Derek Hough, a former professional dancer turned judge on Dancing With the Stars, joked this week that Céline Dion would be joining him as his celebrity partner for the show's 35th season, before admitting the announcement was fake.
On Aug. 23, Hough shared an AI-generated image to Instagram that appeared to show him and Dion posing for a cast photo, with a caption announcing the pair as season 35 partners. "When Céline calls you answer," he wrote, before clarifying the post was not real. "Just waiting for the call."
Dion is not expected to compete on the upcoming season, which so far includes Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez. Multiple outlets have also reported that Bachelor Nation's Tyler Cameron, actress Jenna Dewan and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Conner Leavitt will join the cast.
A Real Dance With Céline Dion
In a separate post on Aug. 24, Hough explained that he does have a genuine connection to Dion. He shared a video of himself and his wife, Hayley Erbert, dancing with the singer, describing an encounter a couple of years ago in Las Vegas when Dion was running late for her own show but stopped to talk about dance.
"As I was walking out, I said, 'Hey, if you ever want to dance, just let me know,'" Hough wrote. "And without missing a beat, she sang 'Let me know' to the melody of 'Let It Go,' and we shared a little dance."
Hough, who shares 7-month-old daughter Everley Capri with Erbert, said Dion is "every bit as kind, funny, and genuine as you'd hope," adding that Erbert is her biggest fan and that Dion is always the person he names when asked who he'd love to see on the show. "The invite's open, Queen Céline," he wrote.
What the Stars and Pros Get Paid
Dancing With the Stars, which pairs celebrities with professional dancers in a weekly ballroom competition, has kept most of its financial details private. Variety reported in 2019, citing multiple sources, that contestants earn $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks, with pay increasing each week they remain on the show, up to a reported maximum of $295,000. ABC has not confirmed those figures.
Bobby Bones, who won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018, said on a September 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets that he earned more than that. "That show pays OK," he said. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last." Bones said he also received a base salary of around $110,000 and ended up making close to $400,000 from the show.
Pros are paid similarly little in public detail. "You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After, adding that contracts vary by dancer.
Johnson, who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon and season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei, said pros don't earn a bigger paycheck for winning the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together," she said, though she noted making the finale means a full season of pay plus a bonus.
Troupe members earn considerably less than pros. Lindsay Arnold said on a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets that her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
How Celebrities and Pros Are Paired
Professional dancers have little say in who they're paired with. "You get no say," Arnold said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' podcast Hot Smart Rich. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"
Johnson said the pairings are kept secret from the pros themselves until they meet their partner on camera. "They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," she said on The Morning After. "They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."
Former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015 that matches are based on "height, build and personality and compatibility," and that producers avoid pairing people who won't get along. "It's too intense," he said. "That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer."
Rehearsals and Costumes
Rylee Arnold, who partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, described a demanding schedule on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," she said, running in blocks from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. She said couples rehearse Wednesday through Sunday, with camera blocking on Monday and the live show on Tuesday.
Pros mostly choose their own music, according to Emma Slater and Britt Stewart, who said in a September 2025 Instagram video that song selection is "mostly yes" up to the dancers, "though it's a collaboration with producers."
Costumes are made fast. Designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider in 2017 that her team has five days to create every outfit for a pair, working with roughly 20 staff and a separate tailor shop. "That's half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones," she said. Costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs often try on their costumes for the first time just hours before the show airs, with most pieces made custom each week rather than reused.
