Adele Zaikman wins Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro

Adele Zaikman has won the first season of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, earning a place as a professional dancer on the ABC franchise’s upcoming 35th season. The result moves her from the summer spinoff into the main ballroom, where she will be paired with a celebrity contestant.

A finale built like the flagship show

Zaikman entered the finale alongside AJ Pritchard and Selena Hamilton. Each finalist worked with a former Dancing With the Stars contestant for two routines designed to reproduce the pressure of a regular-season finale. Zaikman danced with Catfish host and former runner-up Nev Schulman, while Pritchard partnered with Charli D’Amelio and Hamilton performed with Adam Rippon.

The finalists first performed a selected ballroom style and then returned for a freestyle. Zaikman chose a samba before the final round. Pritchard finished second and Hamilton placed third, leaving Zaikman with the show’s first title and the professional slot promised to the winner.

Why producers backed the winner

Executive producer Conrad Green described Zaikman as the most consistent performer in the field and emphasized the range of skills the competition tested. The 12 contestants were judged not only on technique, but also on choreography, teaching and their ability to guide celebrity partners through demanding routines.

That distinction matters on the main series, where a professional’s job extends beyond performing. Pros must create routines around a partner’s experience level, communicate clearly in rehearsals and deliver under a weekly live-show schedule. The spinoff was designed to make those responsibilities visible before a winner joined the established cast.

Zaikman’s celebrity partner is due to be revealed Sept. 2 on Good Morning America with the rest of the Season 35 lineup. The announcement will provide the first look at the partnership she will take into her debut season and turn the spinoff’s prize into a new test on the franchise’s biggest stage.