While many agree that Sept. 21 marks the start of fall, the Collegian views the first episode of “Dancing with the Stars” as a more significant indicator. Over the next 10 weeks, the air will get crisper, pumpkin spice will taste better and, most importantly, a new episode of “Dancing with the Stars” will debut every Tuesday at 8 p.m. This season’s cast is chock full of stars with varying degrees of dance experience, and the Collegian is offering their predictions on who will win, lose or fall somewhere in the middle.
ABBY KIDWELL | CULTURE CO-EDITOR | arkidwell@butler.edu
Gleeks will prosper
Mike Chang of show choir fame — sorry, actor Harry Shum Jr. — will be securing the Mirrorball. Despite the insistence of “Dancing with the Stars” to only acknowledge Shum Jr.’s current role on “Grey’s Anatomy”, fans have not forgotten the six seasons he spent on “Glee” as a member of New Directions. Indeed, the popularity of “Glee” with younger audiences — which is so notable that creator Ryan Murphy is even teasing a reboot because of it — could very well be what takes Shum Jr. to the top. The only thing jeopardizing his victory is the viewers who believe his extensive dance background poses an unfair advantage, but if Gleeks can mobilize enough to compensate for this, then Shum Jr. is a shoo-in. And that’s how Sue C’s it.
ANA DOLLARD | CULTURE CO-EDITOR | adollard@butler.edu
The Collegian office will slow down
Every time. Every single time it hits 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, almost every person in The Butler Collegian’s second floor CCOM office crowds around a laptop to watch this show. Laptops slam shut. Fingers lift from keyboards. In all fairness, pub nights can stretch, from minutes, to hours, to an eternity. What could be more uniting than pausing the stressful, underpaid student-journalism workday to glance over at a laptop filled with the glam and artistry of dances by favorite celebrities?
EMMA MCLEAN | MANAGING EDITOR | emclean@butler.edu
The Funderdog
He has purse. He has podcast. He will have Mirrorball. Connor Wood is an arguably niche pick for the “Dancing with the Stars” cast, but that only makes it all the more sweet for his loyal fanbase. Wood has absolutely no dance experience, but he is familiar with entertaining others and performing for large audiences. Just last year, Wood performed at Indy’s Helium Comedy Club for his sold-out “Fibs and Friends” Tour. Fans of his personal comedy and beloved podcast, “Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast”, just might get him to the finals.
SAMUEL DEMIS | STAFF REPORTER | sademis@butler.edu
One or more contestants will have no talent
In the 2021 season of “Dancing with the Stars”, Martin Kove of “The Karate Kid” and “Cobra Kai” fame was eliminated in week two, primarily due to being 75 years old and not a particularly great dancer. His performance had one of the lowest scores in the show’s history, earning 13 out of 40 points in week one. Will a miscast of this magnitude occur again? 55-year-old Guillermo Rodriguez’s dismal 10 out of 40 is looking like proof that history repeats itself.
OLLIE FITZGERALD | NEWS EDITOR | ofitzgerald@butler.edu
“It’s spa-GHEH-Tee”
While Giada De Laurentiis may not be a professional dancer, she knows how to make a mean bolognese. The former Food Network star currently owns four restaurants across the United States and gained a lot of her fame by making Italian home cooking accessible — while being very particular about how to pronounce pastas. Her attention to detail and push for perfection could have led her far in this season of “Dancing with the Stars”, if it were not for a shaky tango that knocked her out of the running in week two.
DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu
“I tink” the Mirrorball winner is….
Tying for top of the leaderboard in week one with absolutely no dance experience? That is enough to make “Love Island UK” and “The Traitors” Season 4 star Maura Higgins a “Dancing with the Stars” winner pick. Before the premiere at press appearances and on TikTok, Higgins and her pro partner Mark Ballas — who was also on her season of “The Traitors” — kept poking at the fact that Higgins is definitely not a dancer. But when the first beats of “Black Velvet” hit the ballroom, Higgins hit the opening body rolls and Ballas stepped out of a coffin with a replica of the iconic red Birkin bag that “The Traitors” Season 4 winner Robert Rausch gifted Higgins, that novice-level dancing ability quickly banished. With continued momentum, Team Tink will go far and dance their way to finale night.
RACHEL JOYCE | STAFF REPORTER | rljoyce@butler.edu
Ten things I hate about reality TV (except this one)
There are the fans who have watched “Dancing with the Stars” for years, keeping up with every sequin donned, every tear dropped and every groan over whether the judges have completely lost their minds. Then, there are those who think a paso doble is a type of pastry. And then, there is Julia Stiles: actress, producer, writer and punk intellectual from “10 Things I Hate About You”. The suburban ballerina grooving her way into Juilliard is now showing her real moves live, and she has already battled — unsurprisingly — theatrically to keep her heels. Whether or not she is still quickstepping to the top of the leaderboard, her fans are all sat in solidarity for her — and, albeit less enthusiastically, her dance partner Ezra Sosa.
HARRISON PRYOR | STAFF REPORTER | hrpryor@butler.edu
Connor or Conner?
The only thing keeping absolutely everyone from mixing up Connor Wood and Conner Leavitt is Leavitt’s beard. Well, that, Wood’s “Fibula” moniker and the fact that Leavitt has already been eliminated. Still, there is a non-zero chance that host Alfonso Ribeiro announces Wood incorrectly. He may even do it for a joke; old habits die hard for the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” host, after all. Point being, somebody has to write a strongly-worded letter to the casting director responsible for adding two people with the same name to the show.