Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. join Dancing With the Stars Season 35

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 finally has a confirmed list of cast members, and if you love the show, then this update is for you! Three names joining the ballroom already have a pretty strong connection to dance and they are Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr.

Fans might have seen Stiles in Save the Last Dance, while Dewan starred in Step Up. Meanwhile, Shum Jr. has served as both a dancer and choreographer alongside his acting career. And now, all three are set to perform on the same stage in one of the most popular dancing competitions.

Stiles will be paired with Ezra Sosa, Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy, and Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson. Their casting makes this season especially intriguing. They may not be strangers to dance, but doing it for a movie or TV role is very different from learning a routine, performing it live, and having judges score every step.

Unpack more details below!

Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan bring dance-film nostalgia to Dancing With the Stars Season 35

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 is on the way and as fans wait for the new chapter, it has been revealed that two well-known actresses, Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan are stepping into the world of dance. Since they have been a part of films and performances, their casting is a notable update for their fans.

Stiles played Sara Johnson in the 2001 film Save the Last Dance, where her character is a classically trained ballerina hoping to get into Juilliard. The movie gave Stiles plenty of demanding dance scenes, including Sara’s audition, which remains one of the film’s memorable moments.

Now more than two decades later, Stiles is stepping into the dance world again, this time without a movie character to hide behind. She will compete with Ezra Sosa to showcase her dancing skills and leave a mark behind.

Dewan has an equally recognizable connection to the genre. She played Nora Clark in Step Up, the 2006 film that helped launch a successful dance franchise, and she will now be partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy.

Notably, dance has been a part of Dewan's television career, as she worked alongside Derek Hough on World of Dance and later appeared on Flirty Dancing and Come Dance With Me. So while neither actress is new to dance on screen, Dancing With the Stars Season 35 will ask them to take that experience somewhere much less scripted.

Harry Shum Jr. already knows his way around a dance floor

Another exciting casting update is that Harry Shum Jr. has paired up with two-time Mirrorball winner Jenna Johnson in Dancing With the Stars Season 35. If you know Shum Jr., then you must be aware that the star has spent much of his career moving between acting, dancing and choreography.

He gained attention as Mike Chang on Glee, where his dance skills were a big part of the character. He also appeared in Step Up 2: The Streets and The LXD. This isn't all, as Shum Jr. has also been a part of Crazy Rich Asians.

Johnson also brings plenty of experience to the partnership in Dancing With the Stars Season 35. She won the Mirrorball with Adam Rippon in Season 26 and took home another with Joey Graziadei in Season 33.

Who else is joining Dancing With the Stars Season 35?

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 has more familiar faces in the lineup. Taylor Hanson will dance with Britt Stewart, while Tatyana Ali is paired with Jan Ravnik and Olympic champion Amber Glenn will compete with Pasha Pashkov.

The cast also brings in Paralympic star Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach, Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess, and chef Giada De Laurentiis with Alan Bersten. Sarah Jane Nader will dance with Hailey Bills, marking only the second female-female partnership in the show's history.

The remaining pairs include Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman, Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, and Jackson Olson and Emma Slater.

Guillermo Rodriguez rounds out the lineup with Witney Carson, who is competing while pregnant. Sharna Burgess is also returning after a five-year break, giving the new season another familiar name with a history on the ballroom floor.

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