Current Champ Joey Graziadei Will Return for DWTS’ 20th Birthday

Dancing With the Stars is pulling out all the stops for its “20th Birthday Party” episode — and that means many familiar faces will be back in the ballroom.

The Tuesday, November 11, live show will commence with a special opening number choreographed by former pro Derek Hough, who has won the most mirrorball trophies, before taking a seat at the judges table. Hough’s routine will be set to a reimagined version of the iconic DWTS theme song.

The opening routine will feature the current pros — Brandon Armstrong, Rylee Arnold, Mark Ballas, Alan Bersten, Val Chmerkovskiy, Witney Carson, Daniella Karagach, Jenna Johnson, Pasha Pashkov, Jan Ravnik, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa and Britt Stewart — and the four troupe dancers of Hailey Bills, Onye Stevenson, Carter Williams and Jaxon Willard.

The season 34 performers will also be joined by the six OG pros from 2005’s first-ever season: Alec Mazo, Ashly DelGrosso, Jonathan Roberts, Charlotte Jorgensen, Edyta Śliwińska and Louis van Amstel.

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“My most memorable was season nine [with] Kelly Osbourne,” Van Amstel, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly last month, looking back at his ballroom tenure. “That was a journey for the books. That not only affected her, [but] it affected me profoundly. It affected so many people who watch the show. Her weight loss was secondary, but seeing her blossom from the ground up to a princess, and I just love her and her family so much.”

After the showstopping intro, the season 34 couples will perform routines inspired by DWTS finale freestyles of the past two decades. Robert Irwin, for example, and pro partner Carson, 32, will pay homage to his sister Bindi Irwin’s “Footprints in the Sand” dedication to their father, late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. (Bindi, 27, won season 17 with Hough, 40.)

On Friday, November 7, the official DWTS Instagram page revealed that current mirrorball champion Joey Graziadei would make his return to the ballroom. The former Bachelor will team up with influencer Alix Earle for their relay dance.

“Let’s go! ? Season 33 Champ Joey Graziadei is partnering with Alix for the Relay Dance round on Tuesday ✨,” DWTS wrote via Instagram alongside a video of Earle and Graziadei dancing together.

All of the current contestants will be judged by Hough and fellow judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and guest Tom Bergeron.

“It feels really good [to be back], I’m really looking forward to it,” Bergeron, 70, who was the original DWTS host, said on Good Morning America earlier this week. “I think 20 years of any primetime show is amazing. For a show 20 years old to also be having a ratings resurgence as they are, you’re more likely to see a zebra playing the piano. And I really think it’s a credit to the team kind of getting it back to its essence.”

Bergeron and the regular judging panel will also award couples bonus points during a dance relay round. Each celebrity will be paired with a yet-to-be announced former DWTS winner for either a quickstep, Viennese waltz or jive. Whitney Leavitt and dance partner Ballas, 39, are immune from the head-to-head heats after topping the leaderboard last week.

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Of course, it’s also likely that there will be even more surprises in the ballroom come Tuesday.

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

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