‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Talks Getting ‘Old’: ‘Do I Need to Retire?’

ABC "Dancing With the Stars" pro Artem Chigvintsev is debating when he should retire from the show.

The average age of “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancers is 34.5 years old. The eldest pro on season 31 of the show was Louis van Amstel, who is 50 years old, while the youngest pro was new professional dancer Koko Iwasaki at just 25 years old.

Artem Chigvintsev is 40 years old, putting him closer to the top of the range than he is to the bottom, and his age has led him to sometimes think about when he should retire, he revealed during an episode of “The Bellas Podcast.”

Chigvintsev may feel old, but that doesn’t stop fans from thinking he’s one of the most attractive professional dancers, regularly taking to Reddit to post about him including one post that simply reads “Artem shirtless.”

Chigvintsev Works Out More Than Ever

Chigvintsev opened up about feeling “old” during an episode of the podcast.

“I think if I didn’t do what I do for a living, it would be absolutely irrelevant for me,” he told the hosts, Nikki and Brie Bella. “But I think because, like, I have to be on camera and stuff, most of the time, it’s like, you have to play the guy who’s the guy who can dance.”

He added, “There’s always all these younger guys coming up. And you go, ‘Am I too old for this?’ Do I need to retire? Is that the case? Or what? Yeah, it’s tough.”

Specifically, he shared that in the past year or so, he’s been feeling older.

“For the past year, I’ve definitely got more into, like, okay, I’ve gotta go work out harder than I was before. Just because the result is definitely not the same,” the professional dancer said. 

Then, he flipped the script, sharing that he prefers to think of getting older as getting “wiser,” which he shared has been “very beneficial for him.”

Still, it sounds like Chigvintsev has no plans to leave “Dancing With the Stars” ahead of next season of the show.

Chigvintsev’s wife, Nikki Bella, also shared her amazement at Chigvintsev’s partner, Heidi D’Amelio, dancing so well at her age. She doesn’t think D’Amelio was given the credit she should have been for dancing as well as she did.

“Heidi was so good that you never thought of age, and to me that is remarkable for a 50-year-old woman,” Bella shared. 

She added, “She was such a good story for women. She just went out and kicked everyone’s a** and you never once questioned her age because she was that damn good and she’s never been in the spotlight before.”

Cheryl Burke Hung Up Her Dancing Shoes

Long-time “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Cheryl Burke has announced that she’s retiring from dancing on the show after the season 31 finale. Burke is 38 years old.

In a heartfelt Instagram post a day before the finale, Burke shared with fans that she would not be returning to the ballroom dance competition.

“Tomorrow night will officially be my final dance as a pro dancer on @dancingwiththestars,” Burke wrote. “This has been one of the absolute hardest decisions of my life & I am also confident that it is the right one.”

Burke took time in her post to thank the “Dancing With the Stars” family.

“This show has been my 2nd family since I was 21 years old,” she wrote. “The cast, crew & fans have seen me through my highest highs & some of my lowest lows, & I honestly don’t know who I would be today without them.”