The all-new cast for Dancing With the Stars season 28 was announced on Aug. 21 and former DWTS pro/judge Julianne Hough, 31, has some key advice for the celebrities on how to win the show ahead of their ballroom debut. “Authenticity, dedication, commitment, and trust. I think trust in your partner,” Julianne told HollywoodLife after the AGT live shows on Aug. 20. “Let them guide you. I always say it is the biggest lesson to surrender to someone who is going to guide you — this is becoming so spiritual — into the light! But surrender, drop your barriers, and let go of the survival tactics that you put up. Let somebody guide you. It’s all about trust!”
Julianne was a professional dancer on DWTS from seasons 4 to 8. The dancer won back-to-back seasons with Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, 37, and IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, 44. Her brother, Derek Hough, 34, has been pro on the show for 17 seasons and won a record 6 championships. Julianne later joined the show as a judge for 5 seasons. She’s currently a judge on America’s Got Talent alongside Simon Cowell, 59, Gabrielle Union, 46, and Howie Mandel, 63.
The new cast of DWTS season 28 includes Lamar Odom, 39, Christie Brinkley, 65, Hannah Brown, 24, Karamo Brown, 38, James Van Der Beek, 42, Kel Mitchell, 40, Lauren Alaina, 24, Ray Lewis, 44, Sean Spicer, 47, Ally Brooke, 26, and Mary Wilson, 75. The pros who will be dancing with the celebs are Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, 25, Alan Bersten, 25, Cheryl Burke, 35, Witney Carson, 25, Val Chmerkovskiy, 33, Sasha Farber, 35, Jenna Johnson, 25, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, 29, Peta Murgatroyd, 33, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, 35, and Emma Slater, 30.
The new season of DWTS will premiere Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC. For the first time ever, viewers will have to tune in to the season premiere to find out with whom their favorite professional dancers are paired with.