7 Rules You Didn’t Know ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Contestants Must Follow

Dancing with the Stars contestants have described the opportunity as the experience of a lifetime — but there are plenty of rules they have to follow as they compete for the coveted Mirrorball trophy.

Since premiering in 2005, Olympic athletes, TV stars, internet personalities and singers have stepped into the ballroom to participate in the ABC reality dance competition show.

Now in the midst of its 34th season, a fresh batch of stars — including Dylan Efron, Robert Irwin, Jordan Chiles, Alix Earle and Hilaria Baldwin — have taken on the challenge, hoping to be transformed into ballroom dancers by their professional partners.

Every Tuesday night, the stars compete in a live show where they receive feedback and scores from the panel of judges, including Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough. As viewers know, the judges base their scores on a number of factors, including technique and performance, and can deduct points if performers break any golden dance rules.

In November 2024, however, pro Ezra Sosa confirmed on TikTok that “the rules have gotten looser and looser and each year,” after a fan pointed out that there was a time on the show when couples were not allowed to break hold in the middle of a quickstep. “Back than [sic] it wasn’t ok but now it is,” he wrote.

But, there are plenty of other guidelines outside of choreography as well. Here are seven rules Dancing with the Stars contestants must follow during their time on the competition show.

Stars have to keep their casting a secret

After stars learn they’ve been cast on Dancing with the Stars, they are required to keep the news a secret. If they step out to attend practices during that period, they typically wear a disguise or shield to avoid being seen by the public.

In recent years, the full cast has been announced on Good Morning America a few weeks ahead of the season premiere.

They can’t choose their partners

While it’s fun to see friendships form between pros and their celebrity partners, contestants don’t get to choose their partner.

“We [decide] 100 percent,” talent co-executive producer Deena Katz told Glamour in 2015. “There are some celebs that have wishes, and we always say we can’t guarantee it. That’s why we meet all the celebrities and know all the dancers because some celebs think they know better.”

She added, “We are never ever going to try to pair people that we think won’t get along. We always want the best pairing because we know them so well.”

So how do they get chosen? There are a number of factors, as pro Mark Ballas told E! News in September 2015.

“They pair us on height and size, so it feels comfortable for the women and vice versa for the women when they’re dancing,” he said. “They also try and make us compatible based on personality, and what they think will work well.”

He added, “Each one of the pro dancers has a different way of teaching, choreographing, and also just different personalities, as well as time-stamps on patience. They kind of try to pair us accordingly.”

However, season 33 winner Joey Graziadei, who was partnered with Jenna Johnson, shared during a September 2024 appearance on the Almost Famous podcast that he was able to make a general request when he signed up for the show, which came a few months after he got engaged to his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, on season 28 of The Bachelor.

“I wanted to be in a situation where I was comfortable that I didn’t have to worry about a lot of this noise. So, I asked when I got on the show to be paired with someone that was in a successful and healthy relationship,” he said. “I didn’t want there to be any chance of noise on this because I know that comes with the show and the territory sometimes.”

Every contestant has a different practice schedule

How much rehearsal does it take to turn these celebrities into ballroom dancers? Well, it’s different for everyone, as schedules vary and evolve throughout the season as needed.

For some, that might mean showing up to the studio every day. In April 2014, season 18 contestant Paralympian Amy Purdy told the Los Angeles Times that “there are no off days.”

“It’s exhausting, but it’s also a total blast,” she said.

Stars use the show’s hair and makeup artists

Stars get glammed up for the show, but as Katz told Glamour in 2015, their hair and makeup has to be done by the show’s team, just as it would be for a scripted TV series.

“Women have the biggest fear [about makeup on the show], and it’s something we can’t negotiate. We are so specific on what we do,” she said. “The hair and makeup is all done for them.”

Katz continued, “But women have had this fear about [wanting] to have their own hair and makeup artists, but you can’t have that here.”

Contestants can’t wear their costumes until show day

Have you ever wondered what goes into creating the sparkling costumes each week? Well, it’s a collaborative process between the costume designers in the wardrobe team and the pairs. But, given that they are custom-made each week, there isn’t much time to practice the routine in them.

Costume designer Steven Lee told TV Insider in April 2017 that the pros and celebs typically wear their costumes for the first time “two hours before the show.”

Sometimes, the costume designers are working right up until showtime.

“Last season, Gleb Savchenko stepped on [his season 23 partner] Jana Kramer’s skirt during dress rehearsal and he absolutely destroyed it—it ripped completely in half,” costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner recalled. “We had to make a completely new skirt right before the show!”

Music (and themes!) are a collaborative process

While there are certain weeks in which the stars get to choose which songs to dance to, it’s all a collaborative process between the show’s creative team and the pair.

As seen throughout the season, stars might get to choose a song meaningful to them for a themed episode like Dedication Night, but the decision must be made with the behind-the-scenes team.

Contestants shouldn’t wear logos to rehearsal

As former executive producer Joe Sungkur told Glamour in 2015, contestants are not supposed to wear logos in rehearsal.

“I was at a couple of [meetings] when Master P threatened to leave,” Sungkur said. “He wanted to wear this jacket with a logo on it and threatened to leave because of it, and I was like, ‘OK, you can wear the jacket!’ ”

While the rule isn’t strictly mandated, it is a standard concept within the entertainment industry to avoid any promotion without consent.