Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro Season 1, Episode 2, “Stories Without Words: Storytelling with Brandon Armstrong,” is what this show needs to find its rhythm. The series premiere commits to such a fast pace that the dancers’ individuality and personalities get lost in the competition format. Even the competition unfolds too quickly to invest in it, let alone the people participating. Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro improves the latter with this episode.
This show has something unique that differentiates it from Dancing with the Stars – the contestants live under the same roof. However, that first episode spends practically no time in that shared space. Therefore, there’s no reason to believe that the dancers are getting to know each other to give Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro’s competition those stakes. The first episode is all too technical as the dancers (and the judges) focus on technique.
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“Stories Without Words” changes that by focusing on vulnerability through storytelling. Brandon Armstrong, who has trained with Shirley Ballas, works alongside Mark Ballas and has been a Dancing with the Stars pro since 2018, comes in as this week’s guest judge and mentor. He sets an emotionally available tone and raises the bar for the dancers, one of whom will work alongside him in Dancing with the Stars in Season 35.
His opening dance is beautifully choreographed to tell his story of being adopted into a white family and viewing adoption through a positive, powerful lens. It’s a reminder that Brandon Armstrong is skilled on every level of what it means to be a DWTS pro. I still think about his and Chandler Kinney’s freestyle in Season 33 and how it celebrated their being the first Black couple to get to the finals. It’s a layered number that dances through history. Undoubtedly, Brandon knows what it takes to bring a story to life through dance.
Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro reminds its audience of his established credibility, so it’s rewarding to see him impart his advice to the dancers. Whether it be Erik and Natalie or Benji and Nina, Brandon tells them that it’s about connection – not only through movement. If there’s no conviction and honesty in the story, then there are so few pathways for that to come through the dance – authenticity and vulnerability count. Not utilizing them accurately and creatively can keep a dancer from becoming the next pro.
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So, it’s imperative that Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro needs the audience to connect with these dancers. It’s also more than relevant that “Stories Without Words” asks them to do so with each other. Strangely, there are so few scenes of the dancers co-existing in the same space. When they speak about new connections, they fall flat. Instead of using the singular scene in the house to its advantage, this episode uses it to reiterate an argument that practically seals that either Benji or Nina will go home – and Benji does.
Meanwhile, the best example of interpersonal development in and around that house comes through one of the dancers and the show’s host. Robert Irwin, who barely appears in the series premiere, has a much more active role in this episode. Unsurprisingly, Irwin’s kindness, newfound passion for dancers, and vulnerability all work to Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro’s advantage.
The conversation between Allen and Robert is rather brief, but it reveals what this show is capable of if it slows down long enough to let the dancers talk about themselves. It’s a beautifully vulnerable dialogue between two people who have lost a parent, who know that time doesn’t heal all wounds but movement — dance, more specifically — can help you face your grief.
That scene circles right back to Brandon telling Allen that he needs to give himself as much credit as Allen’s giving his partner. “You gotta be willing to share a story before it becomes a story” sounds simple, but “Stories Without Words” proves how difficult it can be if you’re not willing to entirely commit to what it means to be a creative professional for Dancing with the Stars.
Shirley Ballas, a legend who has been incredible in her constructive critiques, tells AJ as much after practically repeating his dance from the first week. He spends so much of the episode wanting to prove that he isn’t playing it safe, only for him to do exactly that. In turn, the audience and judges learn nothing about him. It’s unfortunate, but it’s what Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro is engineered to do. It’s meant to test whether these dancers will pour every ounce of themselves and their craft into Dancing with the Stars.
If technique is the foundation for both a dancer and this show, then “Stories Without Words” proves that it takes a lot more than the right steps for a dance to leave an impact. As Brandon says, “Story is the essential skill as a pro.” Coincidentally, “Stories Without Words” suggests that Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro seems to be learning that lesson as a reality TV show, too.
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