A quartet of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro contestants will reunite in the ballroom for the season 35 premiere of the tentpole competition.
“Hi everybody, we’re back,” winner Adele Zaikman said in a Saturday, September 12, video shared via DWTS’ Instagram Stories, standing beside Allen Genkin, Selena Hamilton and Erik Linder. “We’re going to be all dancing together. It’s going to be fire.”
Adele, 24, won the inaugural season of The Next Pro, which aired last month, over fellow finalists Selena, 21, and AJ Pritchard.
“[I] can’t wait for you guys to see what we’ve prepared,” Adele gushed on Saturday, during the cast’s camera-blocking rehearsal. (Adele is paired with celebrity contestant Conner Leavitt for season 35.)
Allen, 36, chimed in, adding, “It feels absolutely amazing to be back with these four right here. Your favorite contestants!”
Allen and Erik, 26, had also been standouts on The Next Pro, capturing fans’ affections before they were both eliminated just shy of the finale. British dancer AJ, 31, appears to be missing from the season 35 routine amid swirling off-camera drama following his Next Pro semifinals number with pre-existing pro Rylee Arnold.
Rylee, 21, was named a pro ahead of 2023’s season 32, dancing with AJ for a Next Pro challenge. In between rehearsals, Rylee admitted to the judges that AJ seemed to be overly critical of her efforts without providing any positive feedback.
AJ’s fiancée, influencer Zara Zoffany, clapped back at Rylee via social media once the episode aired.
“[Rylee] — @aj11ace wouldn’t have had to critique you in the first place if everything had been right. Dancing with Bailey [McKnight] last week showed how he danced with an amateur & their dance was amazing,” Zara, 32, claimed via Instagram comment, referring to AJ’s Next Pro performance with an amateur dancer. “This week was suppose [sic] to be dancing with a pro … very different dynamics & what people didn’t see in rehearsals was that you injured him when you hit him in the head, leaving with a slight concussion and needing to see a [doctor].”
She added at the time, “He wouldn’t have needed to give it if something hadn’t been wrong. I hope you were able to take something positive and useful from his teaching and feedback.”
Rylee was subsequently supported by fellow pro Ezra Sosa and Next Pro judge Shirley Ballas before Zara issued an apology. (AJ never publicly addressed the drama.)
“I just want to make it clear that I never said she wasn’t qualified. I think that stemmed from Ezra’s reply [to me] saying that she’s more than qualified,” Zara said in an August 31 video shared via TikTok. “I just want to say, if you are watching this, Rylee, from the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry if I made you feel a certain type of way. That was never my intention.”
Dancing With the Stars season 35 kicks off with a two-night premiere on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
