00:00:02
Speaker 1: The time has come. The ballroom is open. Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is here. So welcome to a brand new episode of Danielle With.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: I am your eighth place champion, a professional celebrity dancer by all accounts, now joined by a truly incredible professional dancer and co-host ready to ride it out with me week after week, New Yorker after New Yorker. As far as I am aware, I think this is the only place in the world where you can hear from a former Dancing with the Stars professional and a celebrity competitor together. She competed on the first three seasons of Australia's Dancing with the Stars, then joined the U.S. cast from 2006 to 2015 and 2017. She served as a judge on The Australian Show and is a two-time Mirrorball champ. I am genuinely honored to share the mic with and blindly lead into podcast hosting... Ballroom legend, Kim Johnson Herjavec. Hi.
00:01:27
Speaker 3: Hello. What an intro.
00:01:29
Speaker 2: Wow. Well, listen, you deserve the intro of all intros. I am so honored that you agreed to join me for Ballroom Breakdown. It is a dream come true, truly, to have you here as a co-host. So outside of being a massive fan of you as a dancer, last year when you guest judged, everyone, Everyone was talking about how amazing you were from the fans to the crew, to the dancers, to the celebs. Your insight was invaluable. The way you delivered it was with grace and class. And you, you were just, you truly, you were a shining star. You were a big, bright spot in the.
00:02:09
Speaker 3: Season for all of us. It was actually really fun. I mean, since I've not been on the show, I'm a fan of the show. I watch it at home like everybody else. But ballroom dancing, you know, is what I do. So when they asked me to guest judge, I was so excited. But obviously I know what it feels like for you guys on the other side. So I was really mindful of that and I wanted to give some tips that would help future dancers instead of just like focusing on, you know, that one specific dance. So I just thought I would just tell you what I would like to hear, you know.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: And that was so good because that is true that so much of the feedback you get in the live show is about the dance you just did. That you'll never do again. Right. And so you being able to give advice for things that will carry forward for other dances was massive.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: It was really fun. It was great. It's such a fun show. And it's nice to still, you know, be a part of the family and be asked to come back and do little bits and pieces. You know, it's like it really is a family, isn't it? So once you're in it, you're in it.
00:03:14
Speaker 2: I know. It really is that way. I was actually really, I was not able to go to the show last night and I really wanted to be there. I got home from my other work event that I was at and I watched all two hours of it with bated breath. I had a lot of FOMO that I wasn't there.
00:03:29
Speaker 3: Right. Right.
00:03:30
Speaker 2: So as I mentioned also in your intro, in addition to last year's guest appearance on Dancing with the Stars, you were a judge in Australia.
00:03:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:03:39
Speaker 2: How do you approach the responsibility of giving that feedback and ultimately scores to celebrities who you know are working so far out of their comfort zone?
00:03:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, I started judging actually the show in Australia a long time ago. I think it was probably 2011. 13 or something like that. I was going in between America and Australia doing both. And yeah, I mean, I took the responsibility, you know, very like seriously because I know exactly how much effort goes into it. But Len gave me great advice. I actually spoke to him before I went back to Australia to do it. And he said, you know what, you know what you're talking about. Just tell them what you would tell them if you were in the dance studio, which- Made complete sense to me because it's what I do when I'm, you know, teaching a celebrity. So my approach when I'm teaching is always, you know, this was good but let's do this. You know, I'm a little bit more positive. I mean it does depend on who you have and how they respond. You may have to change your teaching style a little bit but I found that worked well for me. And I know they're standing there. They've just finished this dance. You don't want to just be like, you know, I mean, it can be great TV. I know on the English one there's one judge that's just so mean. And, you know, it's just like, oh, my gosh, like the things he says. Right. that's just not my style, you know? Yeah.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I mean, it is hard. I can definitely say, I know I felt it toward the end of last season when, you know, you get into a groove of like really wanting to perfect the dance. And so you're, you're, you know, you're doing runs and you're just doing the dance over and over and over again. And every time you watch it, then you're looking to see the improvements. And so if there isn't an immediate, like, Hey, great job. you start to get to a point where you're like, did I do anything right?
00:05:40
Speaker 3: It's so true. I know. And then you're so defeated and then you've got to like put that behind you and get back to the next dance. And yeah, I mean, I loved being a judge on the Australian one. It was so fun. And it is kind of challenging though with scores because you do have like say Guillermo or, you know, someone that may not be at the standard of, you know, Someone else.
00:06:05
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:06:06
Speaker 3: Someone else. So it does get tricky in that regard because the entertainment value, say, Guillermo would bring is huge. So it's like that's got to be some points. You know what I mean?
00:06:18
Speaker 2: That's got to count for something.
00:06:19
Speaker 3: That's got to count for something. So I'm all for entertainment value as well. Okay. So I would probably mark that. I probably would have marked him a little higher. I don't know.
00:06:28
Speaker 2: Oh, I can't wait to get into it for sure. So for our dear listeners who have never danced before, on that ballroom floor. What makes premiere night so special?
00:06:40
Speaker 3: It really is. It's just the best feeling. Obviously, the nerves are super high for all of the celebrities because it's so new to them. For the dancers, we know the drill. You know what to expect. But it's still very exciting when it's the premiere of the show. But I think for the celebrities, getting that first one done and over with, it just then... I don't know, it does something to you and you're like, right, I'm in this. And the nerves sort of disappear and you get that adrenaline rush of being on the boring floor. So I think once that music starts and you get the first one under your belt, it's like, You're off to the races, you know? Exactly.
00:07:21
Speaker 2: I know there's so much anticipation before the premiere because you think about the fact that from the moment you decide you're doing the show, you've signed your name on the dotted line. It's a secret. You are sworn to secrecy. Then there's all the hype leading up to the announcement. Then there's meeting your pro. Then there is the big announcement, the Good Morning America announcement. Then you're in rehearsals and every single day. So by the time premiere night rolls around, you have been anticipating this moment for quite possibly months.
00:07:54
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:07:55
Speaker 2: Five, six months for some people. Yeah. So then getting there and having the ballroom suddenly feels electric and alive.
00:08:03
Speaker 3: And the audience.
00:08:03
Speaker 2: There's an audience there.
00:08:05
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:05
Speaker 2: And for you guys as the pros, I can imagine, I remember them saying, like, it's nerve wracking because you don't know. Your celeb may be flawless individually. In the rehearsal ballroom.
00:08:16
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:17
Speaker 2: But when those cameras are going and it's live TV, you have no idea how they're going to react.
00:08:22
Speaker 1: No idea.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: And the only way of doing it is to throw them into it.
00:08:24
Speaker 3: Yeah. I danced with a football player once and he would really mark it in rehearsals, but he was still really cool. So I'm like, okay, that's fine if we just do that. I guess because he's a football player, he's used to live things, live football performances. He turned it to another gear completely. It shocked me when we were on the floor because he was just so incredible. Like he just lifted it so much more. It was Warren Sapp actually. Wow. I couldn't believe it. I was like as we're dancing, I'm like, oh, my God, what is going on? Like it was so funny. But he just really like came alive with that live audience and the energy of the room. So you just never know. And then that's with Jerry Springer. And like we danced one Paso Do play and he completely looked at me. I made a big mistake. I let him be alone. Yeah. Normally I would have him holding his hands the whole time. And he just completely forgot what he was doing and started doing some, I don't know.
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Just started improv-ing.
00:09:26
Speaker 3: Improv-ing. I'm like, what is happening? So you just never know.
00:09:30
Speaker 2: You never know. It can go one of two ways. Yeah. Okay. Hopefully everybody turns it up a notch. let's talk about this season 35 cast for a minute. Obviously, coming off of a red hot season, everyone had their eyes on Dina Katz to see how she would follow it up. I think she delivered in spades, but we've also seen many a renaissance for this show. It's had its ups and downs, and right now it is very, up. Were you impressed with the cast announcements?
00:10:03
Speaker 3: Very impressed. I don't know how Dana does it. I said to her, somehow each season you just seem to do it again. And last season, your season, I thought was unbelievable. I loved the whole cast, and you fell in love with everyone.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:10:19
Speaker 3: Everyone was so different and had their own thing. So you just think, how is she going to do it again? And I feel like she has, I mean, obviously it's the first episode we're going to, you know, start to learn about them as it goes on. Yes. But I thought it was a great mix of personalities last night of talent, dance styles. So I think she's definitely done it again. Um, I mean, I know we only saw, um, the men, the men, the celebrities, and we get to see the the ladies later. So that'll be interesting. Yeah. But I thought she did a great job.
00:10:55
Speaker 2: I thought so, too. And I also think it's such an art form to know which pros to pair your celebs with. And, you know, the celebs go in thinking maybe they've got ideas about who they want to be with or who they think they should have been with. And then the minute rehearsals get underway and you see the partnerships develop, you go, yeah, no, she did. She did it exactly the right way.
00:11:17
Speaker 3: You know, it just works, doesn't it?
00:11:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:11:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:11:20
Speaker 2: It's really great.
00:11:20
Speaker 3: You know who I really loved this season is Riley and Connor. I thought they were so great together.
00:11:25
Speaker 2: I agree.
00:11:27
Speaker 3: I feel like he's brought something else out in Riley or something. Yes. I thought they were adorable together.
00:11:33
Speaker 2: I thought so too. And I'm really happy to see that because getting to know Riley a little bit.
00:11:40
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:40
Speaker 2: She is such a cute, fun person.
00:11:43
Speaker 3: She is.
00:11:44
Speaker 2: Great personality.
00:11:45
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: And to see him be able to make her laugh and to just really enjoy herself. Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see this journey for both of them this season.
00:11:55
Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, it's just incredible how Dina, she's always been like that. I mean, everyone she put me with worked hard. I think she definitely knew what she was doing when she put me with Robert.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: Obviously, your beautiful husband you met on the show.
00:12:11
Speaker 3: So cute. Yeah, she has a way with making it work. Yes, she does.
00:12:18
Speaker 2: There were also quite a few rumors swirling about you returning to the show this year. Oh, really? Yes, you did announce your retirement from competition, correct? Yes.
00:12:30
Speaker 3: Oh, for sure. I've hung up the dance shoes. I mean, I still love to dance and I'm still doing like little bits and pieces here and there. But, you know, I'll leave that to the young ones. These new pros are just incredible.
00:12:44
Speaker 1: I know.
00:12:45
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm such a fan of them all. I think they are so incredible. They can do it all.
00:12:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: And they've just stepped it up another level. So, yeah, my dance shoes are definitely– hung up. So I mean, if there's a little guest judge spot, I'd love to do that. Exactly. That kind of thing. But yeah, as far as dancing.
00:13:07
Speaker 2: Being a pro.
00:13:08
Speaker 3: No, thanks. Yeah. I think I've had my time.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: And you were spectacular in that time. Oh, so sweet. As always, the preseason discussion revolved around prior dance experience. We have two former professional dancers competing this year.
00:13:37
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:13:38
Speaker 2: Where do you stand when it comes to this ongoing argument? As a pro, do you hope for a ringer, like someone who could just walk out onto the floor and impress? Or do you want someone who's really going to have to be showing progress every week?
00:13:52
Speaker 3: You know what? I always go back to one of my favorite season that I ever had. And it was my first season with Jerry Springer. And I think that was because the expectations were so low. No, no disrespect, but he was older. People didn't think that he could move, but he ended up, he was musical. You know, obviously we couldn't do what we had with Mario Lopez that season who had danced as well.
00:14:19
Speaker 2: Right.
00:14:20
Speaker 3: So he was incredible. Like there was quite a few good dancers. But that was my favorite season because there was not much pressure. We just had so much fun and the growth that he had each week was so amazing. So that was, I love getting people that are not like the greatest dancers and you see that growth. But then straight after that season, I had Joey Fatone, who obviously was from NSYNC. So that was a very different season for me. From Jerry Springer to Joey Fatone, I could do so much more with Joey. Right. But the pressure was a lot higher for me because the expectations were huge with Joey. Yeah.
00:14:59
Speaker 2: Being able to exceed expectations is always fun. And so when the expectation is higher and you feel like, oh, gosh, there's only a large possibility we're going to let people down.
00:15:09
Speaker 3: It's true. So I think that, you know, Jenna and Val especially, we all know that they have former dancers in a different field. The expectations and the pressure on Val and Jenna is going to be huge.
00:15:24
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:15:24
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker 3: But they'll rise to it. They're incredible.
00:15:27
Speaker 2: They always do. And I think it's fun.
00:15:29
Speaker 3: I think Dean is great. I mean, I know it's a bit of controversy, like should they be there because they have dance experience. But I think it's great. The standard of the show is unbelievable and we get to see this incredible dancing. It is a different dance style to what they do.
00:15:46
Speaker 2: Yep.
00:15:48
Speaker 3: And ballroom dancing, it is completely different. Obviously, it is going to help them. Of course. Musically, they're going to be great. They have, you know, dance experience, but the judges are going to be extra picky on them. They're going to want to make sure their weight's correctly over the balls of their feet, which is very different. I came from ballet, jazz, tap, and it does, you have to sort of change everything when you get into ballroom. Right. it'll be interesting to see their journey as well. Like, can they do a ballroom frame? And that's completely foreign, especially for hip hop dancer to be able to hold your arms in a frame and then move like that. So they have their journey to go on as well as say a gamo.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I agree with you. I also feel like, you know, there's, there's so much talk about fairness and so much of the show is in the hands of the viewer. And so if you want to see, obviously, the quality of dances we're going to get from people who have dance experience is going to be through the roof. If you don't want to vote for them because you think it's not, then don't vote.
00:16:59
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: But, Or if you love watching the show to see high quality, high caliber dancing, then maybe that is who you want to vote for because they're going to deliver that.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: And that's the beauty of it, that you get to vote for who you want. I mean, I know the judges are there to do their job too and they score it the way they see it, but it does really come down to what people want to see at home. And that's the beauty of the show. And you see that every week by who gets eliminated.
00:17:28
Speaker 2: Well, speaking of getting eliminated, let's not waste any more time. It was fellas night. For the first time ever, they split the cast up. Just the male celebrities took to the floor and it was announced that one couple would be eliminated at the end of the show.
00:17:45
Speaker 3: Brutal.
00:17:47
Speaker 2: That first week elimination is brutal. It is.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: I mean, you can't not feel bad for Connor and Adele. I know. It's just like all that work that they put in in the lead up to this one night. Yes. And then it's just gone.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Just over.
00:18:07
Speaker 3: Just over. Especially I feel bad for Adele coming off the next pro.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:18:14
Speaker 3: I mean, that's, yeah, that's not great, the poor thing. I just feel so bad for her.
00:18:20
Speaker 1: I know.
00:18:21
Speaker 3: I mean, you know what? She'll be there for all the pro numbers and we'll get to see her again.
00:18:25
Speaker 2: Honestly, it'll be a great experience for her, similar to the idea of being on Troop.
00:18:31
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:18:31
Speaker 2: She will get the benefits of seeing all of the other pros, all of the other partnerships, all of the other teaching styles.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:18:39
Speaker 2: The judging. She'll get to absorb everything like a sponge.
00:18:43
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:18:44
Speaker 2: And she just won't have that pressure on her.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: Exactly. So she's still going to be there every week. Yes. So it will be. Yes, it'll be fine for her.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: It'll be great.
00:18:56
Speaker 3: I know. But actually watching the package of them, I didn't really know much about Connor but I thought, oh, he's so fun. And I loved his whole like dad thing. Like he did remind me of, you know, the dad out there trying to do it. Yes. But I feel like I was looking forward to seeing him do a ballroom dance or what else he could do. So it is a shame but, I mean– Someone had to go.
00:19:21
Speaker 2: Someone had to go. When you have such a huge cast like that, someone had to go this time. Well, before we jump into all of the packages, we got a beautiful opening number from our pros, which is just something we expect at this point since they are the best dancers in the world. And then we are introduced to all of our celebrities. It is the biggest roster of all time. And seeing them all on that stage was slightly overwhelming.
00:19:47
Speaker 3: It was a lot, wasn't it?
00:19:49
Speaker 2: It's a big cast.
00:19:50
Speaker 3: It's a really big cast, but exciting. Like I was sitting at home on the couch just going, oh my gosh. Yes. It was big and it was like, okay, all right. They're letting us know this season's going to be huge.
00:20:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, production value through the roof. This week's theme was Billboard number one hits from the year the celebrity was born. It's a general theme in the scheme of things. Dance number one was by Savannah Bananas' second baseman, Jackson Olsen and Emma Slater. My kids love the Savannah Bananas. So this was a very fun performance for our family. Have you ever watched a Bananas game?
00:20:29
Speaker 3: Do you know what?
00:20:30
Speaker 2: I haven't.
00:20:31
Speaker 3: And I thought I should probably do that, but I didn't get time to do it. I had to say to my husband, I don't understand why. Like, does he play baseball or does he dance? Like, I don't get it.
00:20:44
Speaker 2: It's a combination. It's if baseball and dance had a baby.
00:20:48
Speaker 3: Yes. Yeah.
00:20:50
Speaker 2: It's very fun. The song he danced to was Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Which I loved. And it was so great.
00:20:57
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:20:58
Speaker 2: And he did a cha-cha.
00:21:00
Speaker 3: Yes. It was so fun. And again, I'm so happy for Emma. Yeah. They seem so happy together. She seems so happy and she's going to be able to do so much with him. He has, I think the judges said he has so much potential. Yes. Maybe they didn't, but he, I think he has so much potential.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: He really does. I also loved because I remember so much last season, seeing Emma count throughout the entire dance, every dance with Andy, just seeing her yelling out counts. And last night, she sang that entire song, not a count to be found. And I thought, I know she loves Andy so much, but this has to be so much fun for her.
00:21:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, it does. And I think she said herself, like she loves the variety of all the different partners she had, which you do, but it is fun to be able to have someone that, you know, okay, well I can really, you know, do some really interesting choreography and have fun. So I think that Jackson and Emma are going to, like go a long way.
00:22:01
Speaker 2: I think so too.
00:22:03
Speaker 3: I think she was clever in doing, you know, things that suit his personality. I think that, I think he technically, he's got some things that he can work on. Like with the cha-cha, he had two bent legs quite often. Yes. And you should only ever have one bent leg at a time.
00:22:20
Speaker 2: Right.
00:22:22
Speaker 3: But they're the, I mean, it's the first week. First week. Like it was an incredible dance to come out for the first week. Yep.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: And Derek agreed with you. He did start his feedback with a little preface warning that the scores might be a little lower at the beginning.
00:22:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:22:39
Speaker 2: And I am going to guess that that was a note from production to kind of spell it out that, you know, they need a place to grow. If you start super high, how do you show that they're improving every week when they obviously are? So Derek points out Jackson's legwork, but compliments his ability to connect. He gave him a five. Bruno said he knows Jackson is an entertainer, but he needs to keep an eye on his foot placement.
00:23:05
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:23:05
Speaker 2: And Carrie Ann Inaba wants him to work on his finishing movements. His final score was a 15 out of 30. What would you have scored his dance?
00:23:17
Speaker 3: I probably would have scored it a six. Okay.
00:23:20
Speaker 2: Um.
00:23:21
Speaker 3: But, yeah, I didn't realise they were going to go so low. That was kind of low, I guess. But it's really hard to be the first one out of the gate, you know, because they are going to start a little lower. If he had have gone a little later in the show, maybe he wouldn't have got the fives. But I thought, you know, well, I guess it did reflect when looking at the other scores. But I thought they were really good. Yeah. You know, for a first touch up.
00:23:50
Speaker 2: I think a five is kind of right in line with a brutally honest first week.
00:23:58
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:24:00
Speaker 2: I would, you know, I feel like I probably would have thought five. Yeah. And yet so much potential. Can't wait to see this. Like when he gets his first 10, it's going to just be you're going to you're going to leap off of your chair, you know, like, yeah, I know he can get there.
00:24:16
Speaker 3: So he can get there. And I think that he's really going to start to pick up the Boreham technique because I think that that he's he has everything else. But it was just that but you can't have the technique on week one down, you know. So I think when he gets that, he's going to be a real contender.
00:24:32
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:24:33
Speaker 2: But we get a troop dance next. Anya Jackson Carter and the newest member of the troop, Camry.
00:24:39
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. I loved that. They're incredible, that troop. Oh, troop. I love it when the troop come out and do something.
00:24:47
Speaker 2: Me, too. And I... Loved them so much last year. And I got to know Kamri this year on tour.
00:24:53
Speaker 3: Yes. Isn't she adorable? Adorable.
00:24:57
Speaker 2: They're all so great. They're so supportive. They're so talented. The range of things they can do never ceases to amaze me, including picking up new choreography for an entire dance in about 15 minutes.
00:25:11
Speaker 3: Yes. And they have to do so many, like when they're in all the different numbers, the quick changes, the bumpers that, yeah, they're incredible.
00:25:20
Speaker 2: They really are. Okay. So then our dance number two was bachelor alumni, Tyler Cameron and returning pro and Danielle with alumni, Sharna Burgess.
00:25:31
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:25:31
Speaker 2: So happy to see her back in the ballroom.
00:25:35
Speaker 3: I know. And you can see she's just so happy to be back.
00:25:38
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:25:39
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's so great.
00:25:41
Speaker 2: Have you known Sharna for a long time?
00:25:43
Speaker 3: I have for a long time.
00:25:44
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:25:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, we did Burn the Floor together.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: Oh, right.
00:25:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, actually, I left Burn the Floor. And then she came in. They were the younger ones that came in, yeah. But no, I've known her for a long time. Yeah, so no, I was pleasantly surprised with them.
00:25:59
Speaker 2: Yes, really good. They did Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz. They did a tango. What were your thoughts on their dance? When I was.
00:26:08
Speaker 3: Watching the package and seeing him get it together. I was a little concerned, I have to say, because it looked a little wooden.
00:26:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, stiff.
00:26:18
Speaker 3: But I know Shana, and so she's obviously cracked the whip. And when they started, I was like, wow, okay. He was like down in his legs. He was like had the tango. His frame was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought they did a great job for a tango first out of the gate. So we hope, right. Yeah, I was worried, a little worried from the rehearsal footage. Yeah. And they surprised me.
00:26:45
Speaker 2: But they pleasantly surprised you.
00:26:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I did write a six for them.
00:26:49
Speaker 2: You got a six. Okay. Carrie Ann Inaba said she found him solid, but it's happening again. She gave him a hard time about their lift.
00:26:58
Speaker 3: Oh, that's Carrie Ann's thing, isn't it?
00:27:01
Speaker 2: Carrie Ann's thing. We're used to it. We're accustomed to it at this point. But she does like the way he commands himself, and she also gave him a six. Bruno said there was lots of potential. You can move, man. And he said there was room for improvement. Gave him a six. Derek Hough compared him to Patrick Swayze, but also critiqued his frame and wants to make sure he finishes his movements, which is something I'm very familiar with hearing from Derek Hough myself.
00:27:29
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:27:29
Speaker 2: And he gave him a five. I agree with you. I would have probably given him a six.
00:27:35
Speaker 3: Yeah. I thought he was really good.
00:27:37
Speaker 2: I thought he was, like you said, what we saw in rehearsal footage to what we saw on the floor was a stark difference. So you know she had been working on that.
00:27:48
Speaker 3: Absolutely. Yeah. I was thinking, oh, I don't know how he's going to be. I thought he was going to be very stiff and awkward, but he was really good.
00:27:59
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing their chemistry develop as the season progresses. Sharna is so I mean all of you as pros are so good at having chemistry and making really selling something no matter who your pro is I felt like he had a little bit of a wall like there was something stopping him from really connecting yeah and I feel.
00:28:23
Speaker 3: Like he wasn't sure where to look at times yeah you know his head position wasn't completely where it should be but I think that I put that down to nerves. So I think he'll get more sure of himself as it goes on. But yeah, I agree.
00:28:41
Speaker 2: And I think to the celeb point from my POV, when you do that dance, when you've been practicing in all different rehearsal rooms and you are picking different locations for what is front, you don't actually get into the ballroom until the day before the live show.
00:28:58
Speaker 3: And it's so quick.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: Everything changes. There's lights, there's smoke, there's confetti, there's audience members. So to your point of not being sure where to look, there's also cameras everywhere.
00:29:09
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: You really don't know where to look and it can be a little discombobulating. So I think you're right.
00:29:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that there was one moment where it looked like he was sort of just holding on and Shana was just like, you know.
00:29:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, holding on for dear life.
00:29:21
Speaker 3: Pulling him around. But, you know, what I was impressed was, He had his weight into the ground. I thought he was going to have his butt out and be stiff, but he wasn't. So I mean, that's Shana's teaching. yeah um so those things I was like okay yep he's gonna be good yeah.
00:29:53
Speaker 2: Well, we would then go to a commercial break. And when we return, we are now backstage in the new Sephora glam room.
00:30:01
Speaker 3: Very fancy. So fancy.
00:30:03
Speaker 2: Last season, they were working on decorating that little area. So for our dear listeners, that is the area right outside the ballroom floor where they have those little stations set up. And that's the last stop you make before you go out to do your dance. and they were starting to try and decorate it a little bit last year, but boy, oh boy, they got that Sephora sponsor, and now it's looking pretty glam back there.
00:30:31
Speaker 3: How the show has evolved. We had none of that when I was on the show.
00:30:38
Speaker 2: You didn't have to do your own hair and makeup, though. No, no.
00:30:42
Speaker 3: My hair and makeup artist is still there doing it.
00:30:45
Speaker 2: Who was your hair and makeup artist?
00:30:47
Speaker 3: I had Sarah.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Did you have Sarah in makeup? I didn't. Yeah, and I had a few. Sindra was my hair. She actually came back. She came back last year to do both of them for my judging thing, which is so sweet. Oh, how sweet. Such a little family, yeah. But no, they were always there, but it was like a makeshift sort of outside, like it was really nothing special. It was just.
00:31:15
Speaker 2: Well, there's still, of course, the trailers. The trailers exist out there, which is always like a really fun place to see everybody before the show starts. Lois was my makeup artist.
00:31:25
Speaker 3: Oh, so sweet.
00:31:26
Speaker 2: And I had Kimmy do my hair.
00:31:29
Speaker 3: Oh, Kimmy. Yeah.
00:31:30
Speaker 2: So great.
00:31:32
Speaker 3: The head of hair.
00:31:32
Speaker 2: The head of hair. She was so wonderful.
00:31:35
Speaker 3: She's been there from day one. Day one. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
00:31:39
Speaker 2: And nominated for all the Emmys and just.
00:31:41
Speaker 3: So they should be. They're absolutely incredible. All the quick changes they have to do and whipping around, you know. Yep. It's absolutely amazing.
00:31:52
Speaker 2: So we are at Dance 3, the Mormon Wives star and magician, Connor Levitt and Adele Zakeman. He did a song, Woomp, There It Is, by Tag Team, and his style was salsa.
00:32:07
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
00:32:08
Speaker 2: I felt like there was a lot stacked against this performance.
00:32:13
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:32:14
Speaker 2: I don't know that I, I think pretty much right from the moment I heard this was the song, I was a little, I don't know. I don't think this was the best song choice.
00:32:23
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's definitely harder to get some hip action with a song like that. It doesn't naturally give you that sort of salsa feel. So I think the hip action was lacking for me. And a little bit more salsa I would have liked to have seen.
00:32:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:41
Speaker 3: Maybe a few more tricks because you are allowed to do tricks in the salsa, which is the beauty of that dance.
00:32:47
Speaker 2: I know.
00:32:49
Speaker 3: But I think, yeah, it was a tricky song and I think that Adele did her best at choreographing to suit his personality.
00:32:58
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:33:00
Speaker 3: But, yeah, I feel like I don't know if that would have changed anything.
00:33:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know that it would have changed anything either, but you're right that I do think tricks could have changed.
00:33:10
Speaker 3: I think maybe a few more tricks that, I mean, you know, there's not many dances that you're allowed to, you know, have the freedom to do that. So that could have possibly helped a little more. Yeah.
00:33:23
Speaker 2: I wonder if there was a fear on her end being that he's not a professional dancer, obviously allowing someone who's not used to doing lifts to pick you up.
00:33:34
Speaker 3: Maybe.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: Maybe. I don't because I don't know because you're right. I didn't even think about the fact that with the salsa, you know, we saw it last year with Jan and Jen that their first week was a salsa and it was chalk. Full of amazing lifts and tricks.
00:33:50
Speaker 3: Which you're allowed to do.
00:33:51
Speaker 2: And it does add a wow factor.
00:33:53
Speaker 3: It really does.
00:33:54
Speaker 2: Yeah. So, yeah. So I think that could have definitely helped. And we already talked about how much we feel for Adele.
00:34:01
Speaker 3: I know.
00:34:01
Speaker 2: First week to be eliminated after going through the entire Next Pro season. Coming out on top. And she is an.
00:34:09
Speaker 3: Incredible dancer and a great teacher. But I just think that it was, yeah, probably not. I don't know, the song. I don't know.
00:34:18
Speaker 2: Maybe it was also a hard dance choice. I mean, for a first week to do a salsa, yeah, you've got to get.
00:34:24
Speaker 3: The hips moving. You've really got to, like, own it and be in it. Yeah, there were moments in the dance that I thought were good and fun and I think she did a good job bringing his personality out. But, yeah, I think just maybe there could have been a bit more salsa but maybe she thought, she was going to go with what the song was telling her to do.
00:34:47
Speaker 2: Yep.
00:34:48
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:34:48
Speaker 2: Carrie Ann said it was chaotic and unfocused and gave it a four. Bruno couldn't stop laughing and he pointed out his poor rhythm. He also gave him a four. Derek Hough said he appreciated his showmanship, but there was not enough salsa and it needed more technique. And he also gave it a four. So he had a final score of 12 out of 30. I think they were right on with the, you know, I think, I think three or four is the right score there for me.
00:35:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so for that one. I agree with, yeah, the judges on that.
00:35:24
Speaker 2: Our dance four was Jimmy Kimmel live sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez and last year's Dancing with the Stars champion, the pregnant Whitney Carson. Their song was Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight and the style was the cha-cha. So Kim, let's hear your thoughts on this one. The ballroom audience sure loved it.
00:35:45
Speaker 3: Well, he had me from the package. That was, I just love him and I love Whitney as well. But the opening, I mean, Whitney is so clever. It was so entertaining from the get-go with, I think he had the troop.
00:36:00
Speaker 2: Girls and then- Either side of him.
00:36:03
Speaker 3: It was such a great opening. It just got you in straight away, which is- So clever on Whitney's part. So I thought the dance from start to finish was so fun. Yep. And he did some cha-cha in there. He had his New Yorkers.
00:36:21
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
00:36:22
Speaker 3: You know, I thought I would have given him, I wouldn't have, he got a three, didn't he? Yes. I would have given him four, maybe even a five. I don't know. Yep.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:36:34
Speaker 3: I thought he was great, you know. Timing. Yes, he's got to work on that. But I admired that he tried to do the cha-cha.
00:36:46
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:36:47
Speaker 3: He may have had a few heel leads, but he was hitting the New Yorkers. He was into it. Yes. And it was so entertaining.
00:36:59
Speaker 2: I really felt very much like we had that Andy-like, magic back in the ballroom with the sense that it was like, is it flawless technique? Is it going to be perfect in every moment?
00:37:12
Speaker 3: No.
00:37:13
Speaker 2: But is he selling it? And is he fully invested in it? And is he doing his absolute best? And am I entertained?
00:37:22
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:37:22
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:37:23
Speaker 3: All of those things is a yes. Exactly.
00:37:26
Speaker 2: That's a yes, yes, yes. Um, So Carrie Ann said it was very entertaining and said the movement actually had proper intentions. She gave it a four. Bruno called him a crazy, sexy grasshopper and said that his technique can only get better. Derek Hough called it spicy, said there was bad technique but good effort, and told him to work on the timing and gave him a three. You said you would have given him a four, maybe even a five. I... I am with you. I am thinking a four, maybe even a five. But if I'm thinking back, if I'm going to say that Connor was somewhere between a three and a four, I'm giving Guillermo somewhere between a four and a five.
00:38:08
Speaker 3: Right. Yeah. I really, really loved the two of them. And I think, I don't think he's going anywhere.
00:38:14
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:38:15
Speaker 3: I think they'll be around for a while.
00:38:17
Speaker 2: I think you're right.
00:38:18
Speaker 3: I can't wait to see him in a ballroom dance.
00:38:20
Speaker 2: I know. That'll be so great.
00:38:22
Speaker 3: You know what?
00:38:23
Speaker 2: I think he's going to have a really nice frame.
00:38:25
Speaker 3: I think so too. I really do. And you can see that he's so invested. And that's all you want. You want to see someone that's committed, that's in it. And yeah, he sold it. He sold me for sure. I love it.
00:38:40
Speaker 2: I love it. And then we get a chance to see the female stars and their pros. They dance before their big night. We get a little sneak peek.
00:38:48
Speaker 3: How great were the boys?
00:38:50
Speaker 2: So good.
00:38:51
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. They're so great. I know. They're really amazing.
00:38:56
Speaker 2: I'll tell you, knowing them all now, knowing all of the pros as well as I do, has made watching the show for me that much more enjoyable. Right?
00:39:07
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:39:08
Speaker 2: You get to see, like knowing all of their personalities, seeing how they show their personalities in a dance where they're all maybe doing the same steps, but they express themselves so differently. It was, it's a real joy. Yeah.
00:39:22
Speaker 3: I loved seeing all the boys. That was so great.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: It really was.
00:39:26
Speaker 3: Yeah. Oh, and then Hayley at the end.
00:39:29
Speaker 2: Well, of course.
00:39:29
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
00:39:30
Speaker 2: Funny because Hayley there at the end because she is technically the male pro I know in her so like she's she's on that side so she gets to perform.
00:39:40
Speaker 3: Yeah I was like I was confused at first I'm like what's Hayley doing there and I'm like oh my gosh she'll be dancing.
00:39:45
Speaker 2: Yeah exactly she'll be dancing that's.
00:39:47
Speaker 3: Gonna be really interesting yeah Yeah, it's going to be very fun. But, no, that was a great number and then having all the female celebrities come out. So I loved it. That got me excited to see what the females are going to do.
00:40:00
Speaker 2: To see the next episode. Well, our dance number five was Paris Paralympian, Ezra Frake and Daniela Karagach. They did Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. And they did a tango, which is very close to my heart because Pasha and I did a Kelly Clarkson song with a tango for our week one.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: Yes, that's right.
00:40:20
Speaker 2: So felt like felt like my, you know, like family continuing on a tradition. Oh, beautiful to watch. How did you feel about this dance?
00:40:30
Speaker 3: I didn't know anything about Ezra, so I was blown away by his package.
00:40:36
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:40:36
Speaker 3: Like what an inspiration. Right? It's unbelievable, this adorable little boy going through all of that and then to now be a Paralympian and it is unbelievable. And I have heard it's very different if you don't have your knee. Yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker 2: The above the knee and below the knee amputation is a big deal.
00:40:58
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's a big deal. And obviously how incredible like that the surgeons did that back then with his thumb, with his toes and thumb, like unbelievable, which makes so much sense because you realize how much you need your fingers. So I said to, I actually text Dina, I'm like, okay, you put him with the perfect person. I can't imagine him with anyone else.
00:41:23
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Her choreography, her ability to bring him out and make him come alive. I am thrilled about this partnership.
00:41:34
Speaker 3: These are the ones that I'm so excited to watch the whole season. They're going to be there right up until the end for sure. He's charming. He's got everything. And then seeing him on the dance floor. It was unbelievable. What I noticed first of all was his frame and his head position was amazing. I think that was the best frame of the night.
00:41:56
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:41:58
Speaker 3: Boreum frame. And then to see him moving across the floor and with all the challenges that, you know, not being able to move straight.
00:42:06
Speaker 2: Yes, having to go on a diagonal through the tango.
00:42:09
Speaker 3: It blew my mind, actually. It was unbelievable. So, yeah, I thought he was incredible. really incredible.
00:42:19
Speaker 2: I felt the same way. I think he, of the performances of the night, this was my standout. This was my wow. I'm thrilled that I get to watch this week after week. Very exciting. Yeah. Carrie Ann said, this is why she loves Dancing with the Stars, showing people what's possible with new ways to move. She is in awe. She gave it a seventh. Bruno was very impressed with Ezra's ability to lead. Good leading man energy with room to grow.
00:42:47
Speaker 3: He really did. It looked like he was a leading man. His frame, he was in control.
00:42:56
Speaker 2: You don't often get that, especially at the beginning. The women are sometimes having to secretly lead. But he really was in control. Derek Hough said it was very emotional. The pivots were incredible. The frame was fantastic. And it is about what is discovery. It's about discovering what is possible now.
00:43:18
Speaker 3: Yes. So the speed he got on those pivots, I was like, how is he doing that?
00:43:24
Speaker 2: I know those pivots were great. I love a good pivot.
00:43:28
Speaker 3: And they're really difficult to do. Yeah. But he maintained his frame and he got so much speed in these pivots. I was like, what is happening? It was really impressive.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, very good. Their total score was a 20 out of 30. I definitely would have given this a seven.
00:43:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. Same. Yeah.
00:43:49
Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, I think they were wonderful. The next dance was comedian and podcaster Connor Wood and Riley Arnold. They did I Like It, I Love It by Tim McGraw, and they did a cha-cha. Uh, what did you think of Connor W's do-si-do debut?
00:44:07
Speaker 3: I loved this one. I was pleasantly surprised.
00:44:11
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:44:12
Speaker 3: I thought they, the two of them together are a great match. Um, I, I loved the routine. I love the choreography. He committed to it. I thought, what did I say? I thought she had a great balance of, you know, the little country stuff in there with the cha-cha.
00:44:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:44:31
Speaker 3: It really showed his personality well.
00:44:33
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:44:34
Speaker 3: And they did great cha-cha too. I thought he was so funny in rehearsals when he was like, I've only seen a bird like move, you know, the top half and you've got to, you know, when you've got to isolate. Yes. I thought that was so funny and it's so foreign to.
00:44:49
Speaker 2: Non-dancers.
00:44:51
Speaker 3: Non-dancers. Yes. But I love that he's into it. You know, he's invested. He wants to learn the technique. You can see, you could see that in rehearsals. So. I think these are going to be a really great match and one to watch.
00:45:06
Speaker 2: Okay, good. I have to be honest. I didn't love the country song with Cha-Cha. And it's a me thing. It's not a them thing. The choreography was great. The personality was really fun. But there's something that's hard for me to see Cha-Cha... And like Latin salsa, you know, that kind of movement while listening to a country song and see, like, I felt like I was at a hoedown and I could really very easily spot the country line dance elements.
00:45:38
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:45:38
Speaker 2: I didn't know that I got, that I felt any sort of cha-cha. And I think for me, it's just because the song.
00:45:44
Speaker 3: Right. No, I actually loved the, I loved that. And I thought Riley did do a good balance of putting some cha-cha in there and then Yeah. The country element. So I actually quite found, I found it quite entertaining and there was still, I think, cha-cha in there, but in like a country.
00:46:05
Speaker 2: In a country way.
00:46:06
Speaker 3: Hoedown way, which I didn't mind.
00:46:08
Speaker 2: What would you have scored this dance? What did I write?
00:46:11
Speaker 3: I wrote a six.
00:46:13
Speaker 2: A six. Okay. I would have given it a five. So we're not that far off. I would have given it a five. You gave it a six. His final score was a 16 out of 30. And then we get a next pro dance. We got to see Adele, Alan, Selena, and Eric, no AJ, from Dancing with the Stars, the next pro. I thought that was really fun to see all.
00:46:33
Speaker 3: Of them there. I did too. I loved seeing all of them there. That was really fun.
00:46:38
Speaker 2: I thought it was really great that some of our favorites who, you know, obviously didn't win, Adele was the winner, but to see them in the ballroom, to see this thing they had been working so hard, to see them actually get to have a moment on the stage.
00:46:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was really nice. Yeah, that was really nice. And they're all so great. I mean, it's so hard to pick because any one of them could have, you know, been on it. But yeah, it was nice to have that moment to see them all together.
00:47:06
Speaker 2: Yes, it was. And then for dance number seven, we get musician and freaking father of seven, Taylor Hansen and Britt Stewart. I mean, if you can raise seven children, I feel like you can do anything.
00:47:24
Speaker 3: Exactly. How in the world? That's unbelievable. I have two and it's, yeah.
00:47:32
Speaker 2: It's a full-time, it's a full, full-time job. It is. And so Seven, wow.
00:47:37
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:47:38
Speaker 2: So he did a song, Tell Her About It by Billy Joel and the style was The Quick Step. What were your thoughts on Taylor Hansen and Brit Stewart?
00:47:48
Speaker 3: I wrote hierography. I've not seen hierography in a quick step before. Oh. I think the first movie did he like did a hair whip before he got into the frame. And I was like, whoa, we've got hairography.
00:47:59
Speaker 2: Hairography already.
00:48:00
Speaker 3: Yeah. So that was one of the first things I wrote.
00:48:05
Speaker 2: He does have great hair.
00:48:06
Speaker 3: He does have great hair. But I'm like, okay, now let's get it back.
00:48:11
Speaker 2: Back to frame.
00:48:12
Speaker 3: Back to frame. I would have liked, I think he's got room to work on his frame a little more.
00:48:17
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:48:18
Speaker 3: If he thinks, for me, it's always like thinking about a coat hanger. If you look at a coat hanger like that, you've got to have here and then it goes down so your shoulders are never up. So you've got to have your head, which is the top part of the coat hanger, and then it goes down so your elbows are slightly below your shoulders. But it's always got to stay out. You never see a coat hanger like that or like that. So that's one thing, which obviously it was a first show, that he could work on, which I think– he's got the potential for it. That was one thing I think could really help him. And then that will help his head position too. He's one that could take my ruler trick with his head, get that hair back, you know, I didn't mind the hairography, but then like, keep it there.
00:49:04
Speaker 2: It was like, right.
00:49:06
Speaker 3: Then distracting me a little bit.
00:49:07
Speaker 2: The head was a little on a swivel. Yeah. A little bit.
00:49:10
Speaker 3: And I think just the frame, um, I mean, quick step, you know, it was a hard dance to start with. So, um, but I, I, I thought it was really good. Um, I think he has like breathe a little bit more. I think he was like holding his breath the whole dance, you know, cause he was probably nervous, but, um, I, I really liked, I liked it. I think they're going to be a really fun.
00:49:33
Speaker 2: Couple to watch.
00:49:34
Speaker 3: I just think with those little things to work on, he could be he could be really good. I like them together too.
00:49:41
Speaker 2: I like them together a lot. I absolutely loved Brit saying, I'm going to be honest. I didn't come to play this season. And you know, cause there were a lot of comments about the fact that this was not one, the quick steps, not an easy first dance. And two, she didn't take it super easy on him in the choreography.
00:49:59
Speaker 3: She had so much quick. I did love, she put so much quick step in there, which was great. Um, But yeah, that's when it was like, okay, wow, they're really doing a lot of quick steps. So you could see, you know, a few little things here and there.
00:50:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:50:13
Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, amazing that they did so much quick step. It was, it was a real, it was a quick step for sure.
00:50:20
Speaker 2: It was a quick step. Yes. Bruno Tanioli said proper real quick step with a lot of content tells him to tighten up and to feel it. Derek Hough said, tough first dance, but he kept it together. He did drop his frame. Carrie Ann Inaba says, Carrie Ann imagines that Len Goodman would have called it a proper quick step and tells the audience to keep an eye on this one. He got a total score of 16 out of 30. What would you have given it?
00:50:47
Speaker 3: I wrote down a six. Okay.
00:50:49
Speaker 2: I think I'm right there with you. I think I also would have said.
00:50:52
Speaker 3: For the effort that he put in and the content that was in there, it was a proper quick step. Just those few little things. But my gosh, it's the first week.
00:51:00
Speaker 2: It's the first week. Yeah.
00:51:02
Speaker 3: No, they were great.
00:51:04
Speaker 2: And I loved Hanson. Oh my God. Who doesn't love Hanson? Unless you are new to this earth, you know Hanson and are a Hanson fan. And to see him look so great, have such beautiful hair, to know he's such a family man. It's like You're rooting for him, you know?
00:51:23
Speaker 3: I hope we get more hierography in future dances. That should be his thing.
00:51:27
Speaker 2: I think Brit is one of the smartest people I've ever met. I think she knows what she's got on her hands with that head of hair and that handsome boy. I think we're going to get lots of hierography. We'll see.
00:51:39
Speaker 3: Love it.
00:51:53
Speaker 2: Our dance number eight was actor and former Beyonce backup dancer Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson. They did a cha-cha to Let's Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire. Harry came out swinging. He sure did. What were your thoughts on this dance?
00:52:10
Speaker 3: He sure did. Again, I thought that Jenna did an incredible job of mixing his background of hip-hop with cha-cha. Yep. Yep. It really showcased his personality. I mean, they were incredible. They're going to be fire.
00:52:31
Speaker 2: Yes, they're going to be so fun every single week.
00:52:34
Speaker 3: Every single week. But I did notice like there were some technical things that he is going to have to work on because, as I said, the ballroom technique is so different to other dancing.
00:52:47
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:52:48
Speaker 3: So having the weight in the correct spot all the time when you're doing the cha-cha. You've really got to have your weight over the balls of the feet. Just a few little things like that, you know, that he's probably getting to his comfort zone of his other form of dance. Yeah. So, you know, like he's going to have things to work on as well. It's not like he's just, you know, got it set.
00:53:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:53:11
Speaker 3: So that's where, but I mean, they were incredible.
00:53:15
Speaker 2: They were spectacular.
00:53:16
Speaker 3: No denying that.
00:53:17
Speaker 2: No denying that at all. Carrie Ann Inaba called him electric. She said they have similar backgrounds in hip hop and he needs to not over exaggerate moves. Ah, okay. Which I thought was interesting feedback because then I rewatched the dance again after listening to her feedback. I rewatched it and I thought, oh yeah, there is a little bit of maybe some hip hop punctuation.
00:53:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:53:39
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:53:40
Speaker 3: In the cha-cha. Yeah. Yeah. He's definitely going to be hitting everything, but yeah, it's got to be a little bit more fluid.
00:53:47
Speaker 2: Right.
00:53:47
Speaker 3: Okay. Yeah.
00:53:49
Speaker 2: Bruno calls him Dr. Steamy, says he is having a seizure chemistry, but he says to be careful of falling back into old habits. Derek Hough only had a few seconds to give his critique, so he said, I really enjoyed that. They all gave him a seven with a total score of 21 out of 30. What would you have scored?
00:54:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, I wrote seven too. I would have agreed. It was incredible. And I think we're going to see amazing things from them each week, you know? Yeah.
00:54:24
Speaker 2: I am right there with you.
00:54:25
Speaker 3: I can see where they kept him to the end, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
00:54:30
Speaker 2: And then we get a Julianne Hough performance with the pros. It was apparently inspired by Paris and bread and pastries.
00:54:41
Speaker 3: No, some baguettes.
00:54:42
Speaker 2: Some baguettes. Listen, if there's anything that can make me dance across the floor, it's baguettes.
00:54:48
Speaker 3: Same. It would be a baguette for me, too.
00:54:51
Speaker 2: That would be my number one go-to. We also got... Val playing the violin.
00:54:57
Speaker 3: How amazing was that?
00:54:59
Speaker 2: Classically trained violinist, Val Shmerkovsky. That was a.
00:55:03
Speaker 3: Really nice surprise to see him playing the violin. I love when they all got into the straight line, did this thing, and then Val was in the middle. I was like, they're just so clever. Like the choreography, like it was so beautiful to watch. And Julianne, it's always so nice to see her dance again. I love watching her dance. She just hosted a two-hour show and then dances.
00:55:24
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:55:24
Speaker 3: Who does that?
00:55:25
Speaker 2: I know.
00:55:25
Speaker 3: That was amazing.
00:55:27
Speaker 2: It was really, really fun to watch. And now the time has come. We have eliminations. Kim, we are always reminded that this does not mean they are actually the lowest scores.
00:55:42
Speaker 3: Right.
00:55:42
Speaker 2: But we know the audience still... sees it that way it feels like it also feels like that when it.
00:55:48
Speaker 3: Does doesn't it feel that way too even though they say oh it's not necessarily the bottom yeah three or bottom two it's like well I'm standing here.
00:55:56
Speaker 2: Standing here I feel like I'm hanging by the skin of my teeth so yeah it's not fun um do you think watching having seen all the performances of the night do you think Connor and Adele Guillermo and Whitney and Connor W and Riley were the right bottom three.
00:56:19
Speaker 3: I guess so. Just going back over everything. Probably, I mean, I don't know. Why do they have to do bottom three? I know. Why can't they just do bottom two? Bottom two.
00:56:37
Speaker 1: I know.
00:56:37
Speaker 3: I agree with you. I guess so. Do you think they did the two Connors? Because when they said Connor, the other one could have thought it was Connor Hume before they said the last name. I know.
00:56:49
Speaker 2: It's like really squeezing out every second of.
00:56:51
Speaker 3: Right. Because you could see Connor's face when they said Connor.
00:56:56
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:56:56
Speaker 3: Until they said, is it W? L. Yeah.
00:56:58
Speaker 2: Connor. Because the one going home was Connor L.
00:57:01
Speaker 3: Yeah. That's right. Connor L. And Connor Wood was like, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, that was a tough one. It was. Especially the first night.
00:57:14
Speaker 2: I know.
00:57:15
Speaker 3: I really felt for all of them standing up there, you know? I know.
00:57:18
Speaker 2: And I know that that feeling is terrible. When you do the run-through of it the day before on Monday... you go through that whole process too, where they shine the, you know, you, they, and they, they change the names every time and they do them different ways. Sometimes they do them in alphabetical order. Sometimes they do them in who performed last the week before or whatever. Like they have, they make sure, you know, the names that we are rehearsing today are not the, you know, we have no idea what the names will be, but even during rehearsal, it's just a bad feeling to be standing up there and be like, Oh no, here, it might be me. So to know, what they felt like in that moment and then for it to be Connor, especially because so much of his package was about the idea that he is the person who is always supporting the others in his life and that this was something that was really an opportunity for it to be about him.
00:58:10
Speaker 3: And you saw Whitney being so supportive in the audience.
00:58:14
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:58:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, it would have been so nice for him to continue and have that moment.
00:58:20
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:58:21
Speaker 3: And yet we would be saying.
00:58:23
Speaker 2: The same thing about whoever it was. So the truth is the hardest part of this show is that you fall in love with everybody and you see the merits of everybody. And yet it's at the end of the day, it comes down to it. It is a competition. And that's the part where we all go, maybe we should just all perform every week until the end and then just pick a winner.
00:58:44
Speaker 3: I know. But that's what we love. We love the whole show. And that's what happens, you know, unfortunately.
00:58:54
Speaker 2: Now I'm not going to hold you to this because it's an unfair question on week one, but do you have maybe a front runner on the men's side?
00:59:02
Speaker 3: Well, I think obviously Harry, he's, you know, he was incredible, but Ezra really was. is the one for me I think that.
00:59:12
Speaker 2: I just got chills mine too I'm.
00:59:15
Speaker 3: So excited to see what he's gonna do because I think that was just a small part of what we're gonna see from him you know I think he's gonna be incredible and with you know with Danny as well as his partner They're going to be unstoppable.
00:59:32
Speaker 2: Couldn't agree with you more. Ezra, I'm putting all my mojo behind Ezra as the male celeb. I think that partnership is going to be great. I think also some factors we didn't even talk about or take into consideration, the fact that he is as funny as he is and as good on social media as he is, regardless of dance ability and all of that. That's a large part of what this show has become, you know, being able to keep eyes on you and keep the audience's attention and get votes through social media. And I think he's going to be one of the top at doing that.
01:00:09
Speaker 3: I think so too. And he's so charming and he just has it all. He really does. Yeah.
01:00:16
Speaker 2: Are you excited for night two?
01:00:18
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. I cannot wait. I cannot wait to see the ladies take the dance floor.
01:00:25
Speaker 2: I'm so excited.
01:00:26
Speaker 3: I'm excited to see Moira Higgins. I loved her on Traders. I think she's got such a fun personality, but I don't know if she can dance at all.
01:00:35
Speaker 2: Yeah.
01:00:36
Speaker 3: But she's with Mark, so knowing Mark, he'll have her dancing.
01:00:41
Speaker 2: He absolutely will, for sure.
01:00:43
Speaker 3: I know.
01:00:44
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing that as well. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Hayley for the first time as a pro.
01:00:49
Speaker 3: Yes.
01:00:49
Speaker 2: And to see them in a same-sex partnership. Like, I'm... I'm really looking forward to seeing how that, I also don't know anything about whether or not Sarah Jane has any dance ability or dance. There's so many surprises in store for me.
01:01:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's going to be a great, a great episode with the ladies. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
01:01:12
Speaker 2: And of course, I'm biased.
01:01:14
Speaker 3: I am biased.
01:01:15
Speaker 2: So thrilled to watch Pasha and Amber.
01:01:18
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. I loved her at the Olympics.
01:01:22
Speaker 2: She's incredible.
01:01:23
Speaker 3: She's incredible.
01:01:25
Speaker 2: I think he's going to be able to do so many wonderful things with her that I just, I can't wait to see them too. I'm just excited for the whole night. So tune in tomorrow. We will be back with our thoughts on night two of the season 35 premiere when we will see our female celebrities first foray onto the ballroom floor. We will see you then. Kim, thank you so much.
01:01:47
Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
01:01:48
Speaker 2: I'll see you tomorrow.
01:01:50
Speaker 3: Okay. Bye. Bye.
Speaker 1: The time has come. The ballroom is open. Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is here. So welcome to a brand new episode of Danielle With.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: I am your eighth place champion, a professional celebrity dancer by all accounts, now joined by a truly incredible professional dancer and co-host ready to ride it out with me week after week, New Yorker after New Yorker. As far as I am aware, I think this is the only place in the world where you can hear from a former Dancing with the Stars professional and a celebrity competitor together. She competed on the first three seasons of Australia's Dancing with the Stars, then joined the U.S. cast from 2006 to 2015 and 2017. She served as a judge on The Australian Show and is a two-time Mirrorball champ. I am genuinely honored to share the mic with and blindly lead into podcast hosting... Ballroom legend, Kim Johnson Herjavec. Hi.
00:01:27
Speaker 3: Hello. What an intro.
00:01:29
Speaker 2: Wow. Well, listen, you deserve the intro of all intros. I am so honored that you agreed to join me for Ballroom Breakdown. It is a dream come true, truly, to have you here as a co-host. So outside of being a massive fan of you as a dancer, last year when you guest judged, everyone, Everyone was talking about how amazing you were from the fans to the crew, to the dancers, to the celebs. Your insight was invaluable. The way you delivered it was with grace and class. And you, you were just, you truly, you were a shining star. You were a big, bright spot in the.
00:02:09
Speaker 3: Season for all of us. It was actually really fun. I mean, since I've not been on the show, I'm a fan of the show. I watch it at home like everybody else. But ballroom dancing, you know, is what I do. So when they asked me to guest judge, I was so excited. But obviously I know what it feels like for you guys on the other side. So I was really mindful of that and I wanted to give some tips that would help future dancers instead of just like focusing on, you know, that one specific dance. So I just thought I would just tell you what I would like to hear, you know.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: And that was so good because that is true that so much of the feedback you get in the live show is about the dance you just did. That you'll never do again. Right. And so you being able to give advice for things that will carry forward for other dances was massive.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: It was really fun. It was great. It's such a fun show. And it's nice to still, you know, be a part of the family and be asked to come back and do little bits and pieces. You know, it's like it really is a family, isn't it? So once you're in it, you're in it.
00:03:14
Speaker 2: I know. It really is that way. I was actually really, I was not able to go to the show last night and I really wanted to be there. I got home from my other work event that I was at and I watched all two hours of it with bated breath. I had a lot of FOMO that I wasn't there.
00:03:29
Speaker 3: Right. Right.
00:03:30
Speaker 2: So as I mentioned also in your intro, in addition to last year's guest appearance on Dancing with the Stars, you were a judge in Australia.
00:03:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:03:39
Speaker 2: How do you approach the responsibility of giving that feedback and ultimately scores to celebrities who you know are working so far out of their comfort zone?
00:03:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, I started judging actually the show in Australia a long time ago. I think it was probably 2011. 13 or something like that. I was going in between America and Australia doing both. And yeah, I mean, I took the responsibility, you know, very like seriously because I know exactly how much effort goes into it. But Len gave me great advice. I actually spoke to him before I went back to Australia to do it. And he said, you know what, you know what you're talking about. Just tell them what you would tell them if you were in the dance studio, which- Made complete sense to me because it's what I do when I'm, you know, teaching a celebrity. So my approach when I'm teaching is always, you know, this was good but let's do this. You know, I'm a little bit more positive. I mean it does depend on who you have and how they respond. You may have to change your teaching style a little bit but I found that worked well for me. And I know they're standing there. They've just finished this dance. You don't want to just be like, you know, I mean, it can be great TV. I know on the English one there's one judge that's just so mean. And, you know, it's just like, oh, my gosh, like the things he says. Right. that's just not my style, you know? Yeah.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: I mean, it is hard. I can definitely say, I know I felt it toward the end of last season when, you know, you get into a groove of like really wanting to perfect the dance. And so you're, you're, you know, you're doing runs and you're just doing the dance over and over and over again. And every time you watch it, then you're looking to see the improvements. And so if there isn't an immediate, like, Hey, great job. you start to get to a point where you're like, did I do anything right?
00:05:40
Speaker 3: It's so true. I know. And then you're so defeated and then you've got to like put that behind you and get back to the next dance. And yeah, I mean, I loved being a judge on the Australian one. It was so fun. And it is kind of challenging though with scores because you do have like say Guillermo or, you know, someone that may not be at the standard of, you know, Someone else.
00:06:05
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:06:06
Speaker 3: Someone else. So it does get tricky in that regard because the entertainment value, say, Guillermo would bring is huge. So it's like that's got to be some points. You know what I mean?
00:06:18
Speaker 2: That's got to count for something.
00:06:19
Speaker 3: That's got to count for something. So I'm all for entertainment value as well. Okay. So I would probably mark that. I probably would have marked him a little higher. I don't know.
00:06:28
Speaker 2: Oh, I can't wait to get into it for sure. So for our dear listeners who have never danced before, on that ballroom floor. What makes premiere night so special?
00:06:40
Speaker 3: It really is. It's just the best feeling. Obviously, the nerves are super high for all of the celebrities because it's so new to them. For the dancers, we know the drill. You know what to expect. But it's still very exciting when it's the premiere of the show. But I think for the celebrities, getting that first one done and over with, it just then... I don't know, it does something to you and you're like, right, I'm in this. And the nerves sort of disappear and you get that adrenaline rush of being on the boring floor. So I think once that music starts and you get the first one under your belt, it's like, You're off to the races, you know? Exactly.
00:07:21
Speaker 2: I know there's so much anticipation before the premiere because you think about the fact that from the moment you decide you're doing the show, you've signed your name on the dotted line. It's a secret. You are sworn to secrecy. Then there's all the hype leading up to the announcement. Then there's meeting your pro. Then there is the big announcement, the Good Morning America announcement. Then you're in rehearsals and every single day. So by the time premiere night rolls around, you have been anticipating this moment for quite possibly months.
00:07:54
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:07:55
Speaker 2: Five, six months for some people. Yeah. So then getting there and having the ballroom suddenly feels electric and alive.
00:08:03
Speaker 3: And the audience.
00:08:03
Speaker 2: There's an audience there.
00:08:05
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:05
Speaker 2: And for you guys as the pros, I can imagine, I remember them saying, like, it's nerve wracking because you don't know. Your celeb may be flawless individually. In the rehearsal ballroom.
00:08:16
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:17
Speaker 2: But when those cameras are going and it's live TV, you have no idea how they're going to react.
00:08:22
Speaker 1: No idea.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: And the only way of doing it is to throw them into it.
00:08:24
Speaker 3: Yeah. I danced with a football player once and he would really mark it in rehearsals, but he was still really cool. So I'm like, okay, that's fine if we just do that. I guess because he's a football player, he's used to live things, live football performances. He turned it to another gear completely. It shocked me when we were on the floor because he was just so incredible. Like he just lifted it so much more. It was Warren Sapp actually. Wow. I couldn't believe it. I was like as we're dancing, I'm like, oh, my God, what is going on? Like it was so funny. But he just really like came alive with that live audience and the energy of the room. So you just never know. And then that's with Jerry Springer. And like we danced one Paso Do play and he completely looked at me. I made a big mistake. I let him be alone. Yeah. Normally I would have him holding his hands the whole time. And he just completely forgot what he was doing and started doing some, I don't know.
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Just started improv-ing.
00:09:26
Speaker 3: Improv-ing. I'm like, what is happening? So you just never know.
00:09:30
Speaker 2: You never know. It can go one of two ways. Yeah. Okay. Hopefully everybody turns it up a notch. let's talk about this season 35 cast for a minute. Obviously, coming off of a red hot season, everyone had their eyes on Dina Katz to see how she would follow it up. I think she delivered in spades, but we've also seen many a renaissance for this show. It's had its ups and downs, and right now it is very, up. Were you impressed with the cast announcements?
00:10:03
Speaker 3: Very impressed. I don't know how Dana does it. I said to her, somehow each season you just seem to do it again. And last season, your season, I thought was unbelievable. I loved the whole cast, and you fell in love with everyone.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:10:19
Speaker 3: Everyone was so different and had their own thing. So you just think, how is she going to do it again? And I feel like she has, I mean, obviously it's the first episode we're going to, you know, start to learn about them as it goes on. Yes. But I thought it was a great mix of personalities last night of talent, dance styles. So I think she's definitely done it again. Um, I mean, I know we only saw, um, the men, the men, the celebrities, and we get to see the the ladies later. So that'll be interesting. Yeah. But I thought she did a great job.
00:10:55
Speaker 2: I thought so, too. And I also think it's such an art form to know which pros to pair your celebs with. And, you know, the celebs go in thinking maybe they've got ideas about who they want to be with or who they think they should have been with. And then the minute rehearsals get underway and you see the partnerships develop, you go, yeah, no, she did. She did it exactly the right way.
00:11:17
Speaker 3: You know, it just works, doesn't it?
00:11:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:11:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:11:20
Speaker 2: It's really great.
00:11:20
Speaker 3: You know who I really loved this season is Riley and Connor. I thought they were so great together.
00:11:25
Speaker 2: I agree.
00:11:27
Speaker 3: I feel like he's brought something else out in Riley or something. Yes. I thought they were adorable together.
00:11:33
Speaker 2: I thought so too. And I'm really happy to see that because getting to know Riley a little bit.
00:11:40
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:40
Speaker 2: She is such a cute, fun person.
00:11:43
Speaker 3: She is.
00:11:44
Speaker 2: Great personality.
00:11:45
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: And to see him be able to make her laugh and to just really enjoy herself. Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see this journey for both of them this season.
00:11:55
Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, it's just incredible how Dina, she's always been like that. I mean, everyone she put me with worked hard. I think she definitely knew what she was doing when she put me with Robert.
00:12:08
Speaker 2: Obviously, your beautiful husband you met on the show.
00:12:11
Speaker 3: So cute. Yeah, she has a way with making it work. Yes, she does.
00:12:18
Speaker 2: There were also quite a few rumors swirling about you returning to the show this year. Oh, really? Yes, you did announce your retirement from competition, correct? Yes.
00:12:30
Speaker 3: Oh, for sure. I've hung up the dance shoes. I mean, I still love to dance and I'm still doing like little bits and pieces here and there. But, you know, I'll leave that to the young ones. These new pros are just incredible.
00:12:44
Speaker 1: I know.
00:12:45
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm such a fan of them all. I think they are so incredible. They can do it all.
00:12:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: And they've just stepped it up another level. So, yeah, my dance shoes are definitely– hung up. So I mean, if there's a little guest judge spot, I'd love to do that. Exactly. That kind of thing. But yeah, as far as dancing.
00:13:07
Speaker 2: Being a pro.
00:13:08
Speaker 3: No, thanks. Yeah. I think I've had my time.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: And you were spectacular in that time. Oh, so sweet. As always, the preseason discussion revolved around prior dance experience. We have two former professional dancers competing this year.
00:13:37
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:13:38
Speaker 2: Where do you stand when it comes to this ongoing argument? As a pro, do you hope for a ringer, like someone who could just walk out onto the floor and impress? Or do you want someone who's really going to have to be showing progress every week?
00:13:52
Speaker 3: You know what? I always go back to one of my favorite season that I ever had. And it was my first season with Jerry Springer. And I think that was because the expectations were so low. No, no disrespect, but he was older. People didn't think that he could move, but he ended up, he was musical. You know, obviously we couldn't do what we had with Mario Lopez that season who had danced as well.
00:14:19
Speaker 2: Right.
00:14:20
Speaker 3: So he was incredible. Like there was quite a few good dancers. But that was my favorite season because there was not much pressure. We just had so much fun and the growth that he had each week was so amazing. So that was, I love getting people that are not like the greatest dancers and you see that growth. But then straight after that season, I had Joey Fatone, who obviously was from NSYNC. So that was a very different season for me. From Jerry Springer to Joey Fatone, I could do so much more with Joey. Right. But the pressure was a lot higher for me because the expectations were huge with Joey. Yeah.
00:14:59
Speaker 2: Being able to exceed expectations is always fun. And so when the expectation is higher and you feel like, oh, gosh, there's only a large possibility we're going to let people down.
00:15:09
Speaker 3: It's true. So I think that, you know, Jenna and Val especially, we all know that they have former dancers in a different field. The expectations and the pressure on Val and Jenna is going to be huge.
00:15:24
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:15:24
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker 3: But they'll rise to it. They're incredible.
00:15:27
Speaker 2: They always do. And I think it's fun.
00:15:29
Speaker 3: I think Dean is great. I mean, I know it's a bit of controversy, like should they be there because they have dance experience. But I think it's great. The standard of the show is unbelievable and we get to see this incredible dancing. It is a different dance style to what they do.
00:15:46
Speaker 2: Yep.
00:15:48
Speaker 3: And ballroom dancing, it is completely different. Obviously, it is going to help them. Of course. Musically, they're going to be great. They have, you know, dance experience, but the judges are going to be extra picky on them. They're going to want to make sure their weight's correctly over the balls of their feet, which is very different. I came from ballet, jazz, tap, and it does, you have to sort of change everything when you get into ballroom. Right. it'll be interesting to see their journey as well. Like, can they do a ballroom frame? And that's completely foreign, especially for hip hop dancer to be able to hold your arms in a frame and then move like that. So they have their journey to go on as well as say a gamo.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I agree with you. I also feel like, you know, there's, there's so much talk about fairness and so much of the show is in the hands of the viewer. And so if you want to see, obviously, the quality of dances we're going to get from people who have dance experience is going to be through the roof. If you don't want to vote for them because you think it's not, then don't vote.
00:16:59
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: But, Or if you love watching the show to see high quality, high caliber dancing, then maybe that is who you want to vote for because they're going to deliver that.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: And that's the beauty of it, that you get to vote for who you want. I mean, I know the judges are there to do their job too and they score it the way they see it, but it does really come down to what people want to see at home. And that's the beauty of the show. And you see that every week by who gets eliminated.
00:17:28
Speaker 2: Well, speaking of getting eliminated, let's not waste any more time. It was fellas night. For the first time ever, they split the cast up. Just the male celebrities took to the floor and it was announced that one couple would be eliminated at the end of the show.
00:17:45
Speaker 3: Brutal.
00:17:47
Speaker 2: That first week elimination is brutal. It is.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: I mean, you can't not feel bad for Connor and Adele. I know. It's just like all that work that they put in in the lead up to this one night. Yes. And then it's just gone.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Just over.
00:18:07
Speaker 3: Just over. Especially I feel bad for Adele coming off the next pro.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:18:14
Speaker 3: I mean, that's, yeah, that's not great, the poor thing. I just feel so bad for her.
00:18:20
Speaker 1: I know.
00:18:21
Speaker 3: I mean, you know what? She'll be there for all the pro numbers and we'll get to see her again.
00:18:25
Speaker 2: Honestly, it'll be a great experience for her, similar to the idea of being on Troop.
00:18:31
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:18:31
Speaker 2: She will get the benefits of seeing all of the other pros, all of the other partnerships, all of the other teaching styles.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:18:39
Speaker 2: The judging. She'll get to absorb everything like a sponge.
00:18:43
Speaker 3: Exactly.
00:18:44
Speaker 2: And she just won't have that pressure on her.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: Exactly. So she's still going to be there every week. Yes. So it will be. Yes, it'll be fine for her.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: It'll be great.
00:18:56
Speaker 3: I know. But actually watching the package of them, I didn't really know much about Connor but I thought, oh, he's so fun. And I loved his whole like dad thing. Like he did remind me of, you know, the dad out there trying to do it. Yes. But I feel like I was looking forward to seeing him do a ballroom dance or what else he could do. So it is a shame but, I mean– Someone had to go.
00:19:21
Speaker 2: Someone had to go. When you have such a huge cast like that, someone had to go this time. Well, before we jump into all of the packages, we got a beautiful opening number from our pros, which is just something we expect at this point since they are the best dancers in the world. And then we are introduced to all of our celebrities. It is the biggest roster of all time. And seeing them all on that stage was slightly overwhelming.
00:19:47
Speaker 3: It was a lot, wasn't it?
00:19:49
Speaker 2: It's a big cast.
00:19:50
Speaker 3: It's a really big cast, but exciting. Like I was sitting at home on the couch just going, oh my gosh. Yes. It was big and it was like, okay, all right. They're letting us know this season's going to be huge.
00:20:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, production value through the roof. This week's theme was Billboard number one hits from the year the celebrity was born. It's a general theme in the scheme of things. Dance number one was by Savannah Bananas' second baseman, Jackson Olsen and Emma Slater. My kids love the Savannah Bananas. So this was a very fun performance for our family. Have you ever watched a Bananas game?
00:20:29
Speaker 3: Do you know what?
00:20:30
Speaker 2: I haven't.
00:20:31
Speaker 3: And I thought I should probably do that, but I didn't get time to do it. I had to say to my husband, I don't understand why. Like, does he play baseball or does he dance? Like, I don't get it.
00:20:44
Speaker 2: It's a combination. It's if baseball and dance had a baby.
00:20:48
Speaker 3: Yes. Yeah.
00:20:50
Speaker 2: It's very fun. The song he danced to was Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Which I loved. And it was so great.
00:20:57
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:20:58
Speaker 2: And he did a cha-cha.
00:21:00
Speaker 3: Yes. It was so fun. And again, I'm so happy for Emma. Yeah. They seem so happy together. She seems so happy and she's going to be able to do so much with him. He has, I think the judges said he has so much potential. Yes. Maybe they didn't, but he, I think he has so much potential.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: He really does. I also loved because I remember so much last season, seeing Emma count throughout the entire dance, every dance with Andy, just seeing her yelling out counts. And last night, she sang that entire song, not a count to be found. And I thought, I know she loves Andy so much, but this has to be so much fun for her.
00:21:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, it does. And I think she said herself, like she loves the variety of all the different partners she had, which you do, but it is fun to be able to have someone that, you know, okay, well I can really, you know, do some really interesting choreography and have fun. So I think that Jackson and Emma are going to, like go a long way.
00:22:01
Speaker 2: I think so too.
00:22:03
Speaker 3: I think she was clever in doing, you know, things that suit his personality. I think that, I think he technically, he's got some things that he can work on. Like with the cha-cha, he had two bent legs quite often. Yes. And you should only ever have one bent leg at a time.
00:22:20
Speaker 2: Right.
00:22:22
Speaker 3: But they're the, I mean, it's the first week. First week. Like it was an incredible dance to come out for the first week. Yep.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: And Derek agreed with you. He did start his feedback with a little preface warning that the scores might be a little lower at the beginning.
00:22:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:22:39
Speaker 2: And I am going to guess that that was a note from production to kind of spell it out that, you know, they need a place to grow. If you start super high, how do you show that they're improving every week when they obviously are? So Derek points out Jackson's legwork, but compliments his ability to connect. He gave him a five. Bruno said he knows Jackson is an entertainer, but he needs to keep an eye on his foot placement.
00:23:05
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:23:05
Speaker 2: And Carrie Ann Inaba wants him to work on his finishing movements. His final score was a 15 out of 30. What would you have scored his dance?
00:23:17
Speaker 3: I probably would have scored it a six. Okay.
00:23:20
Speaker 2: Um.
00:23:21
Speaker 3: But, yeah, I didn't realise they were going to go so low. That was kind of low, I guess. But it's really hard to be the first one out of the gate, you know, because they are going to start a little lower. If he had have gone a little later in the show, maybe he wouldn't have got the fives. But I thought, you know, well, I guess it did reflect when looking at the other scores. But I thought they were really good. Yeah. You know, for a first touch up.
00:23:50
Speaker 2: I think a five is kind of right in line with a brutally honest first week.
00:23:58
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:24:00
Speaker 2: I would, you know, I feel like I probably would have thought five. Yeah. And yet so much potential. Can't wait to see this. Like when he gets his first 10, it's going to just be you're going to you're going to leap off of your chair, you know, like, yeah, I know he can get there.
00:24:16
Speaker 3: So he can get there. And I think that he's really going to start to pick up the Boreham technique because I think that that he's he has everything else. But it was just that but you can't have the technique on week one down, you know. So I think when he gets that, he's going to be a real contender.
00:24:32
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:24:33
Speaker 2: But we get a troop dance next. Anya Jackson Carter and the newest member of the troop, Camry.
00:24:39
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. I loved that. They're incredible, that troop. Oh, troop. I love it when the troop come out and do something.
00:24:47
Speaker 2: Me, too. And I... Loved them so much last year. And I got to know Kamri this year on tour.
00:24:53
Speaker 3: Yes. Isn't she adorable? Adorable.
00:24:57
Speaker 2: They're all so great. They're so supportive. They're so talented. The range of things they can do never ceases to amaze me, including picking up new choreography for an entire dance in about 15 minutes.
00:25:11
Speaker 3: Yes. And they have to do so many, like when they're in all the different numbers, the quick changes, the bumpers that, yeah, they're incredible.
00:25:20
Speaker 2: They really are. Okay. So then our dance number two was bachelor alumni, Tyler Cameron and returning pro and Danielle with alumni, Sharna Burgess.
00:25:31
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:25:31
Speaker 2: So happy to see her back in the ballroom.
00:25:35
Speaker 3: I know. And you can see she's just so happy to be back.
00:25:38
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:25:39
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's so great.
00:25:41
Speaker 2: Have you known Sharna for a long time?
00:25:43
Speaker 3: I have for a long time.
00:25:44
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:25:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, we did Burn the Floor together.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: Oh, right.
00:25:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, actually, I left Burn the Floor. And then she came in. They were the younger ones that came in, yeah. But no, I've known her for a long time. Yeah, so no, I was pleasantly surprised with them.
00:25:59
Speaker 2: Yes, really good. They did Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz. They did a tango. What were your thoughts on their dance? When I was.
00:26:08
Speaker 3: Watching the package and seeing him get it together. I was a little concerned, I have to say, because it looked a little wooden.
00:26:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, stiff.
00:26:18
Speaker 3: But I know Shana, and so she's obviously cracked the whip. And when they started, I was like, wow, okay. He was like down in his legs. He was like had the tango. His frame was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought they did a great job for a tango first out of the gate. So we hope, right. Yeah, I was worried, a little worried from the rehearsal footage. Yeah. And they surprised me.
00:26:45
Speaker 2: But they pleasantly surprised you.
00:26:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I did write a six for them.
00:26:49
Speaker 2: You got a six. Okay. Carrie Ann Inaba said she found him solid, but it's happening again. She gave him a hard time about their lift.
00:26:58
Speaker 3: Oh, that's Carrie Ann's thing, isn't it?
00:27:01
Speaker 2: Carrie Ann's thing. We're used to it. We're accustomed to it at this point. But she does like the way he commands himself, and she also gave him a six. Bruno said there was lots of potential. You can move, man. And he said there was room for improvement. Gave him a six. Derek Hough compared him to Patrick Swayze, but also critiqued his frame and wants to make sure he finishes his movements, which is something I'm very familiar with hearing from Derek Hough myself.
00:27:29
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:27:29
Speaker 2: And he gave him a five. I agree with you. I would have probably given him a six.
00:27:35
Speaker 3: Yeah. I thought he was really good.
00:27:37
Speaker 2: I thought he was, like you said, what we saw in rehearsal footage to what we saw on the floor was a stark difference. So you know she had been working on that.
00:27:48
Speaker 3: Absolutely. Yeah. I was thinking, oh, I don't know how he's going to be. I thought he was going to be very stiff and awkward, but he was really good.
00:27:59
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing their chemistry develop as the season progresses. Sharna is so I mean all of you as pros are so good at having chemistry and making really selling something no matter who your pro is I felt like he had a little bit of a wall like there was something stopping him from really connecting yeah and I feel.
00:28:23
Speaker 3: Like he wasn't sure where to look at times yeah you know his head position wasn't completely where it should be but I think that I put that down to nerves. So I think he'll get more sure of himself as it goes on. But yeah, I agree.
00:28:41
Speaker 2: And I think to the celeb point from my POV, when you do that dance, when you've been practicing in all different rehearsal rooms and you are picking different locations for what is front, you don't actually get into the ballroom until the day before the live show.
00:28:58
Speaker 3: And it's so quick.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: Everything changes. There's lights, there's smoke, there's confetti, there's audience members. So to your point of not being sure where to look, there's also cameras everywhere.
00:29:09
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: You really don't know where to look and it can be a little discombobulating. So I think you're right.
00:29:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that there was one moment where it looked like he was sort of just holding on and Shana was just like, you know.
00:29:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, holding on for dear life.
00:29:21
Speaker 3: Pulling him around. But, you know, what I was impressed was, He had his weight into the ground. I thought he was going to have his butt out and be stiff, but he wasn't. So I mean, that's Shana's teaching. yeah um so those things I was like okay yep he's gonna be good yeah.
00:29:53
Speaker 2: Well, we would then go to a commercial break. And when we return, we are now backstage in the new Sephora glam room.
00:30:01
Speaker 3: Very fancy. So fancy.
00:30:03
Speaker 2: Last season, they were working on decorating that little area. So for our dear listeners, that is the area right outside the ballroom floor where they have those little stations set up. And that's the last stop you make before you go out to do your dance. and they were starting to try and decorate it a little bit last year, but boy, oh boy, they got that Sephora sponsor, and now it's looking pretty glam back there.
00:30:31
Speaker 3: How the show has evolved. We had none of that when I was on the show.
00:30:38
Speaker 2: You didn't have to do your own hair and makeup, though. No, no.
00:30:42
Speaker 3: My hair and makeup artist is still there doing it.
00:30:45
Speaker 2: Who was your hair and makeup artist?
00:30:47
Speaker 3: I had Sarah.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Did you have Sarah in makeup? I didn't. Yeah, and I had a few. Sindra was my hair. She actually came back. She came back last year to do both of them for my judging thing, which is so sweet. Oh, how sweet. Such a little family, yeah. But no, they were always there, but it was like a makeshift sort of outside, like it was really nothing special. It was just.
00:31:15
Speaker 2: Well, there's still, of course, the trailers. The trailers exist out there, which is always like a really fun place to see everybody before the show starts. Lois was my makeup artist.
00:31:25
Speaker 3: Oh, so sweet.
00:31:26
Speaker 2: And I had Kimmy do my hair.
00:31:29
Speaker 3: Oh, Kimmy. Yeah.
00:31:30
Speaker 2: So great.
00:31:32
Speaker 3: The head of hair.
00:31:32
Speaker 2: The head of hair. She was so wonderful.
00:31:35
Speaker 3: She's been there from day one. Day one. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
00:31:39
Speaker 2: And nominated for all the Emmys and just.
00:31:41
Speaker 3: So they should be. They're absolutely incredible. All the quick changes they have to do and whipping around, you know. Yep. It's absolutely amazing.
00:31:52
Speaker 2: So we are at Dance 3, the Mormon Wives star and magician, Connor Levitt and Adele Zakeman. He did a song, Woomp, There It Is, by Tag Team, and his style was salsa.
00:32:07
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
00:32:08
Speaker 2: I felt like there was a lot stacked against this performance.
00:32:13
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:32:14
Speaker 2: I don't know that I, I think pretty much right from the moment I heard this was the song, I was a little, I don't know. I don't think this was the best song choice.
00:32:23
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's definitely harder to get some hip action with a song like that. It doesn't naturally give you that sort of salsa feel. So I think the hip action was lacking for me. And a little bit more salsa I would have liked to have seen.
00:32:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:41
Speaker 3: Maybe a few more tricks because you are allowed to do tricks in the salsa, which is the beauty of that dance.
00:32:47
Speaker 2: I know.
00:32:49
Speaker 3: But I think, yeah, it was a tricky song and I think that Adele did her best at choreographing to suit his personality.
00:32:58
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:33:00
Speaker 3: But, yeah, I feel like I don't know if that would have changed anything.
00:33:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know that it would have changed anything either, but you're right that I do think tricks could have changed.
00:33:10
Speaker 3: I think maybe a few more tricks that, I mean, you know, there's not many dances that you're allowed to, you know, have the freedom to do that. So that could have possibly helped a little more. Yeah.
00:33:23
Speaker 2: I wonder if there was a fear on her end being that he's not a professional dancer, obviously allowing someone who's not used to doing lifts to pick you up.
00:33:34
Speaker 3: Maybe.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: Maybe. I don't because I don't know because you're right. I didn't even think about the fact that with the salsa, you know, we saw it last year with Jan and Jen that their first week was a salsa and it was chalk. Full of amazing lifts and tricks.
00:33:50
Speaker 3: Which you're allowed to do.
00:33:51
Speaker 2: And it does add a wow factor.
00:33:53
Speaker 3: It really does.
00:33:54
Speaker 2: Yeah. So, yeah. So I think that could have definitely helped. And we already talked about how much we feel for Adele.
00:34:01
Speaker 3: I know.
00:34:01
Speaker 2: First week to be eliminated after going through the entire Next Pro season. Coming out on top. And she is an.
00:34:09
Speaker 3: Incredible dancer and a great teacher. But I just think that it was, yeah, probably not. I don't know, the song. I don't know.
00:34:18
Speaker 2: Maybe it was also a hard dance choice. I mean, for a first week to do a salsa, yeah, you've got to get.
00:34:24
Speaker 3: The hips moving. You've really got to, like, own it and be in it. Yeah, there were moments in the dance that I thought were good and fun and I think she did a good job bringing his personality out. But, yeah, I think just maybe there could have been a bit more salsa but maybe she thought, she was going to go with what the song was telling her to do.
00:34:47
Speaker 2: Yep.
00:34:48
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:34:48
Speaker 2: Carrie Ann said it was chaotic and unfocused and gave it a four. Bruno couldn't stop laughing and he pointed out his poor rhythm. He also gave him a four. Derek Hough said he appreciated his showmanship, but there was not enough salsa and it needed more technique. And he also gave it a four. So he had a final score of 12 out of 30. I think they were right on with the, you know, I think, I think three or four is the right score there for me.
00:35:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so for that one. I agree with, yeah, the judges on that.
00:35:24
Speaker 2: Our dance four was Jimmy Kimmel live sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez and last year's Dancing with the Stars champion, the pregnant Whitney Carson. Their song was Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight and the style was the cha-cha. So Kim, let's hear your thoughts on this one. The ballroom audience sure loved it.
00:35:45
Speaker 3: Well, he had me from the package. That was, I just love him and I love Whitney as well. But the opening, I mean, Whitney is so clever. It was so entertaining from the get-go with, I think he had the troop.
00:36:00
Speaker 2: Girls and then- Either side of him.
00:36:03
Speaker 3: It was such a great opening. It just got you in straight away, which is- So clever on Whitney's part. So I thought the dance from start to finish was so fun. Yep. And he did some cha-cha in there. He had his New Yorkers.
00:36:21
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
00:36:22
Speaker 3: You know, I thought I would have given him, I wouldn't have, he got a three, didn't he? Yes. I would have given him four, maybe even a five. I don't know. Yep.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:36:34
Speaker 3: I thought he was great, you know. Timing. Yes, he's got to work on that. But I admired that he tried to do the cha-cha.
00:36:46
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:36:47
Speaker 3: He may have had a few heel leads, but he was hitting the New Yorkers. He was into it. Yes. And it was so entertaining.
00:36:59
Speaker 2: I really felt very much like we had that Andy-like, magic back in the ballroom with the sense that it was like, is it flawless technique? Is it going to be perfect in every moment?
00:37:12
Speaker 3: No.
00:37:13
Speaker 2: But is he selling it? And is he fully invested in it? And is he doing his absolute best? And am I entertained?
00:37:22
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:37:22
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:37:23
Speaker 3: All of those things is a yes. Exactly.
00:37:26
Speaker 2: That's a yes, yes, yes. Um, So Carrie Ann said it was very entertaining and said the movement actually had proper intentions. She gave it a four. Bruno called him a crazy, sexy grasshopper and said that his technique can only get better. Derek Hough called it spicy, said there was bad technique but good effort, and told him to work on the timing and gave him a three. You said you would have given him a four, maybe even a five. I... I am with you. I am thinking a four, maybe even a five. But if I'm thinking back, if I'm going to say that Connor was somewhere between a three and a four, I'm giving Guillermo somewhere between a four and a five.
00:38:08
Speaker 3: Right. Yeah. I really, really loved the two of them. And I think, I don't think he's going anywhere.
00:38:14
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:38:15
Speaker 3: I think they'll be around for a while.
00:38:17
Speaker 2: I think you're right.
00:38:18
Speaker 3: I can't wait to see him in a ballroom dance.
00:38:20
Speaker 2: I know. That'll be so great.
00:38:22
Speaker 3: You know what?
00:38:23
Speaker 2: I think he's going to have a really nice frame.
00:38:25
Speaker 3: I think so too. I really do. And you can see that he's so invested. And that's all you want. You want to see someone that's committed, that's in it. And yeah, he sold it. He sold me for sure. I love it.
00:38:40
Speaker 2: I love it. And then we get a chance to see the female stars and their pros. They dance before their big night. We get a little sneak peek.
00:38:48
Speaker 3: How great were the boys?
00:38:50
Speaker 2: So good.
00:38:51
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh. They're so great. I know. They're really amazing.
00:38:56
Speaker 2: I'll tell you, knowing them all now, knowing all of the pros as well as I do, has made watching the show for me that much more enjoyable. Right?
00:39:07
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:39:08
Speaker 2: You get to see, like knowing all of their personalities, seeing how they show their personalities in a dance where they're all maybe doing the same steps, but they express themselves so differently. It was, it's a real joy. Yeah.
00:39:22
Speaker 3: I loved seeing all the boys. That was so great.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: It really was.
00:39:26
Speaker 3: Yeah. Oh, and then Hayley at the end.
00:39:29
Speaker 2: Well, of course.
00:39:29
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
00:39:30
Speaker 2: Funny because Hayley there at the end because she is technically the male pro I know in her so like she's she's on that side so she gets to perform.
00:39:40
Speaker 3: Yeah I was like I was confused at first I'm like what's Hayley doing there and I'm like oh my gosh she'll be dancing.
00:39:45
Speaker 2: Yeah exactly she'll be dancing that's.
00:39:47
Speaker 3: Gonna be really interesting yeah Yeah, it's going to be very fun. But, no, that was a great number and then having all the female celebrities come out. So I loved it. That got me excited to see what the females are going to do.
00:40:00
Speaker 2: To see the next episode. Well, our dance number five was Paris Paralympian, Ezra Frake and Daniela Karagach. They did Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. And they did a tango, which is very close to my heart because Pasha and I did a Kelly Clarkson song with a tango for our week one.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: Yes, that's right.
00:40:20
Speaker 2: So felt like felt like my, you know, like family continuing on a tradition. Oh, beautiful to watch. How did you feel about this dance?
00:40:30
Speaker 3: I didn't know anything about Ezra, so I was blown away by his package.
00:40:36
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:40:36
Speaker 3: Like what an inspiration. Right? It's unbelievable, this adorable little boy going through all of that and then to now be a Paralympian and it is unbelievable. And I have heard it's very different if you don't have your knee. Yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker 2: The above the knee and below the knee amputation is a big deal.
00:40:58
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's a big deal. And obviously how incredible like that the surgeons did that back then with his thumb, with his toes and thumb, like unbelievable, which makes so much sense because you realize how much you need your fingers. So I said to, I actually text Dina, I'm like, okay, you put him with the perfect person. I can't imagine him with anyone else.
00:41:23
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Her choreography, her ability to bring him out and make him come alive. I am thrilled about this partnership.
00:41:34
Speaker 3: These are the ones that I'm so excited to watch the whole season. They're going to be there right up until the end for sure. He's charming. He's got everything. And then seeing him on the dance floor. It was unbelievable. What I noticed first of all was his frame and his head position was amazing. I think that was the best frame of the night.
00:41:56
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:41:58
Speaker 3: Boreum frame. And then to see him moving across the floor and with all the challenges that, you know, not being able to move straight.
00:42:06
Speaker 2: Yes, having to go on a diagonal through the tango.
00:42:09
Speaker 3: It blew my mind, actually. It was unbelievable. So, yeah, I thought he was incredible. really incredible.
00:42:19
Speaker 2: I felt the same way. I think he, of the performances of the night, this was my standout. This was my wow. I'm thrilled that I get to watch this week after week. Very exciting. Yeah. Carrie Ann said, this is why she loves Dancing with the Stars, showing people what's possible with new ways to move. She is in awe. She gave it a seventh. Bruno was very impressed with Ezra's ability to lead. Good leading man energy with room to grow.
00:42:47
Speaker 3: He really did. It looked like he was a leading man. His frame, he was in control.
00:42:56
Speaker 2: You don't often get that, especially at the beginning. The women are sometimes having to secretly lead. But he really was in control. Derek Hough said it was very emotional. The pivots were incredible. The frame was fantastic. And it is about what is discovery. It's about discovering what is possible now.
00:43:18
Speaker 3: Yes. So the speed he got on those pivots, I was like, how is he doing that?
00:43:24
Speaker 2: I know those pivots were great. I love a good pivot.
00:43:28
Speaker 3: And they're really difficult to do. Yeah. But he maintained his frame and he got so much speed in these pivots. I was like, what is happening? It was really impressive.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, very good. Their total score was a 20 out of 30. I definitely would have given this a seven.
00:43:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. Same. Yeah.
00:43:49
Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, I think they were wonderful. The next dance was comedian and podcaster Connor Wood and Riley Arnold. They did I Like It, I Love It by Tim McGraw, and they did a cha-cha. Uh, what did you think of Connor W's do-si-do debut?
00:44:07
Speaker 3: I loved this one. I was pleasantly surprised.
00:44:11
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:44:12
Speaker 3: I thought they, the two of them together are a great match. Um, I, I loved the routine. I love the choreography. He committed to it. I thought, what did I say? I thought she had a great balance of, you know, the little country stuff in there with the cha-cha.
00:44:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:44:31
Speaker 3: It really showed his personality well.
00:44:33
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:44:34
Speaker 3: And they did great cha-cha too. I thought he was so funny in rehearsals when he was like, I've only seen a bird like move, you know, the top half and you've got to, you know, when you've got to isolate. Yes. I thought that was so funny and it's so foreign to.
00:44:49
Speaker 2: Non-dancers.
00:44:51
Speaker 3: Non-dancers. Yes. But I love that he's into it. You know, he's invested. He wants to learn the technique. You can see, you could see that in rehearsals. So. I think these are going to be a really great match and one to watch.
00:45:06
Speaker 2: Okay, good. I have to be honest. I didn't love the country song with Cha-Cha. And it's a me thing. It's not a them thing. The choreography was great. The personality was really fun. But there's something that's hard for me to see Cha-Cha... And like Latin salsa, you know, that kind of movement while listening to a country song and see, like, I felt like I was at a hoedown and I could really very easily spot the country line dance elements.
00:45:38
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:45:38
Speaker 2: I didn't know that I got, that I felt any sort of cha-cha. And I think for me, it's just because the song.
00:45:44
Speaker 3: Right. No, I actually loved the, I loved that. And I thought Riley did do a good balance of putting some cha-cha in there and then Yeah. The country element. So I actually quite found, I found it quite entertaining and there was still, I think, cha-cha in there, but in like a country.
00:46:05
Speaker 2: In a country way.
00:46:06
Speaker 3: Hoedown way, which I didn't mind.
00:46:08
Speaker 2: What would you have scored this dance? What did I write?
00:46:11
Speaker 3: I wrote a six.
00:46:13
Speaker 2: A six. Okay. I would have given it a five. So we're not that far off. I would have given it a five. You gave it a six. His final score was a 16 out of 30. And then we get a next pro dance. We got to see Adele, Alan, Selena, and Eric, no AJ, from Dancing with the Stars, the next pro. I thought that was really fun to see all.
00:46:33
Speaker 3: Of them there. I did too. I loved seeing all of them there. That was really fun.
00:46:38
Speaker 2: I thought it was really great that some of our favorites who, you know, obviously didn't win, Adele was the winner, but to see them in the ballroom, to see this thing they had been working so hard, to see them actually get to have a moment on the stage.
00:46:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was really nice. Yeah, that was really nice. And they're all so great. I mean, it's so hard to pick because any one of them could have, you know, been on it. But yeah, it was nice to have that moment to see them all together.
00:47:06
Speaker 2: Yes, it was. And then for dance number seven, we get musician and freaking father of seven, Taylor Hansen and Britt Stewart. I mean, if you can raise seven children, I feel like you can do anything.
00:47:24
Speaker 3: Exactly. How in the world? That's unbelievable. I have two and it's, yeah.
00:47:32
Speaker 2: It's a full-time, it's a full, full-time job. It is. And so Seven, wow.
00:47:37
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:47:38
Speaker 2: So he did a song, Tell Her About It by Billy Joel and the style was The Quick Step. What were your thoughts on Taylor Hansen and Brit Stewart?
00:47:48
Speaker 3: I wrote hierography. I've not seen hierography in a quick step before. Oh. I think the first movie did he like did a hair whip before he got into the frame. And I was like, whoa, we've got hairography.
00:47:59
Speaker 2: Hairography already.
00:48:00
Speaker 3: Yeah. So that was one of the first things I wrote.
00:48:05
Speaker 2: He does have great hair.
00:48:06
Speaker 3: He does have great hair. But I'm like, okay, now let's get it back.
00:48:11
Speaker 2: Back to frame.
00:48:12
Speaker 3: Back to frame. I would have liked, I think he's got room to work on his frame a little more.
00:48:17
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:48:18
Speaker 3: If he thinks, for me, it's always like thinking about a coat hanger. If you look at a coat hanger like that, you've got to have here and then it goes down so your shoulders are never up. So you've got to have your head, which is the top part of the coat hanger, and then it goes down so your elbows are slightly below your shoulders. But it's always got to stay out. You never see a coat hanger like that or like that. So that's one thing, which obviously it was a first show, that he could work on, which I think– he's got the potential for it. That was one thing I think could really help him. And then that will help his head position too. He's one that could take my ruler trick with his head, get that hair back, you know, I didn't mind the hairography, but then like, keep it there.
00:49:04
Speaker 2: It was like, right.
00:49:06
Speaker 3: Then distracting me a little bit.
00:49:07
Speaker 2: The head was a little on a swivel. Yeah. A little bit.
00:49:10
Speaker 3: And I think just the frame, um, I mean, quick step, you know, it was a hard dance to start with. So, um, but I, I, I thought it was really good. Um, I think he has like breathe a little bit more. I think he was like holding his breath the whole dance, you know, cause he was probably nervous, but, um, I, I really liked, I liked it. I think they're going to be a really fun.
00:49:33
Speaker 2: Couple to watch.
00:49:34
Speaker 3: I just think with those little things to work on, he could be he could be really good. I like them together too.
00:49:41
Speaker 2: I like them together a lot. I absolutely loved Brit saying, I'm going to be honest. I didn't come to play this season. And you know, cause there were a lot of comments about the fact that this was not one, the quick steps, not an easy first dance. And two, she didn't take it super easy on him in the choreography.
00:49:59
Speaker 3: She had so much quick. I did love, she put so much quick step in there, which was great. Um, But yeah, that's when it was like, okay, wow, they're really doing a lot of quick steps. So you could see, you know, a few little things here and there.
00:50:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:50:13
Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, amazing that they did so much quick step. It was, it was a real, it was a quick step for sure.
00:50:20
Speaker 2: It was a quick step. Yes. Bruno Tanioli said proper real quick step with a lot of content tells him to tighten up and to feel it. Derek Hough said, tough first dance, but he kept it together. He did drop his frame. Carrie Ann Inaba says, Carrie Ann imagines that Len Goodman would have called it a proper quick step and tells the audience to keep an eye on this one. He got a total score of 16 out of 30. What would you have given it?
00:50:47
Speaker 3: I wrote down a six. Okay.
00:50:49
Speaker 2: I think I'm right there with you. I think I also would have said.
00:50:52
Speaker 3: For the effort that he put in and the content that was in there, it was a proper quick step. Just those few little things. But my gosh, it's the first week.
00:51:00
Speaker 2: It's the first week. Yeah.
00:51:02
Speaker 3: No, they were great.
00:51:04
Speaker 2: And I loved Hanson. Oh my God. Who doesn't love Hanson? Unless you are new to this earth, you know Hanson and are a Hanson fan. And to see him look so great, have such beautiful hair, to know he's such a family man. It's like You're rooting for him, you know?
00:51:23
Speaker 3: I hope we get more hierography in future dances. That should be his thing.
00:51:27
Speaker 2: I think Brit is one of the smartest people I've ever met. I think she knows what she's got on her hands with that head of hair and that handsome boy. I think we're going to get lots of hierography. We'll see.
00:51:39
Speaker 3: Love it.
00:51:53
Speaker 2: Our dance number eight was actor and former Beyonce backup dancer Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson. They did a cha-cha to Let's Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire. Harry came out swinging. He sure did. What were your thoughts on this dance?
00:52:10
Speaker 3: He sure did. Again, I thought that Jenna did an incredible job of mixing his background of hip-hop with cha-cha. Yep. Yep. It really showcased his personality. I mean, they were incredible. They're going to be fire.
00:52:31
Speaker 2: Yes, they're going to be so fun every single week.
00:52:34
Speaker 3: Every single week. But I did notice like there were some technical things that he is going to have to work on because, as I said, the ballroom technique is so different to other dancing.
00:52:47
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:52:48
Speaker 3: So having the weight in the correct spot all the time when you're doing the cha-cha. You've really got to have your weight over the balls of the feet. Just a few little things like that, you know, that he's probably getting to his comfort zone of his other form of dance. Yeah. So, you know, like he's going to have things to work on as well. It's not like he's just, you know, got it set.
00:53:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:53:11
Speaker 3: So that's where, but I mean, they were incredible.
00:53:15
Speaker 2: They were spectacular.
00:53:16
Speaker 3: No denying that.
00:53:17
Speaker 2: No denying that at all. Carrie Ann Inaba called him electric. She said they have similar backgrounds in hip hop and he needs to not over exaggerate moves. Ah, okay. Which I thought was interesting feedback because then I rewatched the dance again after listening to her feedback. I rewatched it and I thought, oh yeah, there is a little bit of maybe some hip hop punctuation.
00:53:39
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:53:39
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:53:40
Speaker 3: In the cha-cha. Yeah. Yeah. He's definitely going to be hitting everything, but yeah, it's got to be a little bit more fluid.
00:53:47
Speaker 2: Right.
00:53:47
Speaker 3: Okay. Yeah.
00:53:49
Speaker 2: Bruno calls him Dr. Steamy, says he is having a seizure chemistry, but he says to be careful of falling back into old habits. Derek Hough only had a few seconds to give his critique, so he said, I really enjoyed that. They all gave him a seven with a total score of 21 out of 30. What would you have scored?
00:54:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, I wrote seven too. I would have agreed. It was incredible. And I think we're going to see amazing things from them each week, you know? Yeah.
00:54:24
Speaker 2: I am right there with you.
00:54:25
Speaker 3: I can see where they kept him to the end, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
00:54:30
Speaker 2: And then we get a Julianne Hough performance with the pros. It was apparently inspired by Paris and bread and pastries.
00:54:41
Speaker 3: No, some baguettes.
00:54:42
Speaker 2: Some baguettes. Listen, if there's anything that can make me dance across the floor, it's baguettes.
00:54:48
Speaker 3: Same. It would be a baguette for me, too.
00:54:51
Speaker 2: That would be my number one go-to. We also got... Val playing the violin.
00:54:57
Speaker 3: How amazing was that?
00:54:59
Speaker 2: Classically trained violinist, Val Shmerkovsky. That was a.
00:55:03
Speaker 3: Really nice surprise to see him playing the violin. I love when they all got into the straight line, did this thing, and then Val was in the middle. I was like, they're just so clever. Like the choreography, like it was so beautiful to watch. And Julianne, it's always so nice to see her dance again. I love watching her dance. She just hosted a two-hour show and then dances.
00:55:24
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:55:24
Speaker 3: Who does that?
00:55:25
Speaker 2: I know.
00:55:25
Speaker 3: That was amazing.
00:55:27
Speaker 2: It was really, really fun to watch. And now the time has come. We have eliminations. Kim, we are always reminded that this does not mean they are actually the lowest scores.
00:55:42
Speaker 3: Right.
00:55:42
Speaker 2: But we know the audience still... sees it that way it feels like it also feels like that when it.
00:55:48
Speaker 3: Does doesn't it feel that way too even though they say oh it's not necessarily the bottom yeah three or bottom two it's like well I'm standing here.
00:55:56
Speaker 2: Standing here I feel like I'm hanging by the skin of my teeth so yeah it's not fun um do you think watching having seen all the performances of the night do you think Connor and Adele Guillermo and Whitney and Connor W and Riley were the right bottom three.
00:56:19
Speaker 3: I guess so. Just going back over everything. Probably, I mean, I don't know. Why do they have to do bottom three? I know. Why can't they just do bottom two? Bottom two.
00:56:37
Speaker 1: I know.
00:56:37
Speaker 3: I agree with you. I guess so. Do you think they did the two Connors? Because when they said Connor, the other one could have thought it was Connor Hume before they said the last name. I know.
00:56:49
Speaker 2: It's like really squeezing out every second of.
00:56:51
Speaker 3: Right. Because you could see Connor's face when they said Connor.
00:56:56
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:56:56
Speaker 3: Until they said, is it W? L. Yeah.
00:56:58
Speaker 2: Connor. Because the one going home was Connor L.
00:57:01
Speaker 3: Yeah. That's right. Connor L. And Connor Wood was like, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, that was a tough one. It was. Especially the first night.
00:57:14
Speaker 2: I know.
00:57:15
Speaker 3: I really felt for all of them standing up there, you know? I know.
00:57:18
Speaker 2: And I know that that feeling is terrible. When you do the run-through of it the day before on Monday... you go through that whole process too, where they shine the, you know, you, they, and they, they change the names every time and they do them different ways. Sometimes they do them in alphabetical order. Sometimes they do them in who performed last the week before or whatever. Like they have, they make sure, you know, the names that we are rehearsing today are not the, you know, we have no idea what the names will be, but even during rehearsal, it's just a bad feeling to be standing up there and be like, Oh no, here, it might be me. So to know, what they felt like in that moment and then for it to be Connor, especially because so much of his package was about the idea that he is the person who is always supporting the others in his life and that this was something that was really an opportunity for it to be about him.
00:58:10
Speaker 3: And you saw Whitney being so supportive in the audience.
00:58:14
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:58:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, it would have been so nice for him to continue and have that moment.
00:58:20
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:58:21
Speaker 3: And yet we would be saying.
00:58:23
Speaker 2: The same thing about whoever it was. So the truth is the hardest part of this show is that you fall in love with everybody and you see the merits of everybody. And yet it's at the end of the day, it comes down to it. It is a competition. And that's the part where we all go, maybe we should just all perform every week until the end and then just pick a winner.
00:58:44
Speaker 3: I know. But that's what we love. We love the whole show. And that's what happens, you know, unfortunately.
00:58:54
Speaker 2: Now I'm not going to hold you to this because it's an unfair question on week one, but do you have maybe a front runner on the men's side?
00:59:02
Speaker 3: Well, I think obviously Harry, he's, you know, he was incredible, but Ezra really was. is the one for me I think that.
00:59:12
Speaker 2: I just got chills mine too I'm.
00:59:15
Speaker 3: So excited to see what he's gonna do because I think that was just a small part of what we're gonna see from him you know I think he's gonna be incredible and with you know with Danny as well as his partner They're going to be unstoppable.
00:59:32
Speaker 2: Couldn't agree with you more. Ezra, I'm putting all my mojo behind Ezra as the male celeb. I think that partnership is going to be great. I think also some factors we didn't even talk about or take into consideration, the fact that he is as funny as he is and as good on social media as he is, regardless of dance ability and all of that. That's a large part of what this show has become, you know, being able to keep eyes on you and keep the audience's attention and get votes through social media. And I think he's going to be one of the top at doing that.
01:00:09
Speaker 3: I think so too. And he's so charming and he just has it all. He really does. Yeah.
01:00:16
Speaker 2: Are you excited for night two?
01:00:18
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. I cannot wait. I cannot wait to see the ladies take the dance floor.
01:00:25
Speaker 2: I'm so excited.
01:00:26
Speaker 3: I'm excited to see Moira Higgins. I loved her on Traders. I think she's got such a fun personality, but I don't know if she can dance at all.
01:00:35
Speaker 2: Yeah.
01:00:36
Speaker 3: But she's with Mark, so knowing Mark, he'll have her dancing.
01:00:41
Speaker 2: He absolutely will, for sure.
01:00:43
Speaker 3: I know.
01:00:44
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing that as well. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Hayley for the first time as a pro.
01:00:49
Speaker 3: Yes.
01:00:49
Speaker 2: And to see them in a same-sex partnership. Like, I'm... I'm really looking forward to seeing how that, I also don't know anything about whether or not Sarah Jane has any dance ability or dance. There's so many surprises in store for me.
01:01:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's going to be a great, a great episode with the ladies. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
01:01:12
Speaker 2: And of course, I'm biased.
01:01:14
Speaker 3: I am biased.
01:01:15
Speaker 2: So thrilled to watch Pasha and Amber.
01:01:18
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. I loved her at the Olympics.
01:01:22
Speaker 2: She's incredible.
01:01:23
Speaker 3: She's incredible.
01:01:25
Speaker 2: I think he's going to be able to do so many wonderful things with her that I just, I can't wait to see them too. I'm just excited for the whole night. So tune in tomorrow. We will be back with our thoughts on night two of the season 35 premiere when we will see our female celebrities first foray onto the ballroom floor. We will see you then. Kim, thank you so much.
01:01:47
Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
01:01:48
Speaker 2: I'll see you tomorrow.
01:01:50
Speaker 3: Okay. Bye. Bye.
