“Dancing with the Stars” took the social media world by storm in 2024 because of its star-studded cast that played to the favor of younger viewers. Being a long-time fan myself, it was fun to see my favorite dancers finally get the hype they deserve.

If you are unfamiliar with “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS), it is a reality competition show where “stars” or celebrities are paired up with a professional dancer trained primarily in ballroom styles, latin, contemporary and jazz, and compete to take home the Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy. While the disco ball trophy and bragging rights come with the title, the stars also get publicity from putting on an entertaining show and showing their personality.

While the show is centered mostly around the celebrities that brave the ballroom, the professionals that become the stars’ partners have started to also come into the public eye and show their personalities as well.

Part of why the show has stayed consistently popular throughout its 33 seasons is audience interaction. Not only are the dancing pairs judged by ballroom royalty throughout the 12-week season, but the public also has a big say in what happens. Each week viewers can tune in to vote for their favorite couple, which can heavily sway who gets kicked off and who stays.

In this digital age, the professionals have started taking to social media to win over their hearts and hopefully help their chances of making it to the end of the competition, even if they get paired up with a celeb with two left feet.

Loyal watchers of the show started to want more of these lovable dancers and the “DWTS Tour” was born.

The first tour was produced by the show in 2007 and featured the celebrities of that season as well as their partners and more professionals in the company. After two more successful years of touring in 2008 and 2009, the show took a break from touring before starting back up again in 2015.

Since 2015, the tour has been a hit in America every year, only taking a year off in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s tour has seen the most sold-out shows ever with the cast performing in over 70 shows.

I had the opportunity to attend the “Dancing with the Stars: Live” 2025 tour at Stephens Auditorium in Ames earlier this month. Using graphics and props on the stage, the nine professional dancers who are part of this year’s cast put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. Not to mention, the quick changes were insane.

Not only did I get to watch some of my favorite dancers, but the show also included fun moments of audience interaction from answering questions, pulling crowd members on stage, funny bits and celebrity appearances. While the stars from this past season are not at every single stop on the tour, Ames got to see special guests Stephen Nedoroscik and Chandler Kinney.

I had such a fun experience and have become even more invested in the DWTS world. I would highly recommend the show to any super fan and knew I had to take advantage of the first time the tour had a stop in Iowa.

I will sadly now have to get my DWTS fix off of TikTok content, but I for one can’t wait until this fall’s season. Bring on Season 34!