yes! After nearly two years off the air, our favorite dance show (We Love You Too, DWTS) is back on Fox for its 18th season. Host Cat Deeley described the new season as “renewed”, considering the beloved dancer and choreographer sitting on the judges’ table – Allison Holker , Maksim Chmerkovskiy, JoJo Siwa and Comfort Fedoke, who assessed talent at auditions, indeed.
If you missed last night’s premiere, here are all the dancers who made the cut, plus a touching tribute that even made us cry.
Roman Nevinchany
Watching 26-year-old Latin ballroom dancer Roman Nevinchanyi’s exciting audition for “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” seems like the perfect way to start your first round of auditions.
Roman, who has left his native Kiev and has not seen his family since the start of the war (they are now safe in Germany), is voted to remain in the competition after proving his skills as a partner with Maxim and a female ballroom dancer.
Easton Mariaditi
Next up is 19-year-old Easton Magliarditi, who auditioned for SYTYCD: The Next Generation and wowed us with his control and aerodynamic qualities. But we’re not the only ones surprised. Allison said he was “powerful and graceful”, Maxim thought it was an “incredible” performance and Comfort said it was “picturesque”. This means “yes” everywhere –add The audience stood up and applauded!
Olivia Alboch
Olivia, 22, is a self-confessed “dance influencer” with 2.2 million followers on TikTok and counting (we can see Maxim still shaking his head), She’s proven that she’s more than just a social media dancer. Alison thought the way she floated and used the stage was “beautiful”. Comfort was impressed by her split into forward and back flexion. Seriously, so do we! No wonder Olivia got a “yes, yes, yes” from the judges.
O’Shea “Wave King” is young
The original dancing vandal inspired by the movie you got serviceO’Shea proved he was passionate enough about dance that he was willing to risk his health. He suffered from a heart arrhythmia and although he had to have a pacemaker implanted in his heart, that didn’t stop him from dancing. The judges felt he could bring more heat to the show and were unsure about his versatility in other dance styles, but he moved forward in the competition, earning two nods from Allison and Comfort.
Dakela Wilson
After some eliminations and routines that weren’t quite ready for prime time, we met Dakayla Wilson. According to Allison, D’Akyla is a highly trained gymnast who “could step into any outfit right now” (and we couldn’t agree more), and D’Akyla got the other judges hyped with her moves. Maxim liked her facial expressions, 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 – and that’s a resounding yes.
Li Jin
So far, the season premiere has featured mostly contemporary and hip-hop acts—some great, some not so great, so we were intrigued when Kim told us what her performance style is: bone-crushing, Chinese folk, and Wave. Her performance brought Comfort and Alison to tears and it was no surprise that her audition was “approved” by all the judges.
After the show, Jin paid tribute to his recently deceased father and thanked Allison for carrying on TWitch’s dance legacy. “Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss is and will always be an icon and a legend because he is truly the best at what he does,” Holker said through tears, “and also because of his Brings out the best in everyone around you.
Honoring “tWitch” and his enduring legacy in the dance world was the perfect way to end the first episode.
