DWTS salary figures have reportedly been revealed, with veteran pros earning over $5,000 an episode while new troupe members make around $600.
The salary difference between the professional dancers competing on Dancing With the Stars and members of the show’s dance troupe has reportedly been revealed.
According to a production insider who spoke to The U.S. Sun, dancers who are partnered with celebrities on the ABC competition earn significantly more per episode than the professional performers who make up the supporting dance troupe.
Dancing With the Stars features two main groups of professional dancers.
The first consists of the pros who are assigned celebrity partners at the beginning of the season and compete alongside them for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.
Among the familiar professional dancers competing this season are Mark Ballas, Emma Slater, Val Chmerkovskiy and Alan Bersten.
Fan favorite Sharna Burgess has also returned to the show and is competing as part of the professional lineup.
The second group is the dance troupe.
Troupe members are professional dancers who typically perform in larger group routines rather than being assigned a celebrity contestant for the competition.
They can be seen opening the show with elaborate performances, appearing in group numbers and supporting individual couples during certain routines.
This season’s returning troupe members include Onye Stevenson, Carter Williams and Jaxon Willard. They are joined by newcomer Kamri Peterson.
Although troupe dancers do not compete directly with celebrity partners for the Mirrorball Trophy, the position can provide an important opportunity for professional dancers hoping to eventually become full-time DWTS pros.
Several dancers who have previously performed in the troupe have eventually moved into the celebrity-partnered professional lineup.
The progression can also work in the opposite direction.
This season, former professional dancer Sasha Farber has reportedly returned to the show as part of the troupe rather than competing with a celebrity partner.
The reported difference in compensation between the two groups is substantial.
The production insider told The U.S. Sun that brand-new troupe members earn approximately $600 per episode.
The source claimed that the average troupe salary is around $800 per episode, depending on the dancer’s experience and position within the show.
By comparison, the show’s most experienced professional dancers can reportedly earn more than $5,000 for an episode.
That would put the reported per-episode compensation for some veteran pros at several times the average amount earned by a troupe member.
The insider also said that less experienced professional dancers who are paired with celebrities still earn thousands of dollars per episode, although their compensation is lower than that of the show’s longest-serving pros.
The figures highlight how the structure of Dancing With the Stars can create major differences in pay among the professional dancers appearing on the same program.
For troupe members, however, the role can provide more than an episode paycheck.
Being part of the dance troupe gives performers the opportunity to appear regularly on one of television’s best-known dance competition shows while working alongside established professionals and celebrity contestants.
For some dancers, the troupe can also serve as a stepping stone toward becoming one of the show’s featured professionals.
The professional dancers paired with celebrities have a different set of responsibilities.
They are responsible for choreographing routines with their celebrity partners, teaching them ballroom and Latin dance techniques and preparing them for weekly live performances.
They also play an important role in helping their partners develop throughout the competition.
The ultimate goal for those couples is to collect enough scores and viewer support to remain in the competition and eventually compete for the Mirrorball Trophy.
Meanwhile, the troupe contributes to the overall production by helping create the large-scale performances that have become a signature part of the show.
The salary revelations come as another season of Dancing With the Stars gets underway, with the latest cast competing under the watch of the show’s judging panel.
This season’s judges include Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough.
Hough and Inaba both have extensive histories with the program, having previously competed as professional dancers before taking on judging roles. Tonioli has also been a longtime member of the judging panel.
Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro are returning as the show’s co-hosts.
The current season has already delivered some difficult moments for several contestants, with two stars eliminated during the opening nights of competition.
Conner Leavitt, from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, was eliminated on the first night.
His exit came after his wife, Whitney Leavitt, previously competed on Dancing With the Stars and made a deeper run in the competition.
The second night also produced another early departure, with Sarah Jane Nader eliminated from the show.
Sarah Jane is the sister of model Brooks Nader, who has also been connected to the Dancing With the Stars franchise.
As the competition continues, the distinction between the professional dancers and troupe members will remain an important part of the show’s behind-the-scenes structure.
The reported salaries also illustrate how experience and responsibility can affect compensation among the professional performers.
While new troupe dancers are reportedly paid hundreds of dollars per episode, established professionals who take on celebrity partners can earn several thousand dollars for the same episode.
For dancers hoping to build a career on television, the troupe can therefore represent both a job in its own right and a potential route toward a more prominent role on the show.
With the season now underway, viewers will see the professional couples compete for the Mirrorball Trophy while the troupe continues to provide the large group performances and additional choreography that help shape each week’s broadcast.