The first-ever Dancing With the Stars Con is underway, taking place from July 31 to August 2 at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.
Among the many stars in attendance are pro dancers who’ve performed on the show over the years, as well as celebrities who danced their way into viewers’ hearts.
The First DWTS Con
Attendees at the inaugural DWTS Con were greeted with a special tribute to the late, great Len Goodman, whose incisive critiques on the “Dancing With the Stars” judging panel for the first 31 seasons made him a favorite with viewers.
In his honor, the show’s famed mirrorball trophy was renamed the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
A Touching Tribute
EntertainmentNowThe DWTS Con display featured a portrait of Goodman, along with various vanity licence plates used on the show during Goodman’s tenure as judge.
Courtesy of the “Dancing With the Stars” prop department, a large mirrorball was displayed next the portrait.
Alao on display was a giant-sized replica of the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
An Unlikely Dancer
Truth to be told, it would be difficult to imagine a “Dancing With the Stars” fan convention that didn’t honor Goodman in some fashion, given the key role he played on the show.
Raised in East London, Goodman originally had no aspirations in the world of dance, holding such jobs as apprentice welder and selling fruit and vegetables.
When he was 19, Goodman injured his foot while playing soccer, and his doctor recommended he take some dance classes to help rehabilitate and strengthen his foot.
Goodman became hooked on dance. Before long, he gravitated to ballroom dancing and began entering competitions.
He won the British Exhibition Championships four times, with other titles including the World Exhibition Championships, Dual of the Giants and the British Rising Stars.
He eventually retired from competitive dancing, and opened his own dance studio in Dartford.
A ‘DWTS Legend’
Goodman’s stature in the world of ballroom dancing loomed so large that when BBC launched its celebrity-driven dance competition — “Strictly Come Dancing” — in 2004, Goodman was immediately tapped as one of the judges. Goodman was pushing 60 when he became British TV’s unlikeliest star, playing a huge role in making the show an out-of-the-box hit.
“When I was first asked to do the program, I wasn’t sure, because I thought it might be a bit of a mickey-take,” he told the Guardian in 2006. “But I’m so glad I did it because it’s dispelled the preconception about what dance classes or schools are like. The program has changed things in dancing schools like you can’t imagine. Everyone has had huge influxes of people coming to dance. It’s absolutely brilliant.”
So successful was “Strictly Come Dancing” that it spawned a U.S. version on ABC, “Dancing With the Stars,” which debuted the following year.
Realizing that Goodman’s incisive judging was the British show’s secret sauce, ABC executives thought it would be wise to enlist him for “DWTS” — and a star was born.
“I got the call to be a judge three days before the first show,” Goodman recalled in a “DWTS” interview. “I’m just a dance teacher from Dartford — suddenly I’m thrust into Hollywood.”
A Sad Farewell
Just as Goodman became an instant fan favorite on “Strictly Come Dancing,” the same thing happend with “Dancing With the Stars.”
Beloved by viewers, Goodman was a mainstay on the show from the very beginning until 2022, when he announced that he was retiring.
“I think this is a good time to hang up my judging pen,” Goodman told viewers. “You never saw me fall asleep. You never saw me dribble. And I did my best.”
Sadly, Goodman’s retirement didn’t last long. He passed away from cancer in April 2023 at the age of 78.
