Laurie Hernandez Dances Perfect Freestyle During the FINALE - Dancing With The Stars -
Dancing with the Stars is an American dance competition
television series that premiered on June 1, 2005, on ABC. The show is the
American version of the British television series Strictly Come Dancing. The
show is hosted by Tom Bergeron, alongside Erin Andrews, who became co-host in
season 18. Lisa Canning was co-host in season 1, Samantha Harris co-hosted
seasons 2 through 9and Brooke Burke-Charvet in seasons 10 through 17The series
has been renewed through season 23 as of March 3, 2016.
The format of the show consists of a celebrity paired with a
professional dancer. Each couple performs predetermined dances and competes
against the others for judges' points and audience votes. The couple receiving
the lowest combined total of judges' points and audience votes is eliminated
each week until only the champion dance pair remains.
Season twenty-three of Dancing with the Stars premiered on
September 12, 2016, on the ABC network.
On November 22, 2016, Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and
Valentin Chmerkovskiy were announced the winner; IndyCar driver James
Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess placed second and retired NFL player Calvin
Johnson, Jr. and Lindsay Arnold placed third. At age 16, Hernandez is currently
the youngest winner of the show, surpassing Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson
(season 8) and Bindi Irwin (season 21), who were 17 at the time of their win.
She also tied with Irwin for most perfect scores in a season with 8. This also
marks Chmerkovskiy's second win as a pro.
Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews return as hosts, and Carrie
Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli return as judges. On August 26, 2016,
it was reported that Julianne Hough would return to the show as a judge
following a hiatus. Due to a personal tragedy involving her boyfriend, Erin
Andrews took a week off from her co-hosting duties; former pro Kym
Johnson-Herjavec filled in during week 3 Tuesday's results show. On October 17,
Pitbull took over Len Goodman's position as a guest judge for week 6. On
November 7, Idina Menzel took over for Goodman as a guest judge for week 9.
