Tag: Dancing with the Stars

Adrian Peterson set to perform on next season of Dancing with the Stars

Former Oklahoma Sooners running back Adrian Peterson is slated to compete on the next season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

Season 32 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars is set to get underway on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. CT. Athletes across the sporting world have competed on the dancing competition over the years, but this year will have a Sooners flair to it.

Legendary Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will join the case for this season’s edition. Peterson is the 23rd NFL player and third running back to join the show. Former NFL runners Rashad Jennings and hall of famer Emmitt Smith were previous contestants. Smith won the competition back in season three, teaming with Cheryl Burke, and finished fourth in an all-star version of the competition in season 15. Jennings teamed up with Emma Slater to win the competition in season 24.

Peterson has a tradition of running back success to live up to. In his playing career he showed great balance and agility to go along with incredible speed and power that helped “All-Day” become the best back at both the college and NFL ranks.

The future NFL Hall of Famer will team with Britt Stewart for season 32. Stewart’s best finish on the show came in season 31 where she and actor Daniel Durant finished in fifth place. Stewart has also teamed with former Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir and actor Martin Kove, best known for his role as John Creese in the Karate Kid franchise.

Adrian Peterson is a legend of the gridiron and now hopes that will translate to success on the dancefloor.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Dancing With the Stars 2023: Meet the 14 celebs competing in Season 32

Here’s who will be competing for a Mirrorball Trophy title in 2023.

Time to put on your dancing shoes, celebs. Because there’s a Mirrorball Trophy that may be in your future.

That’s right, Dancing With the Stars is back, and once again, there’s a group of big names who will be cutting it up in front of audiences and judges, from some actors and actresses to a certain notable athlete (and we’ve seen sports figures win before!).

So as we get set for the premiere of the ABC reality competition show — that would be at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 26 — let’s take a look at the full cast and their dancing partners:

Iman Shumpert becomes first NBA star to win ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Former NBA champion adds the Mirror Ball Trophy to his collection.

After weeks of intense competition, Iman Shumpert and partner Daniella Karagach have emerged victorious as the champions of Season 30 of Dancing With the Stars. This is the first time an NBA player has won the popular dancing competition show, and Shumpert did it with flare.

Shumpert, a former NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, performed two dances in the finale and scored perfect 40s on both. He and Karagach narrowly edged out entertainer JoJo Siwa and her partner Jenna Johnson, who also put up a perfect 80/80 on the evening.

For the couple’s first dance of the night, Shumpert and Karagach performed a Cha Cha/Foxtrot combo, then followed it up with a mind-blowing freestyle performance that featured some incredible footwork form Shumpert. All season, the couple executed impressive tricks and genuinely appeared to enjoy being out on the dance floor.

Make room in the trophy case, Iman. You have the Mirror Ball now.

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Iman Shumpert earned a spot in the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ finale with another stunning performance

Shumpert becomes the first NBA player to make the finals in the popular reality series.

Iman Shumpert and professional partner Daniella Karagach earned a spot in the Dancing With the Stars finale, making the former New York Knick/Cleveland Cavalier the first NBA player to make the finals of the popular reality competition show.

Shumpert and Karagach performed two dances in the semi-finals — a tango and a jazz routine — and earned 75 out of 80 possible points combined. The pair is one of four teams into next week’s final, and Shumpert is looking to become the first athlete to win the Mirror Ball trophy since figure skater Adam Rippon beat out NFL corner Josh Norman in Season 26 in the spring of 2018.

NFL players Rashad Jennings, Donald Driver, Hines Ward and Emmitt Smith have all taken the top spot, as have Olympians Laurie Hernandez, Meryl Davis, Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ohno.

Karagach and Shumpert made headlines at the end of October with their perfect score during the show’s Halloween episode. Although neither routine scored straight 10s, both were mesmerizing and showed off Shumpert’s skill.

Also in the finals are Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby and partner Cheryl Burke, entertainer JoJo Siwa and partner Jenna Johnson and TV personality Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten. Tokyo gold medalist Suni Lee and her partner Sasha Farber were eliminated, as were Melora Harden (The Office) and Artem Chigvintsev.

The finale episode will air on November 22 on ABC at 8pm ET.

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WATCH: Suni Lee has perfect routine, advances to semifinals on DWTS

LETS GO SUNI

Suni Lee earned a perfect score Monday and is moving onto the semifinals of Dancing With The Stars.

Lee earned a perfect 10 from each of the four judges after dancing the Samba to “All For You” by Janet Jackson with her partner Sasha Farber.

She was awarded two bonus points for winning a head-to-head dance-off against country singer Jimmie Allen and his partner. That victory gave her 42 out of 40 points for the night and all but ensured she would be one of the final six competitors.

Lee danced a salsa to the Latin version of “Made for Now” by Jackson in the head-to-head dance, which was judged by Bruno Tonioli.

Adrian Peterson turned down ‘Dancing with the Stars’ back in September

Before signing with the Titans, Adrian Peterson had a chance to be on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Before he signed with the Tennessee Titans in the wake of the serious injury to running back Derrick Henry, future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson was reportedly offered a spot on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Peterson turned down the gig in early September. It would have paid him $150,000 for just a rehearsal, and upwards of $335,000 had he ended up joining the show.

At the time he turned it down, Peterson was hopeful the Ravens would give him a call after the slew of injuries they suffered at the position, per Schefter. Other teams who showed interest in Peterson included the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that producers would have allowed Peterson to leave the show had he been given another opportunity in the NFL, but he wanted to focus on training instead.

In his first presser since joining the Titans, Peterson, who looks to be in great shape despite not having played yet this season, admitted that he thought his career might be over after failing to find a new home right away.

Now, the 36-year-old back has been thrust into a crucial role with the AFC-leading Titans as he attempts to just come close to filling Henry’s shoes until he comes back.

Peterson will make his Titans debut in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams on “Sunday Night Football” at SoFi Stadium.

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 Suni Lee survives elimination on Dancing With The Stars

Way to go, Suni!

Suni Lee survived an elimination scare on Monday’s Halloween-themed Dancing With The Stars episode.

Lee was among the bottom two for the first time this season but was saved by the judges. She and her partner Sasha Farber danced the Tango to “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran in outfits inspired by “The Vampire Diaries.”

The pair earned a 36 out of 40 by the judges, which was tied for the fifth-best score of the night. When that score was combined with the fan votes, Lee found herself facing elimination as one of the two lowest scoring dancers.

The judges voted to save Lee and she is now one nine remaining competitors. Next week the dances will all be done to music by Queen.

Iman Shumpert got a perfect score on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ with an incredible contemporary routine

Iman Shumpert absolutely dominated on Monday’s episode of Dancing With the Stars.

Stop whatever you’re doing and spend the next two minutes watching Iman Shumpert’s perfect performance from last night’s episode of Dancing With The Stars. It was the ABC show’s Halloween-themed episode, with each of the remaining 10 pairs doing a dance influenced by a piece from horror or thriller genre.

Shumpert and his professional partner Daniella Karagach performed a contemporary routine inspired by the movie Us as the remixed version of Luniz’ 1995 hit I Got 5 On It played in the ballroom.

The result is absolutely mesmerizing.

At 6-foot-5, Shumpert towers over his 5-foot-7 partner. But the duo definitely used to their advantage for this routine. “I didn’t know what to expect from a basketball player, because you are twice my height,” Karagach said during the duo’s pre-routine highlight package. “We make it work.”

And work it did. The long lines and stunts within the routine were stunning to watch, and at one point, Karagach stood on Shumpert’s shoulders before falling into his arms. The visuals were fantastic.

The judges agreed, handing out four perfect 10s for a score of 40 for the evening. It was unanimously enjoyed as Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman ranted and raved over the performance, Derek Hough stood on the judges’ table and shouted at the top of his lungs, and Bruno Tonioli called it a “masterpiece performance.”

“I’m speechless,” Hough said after climbing down from the desk. “That was like something people will watch over and over and over and over again.”

Shumpert, who has played nine seasons in the NBA, said he was nervous to do the dance, but there’s no doubt he crushed it.

This kind of performance shouldn’t really come as a big surprise given that Shumpert is married to Teyana Taylor, a trained dancer and singer. When he was selected for the show, Taylor had the perfect reaction. “She laughed but it quickly turned into her competitive spirit to say I better win,” Shumpert told E! Online back in September.

Everyone from former Cleveland teammate LeBron James to Dwyane Wade jumped on Twitter to show support Shumpert:

JoJo Siwa and partner Jenna Johnson also scored a perfect 40 with an IT-themed dance. Reality star Kenya Moore of Real Housewives of Atlanta was sent home.

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