesn’t appear to be the case.<\/p>\n On a 2022 episode of Jason Tartick<\/strong>‘s podcast Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold<\/strong><\/a> recalled how her salary was cut “more than in half” when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.<\/p>\n “You get no say,” Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers<\/strong>‘ Hot Smart Rich podcast<\/a>. “It’s very much just, ‘Here’s your partner. Make it work.'”<\/p>\n In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.<\/p>\n “They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live,” Jenna said on The Morning After. “They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we’re keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don’t even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner.”<\/p>\n As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?<\/p>\n “It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” former showrunner Rob Wade<\/strong> told E! News<\/a> in 2015. “We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Put simply, a lot.<\/p>\n “Every day we have four-hour rehearsals,” Rylee Arnold<\/strong><\/a>, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik<\/strong> on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis<\/strong><\/a>. “It\u2019s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m.”<\/p>\n But the work doesn’t stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.<\/p>\n “Literally my whole life is devoted to it,” she continued, “but it’s my passion and it’s what I love. So, it makes me so happy.”<\/p>\n Indeed, it’s a no-days-off kind of gig.<\/p>\n “We have our show day on Tuesday and then it’s Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals,” Rylee added. “And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday’s show day again.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?<\/p>\n “Mostly yes,” Emma Slater<\/strong> and Britt Stewart<\/strong> revealed in a September 2025 Instagram<\/a> video, “though it’s a collaboration with producers.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What’s the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.<\/p>\n “We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair],” costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner<\/strong> told TV Insider<\/a> back in 2017. “Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That\u2019s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It\u2019s a big enterprise.”<\/p>\n In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee<\/strong> said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department “might use a pair of pants again for the boys,” he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.<\/p>\n As Gschwendtner added, “We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don\u2019t reuse things unless there\u2019s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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