Cover Story: Witney Carson! Lights, Camera, Action, Finesse!
Why the veteran Dancing with the Stars pro is just getting started and all about her new passion project, Finesse!
Cover Photo Credit: Pro Lash
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Witney Carson is having a dream season so far with celebrity partner Robert Irwin.
The Dancing with the Stars professional, who has all but grown up on the pop phenomenon dance competition show, said she feels a great responsibility to guide and protect Irwin to be his very best from backstage to lights up in the ballroom live every Tuesday night.
“It has been such a dream experience because of Robert. What you see on camera and on social media is exactly the way that he is all the time,” Carson said. “He’s such a positive and fun person, and so dedicated, and he just really, really wants to do well. It’s great for a teacher and a partner because that motivates me to do the best that I can for us and for the season.”
Chatting with Inside Dance following a Friday morning DWTS pro rehearsal, Carson was just as personable, energetic, and engaging as she is on TV, telling me, “I’m just very honored to be here on this huge milestone that the show is having. I feel like I really grew up on the show. I started when I was 18, and now I’m almost 32. I’ve gotten married. I’ve had kids, and I’ve really felt like my whole adult life has been on this show. I feel very privileged and honored to be a part of it, and have a place where people can go to escape.”
A world-renowned choreographer, Emmy nominee, and the Season 19 Mirrorball winner with partner Alfonso Ribeiro, who now co-hosts the show with Julianne Hough, Carson recently added one more title to her name: App Developer. Finesse, which launched in late September, is a world-class dance coaching app delivering original choreography and technique from some of the most recognized names in dance. The App’s launch, the hours she spends daily in the dance studio in front of and behind the cameras, along with being a mom to two boys, is all part of Carson’s current balancing act, which she said would be impossible to achieve without the support system she’s surrounded by.
“Oh, there is no balance!” she said, laughing. “No, I really do try and balance. On such a rigorous, time-consuming show, you have to be able to compartmentalize. When you’re home, you really try to focus on being home. I have an amazing support system. And I think that’s huge. We have my mom and my mother-in-law here, my husband, and they’ve just all been so supportive. It’s a very stressful show. As fun as it looks when you watch it, there’s lots of pressure, but we all get through it together and we try and lift each other up.”
Photo Credit: Pro Lash
Dancing with the Stars, which is celebrating its milestone 20th Anniversary, has been setting records week after week this season with more viewers and more votes. The show’s strong performances in week three pushed ABC to a resounding win for the night in entertainment among both Total Viewers (5.30 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.92 rating). It’s also one of the few dance reality-type competition shows that has stood the test of time and continues to attract new audiences—TikTok night turned in the show’s strongest performance among Adults 18-34 (1.38 rating) in over eight years. The October 7 episode logged over 40 million votes.
Carson said the power of the show is the community and its ability to bring people together, something we all could use a little more of. It’s what dance is, and does.
“What the show offers is an escape for people to find joy and to just forget about everything,” she said. “I think dance is amazing because it brings people together. What I love about dance is that it always tells a story, and there’s always something to feel when you watch it, creating a sense of community.
“Social media has played a huge part in this as well, as far as people trying to recreate some of the viral moves they see, or, they want to start learning how to dance. I think that’s also been a huge part of why this show so successful—people are actually starting to take action and to get involved with us, which I think is really cool. We saw that a lot last season. We’re seeing more of it this season, too.”
In so many ways, the DWTS professionals have also become the real stars of the show and those we love to follow so much on social media. Over the years, the cast has seen incredible growth in their creation, direction, and production of live tours, competitions, conventions, and masterclasses. They are regulars on the morning show circuit, and in addition to expanding their own platforms, they have also become authors, lifestyle influencers, and podcast hosts, with product launches and promotions on and off the ballroom floor.
After years of teaching in-person dance classes and bringing her best to the ballroom, Carson jumped right into action with her entrepreneurial talents and is so excited about bringing her highly sought-after coaching skills to a worldwide audience. Through Finesse, dancers of all skill levels can train, refine their performance, learn dance sequences, master original choreography directly from Carson—including some of the routines she’s made famous on television—without ever having to set foot inside a dance studio.
Developing and launching the Finesse has been a true passion project for Carson. It reflects her dance journey as well as her current projects, and what she believes her audience and the dance community will love most, paired with an exciting and interactive tie to Dancing with the Stars, all at your fingertips. Ready to learn Witney and Robert’s Born To Be Wild Jive? Finesse is the place!
“We have a behind-the-scenes section where we go through each week, and it’s more in-depth on my family life and what we’re really feeling after we dance and while I’m choreographing,” Carson said. “I think people love seeing that because there’s a lot that goes on that doesn’t get shown on television.”
Carson said a huge part of this project is fueled by her desire to give back to the dance community at this stage in her career. “I wanted to make this training accessible and affordable for everyone because not many people have had the opportunities that I’ve had growing up where I’ve had really great trainers. We wanted to create something that allowed people to train at home. We break it down step-by-step. It’s a really cool App for everyone.”
Watching Carson perform or choreograph live, there’s a confidence and a magic she’s able to convey with her audience. Behind the scenes, she also wants people to know about the day-to- day work that’s involved in her art and why it’s so important to her to show her personality no matter the platform. Finesse is a direct reflection of that— what you see on screen is authentic to Carson, and goes beyond the DWTS glitter and glam.
“I love that I can put more of my personality into it because it’s solely mine. I think for many years, [what you’ve seen about me] has been the Dancing with the Stars angle—which I’m so grateful that I’ve had that platform—but now this is more of what you would see inside a Dancing with the Stars rehearsal, what I would be teaching my celebrity going step-by-step, which is cool for people to see and to learn. I also have a few things coming out where I actually tell people how I choreograph.”
Carson’s early hopes for Finesse are simple: she wants people to enjoy it, and see what they love most.
“I have a lot of dreams for it. At this point in time, we really want to give a well-rounded App,” she said. “Get their genuine feedback because this is really for that community. I’m sharing my passion, and this is my livelihood.”
Bringing it back to the ballroom, Carson’s love for what she does is very evident in her journey with Irwin this season. She’s part teacher and choreographer, and also part mom and big sister, she said. “From the moment we started chatting, I felt a sense of responsibility and protectiveness for him. If you know me, you’ll see that I’m very much someone who keeps their circle very tight, but I will protect those I love fiercely. He became one of those people very, very quickly. And I’m a mom of two boys, and it feels like that. I’m in mama bear big sister mode immediately. So it’s been really fun.”
Carson and Irwin’s dynamic performances and scores have placed at or near the top of the leaderboard each week, making them favorites for the coveted Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy. The pair went viral for a shirt-stopping moment, so to speak, during their show-stopping Salsa on the September 30 episode, where Irwin ripped his shirt off, sending the crowd inside the studio and all over social media sizzling. Carson feels the camaraderie and says it’s a key factor in their success, no matter the outcome.
Photo Credit: Eric McCandless /Disney Media
“We want to make people feel good, and just spread positivity— it’s his biggest thing, and it’s mine, too. It’s been really good that we’re just on the same page,” she said.
Reflecting on what’s gotten her to this point in her career so successfully, Carson, who finished in the top six of Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance, said she’s seen so much growth in her approach, particularly when she thinks about her DWTS journey and how she supports her partners.
“I’ve learned so much. I continue to learn so much. When you’re starting out at 18, we’re all naturally, by default, very competitive, and we want to win, we want to be the best, and that’s what we’re used to coming from this competitive world. When I first got on the show, I really thought, okay, I’m going to go full out, and I need to win, and I need to be the best. As the years and seasons progressed, I realized that it’s really not about that. It’s about highlighting your celebrity and what they can do, and what you can support them doing, the teamwork, what pieces you can create, and how you can make people feel something.”
Carson also knows that even with the highest scores, or those that fall in the middle of the pack, anything is possible as a season progresses.
“There’s so many layers to how to choreograph and how to teach,” she said. “I think on a professional level, I’ve definitely grown a lot and gained a broader perspective, because as we’ve seen in the past, not necessarily the best dancer has won. It could be someone that people really love, but may not be the best dancer. It’s much more about everything than just dance.”
Well beyond the bright lights and the sometimes obligatory spray tan, for Carson, dance is most about passion and continually raising the bar to achieve something incredible and personal, while bringing joy to the community. When I asked about what she’d choose as the best theme song for all of the different avenues she’s pursuing right now, she paused before ultimately choosing Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.
“Oh, that’s a good one. I’m going to have to go on my Spotify and see…. Let’s see,” she said with a smile. “I have so many things that I’m juggling that there’s a million songs in my head. Right now I’m in survival mode, so probably, I Will Survive. I love that one because it’s an anthem. You’re feeling like, okay, I got this. I can do this. But it’s also like, we’re trying to get there, and this is what I love to do.”
