Do the Olympic athletes have an edge on Dancing with the Stars?
The upcoming 'Dancing With the Stars' season will include former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and 2016 Olympic athletes Ryan Lochte and Laurie Hernandez. Can Olympians dance?聽
The upcoming 'Dancing With the Stars' season will include former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and 2016 Olympic athletes Ryan Lochte and Laurie Hernandez. Can Olympians dance?聽
The celebrities who are appearing this season on 鈥淒ancing With the Stars鈥� includes not only a former presidential candidate (former Texas Gov. Rick Perry) and two actresses likely best known for their 1970s TV appearances (Maureen McCormick of 鈥淭he Brady Bunch鈥� and Marilu Henner of 鈥淭axi,鈥� respectively) but also two well-known Olympic athletes, the newest in that group to compete on ABC鈥檚 dancing reality show.
Swimmer Ryan Lochte and gymnast Laurie Hernandez, who both competed in the recent Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, will both appear on 鈥淒ancing鈥� when the season premieres on Sept. 12.聽
Mr. Lochte will compete with dancer Cheryl Burke, while Ms. Hernandez is partnered with Valentin Chmerkovskiy.聽
Lochte and Hernandez join a group of more than 20 Olympic athletes who have previously appeared on 鈥淒ancing.鈥� Athletes in general often do well on 鈥淒ancing,鈥� with similar skills and training methods from their professions presumably carrying over to the pursuit of dancing. Nine 鈥淒ancing鈥� contestants known primarily as pro athletes have won 鈥淒WTS,鈥� with the show currently entering its 23rd season.聽
Among the the athletes, multiple Olympians have won before as well, including speed skater Apolo Ohno, ice dancer Meryl Davis, gymnast Shawn Johnson, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
Meanwhile, Mr. Perry will be paired with dancer Emma Slater, Ms. McCormick will dance with Artem Chigvintsev, and Ms. Henner will appear with Derek Hough.聽
Other celebrities appearing on the upcoming season of 鈥淒ancing鈥� are actress Amber Rose, who will be dancing with Maksim Chmerkovskiy; Terra Jole, who is an executive producer of the Lifetime show 鈥淟ittle Women: LA鈥� and will be dancing with Sasha Farber; rapper Vanilla Ice, who will appear with dancer Witney Carson; former Detroit Lions football player Calvin Johnson, who will dance with Lindsay Arnold; Jake T. Austin of the ABC Family TV show 鈥淭he Fosters,鈥� who is dancing with Jenna Johnson; singer Kenneth 鈥淏abyface鈥� Edmonds, who is appearing with Allison Holker; James Hinchcliffe, who is a race car driver and will be dancing with Sharna Burgess; and singer Jana Kramer, who will be dancing with Gleb Savchenko.