The show’s upcoming cycle includes a celebrity contestant who once toured with Beyoncé.
Dancing with the Stars is meant to thrive on a trademark combination of eccentric judges, celebrities who make you say, “Oh, that guy!” and, above all, contestants whose dancing abilities are mediocre at best (when their season begins, at least). And for 23 installments so far, that formula has worked. Yet as the show heads into its 24th outing, it’s chosen to go in a new direction: one of this season’s competitors just happens to be a professional dancer.Glee graduate Heather Morris once toured with Beyoncé,—yet this cycle, she’ll compete against fellow contestants like Chris Kattan and Mr. T. We pity the fool who would bet against someone who once did the “Single Ladies” dance behind Queen Bey on The Today Show
Sure, Dancing with the Stars has had its share of ringers in the past: Alfonso Ribeiro, who was a Broadway star before he played the less rhythmic character Carlton on Fresh Prince of Bel Air; Jennifer Grey, of Dirty Dancing fame; and former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, to name a few of its most prepared former winners. Still, Morris puts all of them to shame. She’ll compete against a few more perhaps overly gifted competitors, including superstar Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and figure-skating star Nancy Kerrigan—but naturally, the favorite still must be Morris.Which is too bad for the other contestants, and any viewers overly concerned with the sterling integrity of Dancing with the Stars. On the bright side, Morris will probably inspire some extremely entertaining, glowing assessments from judge Bruno Tonioli.