ABC Cheryl Burke talks about the casting process.
Retired “Dancing With the Stars” pro Cheryl Burke weighed in on the way that casting for the show works.
The celebrities negotiate their contracts ahead of each season and the formal cast announcement comes just weeks before the premiere. However, some may not realize that the ballroom pros are also sort of in limbo until weeks before the premiere.
Many pros may seem like shoo-ins season after season, but the truth of the matter is that they don’t know whether or not they will be competing until just ahead of rehearsals. This often keeps them from taking on other work that may interfere with DWTS.
“I have always thought that is incredibly unfair because a lot of the fall jobs have already been taken. A lot of castings have already happened. You’re just kind of hanging by a thread,” DWTS insider Kristyn Burtt said on the April 5 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.
“Of course it’s unfair. It is,” Burke responded. “It gives you no time to plan, and you’re right, especially in this industry. Everyone’s already made decisions as far as other cast members for other shows and other networks. It’s a whole thing,” she continued.
Here’s what you need to know:
Cheryl Burke Called the Casting Process ‘Heart Wrenching’
The casting process hasn’t been easy for many pros, who much wait until late summer to find out if they have jobs.
“It was just so like heart wrenching because you are consumed by this show. This show is your life, especially as a pro dancer, let alone every celebrity I’ve interviewed so far tells me how consuming the show is. Imagine us. They’ve got us by the balls, literally,” Burke said on her podcast.
On the February 5 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, former DWTS pro Edyta Śliwińska said that the casting process was actually too much for her to handle — and it’s one of the reasons that she quit the show.
“One of the reasons that me and my husband left really early — and it’s not a criticism of the show, it’s just the nature of the business — there are so many things in [the] entertainment business that are out of your control. Starting from the casting process. You have no say whether you’re going to be picked up or not,” she explained.
For Śliwińska, not being able to secure other work through the year due to her waiting to hear from casting really affected her career plans.
The DWTS Pros Sign on to Do the Show Ahead of the Premiere
Back in 2016, “Dancing With the Stars” executive producer Rob Wade spoke to People magazine about the casting process.
“We obviously have a list of people that we begin to reach out to months in advance,” he told the outlet. “We’ll get one or two people locked in and start to build around it. It’s like planning a dinner party. Once you’ve invited some friends, you start to work out which other friends to invite that will balance out the table,” he added.
He also explained the pro booking process.
“Normally, we just have our pros and then once the cast is booked, we decide the pairings. I personally get bored with seeing the pros with the same types of people season after season. It is fun to tell a different type of story when you pair them with different people,” he explained.
However, there have been plenty of changes over the years, especially if a celebrity backs out or someone is a late addition.
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