Martti Sivonen, the responsible producer of TTK, says that many things influence the formation of dance couples. He also reveals whether it would be possible to ask Nelonen’s regular face for MTV’s show.
Here are the new TTK pairs. Henri Kärkkäinen
The new Dancing with the Stars couples were announced today, August 4. In the upcoming season, 11 dance couples will be seen.
Judge Jorma Uotinen says that there are plenty of willing contestants for the program year after year, and many of them directly tell the conkar judge about their willingness. However, Uotinen must always direct the messages to the producers.
Many are surely wondering how suitable dance couples are born. Responsible producer Martti Sivonen explains how dance pairs are formed.
– We are looking for star students and we want there to be a very large variance of different ages from different backgrounds. It’s boring if everyone is a 30-year-old athlete. In the end, of course, all of them are united by the fact that they are well-known, says Sivonen, who works at Banijay Finland.
Future couples are thought about through star pupils.
– It’s influenced by dance-related things, the most important thing is length, says Sivonen.
He says that the production team prints A4 photos of the students and teachers and starts combining them.
– It’s really interesting and exciting. It’s nice to see the whole team now lined up and you can think that this went well again, says Sivonen at the TTK couples’ announcement event.
Can star students wish for a teacher?
– They are allowed to say their wish, but whether it comes true depends on the reasons mentioned above. The student’s and teacher’s schedules also affect whether they match, Sivonen points out.
Are there quotas that the competition must include, for example, a YouTuber or an Instagram influencer?
– No. We want as much diversity as possible, whether it’s about age, experience or notoriety. We also need those people who are not around every day or who are not recognized by everyone on the street. They then become loved by the whole nation, like for example Hannes from Finland.
Sivonen describes how the actor Hannes Suominen, who excelled in the competition in the 11th season, was mostly known to the general public Unknown Soldier from the movie, but rose to great popularity with the show and her dancing skills.
Hannes Suominen with his teacher Kia Lehmuskoski finished second in 2018. Matti Matikainen
Sivonen says that on the one hand, fixed stars are also needed on the floor, on the other hand, current faces.
The responsible producer says that some celebrities are asked to participate several times, but the schedules may never coincide.
On the dance floor, we are used to seeing familiar faces, especially from MTV. Over the years, the competition has seen, among other things, a meteorologist Pekka Poutanews anchor Kirsi Alm-Siira, actress also known from the series Salatut elämät Mikko Parikka and First Date at the Altar expert, priest Kari Kanala.
This season’s star student Alma Hätönen has gotten used to seeing Nelonen in programs before. Last year, he left his job at the HitMix radio channel owned by Nelonen Media.
Can the show’s star pupil cross channel boundaries?
– Of course, we have to think about it. It’s simple, we can ask and we’ll get an answer. Yes, of course, this is done very closely with Maikkar, even though we are responsible for casting in the production company, we go through every question together, Sivonen says.
Sivonen mentions that Hätönen has been Four’s face.
Could you ask Jaajo Linnonmaata join the TTK program?
– We could ask, but I don’t think we would, Sivonen regretted the fate of Nelonen’s standard face and radio voice.
The 15th season of Dancing with the Stars starts on MTV on Sunday, August 28.