The season 34 champion promises he strove to “Irwinify” the spinoff as host, while judge Ballas says the franchise keeps “finding ways to shock me.”

Robert Irwin and Mark Ballas take us down under for ‘adrenaline rush’ of *Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro *(exclusive)

The season 34 champion promises he strove to "Irwinify" the spinoff as host, while judge Ballas says the franchise keeps "finding ways to shock me."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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May 14, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET

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Robert Irwin with the cast of 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro'. Credit:

Disney/Vince Valitutti

- Robert Irwin and Mark Ballas take EW inside *Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro*, the exciting new chapter in the enduringly popular franchise's ever-evolving saga.

- New host Irwin gushes about taking the spinoff's 12 hopefuls "out of their element," down to his native Australia, and thrusting them into "a world of pure dance."

- Longtime pro Mark Ballas, who stepped up to judge alongside his legendary mother, Shirley Ballas, promises viewers a glimpse of "the grit, the determination, the challenges of what it is to be a pro."

A new era of dance is upon us, and Robert Irwin and Mark Ballas can hardly wait.

"You know for three months, all I did was talk about how awesome Australia is," the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed winner of *Dancing With the Stars** *season 34 tells ** in his characteristically animated tone, before launching into a playful self-impression: "'Oh, you guys should all come visit one day.' And I got to do that. I got to bring them."

Before the ratings juggernaut can return for season 35 (with *Summer House* star Ciara Miller and *The Traitors*' Maura Higgins in tow), it's launching a brand new spinoff, set down under. *Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro* promises a thrilling new twist on classic *DWTS *gameplay: Rather than a clutch of celebrities and ballroom pros vying for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball, *The Next Pro *has assembled 12 young ballroom aces to compete for a permanent position in the anchor series' pro cast.

*DWTS *mainstay Ballas, who has quickstepped and tangoed his way to three wins as a pro partner, joins Irwin on the *Next Pro* as a judge. "If you've watched [*Dancing With the Stars*] you know our creative team is brilliant," he teases. "I always say there's not a lot that shocks me anymore after doing the show for 21 seasons. But somehow, they keep coming up with these amazing creative ideas. They keep finding ways to shock me."

Mark Ballas, Shirley Ballas, and Derek Hough on 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro'.

Disney/Vince Valitutti

Though they come to *The Next Pro *with very different *DWTS *legacies, both Irwin and Ballas tell EW they were surprised by the invitation to anchor the franchise's latest evolution.

"I was first approached about this show while I was still in dance mode. I mean, I was fully immersed in that *Dancing With the Stars* world when these conversations first started happening," Irwin says. The 22-year-old wildlife conservationist, zookeeper at the famed Australia Zoo, and son of outback icon Steve Irwin crossed the season 34 finish line first back in December. In a matter of months, he'd welcomed the production to his home country, calling on his experience co-hosting *I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here *to guide him in his new role hosting *The Next Pro*.

"I never expected it to be such a intrinsic part of my family, and the Irwin family story," he says, referencing his sister, Bindi's, competition win in 2015. Breaking into a smile, Irwin reasons, "I mean, we're wildlife conservationists!"

Ballas was "extremely grateful" to be trusted with this "huge responsibility." But he's been living and breathing dance since taking his first breath. His mother, the esteemed Shirley Ballas, racked up so many accomplishments during her tenure as a professional dancer that she earned the honorific "The Queen of Latin." When Len Goodman stepped down as a judge on the British *DWTS *progenitor *Strictly Come Dancing* in 2017, Shirley was tapped to take over. She was also Mark's first teacher, and an important coach for current *DWTS *judge and six-time winner Derek Hough and his sister, current co-host and two-time winner Julianne Hough.

Why does all this matter? Shirley is officially joining the *DWTS *fold as her son's co-judge on *The Next Pro*.

'Dancing With the Stars' season 35: Here's everything we know so far

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"To be alongside my mother, who is one of the elite in her field, and has been for the last 50 years, is a pleasure," Ballas gushes. "I always say, my whole time on *Dancing With the Stars*, whenever I wanted a really brutal, straightforward, honest opinion on, like, 'How was this dance? Was this fair?'... It's my mom that I call."

Ballas continues, "Just because she's my mother first and foremost, at the end of the day, she's the best at what she does for a reason. She doesn't sugarcoat or any of that." It's that dynamic that Ballas is excited to bring to *The Next Pro*'s judging panel. "Even though she was my coach and trainer, and is who she is in her field, we still look at things through a different lens sometimes."

Where the younger Ballas draws on his experience "as a pro on the show for so long — I know what it's like to have celebrities who have big personalities or more quiet personalities, and how to adapt a routine to their personality, how to make song selections that feel appropriate," the elder Ballas is "one of the best technicians ever in this field. So she's looking for, 'Do you have a fundamental base in ballroom and Latin knowledge?' And there's no one that has more knowledge than her in that area."

The contestants of 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro'.

Disney/Vince Valitutti

Though he's new to the world of dance, Irwin calls his season 34 run "a life-changing experience." Why? "It's a dance show, but it's so much more than that. I feel like dance is just the vehicle to tell really important stories, really personal stories," he says. Stories like his memorable tribute to his father, winning him the first perfect score of season 34.

*The Next Pro *is distinctly infused with that Irwin spirit. In fact, Robert coined a term to describe it. "It was fun, because filming it so close to my home — I don't want to give away too much, but there was some opportunity to Irwinify this show a little bit. Maybe bring in some animals, have a little bit of fun like that," he says.

Irwin comes alive when talking about the radical choice to relocate the series long shot in the Los Angeles area to Australia. "We needed a place where 12 incredible dancers, 12 of the best dancers on earth, the biggest and brightest, up-and-comers [could] come together to all live together, to train together, to really create talent that's forged in the fire of adrenaline — the excitement, and the highs and lows of what dancing is all about."

He explains, "What better place to do that than Australia? To take people out of their element, out of America, to take people all into one place where they can all really have this immersive experience, where they're completely disconnected from reality... and are just in this bubble, in this world of pure dance."

Mark Ballas, Shirley Ballas, Derek Hough, and Robert Irwin on 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro'.

Disney/Vince Valitutti

Having performed for so many years in front of the all-seeing *Dancing With the Eyes *camera, Ballas is excited to take viewers behind the scenes to see how the sausage is really made. "I don't think we always see the grit, the determination, the challenges of what it is to be a pro. It's one thing to be a great dancer, a great executor of choreography. But to be a pro on the show, there's a lot of things you have to do between creativity, choreography, being a friend, being a mentor and staying on a schedule, pivoting on a dime."

As a result, viewers may not have a grasp on "how hard that is sometimes to bring a performance through a camera." Not yet, at least. Ballas sums this spinoff up this way: "We're not looking for a celebrity, we're looking for a professional."

Irwin, meanwhile, is already cheerleading the new cast. "The dancers that are here competing, you'll recognize some of them. First of all, we have a Sosa. I mean we literally have Stephanie Sosa who's part of the show, and she's of course Ezra Sosa's sister. There are people who have been involved with the troupe, people who have worked with some of the pros on the show in some different ways, people who are big fans of *Dancing with the Stars*, who sort of grew up watching it, and there are people who don't have a ballroom background."

It's a mixed bag, and with the third spot on the judging panel reserved for a rotation of *DWTS *pros, who excels and for how long is anyone's guess. "It doesn't matter if you are a legend of the ballroom. That doesn't mean you're going to be a great pro. There are a very particular set of skills, and you have to be good at absolutely all of them. We're looking for the ultimate all-arounder," Irwin says. He flashes a knowing smirk before adding, "You'll watch the show and you'll see — there was only ever going to be one."

*Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro *premieres on July 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the following day on Hulu.

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