Getty Emma Slater & Gleb Savchenko (left), and Kateryna Klishyna & Britt Stewart (right)
It’s not uncommon for dancers to suffer injuries and the “Dancing With the Stars” pros are no different. On the 2023 “Dancing With the Stars” live tour, two different pros so far have suffered some nasty injuries.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kateryna Klishyna Has a Sprained Ankle
On her Instagram stories, new “Dancing With the Stars” pros Kateryna Klishyna revealed that she recently hurt her ankle and had to spend her day off from the tour on January 9 at the doctor getting X-rays.
“How you spent your day off? Little update. Great news, it’s not a fracture,” wrote Klishyna on her stories. “I have a sprained ankle. It will take some time to heal, but I promise I will take good care of myself and will recover fast.”
Klishyna’s fans are understandably sad about missing her on the tour while she recovers.
“I was so excited to see her perform, she’s absolutely amazing! Does anyone know if they have a replacement for her?” wrote one fan on Reddit.
Another fan talked about how JJ Rabone is the “swing” for the tour, i.e. the person who can step in for one of the pros if they go down.
Pro dancer Britt Stewart confirmed that Rabone is the female swing and Ezra Sosa is the male swing on an Instagram post, writing, “We are so blessed to have two incredible swings @ezra.sosa and @jjrabone.”
So it’s possible that Rabone will step in for Klishnya if she has to take some time off to nurse her sprained ankle. In fact, it seems likely that Rabone is temporarily stepping in for Klishnya based on Rabone’s most recent Instagram story talking about being away from her 4-month-old baby Charles, who was born August 29.
“I’m in New York City for a job and this is the first time away from my baby for a week. The longest I was away was probably nine hours for a rehearsal and I would come home to him, but this is the first time away and it was hitting me really had earlier,” said Rabone in her Instagram stories, adding, “To all the moms out there who are working and has to be sometimes away like this, much respect to you. This is not easy.”
Indeed, on Reddit, one fan can’t believe Rabone is out dancing on the tour four months after having a baby, writing, “It looks like she had a baby only 4 months ago. Not that moms can’t work, but the logistics of being ‘on call’ as a swing for a nationwide tour feels crazy hard to figure out … That’s impressive.”
Hopefully Klishnya’s recovery is swift and Rabone can go home to her baby boy soon. But Klishnya isn’t the only pro nursing an injury. Pro Emma Slater is also sporting some gruesome injuries on her feet.
Emma Slater’s Feet Are Torn Up With Blisters
On her Instagram stories (screengrabs above), Slater shared with her fans the giant blisters that she is sporting on both of her heels and also the fact that the big toe on her right foot has split on its pad and blood is pooling under the skin. She actually prefaced her Instagram story by warning fans that if you have a problem with feet and/or blood, look away.
One fan on Reddit suggested that perhaps they are still breaking in their new dance shoes, writing, “Wonder if some of those injuries on Emma’s and probably some of the other dancers feet are due to new shoes? (i.e. they probably build up calluses as time goes on.)”
Another fan said that between Klishyna’s ankle and Emma Slater’s feet, it looks like the tour is a little banged up and they’re only a few days in — how do they do it week in and week out for months on end?
“I saw [Kateryna’s] ankle – yikes. I hope she has a speedy recovery. Between that and Emma’s feet in her IG story the other night, I don’t know how these dancers do it for all these weeks,” wrote the fan.
Last year, pro Daniella Karagach suffered an ankle injury that actually took her off the tour permanently for the remaining dates. On March 12, she broke her ankle and missed the final 12 performance stops. She was in a walking cast for months, though luckily she recovered in time to compete on season 31.
The “Dancing With the Stars” live tour kicked off on January 6 in Maryland, and runs through March 12, when it wraps things up in Las Vegas. The celebrity guests this year include Gabby Windey acting as co-host alongside Slater, plus Daniel Durant from February 1-14, Vinny Guadagnino on January 10, 11, 13, and 14, and mother-daughter team Heidi D’Amelio and Charli D’Amelio appearing together on January 13, March 10 and March 12.