The “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom is about to get even more Israeli — and even more Jewish.
Israeli-Ukrainian dancer Adele Zaikman was crowned the first-ever winner of “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” on Monday night, earning a coveted place as a professional dancer on the upcoming 35th season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Zaikman, 24, beat out British ballroom veteran AJ Pritchard and Los Angeles-based contemporary dancer Selena Hamilton after eight weeks of competition. The Israeli-born dancer, who now lives in Los Angeles, specializes in Latin dance and previously won the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival.
Zaikman will become the first Israeli professional dancer in the history of the American “Dancing with the Stars” when she joins Season 35.
Adele Zaikman took “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” by storm
From the premiere, Zaikman established herself as one of the competition’s most technically polished dancers. Guest judge Derek Hough nicknamed her the “Rolls Royce” of the cast because her dancing looked “expensive,” while judge Shirley Ballas later called her “the new generation of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’” She never landed in danger of elimination throughout the season.
For the finale, Zaikman was paired with Jewish “Catfish” host Nev Schulman, who finished as the runner-up on Season 29 of “DWTS.” Schulman wore a Magen David during their performance, and has become an advocate against antisemitism in recent years.
The pair opened with a samba to Dillon Francis and Skrillex’s “Bun Up the Dance,” then closed the competition with a fiery, paso doble-inspired freestyle set to Imagine Dragons’ “Natural.”
“Adele, you could just walk across the floor and you would be captivating,” Hough told her after the freestyle. “If you became a pro, you wouldn’t just fit in; you would elevate the rest of the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ cast.”
When Zaikman’s name was announced, she initially appeared stunned before breaking into a huge smile and embracing Schulman and her fellow finalists.
“I just feel like this is a celebration of all the sacrifices that I’ve done,” she said as confetti fell around her. “It’s just like a big ‘I made it’ moment.”
Adele Zaikman joins a long line of Jewish ballroom dancers
Zaikman’s addition to “DWTS” is especially fitting given the show’s deep, if rarely discussed, connection to the former Soviet Jewish ballroom world.
Many of the franchise’s most recognizable professional dancers are Jewish immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova — or their children. That list includes Alan Bersten, whose Russian-Jewish parents opened a dance studio in Minnesota; Ukrainian-born Alec Mazo and Karina Smirnoff; Brooklyn-born Daniella Karagach, whose parents immigrated from Moldova; Belarusian-Australian dancer Sasha Farber; and brothers Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy, who grew up in a Jewish-Russian family in Odessa.
Like many of those dancers, Zaikman’s story spans several countries and cultures. She is of Israeli and Ukrainian descent, built her career on the international competitive ballroom circuit, and relocated to Los Angeles three years ago to continue dancing professionally.
Zaikman has publicly embraced her Israeli roots, displaying the Israeli and Ukrainian flags on social media. She was born and raised in Israel, grew up in Rishon LeZion, and began representing the country in international dance competitions as a teenager.
During a December 2025 trip to Israel, she shared photos geotagged in the country with the caption, “A quick visit back home ❤️.”
Now, that journey has brought her to one of the biggest dance floors on American television — where she will join a professional cast already shaped by generations of Jewish immigration and ballroom tradition.
Zaikman will make her debut as a professional dancer when Season 35 of “Dancing with the Stars” premieres Sept. 15 on ABC and Disney+. Her celebrity partner has not yet been announced.
