Conductor Ray Chew’s job as the music director of Dancing With the Stars is difficult. It requires a high level of musical skill, the ability to orchestrate many pieces from week to week and to quickly adapt to changes as the stars and their pro dance partners fine-tune their choreography. Add in rehearsals and managing an 18-person band and one would be surprised to learn that Chew even has time to breathe, let alone be as coolly relaxed as when we spoke to him. Although his efforts are rarely seen on camera, they are most certainly heard.
After all, it’s pretty hard to dance without music (though not impossible, especially after seeing Season 22 champ Nyle DiMarco, who is deaf, take the Mirrorball trophy home in 2016). Chew says he was “recruited” for Dancing in 2014 after serving as the Emmy Awards music director and, for four seasons, working on competition series American Idol — whose production, says Chew, was “across the hall” at the time. For the first 17 seasons, the show’s music came from Tony-winning bandleader Harold Wheeler and his 28-member orchestra, but in February 2014, ABC announced his abrupt departure from the show, and Chew was thrust into the role for Season 18. “Ray is one of the most versatile and dynamic musicians working today,” showrunner Conrad Green said at the time.
During the season, a typical week is hectic. There’s no time for any missteps. The list of assigned songs — “deliverables,” as Chew calls them — is sent out on Tuesday, but since Chew is busy getting ready for the night’s live show performances, they don’t tend to get started in full until the following morning. Wednesdays and Thursdays, Chew digs into arranging the songs for his band. “We really try to give the appropriate approach to each song,” he explains.
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Often, they’re taking a popular track and adding elements, following the pro dancer’s request. Sometimes they need to mimic the music perfectly. To do either of those, Chew jokes, they must “un-bake the cake” of the song. Still, “the dancers are specific down to the millisecond,” says Chew of their instructions. “When I’m able to make these guys smile, we’re good.”
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After a 48-hour period to prepare the musical arrangements, they’ll have a small rehearsal on Friday, add in the whole band on Saturday and practice with the dance team on Sunday. Monday is the show’s full dress rehearsal and then Tuesday is performance day. Sometimes rehearsals can take a tiring 12 to 16 hours. Then it starts all over again the following week. “When I start the season, there’s not much room for anything else,” Chew admits. No kidding.
But variety is the spice of life, and what makes Dancing so delicious. “We’ll do a big band and bring in extra horns and then do a Katy Perry song and then turn around and do Soul Train Night,” the bandleader says. “It’s always wonderfully challenging.”
What happens when one of the celebrity contestants is a pop star or other famous musician? Do they ever get in the way of the process? “They’ve been wonderfully respectful,” Chew assures us. “[Grammy winner] Jason Mraz [who was Season 32’s runner-up in 2023], he was great. Some of them actually come into the rehearsal and perform with us.”
While Chew maintains that he and his team have “a lot of fun,” even in the high-stress environment, there is always pressure to achieve perfection, and with good reason: “Each and every song has got to be a hit over the fence, because each song is that moment for the contestants.” OK, hit it!
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34 Premiere, Tuesday, September 16, 8/7c, ABC
For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.
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