Adele Zaikman was crowned the winner of the first season of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. The finale tested finalists on two high-pressure routines with celebrity alumni and leaves one confirmed new pro for DWTS Season 35.
Finalists performed two rounds: a chosen-style routine (jive, Viennese waltz, or samba) and a freestyle with celebrity DWTS alumni partners.
Showrunner Conrad Green said Zaikman will need to learn the non-dance parts of being a DWTS pro, including working with celebrities and handling public attention.
# Quick summary Adele Zaikman won the first season of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. The finale narrowed three finalists — Selena Hamilton, AJ Pritchard, and Adele Zaikman — down to one dancer who will become a professional partner on Dancing With the Stars Season 35.
# How the finale worked Finalists faced two rounds of competition in the finale. First they each performed a routine in a dance style they chose: Selena picked the jive, AJ selected the Viennese waltz, and Adele chose the samba. Each finalist then closed with a freestyle, matching the structure of a typical DWTS season finale.
To mirror the show they're joining, each finalist was paired with a DWTS alumnus who had performed strongly on the main show: Selena danced with Adam Rippon (Season 26 winner), AJ danced with Charli D'Amelio (Season 31 winner), and Adele danced with Nev Schulman (Season 29 runner-up). The celebrity partners added pressure and required the finalists to coach and perform with someone who isn't a professional dancer.
# Judges, critiques, and notable moments
# Why Adele won Executive producer Conrad Green summarized the decision: Zaikman was the most consistent performer across the competition. Green described her as "solid" and "magnetic," highlighting that she never "dropped the ball" and showed both technical knowledge and star quality.
Green also framed the win as both an achievement and a beginning. While Zaikman brings strong dance credentials to DWTS, Green emphasized she still needs to learn how to manage celebrities, navigate sudden public attention, and deal with social media backlash that comes with being a pro on the main show.
# What this means for DWTS Season 35
Producers said they view the Next Pro contestants as part of the extended DWTS family and left open the possibility of limited involvement for some of them in the future, while keeping the winner's position separate.
# Bottom line The Next Pro finale confirmed one clear outcome: Adele Zaikman will enter DWTS Season 35 as a professional partner. The decision hinged on consistent performance and stage charisma, and producers expect she'll adapt to the broader responsibilities of life as a DWTS pro once the season begins.
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