Creative Director Darren Bennett spoke to RTÉ Lifestyle about the process of creating a successful series of DWTS. Watch it back above.
"First of all, a Creative Director is nothing without a team, and we have a fantastic team," Darren Bennet tells me backstage at Dancing with the Stars one Sunday evening.
As audience members file in to take their seats and celebs nervously practice their Foxtrots and Pasodobles in-between spritzes of hairspray and final touches of concealer, I manage to squeeze in a quick chat with the Creative Director in front of a sequinned wall that fans of the show will recognise from James Patrice's weekly videos.
As Creative Director of the glittering competition, Bennett has to map out the look and feel of every second of every episode within a series, balancing the aesthetics of every pro-number and the feel of each celebrity-led tango.
"It's looking at the structure of the show," he explains. "It's working with the executive producers and series producers on how we want the show to feel with the cast that we've got. Once the cast is then chosen, making sure the pairings are right with the pro-dancers, then it's looking at each journey individually.
"Looking at what each celebrity wants to say as a story, what they bring to the show - whether it's a singer or an actress or a sports person - so, from that perspective, it's looking at all those elements and the storytelling."
Working alongside his wife, choreographer Lilia Kopylova, Bennett says that the brand has become a huge part of his life over the past 19 years. With experience in the UK, Ireland, and across the globe, he says he is amazed to see how much the show has developed over the years.
"When I did the show in the UK many years ago, there were no graphics, we didn't talk about lighting, we didn't talk about themed weeks, there were no props - there was none of that," he explains.
"As a pro, it was much simpler in those days: you went, you choreographed your dance, you got your costume and you did it. Today, it's a fundamentally, totally different show that we're making week in and week out now. We want to tell as many stories as we can, we want as much individuality as we can [get], and we want everybody to look as good as they can every week."
Despite his years of experience, though, Darren insists that there's always something new to be learned with each batch of celebs. This year, that opportunity came about thanks to equality campaigner Rory O'Neill who has now performed both as himself and as Drag Queen extraordinaire, Panti Bliss.
"Working with Panti this year has been a totally new experience," he says. "Even from the music we've approached for her or the costuming or the vibe that we've created, it's new for me, so that's also a learning process. I've enjoyed that process, but again it's really interesting to see how the [celebs] develop each week and what we're going to do with them each week."
You can watch DWTS every Sunday on RTÉ One or catch up on RTÉ Player.
