Sharna Burgess is returning to Dancing with the Stars for season 35, five years after she stepped away from the ballroom, the professional dancer confirmed in a video shared on Good Morning America on August 24.
"I'm back. Some of you guys guessed it. Yes, I am here with a special announcement to finally confirm I'm back on Dancing with the Stars, baby," Burgess said in the clip. "I'm going to be competing for that Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy."
"I can't wait to be back in the ballroom with my dancing family," she added, "and mostly it feels so good to be coming home."
Burgess, 41, also marked the news on TikTok, lip-syncing to Beyoncé's "Partition" alongside fellow DWTS pros Jenna Johnson and Emma Slater. She captioned the clip, "When Dancing with the Stars asks you to come back after 4 seasons off..." and wrote that she "couldn't be more ready and excited," adding, "I love these girlies and my whole dwts family. Heart SO full and so grateful. Let's gooooooo!!!"
Burgess is engaged to actor Brian Austin Green, with whom she has a 4-year-old son, Zane.
Hours before Burgess's own announcement, DWTS confirmed her return on Instagram. "A little birdie told us an absolute firecracker is back in the ballroom," the show wrote. "Please give @sharnaburgess a warm welcome on her return as a #DWTS pro!"
A 15th Season and a Rocky Exit
Season 35 will be Burgess's 15th on the long-running dance competition series. She won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2018 alongside radio host Bobby Bones during the season 27 finale.
The following season, Burgess and fellow pro Artem Chigvintsev were unexpectedly left off the season 28 roster as DWTS went through staffing changes, though she returned for seasons 29 and 30.
She stepped back from the ballroom after the birth of her son ahead of season 31. She has said it was a "huge shock" that she wasn't asked to return in the seasons that followed.
"It just felt like I needed to sit in motherhood with Zane," she said on a September 2023 episode of her Oldish podcast. "It was always within the context of 'I want to come back next year,' and they said, 'Of course, we love you. We'll always have you.'"
"And I did drop in and let them know, 'It goes without saying, but I'd love to be back next season, or this season,'" she added. "'Hopefully I'll get to come hang out with you guys.'"
What Contestants and Pros Get Paid
Variety reported in 2019, citing multiple sources, that DWTS contestants earn $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks, with the potential to earn up to $295,000 if they advance. ABC has not publicly confirmed those figures.
Bobby Bones, who won season 27 with Burgess in 2018, said on a September 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets that he made close to $400,000 from the show, including a base salary of around $110,000. "That show pays OK," he said. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000... It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."
Little has been shared publicly about pro dancer pay, though it appears to increase the longer a pro stays in the competition. Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of the podcast The Morning After that pros are "guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," though contracts vary.
Johnson, who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon and season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei, said pros don't get a bigger paycheck for winning. "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, adding that finalists are paid for the full season plus a bonus for reaching the finale.
Lindsay Arnold said on a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets that her pay was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
How Partners Are Paired and How They Prepare
Pros get no input on who they're paired with. "You get no say," Lindsay 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 the celebrities on camera, so producers can capture a genuine reaction. Former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015 that matches are based on "height, build and personality and compatibility," to avoid pairing people who don't get along.
Rehearsals are demanding. Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik in season 33, said on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis that pairs rehearse four hours a day and get almost no days off between the Tuesday show and the next taping.
Emma Slater and Britt Stewart said in a September 2025 Instagram video that pros mostly choose their own songs each week, in collaboration with producers.
Making the Costumes
Costumes are custom-built each week on a tight turnaround. Costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider in 2017 that her department has five days, maximum, to make all the outfits, working with around 20 staff plus a separate tailor shop. Designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs often try on their costumes for the first time just hours before the show airs.
