WEBVTT - Dancing with…Pasha Pashkov! 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:16.439 Thanks, Welcome to Danielle with the Stars. I am Danielle Fischl, 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.160 a TV director, a podcaster Forever Topanga, and a mom 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:25.079 of two. Currently, though I am learning how to ballroom 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.920 dance one step at a time. You will be seeing 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.440 me on season thirty four of Dancing with the Stars, 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:34.879 premiering September sixteenth on ABC and Disney Plus. And throughout 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:39.479 the process, I am recording this podcast chronicling my journey, 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:44.199 giving you the inside story of one celebrities quest for 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.920 a Mirror Ball Trophy. So I am in the mix 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:51.400 as we speak, practicing every day for the debut episode, 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.320 a night that will mark the first time I've danced 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.600 in front of an audience since I recited a poem 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.160 for Corey and applied lipstick across my face on Boy 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.720 Meets World at twelve years old. Not kidding, I am 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:07.319 so excited for my very first Danielle with the Stars guest. 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.680 He is one of the most beloved professional dancers from 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:14.520 the show, first appearing on season twenty eight in twenty nineteen, 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.360 and he is now paired with me for season thirty four. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.760 Please welcome to the podcast, Pasha Pashkov, Thank. 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:23.440 You, Hi. 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:26.399 First so I just realized Danielle with the Stars is 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:29.039 still the DWTS. Correct, I see what she did? 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.240 Oh wow, yeah, See we're smart around here. We know 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.039 what we're doing. Okay. So my first question that I've 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:38.840 wanted to ask since day one, but I figured doing 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.640 it in the presence of thousands was probably a better idea. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.640 When we met on last Tuesday a few days ago, 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:48.080 you had no idea who I was. 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:49.280 Did you I did? Oh? 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:49.600 You did? 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:51.640 I did? Okay. So this is the thing, right, You 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:57.440 have rumors obviously circulating around, you know, approximately who's going 0:01:57.480 --> 0:01:59.920 to be on the cast. Nothing he's ever confirmed. Yeah, 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:00.880 but there are rumors. 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:02.680 There are rumors circulators, right. 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.600 So of course you started to dig into everyone, yes, 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:10.280 doing your research. Yes. So when we had some people 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:13.120 who got announced a couple of months before, of course 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.480 you already know a little bit about them. We sat 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:19.560 down to watch a few episodes of Secret Lives of 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:23.639 Woman Wives when two cast members from that show. 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:25.320 Game Let Me Leave It and Jen Affleck had been 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.680 announced a few months ago from that show, Yes, Robert 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:30.800 Irwin had been announced, and Alex correct, Yes, yes, so 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:31.840 you did your research on that. 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.680 We did the research, Yes, and then when we heard 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.720 that you might be on the show, my wife went 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:42.519 crazy because she's a huge fan and she's like every 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:45.160 boy wanted to be with her, every girl wanted to 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.040 be her. And she's like, you have to watch it 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.280 because you haven't seen it, and she goes, I would 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.440 love to watch it with you, because she's like it's 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:54.760 been a while since I watched, and she's like, I 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.120 would love to like relive that. So I literally binged 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.360 watch like several episodes right away. So for me, like 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.280 I knew exactly who you were when you walked into 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:04.520 the room. 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.880 Okay, so when I walked in, you were like expecting 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:07.840 what you got. 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.200 You weren't like who no, oh yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:15.040 I knew exactly yeah yeah, and you exactly. And you're like, 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.760 you know, like your character is so iconic and I 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.680 don't know, I just like I can tell that you're 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:25.000 loved by millions, you know. And there's so many people 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:27.399 who were saying, oh my god, I literally grew up 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.960 with her. That's how they feel. So I'm like, it's 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.040 good to dance with someone you know that people can 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.280 connect to like that, you know, And I'm sure there 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.400 are things that we're going to use from the show 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:39.960 or can use from the show. 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.120 Yes, I'm hoping so so many great things are gonna 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.520 be amazing, you know, little easter eggs or you know, 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:50.640 little throwbacks that will make people, you know, relive those 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.000 moments when they used to watch you on the a 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:57.920 TV's so many people who work as an actor or 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:01.480 in any sort of performer type thing, but especially actors 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.320 sometimes get really offended when they're only known for one 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.880 character and they're like, I've done more things. I just 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:13.120 have never felt that way. I feel so lucky that 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.040 Tapanga was the character I got to play. And even 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.640 if I'm never known for anything else, like, what a 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:22.839 massive blessing that I, at twelve years old, found a 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:24.880 role in a character that I'll be known for forever. 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.640 So anything we can do to lean into the nostalgia 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:30.560 of that or the Tapanga of it all, or the 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.440 boy meets World of it all, I am all four. 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.440 But also that one character. It's not like it's a 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.720 one two hour on movie. It's years and years and 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.840 years you know of that character and character development, you know, 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.960 and especially that that character starts at such a young 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.680 age and you go all the way to marriage. You 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:52.920 know what I mean. It's like it's your your whole chunk, 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:54.800 a huge chunk of your life over there. 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:55.360 Yeah. 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:59.040 And it's been on what's seven seven. 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.640 Seven years ninety three to two thousand and then when 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:02.400 we did the reboot Girl Meets World, we did that 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.159 for three years, so we even have you know, almost 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.559 we have a decade, a decade of to Panga lore. 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.520 I guess well, we are in New York right now, 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:16.280 in the absolute whirlwind that is the Good Morning America announcement. 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.120 How does this season or does this season feel any 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:24.080 different to you than your previous five or six seasons? 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:30.360 You feel? Okay, this is one of those shows where, 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.240 no matter how many seasons you've been on, you can 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:39.080 never possibly be fully ready because every time it's brand new. 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:44.320 You have a brand new partner, with brand new personality, ability, 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:48.640 story and everything. Right, So every time it's a brand 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.640 new experience, right. And also the competition who are going 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.160 against is brand new. Right when we used to compete 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:58.880 in ballroom dancing. You know, we're the same partnership, We 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:03.880 know who we're competing against for years right here. Every 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:05.800 year it's a brand new show for us. 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:07.880 I don't even think about that. Yeah, when you're competing 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.320 in ballroom dancing, you're used to seeing the same faces 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.240 every weekend. You know what their strengths and weaknesses are. 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:15.560 Now on this show, like, you can do all the 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.719 prep you can do for your own physical body, but 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:19.680 by the time you arrive there, like depending on who 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.480 your celeb is and who the other celebs are, everything 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:23.919 changes exactly. 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.800 Yeah, and what you know, like what makes sense for 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.960 us in terms of the song choices and the creative choices. 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.000 So it's one of those things where I think you 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:37.920 cannot possibly really prepare. But with every season, you feel 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:42.880 that you're gaining more experience, you know, and that gives 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:45.680 you more confidence going into a new season because you're like, Okay, 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.440 I've done a few I know what to expect, I 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.679 have my strategy, you know, So this helps I feel 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:58.559 like going with that good baggage is helping mentally for sure. 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:00.680 How important do you think song choices are? 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:02.720 I think they are vital. 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.159 Really, yeah, And do you think that's because the audience 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:08.680 needs to be able to connect to the song or like, 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:09.080 do you. 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:13.080 Think both the audience and us, because first of all, 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.080 we're the ones dancing, right, and if it is a 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.680 song that is hard to dance to, you just don't 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.200 feel like dancing to it, right, you know, you feel 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.360 like you're forcing a dance onto a specific song. That's 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:24.119 not a good start. 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:25.200 No, it's not a good feeling. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.440 But then even if you find a song that you 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:31.040 feel good dancing to, the audience needs to relate to 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.440 it as well. Either they recognize it, or they just 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.520 feel the vibe of the song, or you make them 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.200 fall in love with the song that they've never heard. 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:43.520 You know, that's an option too, But definitely, definitely for 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:44.920 us and for the audience. 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:48.720 Okay, you have been on the show now for several seasons. 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:54.360 Does has this fan speculation and paparazzi gotten better or worse? 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:59.880 I was shocked by the amount of attention and effort 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:04.440 we had to put into maintaining a secret identity for 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.400 you know, about a week. Are you used to that 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:09.600 at this point that it feels crazy? Was it more 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:10.520 this year than usual? 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:13.360 No? We we do this every year since the beginning. 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.440 We've been hiding all the time, you know, leading up 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:19.320 to the premiere. But I gotta say that I think 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.920 in the past few seasons the show I feel like 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:26.440 it had a rebirth, you know, and it got like this, 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:32.480 new demographics, new audience, new fans, and there are definitely 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:37.280 more eyes on us and definitely more attention, and it's 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.400 closer attention. And that's why I think there were so 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:44.800 many speculations and leagues online because people are really paying attention, 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:46.880 and they are paying attention to every detail. You know, 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.000 you pass by, they catch a photo you fully covered, 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:51.800 but they see your ring and they know who's ring 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.520 it is, you know, or they see bracelets and I 0:08:54.559 --> 0:09:00.360 mean minor obvious. They say, yeah, yeah, it's hard to 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.360 hide this one, but yes, like so becoming more away 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.920 and hiding, you know, onto the sleeve so people don't 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:08.560 see you bracelets or something else. 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:22.760 It's so crazy. 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:26.559 So I am very, very very sore. 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:29.600 I'm extremely achy. 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.840 My neck is killing me. I feel a little better 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:33.760 today than I did yesterday, but I've had to go 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:38.320 get regular massages. I've had to be stretching. How how 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:41.080 do you do this all the time? How do you 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.160 stay in this kind of shape to be working this 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:46.240 hard day after day, week after week. 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.160 Well, I think when we used to compete, we were 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:56.040 in this kind of like mold three hundred and sixty 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.960 five this a year, So once you're in it, it 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.840 feels like it's a norm, and I think you kind 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.520 of get used to it. On Dancing with the Stars, 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.520 you know, we have a three month season, then we 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:12.520 have tour prep, then four months or three months tour, 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.280 and then we have this huge gap between the tour 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.960 and the season, right And of course everybody does the 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.760 own thing. Somebody does something dance related, somebody does something 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.160 not dance related. Personally, me, I do stuff that is 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.520 not dance related. So for me right now, going back 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.920 into the season, our first three or four rehearsals that 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.600 we had so far, you know, I felt sore, like 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.600 I was like, oh my god, I need to stretch, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:40.560 I need to warm up, I need to get back 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.760 into I mean, I was trying to get back into shape, 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.080 you know, to get ready. But no matter how much 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:50.240 you work out, you know, you still building like big 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.680 muscle groups, you know, like at the gym or whatever. 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:55.880 Dancing is different because it's like you use these small 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.640 little muscle groups that you don't really usually use at 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.040 the gym, you know, and it's a brand new workout 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.880 and I know it, and I go through this every time, 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:06.960 but you do need a couple of weeks of adjustment 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:10.880 to get back into it, just simply by dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing. 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:14.520 I told Jensen, I said, the the little fibers at 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.240 the base of my skull, all the way down to 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.080 the little tendons in between my toes, all of the 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.679 body parts in between their hurt. But yes, it's like 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:25.520 it's like muscle groups I didn't even really know existed. 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.319 So we've been practicing for one week, which is actually 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.120 only meant four days of rehearsal. At this point, I 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.880 need you to be very honest here, how am I doing? 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:40.000 You're doing great? Okay, I was. You know, usually when 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:42.439 we're starting, you know, we're starting with a two three 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:46.079 week prep for the premiere, which is a lot longer 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.079 than you know it will be during the season when 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:50.800 we're going to have only a few days in between 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:55.760 each show. So I kind of was going in like, okay, 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:57.880 we're not going to rush. We'll take it slowly. You know, 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.000 I'll get to know you see how you learn the choreo, 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.040 and we'll go from there because we have some time. 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.480 So I prepped the choreo, and what I was very 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:08.480 happy about is that you picked it up and learned 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.959 very fast. So for me, I was like, okay, that's 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.439 a good sign. You know, if you can learn the coreer, 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.000 you know in a couple of days, that means going 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.880 into the season will be able to you know, learn 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.200 the career and then still have time to clean and 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:25.839 improve and work on our performance aspect, because I think 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.559 the hardest thing is when you have someone as a 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.760 partner who cannot remember the courrier, because then you know 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:38.720 you're going into the performance first of all, really stressed 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:42.440 out because you don't know if if they will remember. Yeah, 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.680 you know, that's one thing, but also if it takes 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.760 the entire week just to learn the choreo, then obviously 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.880 you have no time to improve it, you know, to 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.960 work on the performance aspect, on the some maybe technical 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:58.680 things you know, to make it look sharper and cleaner 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:00.079 and more exciting, because. 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:03.960 Just remembering the steps is actually like twenty percent of 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:06.320 what ends up coming through with the dance, Like just 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.560 knowing the moves is not enough. So I know, I 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:11.800 said to you and are like on our first day 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.800 that my goal was that every week we had at 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.439 least one day where you got to be super nitpicky 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.520 that we felt like we knew it, You knew that 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.880 I knew it so well that you could be like 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.720 that pinky is not where it should be. Like, I 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:27.520 wanted at least a full day for you to just 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.920 nitpick me. So that's still my goal. I'm still going 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:32.880 to maintain that, even though we're not going to have 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.320 three weeks every time, I still want to have at 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.720 least half a day where you can be nitpicky with me. 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.280 So anyone who's watched the show over the last several 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.400 years will know that you have maybe been given some 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:53.360 challenging partners. How do you stay positive when you are 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.839 maybe showing up every week knowing that your partner isn't 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.000 as fully invested in it as you would like them 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:00.320 to be. 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:06.560 Well, the thing is, and I realized that pretty quickly, 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:11.160 is that we as pros. Yes we're not guaranteed that 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:14.840 we're going to be back next season, but if we are, 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:16.720 there is a chance for us to do the show 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.640 for several seasons, right, and like this is my seventh 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.400 season for example, Right, so I got a chance to 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.440 always redo if, like you know, if I have a 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.080 not a good experience or not a good result or 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.240 whatever it is, right, But if you look from the 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:36.440 celebs perspective, there's only one chance you do the show 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:40.640 once and that's it, right. So the inspiration behind it 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:45.800 is that when they leave the competition, no matter the result, 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:48.320 no matter what, I want them to look back at 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.760 it and say, I had the best experience. I had 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:53.920 the time of my life, and I will remember this 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:56.520 as a positive experience no matter what. Yeah, you know, 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.560 and I'll have something to look back on, you know 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.920 that's live online probably forever, and be proud of it. 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.000 So that's what motivates you, because you understand that this 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:10.840 is their only chance to do specific I mean they 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.520 do other things, but specifically this. Yeah, there's only one 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:15.280 time you get to do this, So I just want 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:16.400 them to have the best time. 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:18.440 Oh well, you're really good at that because you do 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.680 make it very fun. I was telling Jensen how much 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:25.200 I laughed when I said, you said very good after 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.960 I did a dance and I said, oh no, it 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:29.960 was mid. I could definitely do better, and you said, 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.440 then stop giving me this mediocre and do better. 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.200 And then you said, what if that's the only thing 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:39.320 we started diagnosing? 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.320 I thought, because you are not that way at all. 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:45.040 It was so funny to me though you have a 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.960 very you have such a great personality. You make learning 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.520 very easy, You make learning very fun. So it's so 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.400 nice that to hear that you make sure everybody has 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.320 a great experience, because of course they do. So season 0:15:56.360 --> 0:16:00.200 thirty two with Ariontomatics, you have your best finish in 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.160 your first perfect thirty and getting to the finals and 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:07.720 then you guys placed third. How did that season feel 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:10.520 different to you? Did it feel good from the very beginning? 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.000 It did feel good from the very beginning. Yes, I 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.080 think we had a good connection from the start. I 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:21.640 think Arianna came in from obviously a very public and 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:30.640 you know, huge sandal. Yeah and you say sandal scandal, yes, 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:34.040 so like did you say sandal? So what happened is 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:37.160 I felt like she came in with this fighter energy, 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.680 you know, there was like fire underneath her feet, and 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:44.640 I felt like she had something to prove, you know, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.160 and that like showed up in her work ethic and 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:49.840 how she showed up you know, like every day. So 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.040 for me, I felt from the beginning like she's here 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.440 for the right reason. She's here you know, with some 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.320 kind of an intention and we're going to use that 0:16:58.400 --> 0:16:59.640 to fuel the entire season. 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.240 Great, ooh, I love that. If you had to give 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.720 just one routine as an example something of yours, someone 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.919 wants to see your favorite dance front to back, what 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:13.119 would you suggest? And is it one where you're dressed 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:14.600 like a tiger with Carol Baskin? 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:24.600 Is it a two part question? Answer? Well, you know what, 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:29.239 let's put it this way. It's a definitely a very 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.719 recognizable moment, and it's definitely an icebreaker in a lot 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.400 of my conversations. When people start talking to me at 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:39.560 the restaurants or something, they're like, hey, because guess what 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:45.960 that thing Tiger king was so huge at the moment. Yeah, 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.760 it was. That was the COVID year, right, Yeah, so 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:54.399 I feel like everybody knew about it. Everybody tweeted about 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.040 it when we danced. I remember Lady Gaga posting a 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.919 story and saying welcome to twenty twenty. So so yeah, 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.160 so yes, what, I would not change a thing? 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:05.679 Okay, great, I love that. 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:11.960 But is that the routine that I'm super proud of? Well, 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:13.400 let's put it in the top three. 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.400 Okay, do you have a top one? 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:21.560 Yes? Top one was a fox trut with Arihanna in 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.200 the semi final. Okay, and that was the perfect thirty, 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.840 the first perfect thirty, But that was not the reason 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:29.720 it was not. It's just like one of those where 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:34.600 everything aligned, where it looked good, it felt good, we 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:39.240 had time, good time practicing it, choreographing, we had a 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.479 good song, there were a lot of musical things that 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:45.280 were able to show off that like choreographically, really enjoyed it. 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:46.879 So it was one of those where like, you know, 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.159 everything in line and it felt good, looked good, and 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:53.479 got a good score. So it's like perfect thirty across 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:53.800 the board. 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:55.320 You can't touch that now. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:57.360 I am very vocal in. 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.480 Admitting that I have no real dances experience going into 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:05.680 the show. Does that put us at a total disadvantage? 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:09.240 Who's the partner you've had who's had the most experience. 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:18.480 I don't think I had anyone who had a dance experience. Okay, yes, 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:24.000 I don't think I had anyone. Everybody had something different 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:30.480 to offer. Kate Flannery, she came from like she's an actress, 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:35.840 but I think she did like theater and yeah something 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:39.359 in college, so she had a little bit of like 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.199 that you know, she was good, very musical, so we 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:48.080 use that and Arianna again musical theater. So there was 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:52.359 a some sum but it's not really dance experience, you know. 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:54.880 But the good thing about it that I do like now, 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:59.560 it's always challenging, right when you go against someone who 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:03.240 does have dance experience. But at the same time, I 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:05.960 always say, you know, if we have to look at things, 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.000 you know, glass half full, when you're coming in with 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:14.720 no dance experience, we can start fresh. There are no 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.560 bad habits. Yeah, right, so we can like start fresh 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.920 and learn things the right way. That's a good thing. 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.880 But as long as they're at least some basic things 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:29.359 in place, like having some rhythm, having rhythm, you know, 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.360 being able to hear the beat and the music, being balanced, 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.359 being coordinated, because things like, yes, you can teach the 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:40.360 dance steps, but it's very hard to teach coordination if 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.560 somebody is not coordinated right, or like if you're not balanced. 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.160 Balance is not something you can teach in a week, right, 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:50.440 Coordination is not something you can teach in a week. 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:52.880 So I feel like as long as there are some 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:57.240 like basic fundamental things that are there, then the rest 0:20:57.440 --> 0:20:58.600 the rest you can work with. 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.840 I found that there are like there's really two camps 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:05.360 when it comes to thoughts on dance experience, one who 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:08.200 think it's totally fine for people with years of dance 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:10.840 experience to compete on Dancing with the Stars, and then 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.399 the other camp that really thinks celebrity should come in 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:16.000 not really knowing much of anything and learn how to dance. 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:19.840 Do you think it's fair to come in with dance experience? 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.919 I think that those camps why they're like that is 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:29.080 because I think originally when the show started, I feel 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:32.960 like majority of celebs that were on the show where 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.280 without any dances, okay, And I think like the whole 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:41.040 point and all the stories were about how they're learning 0:21:41.160 --> 0:21:43.920 from scratch, right, and I'm talking like a big majority 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:46.880 of the celebs didn't have the dance experience, and then 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:50.640 it became a mix, right, And then that's when I think, 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:54.160 like the there was like a little division, and I 0:21:54.200 --> 0:22:02.480 think that it's I think it's impossible, you know, to 0:22:02.680 --> 0:22:06.840 have like a great cast, you know, for a season, 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.680