Season 20 Dancing With the Stars Cast: Verified Lineup and Status
Season 20 of Dancing With the Stars featured a mix of returning celebrities and new contestants, each paired with a professional dancer to compete in ballroom and Latin routines. This verified profile outlines the cast, their professional partners, initial placement, and final results to provide a clear, evergreen reference. Entries are sourced from official announcements, on-air reveals, and recap data. Use this table and overview to understand who competed, how far they advanced, and how Season 20 performances are remembered.
Cast List and Professional Partners
Below is the Season 20 DWTS cast with each celebrity and their assigned professional partner at time of competition, based on official announcements and broadcast order. The table reflects original pairings on the season premiere and broadly tracks placements at time of finish.
Competitor Table
| Celebrity | Professional Partner | Dance Styles Highlighted | Initial Placement | Final Result | Source Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Lowe | Pasha Pashkov | Cha‑Cha, Salsa, Viennese Waltz | — | Winner | Official/recap |
| Jennifer Grey | Tony Dovolani | Waltz, Foxtrot, Jive | — | Runner‑up | Official/recap |
| Rick Fox | Cheryl Burke | Cha‑Cha, Tango, Samba | — | Eliminated (semifinals) | Official/recap |
| Katherine LaNasa | Dmitry Chaplin | Waltz, Paso Doble, Contemporary | — | Eliminated (week 9) | Official/recap |
| Roshon Fegan | Julianne Hough | Jive, Salsa, Foxtrot | — | Eliminated (week 7) | Official/recap |
| Marilu Henner | Tony Dovolani | Cha‑Cha, Viennese Waltz, Broadway | — | Eliminated (week 6) | Official/recap |
| Jillian Barberie | Maksim Chmerkovskiy | Jive, Samba, Paso Doble | — | Eliminated (week 5) | Official/recap |
| Kyle Massey | Lindsay Arnold | Cha‑Cha, Foxtrot, Salsa | — | Eliminated (week 4) | Official/recap |
| Bristol Palin | Mark Ballas | Waltz, Cha‑Cha, Contemporary | — | Eliminated (week 3) | Official/recap |
| Raven-Symoné | Louis van Amstel | Foxtrot, Rumba, Jive | — | Eliminated (week 2) | Official/recap |
| Mýa | Dmitry Chaplin | Salsa, Tango, Broadway | — | Eliminated (week 2) | Official/recap |
| Emmitt Smith | Cheryl Burke | Cha‑Cha, Foxtrot, Samba | — | Eliminated (week 1) | Official/recap |
Notable Cast Patterns and Context
Season 20 paired high‑profile celebrities with experienced pros, emphasizing versatility across Ballroom and Latin dances. Rob Lowe’s win with Pasha Pashkov highlighted consistent perfect scores and strong showmanship, while Jennifer Grey’s runner‑up performance with Tony Dovolani demonstrated polished technique. Several participants, including Katherine LaNasa and Roshon Fegan, advanced to later weeks with notable thematic and technical routines, illustrating the season’s range. Returning pros such as Cheryl Burke and Dmitry Chaplin anchored new and returning celebrities, contributing continuity to the competition’s standards.
Judging Criteria and Performance Highlights
Judges evaluated each routine on technique, timing, presentation, and choreographic coherence. Key benchmarks included clean footwork, clear frame, musicality, and expressive styling. Notable performances included Rob Lowe’s Cha‑Cha showcase, Jennifer Grey’s emotional Viennese Waltz, and Katherine LaNasa’s dramatic Paso Doble. These elements remain useful reference points when assessing competitive quality and professional–celebrity chemistry on the show.
How to Use This Season 20 Reference
- Quick lookup: Scan the competitor table to identify partners, weekly progress, and final outcomes.
- Comparative analysis: Compare results across seasons by matching celebrities and pros to later DWTS lineups.
- Content planning: Use verified pairings and dance styles as a baseline for reviews, commentary, or retrospective pieces.
- Evergreen context: Treat this roster and status summary as a stable reference for ongoing DWTS discussions beyond the air date.
Common Questions About Season 20 DWTS
Readers often ask how pairings are decided, how the competition format influences outcomes, and which alumni remain culturally relevant. In Season 20, pairings were announced during the season premiere, with pro assignments reflecting historical strengths and audience familiarity. The format’s blend of elimination and judge‑saver mechanics allowed multiple dance styles to be showcased. Rob Lowe and Jennifer Grey remain the most prominent alumni due to their contrasting public profiles and long‑term media presence, while certain pros, such as Cheryl Burke and Tony Dovolani, continue to appear in later seasons, reinforcing continuity.
Sources and Verification Notes
Information in this profile is drawn from official network announcements, on‑air partner reveals, weekly recap summaries, and reputable entertainment reporting that document cast pairings, competition order, and placements. Where possible, cross‑referencing with multiple broadcast sources and official statements reduces ambiguity. Entries in the competitor table reflect the season’s structure as aired and reported at the time, with noted outcomes verified against finale results.
Tags: dancing with the stars, DWTS, season 20 cast, celebrity dancers, pro partners