Dancing With the Stars recently achieved a major milestone, airing its 500th episode last week. 33 seasons in, the televised reality dance competition has been a hit ever since its start in 2005. Yet, this year has certainly revitalized the celeb and pro partner formula, with record-breaking viewership and votes on a weekly basis. Although the success may be in part attributed to Season 33’s stellar lineup – which includes Bachelor Nation alums like Joey Graziadei, Olympic medalists like Ilona Maher, and actors like Chandler Kinney – the popularity can also be tied to the professional dancers coaching these stars and helping them take their dance skills up a notch.

Witney Carson has been a fan-favorite choreographer ever since she was called up to be a pro in Season 18. Shortly after, she took home the mirrorball trophy alongside her then celeb partner Alfonso Ribeiro (who is now a DWTS co-host) and was nominated for an Emmy. Although Carson wasn’t part of Season 32, she did make a comeback to the ballroom this time around, partnered with Super Bowl Champion Danny Amendola. After the duo made it to the semi-finals, the pro dancer chatted with Collider about her DWTS career highlights, her thoughts on one of her leg lifts going TikTok viral, and what she appreciates the most about working with the former NFL player.

Witney Carson Remembers Her and Alfonso Ribero’s Mirrorball Win As If It Were Yesterday
“It was definitely a standout moment in my career.”
Image via ABC

With DWTS celebrating its 500th episode, Carson has had her fair share of memorable moments on the reality competition. From being a viewer at home to joining in as a troupe member to later becoming an established pro, the dancer looks back at her journey onscreen fondly. “Dancing With the Stars has been part of my entire existence… I feel just very grateful and very honored that I get to be a part of such an amazing show,” she says.

Although she’s been partnered with many well-known names, including Zombies alum Milo Manheim and Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell, Carson’s performances with Ribeiro leading up to their big win remain a career highlight. “I had just moved to LA and this was a dream for me of being on the show. He really took me under his wing, like a big brother, and really taught me so much,” she says. “That was just a really special season that cannot be recreated. Obviously, he is an integral part of the show now as well, and we’ve just stayed in touch.”

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In fact, the pro dancer even shared that she is thrilled to still get to work with Ribeiro, even though they aren’t performing routines like they used to. She considers it a blessing to reach out to him after receiving the judges’ score or after a stressful camera blocking. “That was a big reason why I did come back,” she reveals, “because I knew he was hosting, and he’s family. I just wanted to be there to support him and have him there with me as well.”

The Dancer Says Danny Amendola Only Knew How to Do “the Jerk” When He Joined ‘DWTS’
“Everything that I said, he soaked it in and wanted to genuinely get better and learn the art of dance.”
Image via ABC

Fast-forward to Season 33, Carson is now partnered with former NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola. Although she didn’t really know who he was when they first met, her husband and brothers were ecstatic to find out that she was paired up with him. “I’m not a big football person. I don’t go home and sit down and watch football, but my husband, my brothers, my dad, all my uncles, everybody who’s a guy in my life, were losing their minds.”

During their first rehearsal, it became clear that Amendola had no prior dance experience. Knowing as much as “the jerk”, he proved to Carson that he was determined to grow and improve with her guidance. “That’s what he brings to the competition. Just absolute, complete dedication,” she says. “He will rehearse it until his knee gives out.”

Although the duo were starting from scratch, the star’s development every week quickly caught the attention of judges and fans at home. It wasn’t natural for Amendola to put on a smile while performing in the beginning of Season 33, but he slowly learned to let go of his game mode expression, or in Carson’s words, redefine his focus face. “Your focus face is now a smile,” she reminded him during rehearsals. “We would have different checkpoints throughout the routine to make sure that he was focused on his performance, as well as the technique.”

Witney Carson’s Leg Lift During Dedication Night Went TikTok Viral
“The fact that social media is here now so that we can see how people are responding in real time is really cool, and it’s very humbling.”

Midway through the competition, on Dedication Night, celebrities were tasked with honoring a loved one through their choreography. Amendola’s pick was his late coach, Mike Leach, who was a formative figure in the early stages of his football career. After sharing with Carson more about Leach and why he wanted to dedicate their contemporary dance to him, the pro dancer made sure to craft a routine that translated a powerful emotion: grief.

“A lot of thought came into that choreography and just really getting to know what Mike Leach was to Danny. He was a very monumental person in Danny’s life, so a lot of it would just be, you know, how did you feel when he passed away? Because it was very sudden and very tragic. And then also the aftermath of it, like, how do you feel now? Do you wish that he was still here? Do you find strength in remembering him? So all of those little pieces of the story, I really tried to put into the choreography.

As a result, the pair earned their first 9s in the competition, and a key move from their routine went TikTok viral. The leg lift, known as “the archer”, became so popular online that several fans recreated it in their living rooms. Carson and Amendola even had to put out a tutorial on how to do the lift properly, so that people at home would refrain from getting injured. The social media response to their partnership and their performances was encouraging to the pro dancer, who tells Collider that “the only reason why we’re on the show is because of people watching it.”

Witney Carson Teases That Their Salsa in the Semi-Finals Will Have “Lifts and Tricks”
“We have a ballroom and a Latin style that we haven’t done yet this season.”

Since their breakthrough moment in the competition on Dedication Night, the duo has consistently proven their capacity to impress, whether it is through crowd-pleasing lifts or the hat trick featured in last week’s quickstep. Amendola’s commitment to the craft has resulted in him and Carson making it to the semi-finals, where they will be tasked with performing two different dance genres: a Viennese waltz and a salsa. In teasing their next routine, the pro dancer tells Collider that “one’s very high energy, with lifts and tricks, and the other is very emotional and graceful and a very different take.” She also admits that it is challenging to teach two choreographies that are so distinct, “not because of the workload, but just the different techniques and all the different kinds of steps that he’s got to learn.”

As Dancing With the Stars Season 33 nears the finale, the pro dancer is hopeful of her and Amendola’s chances in the competition. She also opened up about how special her partnership with the Super Bowl champion has been so far. “We have mutual respect for each other. I mean, he’s been such an amazing student and an amazing partner. I really can always count on him for being on time, for lifting me, for catching me, for just doing his absolute 110% every minute of every day.” Carson also considers them the underdogs of this season, with “high highs and low lows. But we’re fighting.” She continues on by saying that “it’s really up to America” whether they make it to the finals, but for the time being, she assures fans of the show that they will give it their all on Tuesday.

Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC and Disney +. Episodes are made available on Hulu the next day.

U.S. reality show based on the British series “Strictly Come Dancing,” where celebrities partner up with professional dancers and compete against each other in weekly elimination rounds to determine a winner.Release Date June 1, 2005 Cast Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess Main Genre Reality Seasons Studio Expand

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