You have probably heard of Dancing With The Stars, the hit TV show on ABC which gained popularity this year. Due to Olympic rugby champion, Ilona Maher being a huge social media presence, and Joey Graziadei (The Bachelor 2024) bringing in the Bachelor fans, Dancing With The Stars had its biggest viewing audience this season since 2020. With the show becoming bigger and more relevant this season, the Kings Cast decided to take part in the action, starting a new segment called Dancing With The Kings.
The Cast members chose winter athletes, pep club personnel, and “willing” participants to take part in Dancing With The Kings. The competition was split into two rounds each consisting of seven “pro” cast members and their “star” partners. The pairs had about two weeks to prepare for their performance, the “star” had to choose songs and costumes, and the “pro” choreographed their dance. Six judges were chosen to watch the dances and score the dances out of ten points. The judges included Ms. Karmel, Mr. Gibson, Ms. Burch, Mr. Temme, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Appleton. Round one appeared on season 4 episode 7 of the Kings’ Cast.
First up in round one was junior Jed Frey and cast member Laney Davis. Jed was one of our “willing” participants, stating that the biggest challenge his team faced was “going to the library.” The pair danced to “Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale. Frey stated their dance was inspired by “80’s workout tapes and Zumba.” With a lunge and a leap, Davis landed on Jed’s shoulders, and they scored a total of 44 out of 60 points.
Next up was senior swimmer Maryn Zeck dancing with cast member Nolan Hahn. They chose to dance to “The Sid Shuffle.” When asked if she thought her team would win the competition, Zeck replied “Yes, duh.” Donning their blue and pink glasses and tutus, the pair delivered a very entertaining performance. Their dance consisted of drifting, criss-crossing, jumping, and wiggling. They received a total of 34 points for their performance.
Third, senior basketball star Kolten “K.Y.” Young danced with cast member Lexi Gotshall. Kolten chose the song “Better Place” from Trolls Band Together. When asked his purpose for choosing this song, Young replied, “I just really like Trolls, I watch it every night and the trolls just dancing and singing really resonates with me cause trolls band together.” It is safe to say Kolten thoroughly enjoyed Dancing With The Kings, his favorite part was “just being able to dance because a lot of people can’t dance and some people physically can’t dance so I just want to dance for them.” Kolten and Lexi took us to a “better place” during their dance and they scored 27 out of 60 points.
Next, “Kung Fu Master” Ava Hubner danced with cast member Michael Myers to “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas. Ava said she was most excited to “kick Michael in the face” during their dance. When asked how he felt about his dance, Michael said, “I feel pretty good, I think we got this win in the bag.” Filled to the brim with kung fu tricks, shaking, and wiggling, Ava and Michael’s dance placed second in round one. Their performance earned them 50 out of 60 points.
After Ava and Michael, Nick Park, senior wrestling royalty, danced with cast member Alyiah Reynoso. Nick chose the song “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. Nick shared his favorite part of the process as, “finally getting the dance down and learning it at the very end and having it all come together.” Park states that his dance “has a lot of charm to it, the song has pizzazz and there is a certain flare to it.” Nick’s words rang true when he and Alyiah performed their dance, it was full of pizzazz and was very flamboyant. The pair earned 32 out of 60 points.
Next up, senior basketball stud, Wade Tocco and his sister, cast member Lauren Tocco danced to “Apache” by The Sugarhill Gang. When asked if the sibling dynamic affected their performance in any way, Wade stated, “I got less sleep because Lauren made me practice for five hours.” Wade’s favorite part of the process was “coming to the library in mentor to see all my friends.” With black sweatshirts, grey sweatpants, ball caps, and sunglasses on, the sibling duo delivered an extremely entertaining dance. The Tocco’s placed first in round one with a score of 56 out of 60.
The final pair in round one was everyone’s favorite foreign, Nelson “Nelly” Melin dancing with cast member Kylie Logan. When asked if he thought their team would win, Nelson replied, “Definitely not.” Cast member, Kylie Logan, was in charge of coming up with their dance, and when asked if he felt well prepared for their performance, Nelson replied, “Sadly not.” Nelson may not have been very confident in his dance moves, but he still tried and their dance ended up being very interesting. Kylie and Nelson scored a 28 out of 60 on their dance.
Round two aired the following week on season 4 episode 8 of the Kings’ Cast. First up for round two was pep club princess Harrison Clark dancing with cast member Raegan Mundy. This pair was a fan favorite dancing to “Whip and Nae Nae” by Silento. Many viewers were shocked by Harry’s ability to flawlessly hit the bop, but when asked how his bop was achieved, Clark revealed that the bop was in his blood. “The bop has been passed down in my family for generations dating back to as far as the American Civil War when my great great great Grandpa, Union General Beauregard Clark first hit the bop in the battle of Bull Run. So I guess you could just say it’s in my blood,” Harrison stated. When asked about the challenges he faced in the process, Harry replied, “It would have to be having to hear Gracie Spicer yell about how bad my dance is when we have been practicing, her dance is not that good she just thinks it’s good cause she does cheer.” After facing many challenges, Harry and Raegan gave an extremely enjoyable performance and scored a 40 out of 60.
Following Harry and Raegan was basketball sigma, Trey “Treyson” Johnson dancing with cast member Gracie Spicer. Trey chose to dance to “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice. When asked what his most challenging dance move was, Johnson initially replied, “None of them, I have been doing this for years gang,” but upon further consideration, he decided the most challenging dance move was the backflip. Trey was also asked if he felt like his cast member prepared him well for his performance; he replied, “She was alright, she really struggled with the backflip part though, but other than that, it was alright.” Trey did a fabulous cartwheel to kick off their dance, and the pair ended their dance with a backflip and a pose. They scored 34 points out of 60.
Next was freshman wrestler, Brecken Smith dancing with cast member Maddy Willis. The two danced to “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. To kick off their dance, they recreated Danny Amendola and Witney Carson’s iconic lift that swept the internet from episode 5 of Dancing With The Stars. Brecken states that he and Maddy “have danced before” and “have that chemistry because we’ve known each other for a while.” Brecken and Maddy had many tricks up their sleeves, starting with the lift, a barrel roll in the middle, and ending the dance with the worm. They scored a 49 out of 60, earning first place in round two.
Then, junior basketball player Brennan Deeter danced with cast member Anna Hedrick. Brennan stated that “at first, she [Anna] didn’t really know how to dance, so I had to teach her how to dance, but other than that it was pretty good.” The pair danced to “Get Down On It” by Kool and The Gang. Their dance was inspired by many popular dance moves that have been trending on TikTok. Brennan and Anna scored a 31 out of 60.
Next was Owen “O.C.G.” Cotner-Graves dancing with cast member Alana Fagan to “Blow” by Ke$ha. The pair faced many challenges during the process, one specific challenge being Alana’s knee injury. Owen stated that her injury didn’t affect their performance very much because “Mrs. Scott gave us more time.” Sporting jeans, black shirts, and sunglasses, the pair gave a fun and upbeat performance. Alana and OCG scored a 30 out of 60.
Following OCG and Alana was junior basketball player Aftin Griffin dancing with cast member Cole Rush. The pair danced to “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy. Aftin was feeling very prepared for her performance and was very confident in their chances of winning. They wore white ball caps, baggy grey sweatpants, and black shirts. Cole wore a big gold chain while Aftin wore sunglasses. Cole shocked everyone with his dance moves and the pair placed second in round two with 42 out of 60 points.
The last pair in round two was senior basketball legend Jonny Mack dancing with cast member Lilly Hammond. The two danced to “It’s Tricky” by Run-D.M.C. Their dance was full of elaborate moves that were enjoyable for all viewers. When asked what his favorite part of the process was, Jonny replied with a laugh, “Nothing.” Jonny and Lilly scored 42 out of 60 points.
The winners of round one, Wade and Lauren Tocco, faced off with the winners of round two, Maddy Willis and Brecken Smith in season 4 episode 9 of the Kings’ Cast. The pairs were given a week to practice their dances for the finale. Brecken and Maddy were up first dancing to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Trap Remix).” Once again, their dance was filled with intricate tricks and lifts. The Tocco’s were up next dancing to “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” by Tyler The Creator. Their dance featured the whole Tocco clan along with Dancing With The Kings and Kings’ Cast alumni Trey Johnson as The Grinch. Following the Tocco’s, back by popular demand, was Raegan Mundy and Harrison Clark, the candy cane king, reprising their whip and nae nae to “Jingle Bell Rock (Trap Remix).”
The winners of Dancing With The Kings were… Wade and Lauren Tocco with 72.2% of the votes! The cast and some of the participants had so much fun during this process. Congratulations to Lauren and Wade for taking home the first-ever Dancing With The Kings mirrorball trophy.
