Looking back at the last decade of dance in reality television, DWTS boasts a cast of thousands: the hosts, musicians, judges, dancers, celebrities, in-house audience, and the unseen but no less influential audience at home. As reality television featuring dance, ABC smartly straddles trends in popular culture with the harsh disciplines of dance training and performance. Beyond the scope of reality dance television, DWTS revs the media firestorm of tabloid sensationalism by the melodramas enacted weekly through its stars in training, rehearsal, and performance.