June 1st, 2005, that is the day the world was introduced to the new reality competition show Dancing With The Stars where celebrities would compete with professional dancers to try and become the best dancer and win something called the mirrorball trophy. The first season aired in the summer of 2005 while the second season started airing in the winter of 2006, but starting on September 12th, 2006 the viewers were treated to two seasons each year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Now 27 seasons later and the show is getting its first ever companion show to premiere this fall.

 Dancing With The Stars: Juniors is similar to the original show, but differs in the fact that it will take child stars and pair them with a junior pro who will also be mentored by a professional dancer from the main companion show to have their own shot at winning the coveted mirrorball trophy. Among the child stars competing are Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson best known for being on Toddlers and Tiaras when she was younger, Tripp Johnston, the son of Bristol Palin and grandson of Sarah Palin, Mandla Morris, the son of Stevie Wonder, Sophia Pippen, the daughter of Scottie Pippen, and Jason Maybaum, star on Raven’s Home, to name a few.

Although Dancing With The Stars will still air on Monday nights, bringing the companion show to the line-up, allows for something new and fun for viewers to watch and if they like the original show, I’m sure they would also like the junior version. Now viewers can have two nights of competition to watch instead of just one!

 Dancing With The Stars: Juniors will be hosted by Dancing With The Stars Season 25 winner, Jordan Fisher alongside third place winner of the same season, Frankie Muniz. The judges will consist of professional choreographer, Mandy Moore, professional dancer on the companion show, Valentin “Val” Chmerkovskiy, and Olympic figure skater and Season 26 winner, Adam Rippon.

If you love any sort of dancing competition show like I do, I would watch these stars in action because I’m sure it will amaze you. Last night on the second night of the Dancing With The Stars season 27 premiere, I got to watch the junior pros dance for the first time and I was so impressed by the way these young kids could dance. While I recognized a few of the junior pros from So You Think You Can Dance : The Next Generation, they did not fail to amaze me.  I wish I could accomplish what they have accomplished at such a young age.

 Although Dancing With The Stars: Juniors will not be live like its companion show, the show will still follow the same format with one episode every week until there is one child star and one junior pro leaving with the mirrorball trophy during the finale. The show was filmed this past August, meaning the cast already know the outcome. Viewers though, will still be left in suspense until finale night where we will find out which team takes home the prize.

I am a big fan of the original Dancing With The Stars, so I am very excited to see how these child stars can live up to the adult celebrities that are on the original show.  I am excited to see how the child stars cope with the pressure of something they have never done before.

This is an experience that the stars will never forget so if you are a fan of Dancing With The Stars like myself, and want to see these juniors in action and see if they can live up to the expectations that the viewers have based off of the companion show, be sure to catch the premiere of Dancing With The Stars: Juniors on October 7th at 8/7c on ABC. If you are a fan of reality dancing competitions like myself, I think this will be something that you definitely will not want to miss!