DWTS Salaries: Pro Dancers Rake in Big Bucks, But Judges Score Even Bigger
Dancing with the Stars has been on the small screen for a whopping thirty-one seasons.
As you may know, the show features celebrities accompanied by professional dancers as they attempt to dance in front of a panel of judges. Don't be surprised to learn that they are all paid for their appearances on the show.
As we've just seen, there are three groups of contestants: the professional dancers, the stars, and the judges. Each group is paid a different salary. And the disparity in their salaries is great.
The celebrities go through a very rigorous preparation process before Dancing with the Stars begins. They spend more than twenty hours a week training and are generously rewarded for their time and effort.
If we are to believe this Variety report, the stars' starting salary is $125,000 per week during the training period and the first two weeks on the show.
The contestants who make it to weeks 3 and 4 are paid an additional $10000 on top of their weekly salary. Week 5 brings an additional $15000. Another $20,000 is added during the sixth and seventh weeks. The famous Dancing with the Stars contestants get an extra 30000 dollars for weeks 8 and 9. And the semi-finalists and finalists get an additional $50,000 per week.
The professional dancers who accompany the celebrities on their dance journeys are said to be paid $1600, while the Dancing with the Stars regulars are paid up to $5000 per episode. The maximum salary for professional dancers is reportedly around $100,000 for a full season of the show.
The judges of DWTS used to earn $250,000 per season. However, once the show gained popularity, the judges' paychecks rose to $1.2 million per season, according to ReelRundown.
However, these figures have not been officially confirmed by either ABC, which has been broadcasting Dancing with the Stars since its inception in 2005, Disney Plus, which took over the thirty-first season of the show, or its producers. However, the sums are large and definitely worth the hard work that all the contestants put in to prepare for DWTS.