ATLANTA — An Atlanta dancer is chasing a spot on the next season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Tristen Sanders, 28, is one of 12 professional dancers competing on “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro,” airing Monday nights on Channel 2.
He told Channel 2’s Karyn Greer that the experience is more than music and dance moves. He’s hoping that his love for dancing will get him a spot on the show he has been watching since he was a child.
“I was born in Atlanta, but I moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee when I was about eight years old, and then I came back,” Sanders told Greer.
Sanders said he’s always wanted to be a dancer and is grateful that he’s getting a chance to show his athleticism, creativity and performance skills.
“I was a gymnast for about nine to 10 years. I took it very seriously. The thing you do in my family, you’re an athlete, we’re all athletes, and I always wanted to be a dancer,” he explained.
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He’s proud that he’s getting the chance to represent Atlanta on a stage against some of the country’s greatest ballroom dancers, and even one from the U.K.
But he said there have been some close calls that made him think he couldn’t cut it.
“Being a dancer was something I had to fight and claw for. It wasn’t given to me, it wasn’t supported. And so every voice that I had ever heard that said, ‘You cannot do this, you are not a dancer, this is dumb,’ ambushed me,” he said. “I started believing that I couldn’t do what I was doing, that I wasn’t good enough, and all those emotions hit me at one time.”
Sanders has survived the first few eliminations and is currently among the top eight dancers.
But he’ll have to spend a lot more time in the ballroom if he wants to win the competition and earn a spot on season 35 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Two of the celebrities who the winner could be paired with on “Dancing with the Stars” are Atlanta-native reality TV star Ciara Miller and Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson.
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“Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.
“Dancing with the Stars” kicks off with a two-night premiere on September 15 on Channel 2.
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