Bruno Tonioli Explains Why Judging on “Dancing with the Stars” Is Stricter Now Than Ever Before

Yamillah HurtadoWed, August 5, 2026 at 7:52 PM UTC

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Bruno Tonioli on ‘Dancing With the Stars’Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty -

Dancing With the Stars‘ Bruno Tonioli opens up about why judging on the show has become stricter with every new season

“[The show] has become more and more competitive,” the judge said during the Behind the Mirrorball panel at DWTS Con on Aug. 1

Tonioli has been a judge on the hit dance competition show since its debut in 2005

Bruno Tonioli has sat at the judges’ table on Dancing With the Stars since the show’s debut in 2005. Over more than 20 years later, the hit dance competition show has evolved, and so has its judging.

During the Behind the Mirrorball panel at Dancing With the Stars Con on Saturday, Aug. 1, Tonioli, 70, explained why the judges’ panel — which also includes Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough — has become stricter with every season.

“The show has evolved,” he said. “And they’re getting better and better and better. It’s become more and more competitive. [My] way of judging is changing because [I] go into details now that years ago I would never have been able to go because of what they deliver.”

Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Julianne Hough on ‘Dancing With the Stars’Credit: Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Tonioli explained that now he and his fellow judges are not solely judging on the technique of a performance, but also on “the quality of the execution.” Additionally, they’re looking at the choreography through an “artistic” lens.

“What I love about what the kids are doing now is that there’s this friendly competition to outdo each other,” he said of the pro dancers. “I always say, ‘If you don’t give me something, I’ve got nothing to talk about.’ They keep surprising me. I love that it’s friendly competition, and you start to make everyone better.”

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While Tonioli has been a judge on DWTS since day one, he still gets nervous before every show. The dancer even said he doesn’t “want anybody to speak to me,” so as not to lose focus.

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“I’m still [nervous] before every show,” Tonioli said. “I mean, there’s millions of people watching. And I still have that feeling, you know, the butterflies in your stomach.”

“I’m so nervous because anything can happen,” he continued. “If you miss a bar, it could be the bar where something great happened, or they made a mistake. You have to focus and keep your energy for that particular moment you’re looking for.”

‘Dancing With the Stars’Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty

Elsewhere in the panel, Kym Johnson-Herjavec — moderator and three-time Mirrorball champion — asked Tonioli if there is something he looks for in a celebrity contestant that can’t be taught. He explained that some people, regardless of celebrity status, have a “certain quality” that just draws him in.

“I always say it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it,” Tonioli said. “We can always make the same step. But some people reach out, have this extra switch that makes you go like, ‘Wow.’ And when I see it, I can’t even judge it anymore. I’m just right there with them in the moment.”

He added, “We’re very lucky that we have a lot of people who have those qualities in our show. But again, judging is a balance of everything. There is a technical side. There is the performance side.”

“In the back of my mind, everybody’s the same,” he continued. “I only make my comments based on what I see and what they deliver. You really have to be very, very clear in your mind and watch what happens in front of you and look for the magic.”

Dancing With the Stars season 34 will kick off with a two-night premiere event on Sept. 15 and Sept. 16.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”