Dancing With The Stars 20th anniversary: Every former pro returning to the ballroom

The 20th anniversary episode of Dancing With the Stars will be special in more than one way. 

Several noted and known faces are making their way to the ballroom once more. 

The audience would be in for a treat with all the spectacular performances planned for the evening. 

The episode will air on November 11, 2025, and will begin with a special opening number choreographed by former professional Derek Hough.

The season will also see the return of many previous pros from the first season of Dancing With the Stars.

Along with the pros, some familiar faces will also be featured during the episode.

Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special: All about the pros from previous season making an appearance 

The anniversary special will commence with a special opening performance choreographed by Derek Hough. 

Hough is known for winning the most mirrorball trophies before presiding as a judge on Dancing With the Stars. 

His choreographed number will be set to a reimagined version of the famous Dancing With the Stars theme song. 

This opening number will feature current pros including Brandon Armstrong, Mark Ballas, Alan Bersten, Val Chmerkovskiy, Witney Carson, Jenna Johnson,  Rylee Arnold, Pasha Pashkov, Jan Ravnik, Daniella Karagach, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa and Britt Stewart 

These pros will be joined by the troupe dancers of Hailey Bills, Onye Stevenson, Carter Williams and Jaxon Willard.

Along with the current pros, the episode will also feature pros from the first season of Dancing With the Stars, which aired in 2005. 

These OG pros include names such as Alec Mazo, Ashly DelGrosso, Jonathan Roberts, Charlotte Jorgensen, Edyta Śliwińska and Louis van Amstel.

Amstel shared his excitement about participating in the anniversary special while talking to US Weekly on October 31, 2025. He said,

“My most memorable was season nine [with] Kelly Osbourne. 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.”

Apart from the original pros from the show, Tom Bergeron is also making an appearance on the Dancing With the Stars anniversary special.

For those unversed, Tom was the original host of Dancing With the Stars. 

He will preside as special judge for the episode.

Tom shared his enthusiasm about joining in the celebration for the anniversary special on Good Morning America:

“It feels really good [to be back], I’m really looking forward to it. 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.”

The show first premiered on June 1, 2005, and on June 1 this year, Dancing With the Stars' official Instagram handle commemorated the occasion with a post.

The post was captioned:

“ It's been 20 years since #DWTS first premiered, and we're thankful for everyone who has been a part of this journey.”

Several pro old and new commented on the post and celebrated the occasion.

Tom Bergeron shared a photo from the inaugural episode on his Instagram story, stating:

“Lisa looked nervous. I looked like I could use a tailor.”

Stay tuned for more such updates.