The judges on DWTS (L-R): Lance Savali, Camilla Sacre-Dallerup and James Luck.
The judges on DWTS (L-R): Lance Savali, Camilla Sacre-Dallerup and James Luck.
Choreographer and drag artist James Luck and hip-hop dancer Lance Savali are the new judges on Dancing with the Stars, Spy can reveal.
The pair are replacing Julz Tocker and Rachel White in the coming season of the reality show on Three.
And both have experience on reality TV — Luck was on screens as his alter ego Elektra Shock on RuPaul's Drag Race Downunder and Savali competed on Celebrity Treasure Island.
"My judging style will be fabulous but fierce," Luck told Spy. "I'm an extremely hard critic, and the pros on the show will know I expect nothing less than excellence and exceptional entertainment value from our stars."
Luck started his professional career at 16 as an assistant choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance Australia.
Since then, he has worked with a host of global superstars including Sia, Elton John and Annie Lennox, choreographed for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and taught classes and workshops all over the world, and is trained in all the forms of dance the stars will be performing.
He says it is definitely a switch up from competing for the crown Drag Race to critiquing those fighting for the Mirrorball trophy, but it's one he's excited to make — and hints he might be the mean Simon Cowell-style judge, but perhaps in a wig.
Choreographer and drag artist James Luck as Elektra Shock
"I'll be watching for strong technique across all styles and how they apply the judges' critiques from week to week. I am not afraid to be tough and say what everyone watching at home is thinking."
Laidback Savali is a world-renowned hip-hop dancer, who has danced with his idol, Chris Brown, toured the world with Rihanna, performed on the Superbowl stage with Jennifer Lopez, and taken to the Coachella stage with Beyonce.
As his fans on CTI learned, he is not good at lying but he tells Spy his face says a million words before he even speaks, so viewers and the stars will know what's coming.
"Anyone who knows me knows I'm about as far from a classical ballroom dancer as you can get," Savali says.
"But I definitely know what's good from bad and my experiences speak for themselves.
"Luckily, with DWTS, I'm not here to judge professional dancers … but I'm definitely going to be looking for how much personality, style, energy, presence and showmanship the celebs bring to their dances each week."
Judge Camilla Sacre-Dallerup returns again and says she can't wait to meet her new sidekicks when she arrives in Auckland from Los Angeles this month.
"While I haven't met them in person yet, I detect two great personalities," Sacre-Dallerup tells Spy.
"We will all be coming from a slightly different dance and performance background, which will make it interesting and our expertise in the different fields of dance will hopefully create helpful feedback for the contestants."
