Video: The Fun Panels and Performances of "Dancing With The Stars" Con 2026

Announced earlier this year, Palm Springs is currently playing host to the first ever Dancing with the Stars convention. The new event, DWTS Con, is a three day experience, featuring live dance performances, panels, Q&A sessions, interactive photo opportunities, exhibits, and merchandise exclusives, all inspired by the hit ABC series. The event is being held at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California, inviting guests to come together for the weekend.

Friday, the first day, saw all the fans come together under one roof to kick of the celebratory weekend with the inaugural Glitter Games. Here fans, pros, and stars collided in an all-out showdown of trivia, physical challenges, and high-energy dance-offs. Hosted by Brandon Armstrong and Alan Bersten, the games divided pros and stars into four teams - Cha Cha (red), Rhumba (blue), Paso (black), and Jive (green). Celebrity judges included Phaedra Parks, Johnny Weir, Andy Richter, and Ginger Zee.

Contestants: Team Cha Cha: Jenna Johnson, Hannah Brown Woolard, Daniel Fishel Karp, Rashad Jennings, Sasha Farber, Hailey Bills Team Rhumba: Emma Slater, Gleb Savchenko, Amanda Kloots, Riley Arnold Team Paso: Ezra Sosa, Linds Arnold, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jan Ravnik, Kristi Yamaguchi Team Jive: Sharna Burgess, Pasha Pashkov, Brit Stewart, JoJo Siwa, Joey Graziadei, Daniella Karagach

The DWTS Con also featured a museum walk-through of sorts, featuring a gallery of costumes, props, mirror balls, and photo ops. Custom mirror balls from Disney Night, Prince Night, and Wicked Night were also joined by costumes, including 4 Disney Night dresses: Season 27 Ariel worn by Sharna Burgess, Season 30 Cinderella worn by Jenna Johnson, Season 24 Moana worn by Simone Biles, and Season 25 Snow White worn by Vanessa Lachey.

Another special panel was hosted by Pro Jenna Johnson, "Designing the Look," a behind-the-scenes exploration of the costume designs on the hit reality competition series. Jenna was joined by costume designers Daniela Gschwendtner and Steven Lee, plus Jenna's Season 33 celebrity partner and champion Joey Graziadei. The conversation goes through the challenge of producing over 100 costumes each week, the tight turnaround time, favorite themes, plus some show and tell - the costumes made for Jenna and Joey's Hair Metal Week tango to "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the story behind them.

Joey Graziadei returned to the stage once again and hosted "Champion Chat". Joined by fellow champions Hannah Brown (Season 28), Rashad Jennings (Season 24), Rumer Willis (Season 20), and Kristi Yamaguchi (Season 6), the panel included conversations about why they wanted to compete on DWTS, the hard work that went into winning their Mirror Ball Trophy, and how their love for the show has grown since being a contestant.

 "Behind the Mirrorball" was one of the marquee panels of the event. Hosted by DWTS Pro Kym Johnson, the panel offered a look at what it takes to pull a show like DWTS off. From casting pros and stars to directing an episode, arranging the music, and even sitting in the judges' seat, it was an enlightening behind-the-scenes look at the hit competition show. Panelists included judge Bruno Tonioli, executive producer Conrad Green, talent producer Deena Katz, music director Ray Chew, and director Phil Heyes.

"No judges. No scores. No rules." The headling event of the whole DWTS Con was Mirrorball Mayhem, a full-on arena spectacular. Fan-favorite pros and a few stars assembled for this one-of-a-kind performance.

For more from DWTS Con, be sure to stay tuned to Laughing Place!