Dancing With The Stars’ Artem Chigvintsev says he refuses to watch the show after being cut from it. The happy feet dancer will not be part of the show in any way, according to ABC, leaving fans to wonder who will fill his shoes.

In August, Dancing With The Stars announced their cast for the 28th season, and Artem, as well as fellow dancer Sharna Burgess, are not a part of it. Artem had been a pivotal partner on the dance show for four years, dancing with partners such as Lea Thompson, Maureen McCormick, and now girlfriend, Nikki Bella. Before hitting the main stage on Dancing With The Stars, Artem tried out for the FOX show So You Think You Can Dance in its first season, eventually becoming the show’s choreographer, scripting beautiful dance scenes for many of the finals.

According to Us Weekly, Artem had begun to prepare himself for the reality that he may not be returning to the ABC dance show days before the outcome was announced to the public. On his girlfriend’s podcast, The Bella Podcast, he commented how the news still came as a massive shock to him. He said that dancing was more than his job, it was his lifestyle, and he had only known dancing for more than half his life. He told listeners that, as a dancer, there is always a chance of being involved after leaving a dance production, but when he received the call saying he would have no involvement, it was like going through a breakup. The Russian native went on to say that he would not even tune into ABC to watch the new season. He did not want his fans to think not watching was because he didn’t want to support the show, but more for the feelings that would flood back to him about what he was missing.

Getting the ax from the popular dance show has even brought in thoughts of possibly hanging up his dance shoes. In the interview, Artem recognized that he was 37 years old and really contemplating the idea of retiring, but he was still figuring it all out. He noted that he could possibly move from center stage to a more behind-the-scenes gig, maybe something more on the creative side of entertaining. Artem made note of his career choice, saying, “It’s a really tough place to be because I don’t know how I can translate dancing into something else.”

As most fans are aware Artem still cares deeply for his costars, including Burgess, who he has checked on since the news. He gave an update saying that she took not being asked back a bit harder than he had because she had won the mirror ball last season and had assumed, she would be asked back like years prior. Whatever the case may be with the shuffling of the Dancing With The Stars cast, fans can rest easy that their favorite dancer will be able to bounce back and most likely dance again.

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Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.

Source: US Weekly