Toronto hasn't hosted a Dancing with the Stars live show since 2009, but that long wait is about to end. On Sunday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m., Dancing with the Stars: Live! takes over Scotiabank Arena with 11 of the show's professional dancers, all-new routines and more sequins than the city knows what to do with. Better still, Toronto is the sole Canadian city on the tour's 60-stop North American run.
Ontario fans got a small taste of the ballroom treatment when the previous tour played Niagara Falls, but this is a proper homecoming. The production should be a step up from a standard stage show too: it's directed by Mandy Moore, the Emmy-winning choreographer behind La La Land and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Executive producer Ryan O'Dowd noted that last year's tour broke records with sold-out shows and added dates, so demand is clearly strong.
The lineup is a roll call of fan favourites: Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson, Emma Slater, Alan Bersten, Ezra Sosa, Sharna Burgess, Britt Stewart, Rylee Arnold, Hailey Bills and Adele Zaikman. For the first time ever, the show's troupe dancers join the pros on the road, which should mean bigger ensemble numbers.
There's celebrity energy around the show right now, too. Season 35 is airing with a cast that includes Julia Stiles, Tatyana Ali, Guillermo Rodriguez, Maura Higgins, Harry Shum Jr., Jenna Dewan and two-time Paralympian Ezra Frech — so expect plenty of buzz (and possibly some familiar faces) around the tour.
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, October 13 at 10 a.m. local time. Given that the last tour sold out across the country, setting an alarm is not a bad idea.
Why it matters for travellers: if you were already eyeing a Toronto winter trip, this gives you a ready-made reason to lock in a late-January weekend. Pair the show with the city's winter calendar — an NHL or Raptors game at the same arena, a night out on King West, or a warming detour to the Distillery District. And if you're elsewhere in Canada, this is your one shot without crossing the border.
