ABC's hit reality show 'Dancing with the Stars: Juniors' might be on its debut season, but the tiny tots gracing the dance floor every week with one stellar performance after another definitely don't make it seem like they are, in any, manner, debutantes to the art.
Granted, some of them have had prior dancing experiences, and some of them just learned to walk five years ago - emerging in that ea of talent is one particular name who not only wows judges of the show on a weekly basis but had garnered deep affection from viewers as her character in one of the biggest films this year.
She was the cutest little doll as young Gamora in Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War', but Ariana Greenblatt's superpowers seem to work beyond the green screen, when she owns the dance floor on 'DWTS: Juniors' every week, with her dance partner, Artyon Celestine. And after six weeks, and with just five remaining participants, it's pretty much clear that if there's one deserving contestant on the show, it's her.
Contrary to popular belief about kids getting the debut night jitters during their performance, the 'Stuck in the Middle' actress proved to be an absolute exception, taking over the dance floor with her composure intact for her very first performance on the show.
She and Artyon performed a cha-cha, and the judged couldn't help complimenting on how the speed and the sass were impeccable when it came to the choreography.
The best part? That beautiful floor spin she and Artyon had managed to pull off, mentored by DWTS pro, Brian Armstrong. With the highest scores on the very first night, Ariana established just why she was a whole level apart from the rest of the contestants.
Which would also probably explain why the judges are sometimes a little too harsh on her. Like judge and choreographer, Mandy Moore once pointed out, even she, fellow judge Val Chmerkovskiy, and Adam Rippon, hold Ariana in a different standard too when it comes to performances on the show in general. In the earlier Halloween night themed episode, judges were particularly harsh on her, demanding more emotional “range” from the young dancer, and feeling like she needs to be challenged more with more proper choreographic content.
Those don't sound like very encouraging works, but Ariana did what she does best, and bounced back from that with ever better dancing, which was reflected brilliantly in her results.
In the following episode, the judges were so impressed by her moves on the floor that she received a standing ovation and a score of 28 out of 30. And that wasn't all, Val loved the dance so much that he actually gifted his Rolex to Ariana!
And while all that indicates the copious amounts of hard work she puts into her rehearsals, Ariana does not abide by the all-work-no-play rule. At the very initial stages of the show, she had managed to make headlines among popular contestants like reality star Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson, and 'Black-ish' actor Miles Brown, because her cheeky self, along with Artyon, had become matchmakers for their mentor, Brian, trying to set him up with his then DWTS dance partner, Tinashe.
So with a maximum of four weeks remaining to the finale of the show (as an end date hasn't been announced yet) it's not quite hard to deduce that this queen of dance with a cheeky humor and a fun-filled habit of playing around has managed to become quite the favourite for both fans and judges. Which makes us root for her even more to win this season of DWTS: Juniors!
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