'Dancing With the Stars' 2014 Cast: Should Tony Dovolani, Emma Slater & More Be Given Stronger Partners? [POLL, VIDEO]
While the pros on ABC's Dancing With the Stars are often partnered with similar celebrities season to season, could the show switch things up for season 20 in the spring?
Many pros are given strong contenders year to year, such as Derek Hough or Val Chmerkovskiy, who are often partnered with young, fit female partners, while others, simply, are not.
Dancers like Tony Dovolani and Emma Slater are often given some of the older members of the cast to perform with, which makes it harder for them to excel and get to the finals. For example, Dovolani has been given older celebrities like Wynonna Judd, NeNe Leakes and most recently Betsey Johnson, none of which he was able to go all the way with.
Similarly, Slater has been given an older man in all three of her seasons in which she has participated, Bill Engvall, Billy Dee Williams and Michael Waltrip. While she came in fourth with Engvall, she has not been able to get very far since.
Other pros who have had difficulty going far lately are Karina Smirnoff and Cheryl Burke. While Burke has decided to leave Dancing With the Stars, Smirnoff is still going and likely hoping for a strong partner next season. In season 18 she was paired with Sean Avery, who was voted out in the first week and this season she was with Randy Couture, who was eliminated third.
New pros Artem Chigvintsev, Allison Holker and Keo Motsepe are also hoping to get a little further if they stay with the show in season 20.
Dancing With the Stars premieres its 20th season on Monday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
