Carrie Ann Inaba is weighing in on one of the biggest conversations surrounding the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars: whether celebrities with previous dance experience automatically have an advantage. With Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan joining the Season 35 cast, many fans have assumed their backgrounds could make them early favorites.
Inaba agrees that both women have certain advantages, particularly when it comes to rhythm, musicality, learning choreography and remembering routines. But the longtime judge says there is an important catch that viewers may not immediately realize. Previous experience in other dance styles does not necessarily translate directly into ballroom.
Stiles is closely associated with dance because of her starring role in Save the Last Dance. The 2001 movie featured her character pursuing ballet while incorporating hip-hop into her dancing, creating an image of Stiles as a trained dancer that has stayed with audiences for years.
But Stiles herself has pushed back against the assumption that she is an experienced dancer entering DWTS. She has explained that she stopped taking dance classes after making the movie because the expectations surrounding her dancing became overwhelming. Now, she sees the competition as an opportunity to rediscover her connection with dance.
Dewan’s dance résumé is considerably more extensive. Before becoming widely known as an actress, she worked professionally as a dancer and toured with major performers, including Janet Jackson. Her career also included Step Up, along with other dance-related television projects.
Even with that extensive background, Dewan has emphasized that ballroom is a completely different discipline. She has described her previous training as something that can help with performance and choreography but also requires her to unlearn certain habits and develop a new technique.
That is where Inaba believes the unexpected challenge comes in. She explained that moving from styles such as jazz or hip-hop into ballroom can require dancers to retrain their bodies because the weight placement and mechanics are different. Muscle memory can actually make the transition more complicated because the body may instinctively try to use techniques that worked in another style.
Inaba therefore sees Stiles and Dewan as having an advantage, but not necessarily the overwhelming advantage some viewers might imagine. Their experience can help them understand rhythm, musicality and choreography, yet they still have to master the specific techniques demanded by ballroom.
History also shows why previous dance experience does not guarantee a Mirrorball Trophy. Inaba pointed to contestants with substantial dance backgrounds who struggled to win, while others with dance experience, including Jordan Fisher and Charli D’Amelio, successfully turned those skills into championship performances.
That makes the upcoming competition particularly intriguing. Dewan’s professional dance background and Stiles’ association with Save the Last Dance may attract enormous expectations, but both women still have to prove themselves within the unique rules and techniques of ballroom.
With Season 35 set to premiere September 15 and 16, fans will soon find out how quickly Stiles and Dewan can adapt. Their previous experience could certainly help them, but as Carrie Ann Inaba has made clear, ballroom is its own language—and knowing how to dance does not necessarily mean knowing how to dance ballroom.
Compiled with information from various sources.
