How Are the Women in Dancing Queens Connected? A Friendship Explainer

They may be fierce competitors on the dance floor, but outside the ballroom the women of Dancing Queens have some solid friendships. 

And while some dancers may value the friendships more than others (stay-at-home mom Sabrina Strasser tells producers “another word for dance friend” is “F-R-E-N-E-N-Y,” hilariously misspelling the term), for most, the friendships give the women a chance to connect with others who value their passion for dance and understand the competitive — and sometimes cutthroat — world of Pro-Am ballroom dance.

So, just how are the women of Bravo’s Dancing Queens connected? Here’s a brief explainer of the friendships: 

Connection between Leonie Biggs and Donie Burch

Leonie Biggs, a successful perfectionist with a high-powered career in finance, isn’t one to sugar-coat things. The New Jersey mom tells it exactly how it is — whether it’s revealing the secret ins-and-outs of the ballroom dance world or her own difficult past with demanding parents. 

During her time in the ballroom, Leonie has found a kindred spirit in New York City resident Donie Burch, who has been dancing for most of her life. 

The women met in 2019 and immediately hit it off. 

“Donie and I met at a group performance about three years ago that was so bad, but the one good thing I got out of that was her friendship,” Leonie says in the upcoming premiere episode.

RELATED: Meet the Cast of Dancing Queens (PHOTOS)

The fast friends often meet up to get pedicures, catch up over coffee or compare notes about upcoming competitions. 

Connection Between Leonie, Donie, and Gaëlle Benchetrit

The friendship doesn’t only exist between the two women. During the series, Leonie introduces Donie to her friend and fellow competitor, Gaëlle Benchetrit, who is the envy of most women because of her professional partner, Nino Langella. Nino is considered one of the best professional dancers in the world. 

Yet, the trio haven’t let that get between them. 

Connection Between Colette Marotto and Sabrina Strasser

Although usually hundreds of miles away from each other, Sabrina (who lives in Canada) and Colette Marotto (who lives in Arizona) are frequent phone friends, often FaceTiming one another to catch up over a glass of wine. 

“Colette and I just know each other from competitions. She’s like a dance sister,” Sabrina says in the upcoming Dancing Queens premiere. “We have a bond because unless you’re in this world, you don’t understand it.”

But the friendship will be tested this season as they both begin competing against each other.

In the past, Sabrina competed in group “A,” a division primarily for those between the ages of 16 and 35 (although they let women continue to compete in the division even after they reach the top of the age range) and the two women were never in competition together. 

This year, however, Sabrina is moving to group “B” (which serves women between the ages of 36 and 50) and they both will have to face off with one another. 

Can the women’s friendship survive amid the heated competition? It’s too early to say.

Connection Between Colette Marotto and Pooja Mehta

OK, this one isn’t exactly a friendship, but it’s important to understand the unique connection between these two women. The two Arizona natives once shared the same professional partner, Kristijan Burazer, but when Pooja Mehta decided to move to the same Latin category Colette was competing in, Kristijan was forced to choose between the two women.

He decided to stick with Pooja, leaving a wounded Colette to find a new professional partner on her own — and getting over the slight hasn’t exactly been easy.

It’s yet to be seen whether the drama will extend to Colette and Pooja ,as they now find themselves competing against one another on the dance floor.

To see how the relationships play out, tune in to Dancing Queens premiering Tuesday, May 9, at 9/8c.