A Trip Through Troupe – Season 22

A Quick Look at DWTS’

Newest Troupe Members

for Season 22!

DWTS Season 22's Troupe Members, (L-R:)
Kiril Kulish, Hayley Erbert, Shannon Holtzapffel,  
Dennis Jauch, Jenna Johnson, and Alan Bersten

Season after sequin-bedecked Season, Dancing With The Stars’ beloved Troupe Members can always be relied on to spice up its already fantastic Weekly shows or beef up a Celeb’s Routine in all the right ways!

This Season, DWTS’ endeared Troupe Alum Brittany Cherry seems to have officially danced away from the Ballroom (for now at least!); and the sensational Sasha Farber has once again been “Bumped Up” to the well-deserved status of “Pro” (!!), an exciting event which has only ever taken place one time in the past when, in Season 17, Sasha was paired up with Nicole “Snooki” LaValle as a first-time, newly instated Pro.

The ensuing partnership resulted in a rather successful turn around the show’s Ballroom Dance Floor, the duo having been the 5^th Couple to be Eliminated that Season, landing them in 8^th Place overall!

Given the state of the Troupe’s now lacking ranks, brought about by its greatly missed absentees, it seems that DWTS has officially deemed this a most appropriate time to introduce some new faces (and arms, and legs, and feet!) into its all-important Dancing Troupe! …

Dennis Jauch:

This German Dancer is also a well-known Choreographer, and has - perhaps most notably - won his own native Country’s version of So you Think You Can Dance in 2010.

Shannon Holtzapffel:

A Dutch native (according to buddytv.com) and a Dancer who was featured on Michael Jackson’s hit This Is It Tour, Shannon is also known for his Choreographical work on Australia’s version of So You Think You Can Dance, during the show’s first 2 Seasons, and also reappeared as a Judge for the show’s Final Season (S04) in 2014.

In addition, Shannon is credited as having been a Dancer in Singer/Actress Jennifer Lopez’s TV Movie Documentary, Dance Again (2014), as well as having been in the Television Series, A Step Away (2013), and in True Blood (2012), playing the part of, what else, but a Dancer!

Kiril Kulish:

A Singer, Dancer and Actor, this California-born 22-year-old’s ancestry hails from the Ukraine (according to Wikipedia) and speaks Ukrainian and Russian, as well as English.

Having studied the Art of Ballet from the age of 5, and Ballroom from the age of 8, Kiril is perhaps best known for being one of the 3 boys cast to play the title role of Billy in Broadway’s smash Production, Billy Elliott: The Musical (2008).

In the year 2009, Kiril, along with the 2 other boys who had been cast in the Star part of Billy (David Alvarez and Trent Kowalik), received the highly distinguished Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical!

Well, an interesting and International casting, to say the least; and, while Dancing With The Stars, ABC, and Disney certainly have a pretty great track record for introducing its audiences to someone or something entirely new and then proceeding right along into making its audiences come to know and, yes, in most cases, even love that someone or something, this seems like a good time to mention that, personally, I’ve never been much for German Dancers … “Guten tag Hop clop”, anyone? 

Joining up with the Glitter Dome’s already well-known and adored faces of Jenna Johnson, Alan Bersten, and Hayley Erbert, Dennis, Shannon, and Kiril all made a very promising DWTS Debut, taking part in Season 22’s Fabulous Premier; and, I am very excited to find out if, and how much, these three will continue to grow on me!