Season twenty-six of Dancing with the Stars, titled Dancing with the Stars: Athletes, premiered on April 30, 2018, on the ABC network. The four-week season, the shortest ever, featured a cast of current and former athletes.
On May 21, Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson were crowned the champions, while Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess, and former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber, were both announced as the runners-up during the live finale. It was later revealed that Josh and Sharna had placed second, while Tonya and Sasha had placed third.
Contents
Overview
Dancing with the Stars is an American reality dance competition television series that premiered on ABC on June 1, 2005. It is the American version of the British contest program Strictly Come Dancing. The series pairs celebrities with professional dancers to perform a variety of dance styles, primarily ballroom and Latin routines. Each couple competes against the others for judges' points and audience votes. The couple receiving the lowest combined total of judges' points and audience votes is usually eliminated each week until only the champion pair remains.
Cast
Couples
The professional dancers were announced on April 12, 2018. The eight professionals returning from season 25 were Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe, Gleb Savchenko, and Emma Slater. The two remaining professional dancers were both in the troupe last season, and had previously been professional dancers on the show: Sasha Farber and Jenna Johnson. The dance troupe for season 26 consisted of Artur Adamski, Brandon Armstrong, Hayley Erbert, and Britt Stewart. Additionally, professional dancer Morgan Larson, who performed on the Dancing with the Stars: Light Up the Night tour, joined the troupe for season 26.
The cast was announced on April 13 on Good Morning America.
Hosts and judges
Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews returned as hosts, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges. On May 7, season 24 champion Rashad Jennings returned as a guest judge, and on May 14, season 24 runner-up David Ross also appeared as a guest judge.
Scoring chart
The highest score each week is indicated in bold green with a dagger (†), while the lowest score each week is indicated in italicized red with a double-dagger (‡).
Color key:
Notes
Weekly scores
Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Week 1: First Dances
The couples danced the cha-cha-cha, foxtrot, salsa, or Viennese waltz. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Viewers were able to vote for the couples online so that the results of the vote could be used to determine the first two eliminations that same evening.
Week 2: Team Dance Night
Individual judges' scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Rashad Jennings, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
The couples performed one unlearned dance and a team dance celebrating an iconic decade in sports. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Week 3: MVP Night (Semifinals)
Individual judges' scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, David Ross, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
The couples performed one unlearned dance dedicated to the "MVP" in their lives, and participated in paired dance-offs for extra points. Former contestants were brought in to mentor the couples for the dance-offs. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Week 4: Finale
The final three couples performed one unlearned dance inspired by their journey on the show and their freestyle routine. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Dance chart
The couples performed the following each week:
Week 1: One unlearned dance
Week 2: One unlearned dance & team dance
Week 3: One unlearned dance & ballroom battles
Week 4 (Finals): One unlearned dance & freestyle