WEBVTT - Dancing with...Sabrina Bryan 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:19.479 Hello, Welcome to Danielle with the Stars. I am Danielle Fischl, 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.160 a TV director, a podcaster. 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:25.400 Forever to Panga, and a mom of two. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:30.480 Currently, though I am learning how to ballroom dance one step. 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:30.720 At a time. 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.440 I'm training for Season thirty four of Dancing with the Stars, 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:39.160 premiering September sixteenth on ABC and Disney Plus. And I'm 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:44.000 going to be recording this podcast chronicling my journey, giving 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:48.519 you the inside story of one celebrities quest for a 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:52.680 Mirror Ball Trophy. And right now I am engulfed in rehearsals. 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:56.680 I'm practicing every single day, and I figured the best 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.800 way for me to prep for a victory, because my 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:03.160 goal is victory, is to talk to those who have 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:06.600 competed before me, and today I am chatting to someone 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.520 from within the pod meets World Extended Universe. A celebrity 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:14.520 dancer who participated in not just one season of Dancing 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:18.720 with the Stars, but two. She first competed in season 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.400 five back in two thousand and seven with partner Mark 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:25.800 Ballas and finished seventh place, a result often considered the 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.640 most shocking and unfair in the show's history. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.560 AOL users settled. 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:34.560 Down everyone remember it's the year two thousand and seven, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.840 even voted it as the most shocking TV moment of 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.480 the year, and to right the wrong. She would return 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:45.280 for season fifteen in twenty twelve, the only all Star 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.800 incarnation to date, now paired with Louis van Amstell, and 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:52.760 she placed eighth eliminated exactly five years to the date 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:56.240 she controversially exited back in two thousand and seven, and 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.040 in between the two appearances, she even went on the 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.320 road for Dancing with the Stars Live. So if I 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:05.240 am going to get advice from anyone, I think I'm 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.520 starting in the right place. Today on Danielle with the Stars, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.000 I am paired with the iconic Cheetah Girl and the 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:17.200 co host of the magical rewind podcast. It's Sabrina Brian. Sabrina, 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.920 I am so happy that you are here to talk 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.840 with me and help me through this process. 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.520 I am gonna be honest, I feel. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:31.560 In slightly over my head, So your expert advice is 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:34.800 greatly appreciated. 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:39.720 I know the feeling. It's it's a bit of an unknown, right, Like, 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.240 I mean, you've done live TV, so that's not a thing, 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:47.959 but it it's you're learning something New Right, and it's 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.760 like it's really nerve racking. But I will tell you 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:57.400 that the pros on this show, they are they're just 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.600 they're exactly that they're pros, and they will hold your 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.840 hand and take you through this journey and it's just you. 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.360 You just have to get ready that. 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:07.160 This is gonna be one of the most exciting things 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.800 you've ever done. It's so different, and you're gonna be 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.400 hooked like you're gonna always want to be in the audience. 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.360 You are gonna be obsessed with spray tnds. It is 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.920 like everything like you just will get hooked in this 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:19.799 entire world. 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:21.240 Believe me, I swear you all. 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:22.240 Oh my gosh. 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.280 I mean you were very kind to give me credit 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.400 that I have done live TV, which means I have 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:32.880 held a microphone and spoken during live TV. I have 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:38.760 never really had to perform on live TV. So that 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.680 kind of brings me to my next question for you, 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:44.680 and I might have a feeling I regret this, but 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.800 what is your background in dance before you agreed to 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:49.200 the show. 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:56.080 Okay, so I grew up dancing hip hop, tap okay, 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.600 ballet jazz from the time you were a little girl. 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.040 I start or what's actually considered pretty late. I started 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:06.360 at seven, Oh, that wasn't too late, but it's it 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:09.480 actually now that my daughter is in the world, It's like, 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.040 if you don't have classes starting at two, with like 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:16.440 those mommy and me classes, you're kind of like tested 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:18.240 it out, and then if you're wanting to be like 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.320 a competitive dancer, you really got to get your kids 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.240 in like going hard around like four or five, which 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:25.040 is wow. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.000 That do you think forty four is too late? 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:33.640 Not at all okay, because I mean, listen, this show 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:37.080 isn't I think what's great is you're entering it during 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.440 a time where the show has seen all kinds of 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.000 celebrities come on. When I did my first season, there 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:47.160 wasn't a lot of quote unquote dancers that would do it, 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.440 and so I got actually a lot of flak for 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:51.720 the dance background I had because I had been on 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.560 The Cheetah Girls. They knew already I could dance, and 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.800 they that was actually a little bit of a backlash 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.400 at that time during the show, because it was like, well, 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.480 this isn't even fair. She can dance, and it's like 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.680 I can dance, but my habits. First of all, I 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.359 had never danced with like a partner like this, like 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:12.960 learning for someone to lead me. 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:15.600 Oh yeah, are you kidding me? 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:17.320 I know the choreography? Why am I gonna you know? 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.320 Why where are you doing anything? Yeah? Yeah, it's it's 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:24.080 like it's one of those things where being hooked to 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:27.240 somebody and having them steer you into the direction and 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.840 waiting for them, because that's part of the technique of 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:33.880 learning ballroom in Latin is being as a woman and 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.479 being in the man's frame. You're supposed to be led 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:41.320 by them. And that was really difficult for me to 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:46.000 lean into because I just was used to being on 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:49.000 my own. I mean, yeah, I would maybe grab a hand, 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.280 do a spin in something, but like never like this 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.880 where the entire time you are locked like hand in hand, right, 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.000 And that was really hard for me for timing. I mean, 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:03.680 I had Mark Ballast my first season, and what was 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.160 awesome with Mark is it was his first season, so 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.400 we were both kind of just lost. I hardly know 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:15.040 what in regards with the show, but he was so 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:19.640 vibrant and so he had already like what he came from. 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.479 When he was in London. He was teaching a lot, 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.039 which I think makes a big difference because it gives 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:29.720 you a bit of an understanding of somebody brand new 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.360 and also giving the level of patients. 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.360 Yeah, how to communicate what he's trying to get out 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.120 of you. He's already had practice of that with kids too, 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:38.760 which is great. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.039 You're like, talk to me like I'm for There's. 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:44.320 Nothing that gives you more patience than handling kids. 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:49.080 Yes, So that was really amazing, and he was really 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.480 good on teaching me the steps he saw that I 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:57.679 needed to learn choreography, then timing, then how he wants 0:06:57.720 --> 0:06:59.320 to push me into being where I need to be 0:06:59.360 --> 0:06:59.960 on that timing. 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:04.320 So it was just it. But you'll see everyone has 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:05.160 their own journey. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:09.640 But you'll see regardless, everyone's journey involves creating a relationship 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:14.239 with your partner, learning to trust them. And like I said, 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.720 now where we're at with Dancing with the Stars forty 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:20.080 five years after I've done it, it is like the 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.080 pros have it locked in. So all you gotta do 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.040 is listen to your pro and you are going to 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:26.640 be golden. 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.920 So you mentioned you were in one of the earlier seasons. 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:31.800 You were originally on the fifth season of the show 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.800 back in two thousand and seven, So what season are 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:38.760 we already four? I know nothing will make you feel 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:43.240 older than hearing that for sure. Do you think having 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:47.080 had experience with other styles of dance helped you or 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.680 hurt you with learning the choreography? 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:55.400 I think for learning helped me. I there's something I 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.800 think this is what is great with athletes that joined 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.360 the show as well as there's a way in your 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.480 brain that is, it's a training process of learning to 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:09.320 be able to see see movement, do movement, and have 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.120 it sink into your body and then remembering it. And 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.760 that memory aspect is what I think people who don't 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.800 come with any kind of training in that sense, whether 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.120 it's you know, a football player, an ice hockey or 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:27.480 what you know, a figure skater, that ability to remember 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:30.800 movement is what helped me. What didn't help me was 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:35.680 my movement was like heavy and I was not elegant 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:37.800 in any sense. And when I say I trained in ballet, 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:40.120 it was like I did the bitter minimum classes they 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.239 made me do. I didn't like being like this elegant ballerina. 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.360 That was kind of my cousin's role. She was a 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.239 dancer and she was bury into balleta so that elegance 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:53.080 that happens within the ballroom side was probably the hardest 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:54.720 for me to really lock in. 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:55.880 I could get into. 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:59.400 The fears cha cha and the fun you know, passo 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.840 and all of that, but when it came to ballroom 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:05.560 and I had to be this like elegant, like princess vibe. 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:08.000 That's just not man. 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:11.760 That is I'm so glad you said that. That is 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:16.319 my achilles heel too. Like I have been watching videos 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.760 of ballroom dancing just to like get just just visual. 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.840 Like you said, part of my training for myself is 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:24.440 like I want to watch as much of it as 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:27.640 I can so that I know what I'm trying to emulate. Yes, 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.280 I am gonna break my neck. I'm gonna break my neck. 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:31.560 How do they leave? 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:33.559 Far back? 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.040 And now? And I'm sore. I'm just sore. 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:38.679 I've been practicing and okay, I'm akey. 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.679 It hurts, it all hurts. Oh well, it's gonna get 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.360 a whole lot worse before it gets better. But you're 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.080 gonna love it because you're What's great too about the 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.000 show and like doing something like this, you have video 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.480 from the start to the end, and you're gonna see your. 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.080 Progression and you're really I think. 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.800 You know, there's only a few people that I think 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.360 come off the show and aren't like proud, But I 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.400 think ninety eight percent of the people. No matter how 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:07.840 far you make it in the competition, you look back 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.640 at that first package they put together, when it's the 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.960 first day, the first couple of weeks before the audience 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:16.720 ever gets to see you, and then your first dance, 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.600 and you're going, even in that short amount of time, 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:24.079 look at me, I really, really, I really learned something 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.800 like a whole routine. You're not learning a couple of steps, 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:30.559 you're learning a whole routine. Yeah. So I think you're 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:34.480 going to really enjoy the process, and it's something so magical. 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:36.360 I would do it again in a heartbeat, even though 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.440 it's so I know how much work it comes into. 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:41.880 I know the kind of criticism you get while you're 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:45.719 on the show. You know, the viewers now are professionals themselves, 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:49.920 right so you know, I mean my parents are included. 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:54.120 They used to watch the show. They're not as avid anymore. 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:55.680 But the reason why I did the show is for 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:59.120 my mom. I walked into their house one day. I 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.440 was living up in la and I came down to 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:05.400 visit and it was on a Monday night and I 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.920 walk in and they each have their own little tablets 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.640 of paper and they're writing down notes and giving their 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.560 own scores to see how they match up to the judges. 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.640 I mean these the audience. You can't really ask for 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:20.240 a better Dancing the Stars audience. They are invested, right 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:21.240 They they love it? 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:22.240 Yes, they do. 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.720 Oh. I can't wait to get to know them too. Yes. 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:26.959 So had you you said you did it for your mom? 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.160 Your mom was obviously a fan. Had you watched the 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:32.079 earlier seasons before you get on the show? 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.960 No, I it was this was back when the show 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:40.600 did two seasons a year. Yeah. And it was around 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.040 Mother's Day and it popped in my head, you know 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.000 what would be really cool. I'm going to call my 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:47.920 agent and see if I can get my mom and 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.240 I at the live show for Mother's Day like a 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:55.439 Mother's Day present. And I called my agent, Julie, and she. 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.200 Was like, are you being serious right now? 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.840 I'm like, yeah, I have watched the show, but my 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.760 mom loves it, and she goes I literally just got 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:07.040 off the phone with cast scene and they're interested in 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.400 you coming in and we're gonna ask for you to 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.440 come watch and see if you'd be interested. And I 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.800 was like, well tell them yes, I am. 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:15.120 Oh that's so great. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.120 It's just kind of I mean, just one of those 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.760 things that happened, like the timing couldn't have been perfect. 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:35.920 Oh that's so, that's so amazing, what a great feeling. Okay, 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.079 what was your rehearsal process? 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.360 Like I've heard it changed a little bit, and it 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.160 changed from and I think it's just again the show progressing. 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:49.560 It changed from my season five to my All Star season. 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:55.440 So season five we had I think a max of 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:59.880 eight hours a day to be in the rehearsal studio. Okay, 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:01.520 just a max. 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:05.160 Just a max of eight physical activity. 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:07.360 And I think a lot of that had to do 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.880 with they had to schedule other celebrities within that studio. 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:16.880 Back then, we were sprinkled out throughout LA so there 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:20.240 was you know one off of Ventura, one in in 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:25.160 you know, North Hollywood. There was all different dance studios 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:29.240 that they were renting from, Okay, and so we had 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:31.640 they had to kind of you know schedule all of 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.400 everyone getting their time in to have room space. Then 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:37.199 I went back for my All Star season and they 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.080 had built this Dancing with the Stars like complex where 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.880 there's multiple rooms in this big building, which was really 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.160 fun because the first season, the only time you really 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.560 saw the other celebrities was if you maybe pass them 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.679 they were coming into your room while you were leaving. 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:53.840 But the complex made it to where like you could be, 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.720 you know, hitting up the water station and you know, 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:00.960 you're hanging out with EMMITTT. Smith. Okay, you know. I 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.240 was always so like enamored with everyone I was on 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.400 my season with, so it was really fun. So that 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.120 rehearsal process, I really didn't know anyone until that first 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.720 show day and so that's when you kind of met 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:18.559 everyone on the set. I then though with I think 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.760 more so my first season than the second season. We 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:25.280 did and I think it was maybe against the rules. 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:27.080 I don't know, but what can they do now? I mean, 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:32.520 if my Miraball trophy, i'd ever won one. So we did, 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.160 Mark and I did. We would park like we both 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.280 lived at the same like complex because I was I 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:41.720 moved into like an apartment situation. He had moved into 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:44.000 one down the street, and we would be in the 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.560 parking garage and going over. I specifically remember my quick 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.120 step because we needed a lot of space. We were 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.600 like going over or we'd be yeah, in the parking lot, 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.120 like when no cars were there. We were just going 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.120 through our quick step, you know, and we were working 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.880 on it outside because him and I both knew, I mean, 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:04.840 I was a cheated girl, but that was not at 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:07.080 all the demo of Dancing with the Stars. So I 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.560 knew I was going into this like I had to 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:14.960 come full throttle to prove my you know, legitimacy, because 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:16.200 I wasn't really like I mean, I was going to 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.200 guesst like Wayne Newton, how do you? How do you? 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:24.320 It's way noon? Everyone knows him right and Melby a 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:29.360 spice girl like you know. So I we really took 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:33.680 our rehearsal like as much as we can. But what's 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.080 on the opposite end and why you start burning the 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.440 candle at both sticks? And I think they're better at 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.320 this this time with the rehearsal. Amount of time you 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:45.400 are all allotted is because you're doing so much press. 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:49.040 You are going to like every premiere, or you're doing 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:52.440 you know, morning shows, or you know, you're doing so 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:58.440 much all within your rehearsal, your fittings, your second fittings, 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.960 your tapings of for just the crew so they can 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.160 get their their schedule of like what they're going to 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.000 do with the cameras, and then whatever you're working on. 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.920 I was working on the Cheetah Girls. We had actually 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.600 put out our own album, oh aside from the soundtrack, 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:16.840 so you know, Mark was flying with me to New 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.400 York to do Good Morning America. And then straight from 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:20.880 when I was done with that, we were in a 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:24.240 studio rehearsing, you know. And so you kind of also 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:27.160 have to like Bob and weave with your own work schedule, 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.280 right mate, as you I'm sure, no, you're so busy 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:35.880 to make this job also make sense. Oh my gosh, well, 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:40.320 you definitely showed your legitimacy. Let's jump into the season. 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:45.280 You scored a twenty six out of thirty in week one, 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.520 which is the highest score from a contestant during week 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.000 one in the show's history at the time, so still 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.080 to this day, I don't know about to this day, 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:56.720 at the time, it's still the highest. 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.240 I'm like, there's been so many people there's I know, 0:16:59.320 --> 0:16:59.880 but I don't know. 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:03.040 That is a good question, because I have seen several 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:06.520 weak ones in part of my prep and process. It's like, 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.000 what do people look like during week one? I haven't 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.800 seen a twenty six. I haven't seen that high. But listen, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.440 that's anecdotally, that's not facts. But you did a chat 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:18.359 shop to the song Don't You by the Pussycat Dolls. Yes, 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:22.480 getting a twenty six out of thirty must have been 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:24.520 an incredibly great feeling. 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:31.199 It really was. I mean, I especially after we ended 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.960 the routine. You know, there's nothing like I mean, we're 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:39.000 gonna get We're talking about live music. Yeah, you see 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.119 your package is the first time you see it is 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:44.800 when you're sitting on the stage waiting for the package 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:46.560 to be done in your oh my gosh, should be on. 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.720 And I just knew at that point, you know, it'd 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.440 been a couple of weeks, I'd really started to feel 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.240 like I got to know Mark, and I just knew 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.639 how much he was really wanting to make such a 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.320 big entrance into this. This is gonna be so huge 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.639 for his career, you know, and what he wanted to 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.080 do with Dancing with the Stars. So there was that, 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:08.159 and then when I feel like I nailed every single 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.240 footwork and as much of the technique as I could 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.720 really like hold on to and just the explosion in 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:18.080 the room was like, it's just a moment. I don't 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.280 think I'll ever forget. When people ask, like, what was 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:22.800 your favorite dance, I always say it was the Chacha 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.119 because it just was a moment that just it was 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:28.959 just so epic for me, you know, it just was 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.000 and looking over at my mom and dad that were 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:33.080 just like, you know again. 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.560 Probably tears streaming down my mom just bawling. 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:38.399 My dad just given his big woo woo, you know, 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.399 the way you used to do when I was up 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.800 on the stage or on the soccer field as he 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:44.679 was coaching me. It was like that was like it 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:47.280 brought back just and to have them there on the 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.399 floor with me was just so magical. And then to 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.479 look at Mark and for him to be so proud 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.439 was just like it was just such a great moment. 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.800 And yeah, I have full body chills. I truly I 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:01.000 have full chills. 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.400 At that point. Sometimes you know, when you get into 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:05.720 the season, it doesn't matter to you. But at that 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.440 point the scores, because I really again I hadn't watched 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:09.720 it a lot, so I didn't know what a good 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:12.359 score was, you know, I mean I knew the max 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:15.040 was thirty, but I didn't know what a good score 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:18.119 would be for us, and so I mean when it 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.639 was mainly what happened in the ballroom that you're just 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.680 like I think I remember hearing some of the things 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:25.439 that judges said, but really I was just in like 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:29.800 a total bubble of like, yeah, it is amazing this show. 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:31.919 I never want to get off that. I just remember 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:34.120 saying that we have to make it to the end. 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:36.359 I mean the first episode, Are you kidding? Nobody should 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:38.640 ever have that expectation. Just get to the next week. 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:40.120 Just just get to the next week. 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:46.720 As someone who then obviously did conquer those first week jitters, 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:50.200 what is your advice for me when I feel them? 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:56.000 Okay, I will say, first, focus on what you're going 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:59.679 to do, Focus on your dan scene, focus on your partner. 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:02.199 I think I think it's really good to stay close, 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:05.639 continue to talk, looking at each other's eyes, try not 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:11.000 to get distracted, and don't watch your package. You just 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:15.520 never know when they're gonna again, remember it's alive. You 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:19.160 know it's a reality show as well, and you never 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:23.119 really know when they're gonna pull from something that happened 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.760 in rehearsal that like you're not really so stoked about like, 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:29.200 you know, we had I remember, see uh the third 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:32.760 week mark and I had an argument about and when 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:34.879 I say argument, it was just like we talked about 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.080 it about something a disagreement about something you wanted me 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:42.879 to do on our jive and I really just didn't 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:46.040 feel comfortable for me. He did. He didn't come from 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:48.040 where I came from, where it was Disney, and like 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:50.320 for me, it wasn't like malicious, And I know that's 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.639 why he felt a little bit like I was maybe 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.560 thinking too hard into it, which I probably was, because 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.360 I'm a Disney kid and everything I did at that 0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:02.120 point was looked at, you know, was it disney esque? 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:04.840 And it was a little bit of a jab at 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:06.679 one of the other contestants, and I just kind of 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:10.400 didn't feel right about it, and I voiced that opinion, 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:12.959 and then you know, of course we kind of went 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:15.720 back and forth because he was he's the creative, right 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:17.080 and at the end of the day, he's the pro 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:19.679 he's the one that's choreographing. But you still have to 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:22.560 advocate for like what feels good for you, of course, 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:27.359 and that sort of in the magic of producing turned 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:29.440