Sharna Burgess is officially returning to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom, and for longtime fans, her Season 35 comeback feels much bigger than an ordinary casting announcement.
The 41-year-old professional dancer confirmed on August 24 that she will compete on the upcoming season, marking her first full competitive season since Season 30 in 2021. Burgess described the opportunity as a homecoming and made it clear that she is returning with one goal in mind: another Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Burgess has a long history with the series. She originally joined the DWTS troupe in 2011 before becoming a professional partner in Season 16 in 2013. Over the years, she danced with celebrities including Nick Carter, James Hinchcliffe and Bonner Bolton and became one of the show’s most recognizable pros.
Her biggest competitive moment came in Season 27 when she and Bobby Bones won the Mirrorball Trophy. Burgess later returned for Seasons 29 and 30, with her most recent celebrity partner being Brian Austin Green, who later became her fiancé.
After that season, however, Sharna disappeared from the competitive lineup.
Part of her time away involved a major change in her personal life. She and Green welcomed their son in June 2022, and Burgess has previously explained that motherhood changed the way she viewed the enormous time commitment required to compete on DWTS.
But her absence wasn’t entirely her own decision.
Burgess has said she believed she might return after becoming a mother, only to learn that she wasn’t being brought back for a later season. She has spoken openly about how surprising that was, particularly because of how many years she had spent as part of the show.
She did make a brief appearance for the show’s 500th episode in 2024, but that wasn’t the same as receiving a celebrity partner and competing week after week.
Season 35 finally changes that.
Earlier this summer, Burgess had already hinted that she was open to coming back. She revealed that conversations about a possible return had taken place previously and said that if producers officially asked her this year, her answer would absolutely be yes.
Now that invitation has arrived.
And according to Burgess, she already knows who she will be dancing with.
Although she isn’t allowed to reveal the celebrity yet, she said she is “incredibly happy” with her new partner, immediately giving fans another mystery to solve before the complete cast announcement.
Her return comes as Season 35 continues assembling what appears to be a particularly large cast.
Several celebrities have already been announced, including Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez. Guillermo has already been paired with reigning champion Witney Carson, who won Season 34 with Robert Irwin.
Other names, including Julia Stiles, have also been reported ahead of the official complete reveal, but not every reported contestant or partnership has yet been formally confirmed.
That means Sharna’s celebrity remains one of the season’s most interesting unanswered questions.
The complete celebrity cast and professional pairings are scheduled to be revealed in early September, shortly before the new season begins. Season 35 launches with a two-night premiere on September 15 and 16 on ABC and Disney+.
Burgess will also be returning to a ballroom that has changed considerably since she last competed.
Newer professionals including Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa have become major parts of the show, while one additional pro spot is being awarded through Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. That creates an interesting mixture of familiar veterans and a new generation of dancers.
For Sharna, though, the biggest change may simply be where she is in life now.
Five years ago, her final season involved dancing with the man who would become her fiancé. Since then, she has become a mother, spent years outside the weekly competition and wondered whether another full-season opportunity would ever arrive.
Now she’s getting it.
And with Burgess already saying how happy she is with the celebrity producers have chosen for her, the biggest remaining question isn’t whether Sharna Burgess is really back—it is who will be standing beside her when she finally walks onto the ballroom floor again.
