After reality TV star Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader were eliminated from Week 1 of Dancing With The Stars, Kalshi traders are now pricing Actor Harry Shum Jr. as the favorite to win Season 35. TV chef Giada De Laurentiis, who was favored to be eliminated, survived the cut.
The DWTS Season 35 winner market shows Shum priced at 24%, followed by actress Jenna Dewan at 20% and athlete Ezra Frech at 15%.
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Harry Shum Jr.
The Grey’s Anatomy star performed a medical themed routine Tuesday night with professional dancer Jenna Johnson.
Entertainment Weekly’s Ryan Coleman wrote in his recap of the first episode of the season that the duo earned “the night’s highest score of 21” with their routine. The couple danced a cha-cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Shum entered the competition with substantial dance experience, including his work on the Fox musical series Glee. E! News reported he has “a wealth of dance experience.”
Despite his early lead, Shum said his previous dance experience doesn't guarantee success on the show.
“I think a lot of people who had dance backgrounds don’t make it very far,” Shum said. “That tells you everything you need to know about what the show is. It’s beyond just dancing. It’s like storytelling – who you are, your personality, your connection between, not just your partner, but with the audience.”
Jenna Dewan
Dewan, who lead the market earlier in the week, has faced criticism from some viewers over her previous professional dance experience. Variety reported that she started her career as a backup dancer for singers including Janet Jackson and appeared opposite Channing Tatum in Step Up.
She told EW’s Sarah Hearon that she doesn’t have any experience in ballroom dancing, so she has to learn all sorts of new moves and techniques with her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy.
“I do not know how to ballroom dance,” Dewan said. “Let’s be clear. It’s two different languages. There’s parts of my dance training that’s helpful, obviously. I’ve learned choreography, I can perform, but there is a certain sense of unlearning for me. It’s a new technique, brand new technique.”
Ezra Frech
Frech posted the second-highest judges' score on premiere night, but has since fallen to third place on the winner market after Night Two, with Dewan moving ahead of him into second.
Good Morning America reported that Frech and professional partner Daniella Karagach earned 20 out of 30 for their tango to Kelly Clarkson's “Since U Been Gone,” giving them the second-highest score of Tuesday's premiere.
Frech didn’t just turn the judges’ heads on Tuesday. EW’s Leigh Blickley reported that Frech's performance also drew praise from his fellow contestants.
Shum said Frech’s performance “blew my mind” and that he’s become “our inspiration, he’s incredible.”
Internet personality Connor Wood said he was equally awed by the tangoing duo.
“That was just like the most phenomenal dancing I have ever seen in my life,” Wood said. “And that was the last dance we saw before we went on. I was like, ‘Oh my god, how are we supposed to follow that up?’ Just phenomenal.”
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict
Shum Jr. winning Season 35: 24%
Dewan winning Season 35: 20%
Frech winning Season 35: 15%
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