'DWTS' judge reacts to 'unfair advantage' claims against Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr.

Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba is defending Season 35's newly-announced cast against claims that some contestants have an unfair edge due to prior dance experience. 

The lineup includes Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, and Harry Shum Jr., all of whom have professional dance backgrounds, which has led some fans to argue they'll have a leg up on the competition.

Inaba has addressed the backlash in a new interview, explaining that ballroom dancing is fundamentally different from other styles, even for trained dancers. 

“What’s difficult — and I don’t think people realise this — is when you go from being a jazz dancer or a hip-hop dancer or all the other forms of dancing [to ballroom], the weight placement is so different,” Inaba told Entertainment Weekly.

“It’s weird because your body has memory, so it remembers how to dance, and it thinks it already knows how to do these moves, but it doesn’t. It takes a lot of time to un-train the body to put your weight on the front more over your toes instead of back and down and grounded.”

“It’s not as easy as people think,” Inaba added.

Inaba admitted that Stiles and Dewan “have an advantage in some ways because they’ve got the rhythm and they’ve got the musicality and they know how to dance. They know how to learn choreography and remember choreography,” she said, before adding, “It’s been a few years since they’ve all danced, right?”

She also said transitioning from jazz or hip-hop to ballroom requires relearning basic weight placement, since the body tends to rely on old habits even when they don't apply. "It takes a lot of time to un-train the body," she said, adding that the shift is more difficult than people assume.

Dewan, 45, built her career as a backup dancer before starring in Step Up and later hosting World of Dance. Stiles, 45, is known for dance-heavy roles in 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. Shum Jr., 44, played a dancer on Glee and also has backup dancing experience with major pop artists.

She also noted that dance experience hasn't guaranteed success on the show in the past. Contestants like Heather Morris and Amanda Kloots had strong dance backgrounds but didn't win, while others, including Charli D'Amelio and Jordan Fisher, went on to take the title.

Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars premieres September 15.