Like many other “Dancing With the Stars” (DWTS) fans, at 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 16, I sat down to watch the show’s 34th season premiere. I was so excited to see some of my favorite professional dancers (pros) with their new partners and identify the likely stars of the season. I was filled with joy throughout this entire episode, as it kicked off the season with a bang, bringing me back into the DWTS spirit and giving me lots of anticipation for the rest of the season.

The stars of this season are my favorite group of dancers in the past few years, from basketball player Baron Davis to animal activist Elaine Hendrix; there were so many unique professions that made each star’s stories special.

Each season starts with 14 celebrities, or “stars,” who are each paired with a professional dancer. Each week they will perform different themed dances, and one star gets eliminated from the competition each episode of the ten or 11 week season. The elimination is determined by a combination of the three judges’ votes and viewers’ votes that they can send in through text or on the Disney+ website. At the end of the season, a winner is awarded with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, named in honor of the longtime head judge who passed away in 2023.

The premiere had many stand-out first performances, making me even more excited for the weeks to come. Many of the stars have had previous dance experience, making the competition even fiercer than it has been in the past. The celebrities with dance experience include Alix Earle, Hendrix, who previously was a professional dancer, Whitney Leavitt, Jen Affleck, Corey Feldman and Hilaria Baldwin.

While many of the new stars are amazing dancers, what always captivates me when watching DWTS are the professional dancers and the troupe, who perform an opening number each episode. This episode’s opening number was to “Kill the Lights” by Whitney Myer, and was probably my favorite that I’ve seen in my time watching the show. The choreography was dynamic, exciting and the dancing was impeccable.

Out of the 14 new stars, a few really impressed me from their first performance. My current favorites, and people I think everyone should look out for in future episodes, are Jordan Chiles, Robert Irwin, Danielle Fishel and Affleck.

Even before the premiere, I couldn’t wait to see Chiles perform. Because she is a gymnast, she had so much previous artistic talent, and that showed off in her dancing. Her energy is infectious when she dances, and the tricks she and her partner Ezra Sosa are able to do are endless because of her flexibility.

Fishel, TV star from the show “Boy Meets World” was not someone I was looking out for before the premiere, yet her dance was extremely impressive, especially for someone with hardly any dance experience. She looked so comfortable in the ballroom, which gave me a lot of admiration for her.

Affleck was also not really on my radar before I watched her dance, but when I did, I immediately knew she was going to be a strong contender this season. Her chemistry with her partner, Jan Ravnik, a new pro, was amazing. Both Affleck and Ravnik had so much energy throughout their performance.

By far the most impressive male dancer in the premiere episode was Irwin. He was so on top of his dance the whole time, and was extremely entertaining because he looked like he was having so much fun. On top of this, judge and six-time DWTS champion Derek Hough said that Irwin’s performance was the best first performance he had seen, which is an incredible compliment.

Something that did throw this season’s premiere off was that resident judge Carrie Ann Inaba was sick, so she wasn’t in attendance. This meant that there were only two judges this episode, which added a weird dynamic. She hopefully will be returning for the next episode.

This season is looking amazing so far, and I am looking forward to watching episodes in the future weeks to see the stars progress and find out who the first eliminated will be in the double elimination episode on Sept. 23. I highly recommend watching DWTS because it is a lighthearted competitive show with amazing dancing and some of the world’s famous stars