Britt Stewart has never won the Mirrorball Trophy. But her Dancing With the Stars journey has delivered something far more valuable: a historic career, a husband, and a reputation as one of the most beloved pros in the ballroom.
Stewart and her Season 35 partner, Hanson frontman Taylor Hanson, were eliminated Tuesday night during “Yacht Rock Night” after a Foxtrot that earned just 18 out of 30 points. The exit was a shock to fans and left Stewart visibly emotional. But for a dancer who spent five seasons in the troupe before getting her shot, every moment in the ballroom has been earned.
The Early Years: High School Musical and Super Bowl Halftime
Before DWTS, Stewart built a résumé that most dancers only dream about. She got her start as a principal dancer in all three of Disney’s original High School Musical movies. She went on to dance for Janet Jackson and spent three years as a backup dancer for Katy Perry, including Perry’s Super Bowl XLIX halftime show and the Prismatic World Tour.
She also appeared in films like Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie and television shows including Traffic Light and Secret High.
The Troupe Years: Five Seasons of Waiting
Stewart joined the Dancing With the Stars troupe in 2016, despite having no professional ballroom training. She was trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and tap.
“I never had professional ballroom training before,” she said on “The Squeeze” podcast in October 2025. “I was not expecting to get a call from Dancing With the Stars for that one reason.”
Her break came through choreographer Mandy Moore, who asked Stewart to dance with Derek Hough for an outside gig. Moore sent the rehearsal video to DWTS producers, and Stewart got her audition.
“They knew I wasn’t trained, but they knew I could do it,” she recalled.
Stewart performed in the troupe for five seasons before being promoted to a pro in 2020.
Making History: The First Black Female Pro
When Stewart was elevated to pro for Season 29 in 2020, she made history as the first Black female pro dancer in Dancing With the Stars history.
Her early partners included semifinalist Johnny Weir and Martin Kove. She also partnered with Daniel Durant, a deaf actor known for CODA, in Season 31, a pairing that would change her life forever.
Finding Love in the Ballroom
Stewart and Durant’s partnership didn’t stay professional. They started dating after their season ended, went public on Valentine’s Day 2023, and got engaged on Christmas that same year.
They married in August 2025.
The connection was accelerated by Stewart learning American Sign Language to communicate with Durant directly. “She picked up ASL very fast. It’s not normal,” Durant said. “We relied on an interpreter at first, but by the second week, we could communicate on our own. That’s where our friendship grew.”
They celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary in August 2026 with a joint Instagram post: “One year married and forever to go.”
Season 35: Taylor Hanson and a Shock Exit
Stewart was paired with Taylor Hanson for Season 35, and she was genuinely excited about the partnership. “I am a millennial so I can appreciate the significance of Taylor Hanson and how awesome it is for him to be on Dancing With the Stars,” she said.
She recalled Hanson telling her at their first meeting: “I will do whatever you need me to do. If that means buying a cot and sleeping at the dance studio so we can rehearse all the time, that is what I will do.”
That dedication showed in their Foxtrot to “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers. Despite the low score, Derek Hough called it Hanson’s “best dance” of the season.
But it wasn’t enough. Hanson and Stewart landed in the bottom three alongside Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson. When the votes were tallied, they were sent home.
A Journey Defined by More Than Trophies
Britt Stewart may still be chasing her first Mirrorball Trophy. But her DWTS journey has already delivered a historic career, a platform for dance advocacy, and a marriage born from the ballroom.
She’s also the president of Share the Movement, a nonprofit focused on making dance accessible to BIPOC youth.
The elimination stung. The legacy doesn’t.
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