Several Dancing With the Stars pro dancers began their journey in the ballroom in the troupe.

The hit dance competition first introduced its troupe during 2011’s season 12, featuring a selection of performers who didn’t have a celebrity partner but still appeared in group numbers and their own “bumpers” between competitive routines.

“When I first started [in the] troupe, I never had professional ballroom training before,” Britt Stewart said on “The Squeeze” podcast in October 2025. “I was trained in ballet and jazz and contemporary and tap.I was not expecting to get a call from Dancing With the Stars for that one reason.”

Stewart, however, had worked with choreographer Mandy Moore on one of Derek Hough’s outside dance gigs that piqued Moore’s attention. (Moore often crafts pro numbers,

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