As Dancing with the Stars prepares its 32nd season, with a new full cast of 14 celebrity contestants revealed, it's once again time to fix the spotlight on the professional dancers who uplift not only their partners but fans as well.
Among them is Britt Stewart, who made history when she joined the show as a pro in season 29 (2020) as the first Black female pro. She is dancing this year with NFL legend Adrian Peterson.
The 34-year-old told HELLO! about her status as a DWTS trailblazer – and how it's part of her larger mission to create spaces for diverse communities to embrace dance.
© Getty Images"Back in 2020, I created Share the Movement, a nonprofit organization which I am the President of," she says. "It was myself and an amazing group of dance enthusiast dancers, choreographers, dance educators that were coming together with an effort to create more diversity in the dance industry and dance community.
"And at the same time, unknowingly actually, I was becoming the first black female pro on DWTS. So with this new journey that I was taking on with Share the Movement, I was becoming the direct reflection of that through my work on DWTS."
To celebrate her love for diversity in dance with Share the Movement, Britt partnered with BAND-AID® Brand OURTONE® to host a series of Dance Clinics around the country to uplift Black and Brown dancers and provide them with the resources they need to jumpstart their love for the art.
© Angela PhamOur conversation happened at one of those Dance Clinics, New York's Ballet Hispanico, where Britt conducted dance competitions and workshops for a variety of attending children, and they were joined by Brandon Armstrong, fellow DWTS pro and the first black male pro on the show.
"The partnership with BAND-AID® Brand OURTONE® is really close to my heart, because I am just so proud to partner with a global wellness brand that sees the beauty in diversity and in different skin tones," she gushed.
READ: DWTS 2023 pro Britt Stewart reveals which judge she's most nervous to impress, teases season 32
"And not only that, they have this love and empowerment for physical movement, and especially dance, which is part of their initiative this summer 2023 and also in our partnership together."
© Angela PhamWhile crediting the ABC show for the beauty of its casting among celebrity picks, she emphasized that there was more room to grow when it came to its pros. "I see a lot more awareness across the board, which is beautiful.
"But I will say that in the future, I would like to see more colorful faces, it doesn't just have to be one, it could be two or three. Also, Black and Brown communities, we're not all the same, we don't all come from the same places. And that is such a broad and open group of people that I feel like there's so much room for more diversity."
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Beyond the ballroom, Britt is a proud member of several other dance troupes for the biggest pop stars in the world, including the likes of Janet Jackson, Rihanna, and Katy Perry, and was a part of the latter's 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show, the most watched Halftime performance in history.
© Getty Images"Being able to have that platform, especially as a background and commercial dancer, was something that was so beautiful," she gushes. "Especially dancing with Katy Perry. I was with her for three years, and I got to travel the world.
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"And I remember that time, not only because I was dancing and doing what I love to do as my job, but I was also developing as a young woman, I was all over the world. I've had these life experiences that I feel like I maybe wouldn't have had unless I was doing those things during that time."
© Getty ImagesWhen asked what advice she had for someone who wanted to start dancing for the first time, Britt offered: "My advice would be to let go of your fears. Because dance has so many benefits. I would say release the fear and just go for it.
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"I think that's why I'm so excited about being on DWTS, because I get to teach people every single year that have never danced before in their lives. And then through that I have my nonprofit organization to really break down barriers."
© Getty ImagesHot tip from a pro: wondering which dance style to get into for the first try? "If you really feel like you need to loosen up, and being in a community with people is something that you really are drawn to, pick up salsa dancing!"
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