Adele Zaikman Wins 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro'

Adele Zaikman has been named the winner of *Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro*, clinching a coveted role as a professional partner on the upcoming fall season of ABC's flagship competition series.

Zaikman triumphed over fellow finalists Selena Hamilton and AJ Pritchard in the finale, concluding a competition that tested 12 dancers across ballroom technique, original choreography and instructional ability. Unlike earlier pre-taped rounds, the final installment was recorded before a studio audience to replicate the real-world pressures of the main broadcast.

Executive producer Conrad Green told TheWrap that showrunners initially felt some apprehension about casting an untested face through an on-air competition, but the intensity of the gauntlet validated the outcome.

"There was a bit of hesitation," Green told TheWrap. "But whenever we've put pros on the show before, they didn't go through anything like this kind of veto process ... None of our dancers have ever had to go through what these 12 went through."

Green added that the series structured each task to mirror the specific demands of the mothership show, testing whether competitors could choreograph standout television moments while successfully mentoring amateur partners under tight deadlines.

For ABC, turning professional casting into standalone unscripted programming offers a low-risk method to maintain franchise engagement between seasons. By publicly vetting talent through a dedicated feeder series, the network cultivates early audience investment in a new cast member before the fall broadcast rollout.