( CNN ) -- Throw a little celebratory glitter for `` Dancing With the Stars . '' Despite being in its 18th season , the ABC reality series still managed to make Monday night 's premiere feel fresh . Part of that is thanks to Erin Andrews , the Fox Sports personality who 's taken over co-hosting duties from Brooke Burke-Charvet , but Monday 's episode also debuted a set makeover , a new band and a new twist on voting . Every week , celebrities pair up with their assigned professional ballroom dancers to learn a dance routine to perform for the judges . With a combination of votes from viewers and scores from the judges , each celebrity competing vies to be the star with the highest score weekly so he or she can advance to the next round . Those who land in the bottom are eliminated from the show . But to shake up the process , `` DWTS '' is now allowing viewers to vote for stars to switch pro partners midway through the season . The cast this year includes child stars such as Danika McKellar ( aka Winnie from `` The Wonder Years '' ) and Candace Cameron Bure ( D.J . Tanner from `` Full House '' ) , plus `` The Real Housewives of Atlanta 's '' NeNe Leakes , comedian-TV host Drew Carey , and champion ice dancers Charlie White and Meryl Davis . White , who 's paired with Sharna Burgess , and Bure , who 's dancing with Mark Ballas , had the top two routines of the night . ( The `` Full House '' actress caught the judges off guard with her skills . ) Carey , Leakes and McKellar , whose fox trot got thunderous applause , all earned scores that landed them in the middle . Davis ended up scoring below her ice-dancing partner White , earning just a 24 to White 's score of 27 . ( That difference made at least one viewer wonder if the judges are playing favorites . ) The real standout of the night was Billy Dee Williams ( as we predicted ) . The 76-year-old `` Star Wars '' actor not only pulled off a cha-cha with pro partner Emma Slater to the movie 's theme music , but he did it with two Stormtroopers and R2-D2 . The audience -- which included some Ewoks -- loved it , but the judges thought his routine was lacking energy and gave him the lowest score of the night , a 15 . The first elimination in the 18th season of `` Dancing With the Stars '' will take place next week .
`` Dancing With the Stars '' gets a makeover for its 18th season premiere . It includes a new band , a twist on voting and a new co-host . The cast of 'Dancing with the Stars' is getting a facelift as they prepare to return in their 17th year. At the bottom was Billy Dee Williams .