That’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! After nearly two years on the air, our favorite dance show (we love you too, “DWTS”) has made it updated return: on FOX for its 18th season. Host Kat Deeley described the new season as “refreshing,” and that’s right, given the favorite dancers and choreographers sitting at the judges’ table – Alison Holker, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, JoJo Siwa and Comfort Fedoke, who steps in to judge the talent at auditions.
In case you missed last night’s premiere, here are all the dancers who made it out, along with the touching tribute that even brought us to tears.
Roman Nevinciani
Watching 26-year-old Latin ballroom dancer Roman Nevinciani’s electrifying audition for “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” seemed like the best way to start any of the auditions.
Roman, who left his hometown of Kiev and has not seen his family (who are now safe in Germany) since the start of the war, was chosen to continue in the competition after proving his skills in partnering Maxim and a ballroom dancer.
Easton Maggiarditi
Next up is 19-year-old Easton Maggiarditi, who previously auditioned for “SYTYCD. The Next Generation’ blew us away with its remarkable control and aerodynamic quality. But we weren’t the only ones amazed. Alison said it was “strong and graceful”, Maxim thought it was an “amazing” performance and Comfort said it was “picturesque”. Which meant that all around-plus: standing ovation!
Olivia Albocher
A self-confessed “dance influencer” with 2.2 million TikTok followers and counting (we can see Maxim still shaking his head), Olivia, 22, has proven she’s more than just a dancer on social media. Alison thought it was “beautiful” how she carried herself and used the scene. And Comfort was impressed with her grand plié and backstroke splits. Seriously, us too! No wonder Olivia got a yes yes yes from the judges.
Oshae “King Wavy” Young
Breaker, who was first inspired to dance by the film You are servedOshae has proven that his passion for dancing is strong enough that he is willing to risk his health. He has an arrhythmia and even though he had to have a pacemaker put on his heart, it didn’t stop him from dancing. The judges felt he could have brought more heat to the performance and weren’t sure how flexible he would be with other dance styles, but he moved on in the competition with two yeses from Alison and Comfort.
Dakayla Wilson
After some eliminations and pairings that weren’t quite ready for prime time, we met Dakayla Wilson. A trained gymnast who, according to Alison, can literally “step on any set right now” (we couldn’t agree more), Dakayla also wowed the other judges with her routine. Maxim loved the look on her face and Comfort called her performance “a breath of fresh air.” It’s clear that she has the ‘it’ factor needed to sustain a career in the dance industry – a resounding yes.
Jin Lee:
So far, the season premiere has featured mostly contemporary and hip-hop acts — some great, some not so much — so we were intrigued when Jin told us what her performance style would be. breaking bones, chinese people and waving. Her performance brought Comfort and Alison to tears, and it was no surprise that her audition was a yes for all the judges.
After the performance, Gene paid tribute to his father, who recently passed away, and thanked Alison for continuing TWitch’s dance legacy. “Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss was and will forever be an icon and a legend because he was truly the best at what he did,” Holker said through tears, “but also because he brought out the best in everyone around him.”
Honoring “tWitch” and his lasting legacy in the dance community was the perfect way to end the first episode.