‘DWTS’ Pro Reveals He Passed on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Audition

A “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer is opening up about a career decision he now considers his “biggest flop” – turning down an invitation to audition for Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour to stay loyal to the ABC dance competition.

Ezra Sosa, 24, shared his regrets during a candid appearance on Trisha Paytas’ “Just Trish” podcast, revealing how his commitment to DWTS led him to pass up what could have been a career-defining opportunity with one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

Loyalty to ‘DWTS’ Over Opportunity

When the audition invitation came through, Sosa made the difficult choice to prioritize his existing commitments to “Dancing With the Stars” over the potential tour opportunity. “I think my biggest flop was not going to Taylor Swift’s audition for her tour. I was invited,” he admitted on the podcast.

The young dancer expressed confidence that he would have secured a spot on the globally acclaimed tour if he had auditioned. “I feel like [Madison] Beer saying this, but I [think] if I would have gone to the audition, I would have booked it,” he shared with Paytas.

Sosa explained that his decision came down to honoring his role as a swing dancer for “DWTS,” even though it meant missing out on joining Swift’s massive production. “I definitely feel, like, me doing it at the time showed my loyalty to Dancing With the Stars ’cause I was a swing for them,” he told the podcast. “I said no to the audition because I was already swinging, and I just knew my heart was in Dancing With the Stars.”

“DWTS” producers recognized the timing conflict and knew about the opportunity their dancer was sacrificing. He was “too busy” with his show commitments to accept the audition invitation, which the ballroom competition “knew,” Sosa said.

Sosa’s Strong Connections to the Tour

What makes Sosa’s decision even more noteworthy is his personal connection to the Eras Tour’s creative team. The tour featured choreography by Mandy Moore, a renowned choreographer who frequently works with “DWTS” and has a history with Sosa.

“It was Mandy Moore, [and] she trained me growing up,” Sosa explained to Paytas. “I had that close connection, and the material of it. Yeah, no, I could have crushed it.”

Swift’s Eras Tour, which ran from March 2023 to December 2024, became a cultural phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing concert tours in history. The production’s elaborate choreography and staging created opportunities for dozens of professional dancers to be part of an unprecedented entertainment experience.

Despite his regrets about the missed opportunity, Sosa’s loyalty to “DWTS” paid off in other ways. “DWTS” promoted him to professional dancer status for season 33, where producers partnered him with controversial contestant Anna Delvey. Although they were eliminated after the premiere, Sosa maintains a friendship with Delvey, telling People in 2024: “We’re texting every day. Yes, we are. She’s like, ‘You have to come to New York!’ And I was like, ‘Do you miss me?’ She goes, ‘Sure.'”