Former DWTS Pro Spotted in Studio and Fans Are Begging for Her Return originally appeared on Parade.
Former Dancing With the Stars pro Karina Smirnoff was spotted practicing her ballroom dancing technique at a Los Angeles-area studio on August 2. While she was there, she bumped into current pros Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov.
"Went to the studio and bumped into the GOAT @karina_smirnoff," Karagach captioned a post on her Instagram feed.
Fans of the long-running dance competition show were overjoyed to see Smirnoff, 47, with Karagach and Pashkov and many expressed a strong desire for her to return to the series. Of course, with Season 34 just around the corner, the idea isn't too farfetched.
"Is she coming back for dwts? Did they announce the full cast yet?" one person wondered.
"Bring her back," someone else said.
"I miss Karina being on DWTS," a third comment read.
"Queen Karina. We need her back on dwts. I’d love to see you guys dancing together. I’ve always thought you were a mini Karina," a fourth Instagram user wrote.
Smirnoff competed on seasons 3 through 9 before taking a season off. She then returned for Season 11, competing on the show for several years, before stepping away again ahead of Season 20.
"Many of you have been asking if I will be back for season 20 of DWTS and I wanted all of my incredible family to hear it directly from me," Smirnoff said in 2015, according to Entertainment Tonight. "After a lot of thought and prayer, I've decided to focus my energies on some other exciting endeavors including adding author to my resume."
Smirnoff returned to the show for Seasons 21 and 22, but left once more — and didn't come back.
"I love dancing with celebrities on the show, but it's a different type of experience. You're not just their dance partner. You're their coach, their shrink, their cheerleader," she told Fox News in July 2017. "But when you perform with your professional partner, they're as strong as you and it becomes a different type of performance. And I missed that when I wasn't doing it while I was on the show."
Over her DWTS tenure, Smirnoff won one Mirrorball Trophy on Season 13 alongside J.R. Martinez.
