It’s widely known that being a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars is far from a leisurely stroll. Professionals dedicate themselves seven days a week when filming is underway. If you’ve ever wondered How Much Do Dancing With The Stars Pros Make, especially per episode, the answer is they definitely earn their pay. Interestingly, their compensation structure is designed to reward longevity in the competition, meaning there’s a strong financial incentive to excel and progress through the season.
Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) is the US adaptation of the UK’s Strictly Come Dancing, which first graced BBC screens in 2004. The DWTS format has since become a global phenomenon, reaching over 74 countries, captivating audiences from India to France.
The premise of the show is straightforward yet compelling: Celebrities team up with seasoned ballroom dancers. Each week, they dedicate themselves to mastering choreographed routines centered around different themes. These pairs then showcase their hard work before a panel of judges, each providing scores out of 10. Adding to the excitement, viewers at home also participate by voting for their favorite performances.
Dancing With the Stars competition format
The scores from judges are combined with audience votes, and the couple with the lowest combined score faces elimination each week. This elimination process continues until the finale, where one winning couple is crowned and awarded the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. With a clear understanding of the Dancing With the Stars mechanics, let’s delve into the earnings of the professional dancers and explore just how much do dancing with the stars pros make per episode.
Decoding Dancing With the Stars Contestant Salaries
Dancing With the Stars contestants earnings
While the focus here is on the pros, it’s interesting to briefly touch upon celebrity contestant earnings to provide context within the show’s financial ecosystem. Dancing With the Stars contestants reportedly start with a base salary of $125,000, according to Variety. This initial fee covers their rehearsal period, which involves approximately 20 hours of weekly practice in the weeks leading up to the season premiere, and their participation in the first two weeks of the live shows.
However, the earning potential for celebrities increases significantly as they progress in the competition. For each subsequent pair of weeks they remain on the show after the initial two, their salaries receive a boost. Reaching weeks three and four adds an extra $10,000 per week to their earnings. Contestants who make it to week five receive a $15,000 weekly bonus. For weeks six and seven, the weekly bonus jumps to $20,000. Finally, those who endure to weeks eight and nine enjoy an impressive $30,000 increase per week.
For celebrities fortunate enough to reach the semi-finals and the grand finale, reports suggest a substantial bonus of $50,000. Accumulating these weekly bonuses, a contestant could potentially earn over $360,000, contingent on the season’s length. However, a Variety report indicated that, as of 2020, the maximum earning cap for a contestant throughout the entire competition was set at $295,000.
Exploring the Episode Paychecks of Dancing With the Stars Pros
Dancing With the Stars pros salary per episode
Now, turning our attention to the core question: how much do dancing with the stars pros make per episode? While official salary figures for Dancing With the Stars professionals, celebrities, and judges are not publicly available, insights from Us Weekly in 2022 offer a glimpse into pro dancer compensation. According to their report, newly joining professional dancers on the show start at around $1,200 per episode.
The crucial factor influencing a pro dancer’s salary is their tenure on the show. Pros who become mainstays of the series and return season after season see their per-episode earnings increase significantly. Veteran professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars can command closer to $5,000 per episode. This escalating pay scale means that a seasoned pro participating throughout a full season could potentially amass a total salary in the vicinity of $100,000.
In 2014, Amy Purdy, a former contestant, shared with The LA Times a perspective on the demanding nature of the show, highlighting the dedication of everyone involved, including the professional dancers. “I know how hard everyone on the cast is working. This show is no joke. The other day someone asked me what I do on my off days. My off days??? There are no off days,” she stated.
Purdy elaborated on the relentless schedule: “Everyone is dancing every day, building right up until Mondays/show days, when you arrive on the set at about 7 a.m. and you are there all day and all night. Then last night we had dance practice after the show until midnight. Then we all start our routines for next week today. It’s exhausting, but it’s also a total blast.”
In conclusion, while the exact figures remain under wraps, it’s evident that Dancing With the Stars pros make a respectable income, especially those who have established themselves on the show over multiple seasons. Their earnings reflect not only their dancing expertise but also the immense time commitment and grueling schedules demanded by the production.
