Dancing With the Stars celebrates its legacy as Hollywood’s longest-running dance competition

Dancing With the Stars commemorated its 20th anniversary on November 11, 2025, with a special episode during its 34th season.

The celebration turned the clock back with stars and pros from various seasons taking a trip down memory lane. Tom Bergeron, the original host, was a guest judge for the episode.

The celebration show had the original six professionals dancing their hearts out, a tribute to the people connected with the show who have gone, and a "relay round" with former champions dancing with the current contestants.

The episode also featured the show’s past and the record-breaking achievements made along the way.

Celebrating two decades of Dancing With the Stars

Early milestones and record achievements

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ first ever season of Dancing With the Stars in 2005 saw Kelly Monaco and her professional partner, Alec Mazo being the very first recipients of the Mirrorball Trophy.

After getting a low score in the premiere week, Monaco went on to the competition and eventually took the first place. Emmitt Smith was the first NFL player to win the show in 2006, together with Cheryl Burke.

After Smith's triumph, several NFL players have appeared on the show, and some of them like Hines Ward in 2011, Donald Driver in 2012, and Rashad Jennings in 2017 have gone on to win it.

Amber Riley was the first African-American female to win the competition in 2013 by scoring a perfect score on her final dance with the professional partner Derek Hough.

Amy Purdy, the Paralympic snowboarder and first double amputee contestant, was the runner-up with Hough in ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌2014.

Historical firsts and inclusivity

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ series has been a chronicle of milestones for the show. In 2016, Nyle DiMarco, a deaf person, won season 22 with Peta Murgatroyd, which is the very first time a deaf dancer became the winner of the competition.

Season 30 in 2021 was the first to have a same-sex pairing, with JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson becoming runners-up.

The season also had the first NBA player to win the Mirrorball Trophy, Iman Shumpert with professional partner Daniella Karagach.

In 2022, the very long-time head judge Len Goodman retired after 31 seasons and after his passing in 2023, the Mirrorball Trophy was named the Len Goodman Mirrorball ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Trophy.

Recent developments and season 34 highlights

The new season of Dancing With the Stars kicked off on September 16 2025 with a thrilling lineup of Olympian gymnast Jordan Chiles, nature expert Robert Irwin, and social media stars Dylan Efron and Alix Earle.

The episode which celebrated the 20 years of the program was characterized by an extraordinary freestyle segment in which the stars performed exclusives of their routines drawn from the past of the show.

The judges awarded a total of four perfect scores, one of which went to Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, who danced a tribute to the 2015 Bindi Irwin performance, which was a definite influence on the audience.

The relay round was about the battle of six pairs of previous winners – Apolo Ohno, Rashad Jennings, Rumer Willis, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Xochitl Gomez, and Joey Graziadei.

Each pair of dancers was given extra points for the performances that they did with the returning champions.

The 34th season is still running and is broadcast live every Tuesday at 8 pm ET on ABC. It is also available on Disney+ or Hulu the day after it is broadcast.

The three judges are Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. Throughout the show's 34 seasons, there have been 51 pros, the most frequent among them being Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, and the Chmerkovskiy brothers.

More than 400 celebs have participated so far, they have come from all walks of life: actors, athletes, singers, and social media ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌influencers.

Stay tuned for more updates.