Speaker 1: Thanks, Welcome to Danielle with the Stars. I am Danielle Fischl,
Speaker 1: a TV director, a podcaster forever Topanga, and a mom
Speaker 1: of two. Currently, though I am becoming a ballroom dancer,
Speaker 1: one painful step at a time. You can see me
Speaker 1: on the new season of Dancing with the Stars, airing
Speaker 1: every Tuesday on ABC and Disney Plus, and throughout the
Speaker 1: entire process, I am recording this podcast chronicling the journey,
Speaker 1: giving you the inside story of just one celebrities quest
Speaker 1: for the Mirror Ball Trophy. And this week I am
Speaker 1: lucky to be chatting with one of the many professionals
Speaker 1: who helped revolutionize the art form, helping an old fashioned
Speaker 1: style of dance somehow become one of pop culture's most
Speaker 1: relevant TV shows. She's not only a two time Mirror
Speaker 1: Ball champion, winning first with Adam Ripon in twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: for season twenty six, and then again just last year
Speaker 1: with Joey Gratzia Day, She's also an Emmy nominee, alongside
Speaker 1: her husband, fellow Dancing with the Stars pro val Schermakovsky,
Speaker 1: in the field of Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming.
Speaker 1: In short, she is the real deal. If during this
Speaker 1: interview I can have even a small amount of her
Speaker 1: talent rub off on me, I will be better for it.
Speaker 1: My guest this week on Danielle with the Stars is
Speaker 1: Jenna Johnson.
Speaker 2: Wow that intro I'm not deserving. Oh that was incredible.
Speaker 2: Say you're like Sheermakovsky? Do I say that right? How
Speaker 2: do you say? Schmerkovski? Sure, schmir Schumer. That's get That's
Speaker 2: what gets people. Schmerkovski, Schmurkovski. Yeah, it's Amerkovsky. Okay. I
Speaker 2: went from a Johnson to a Schmerkovsky real quick.
Speaker 1: You know that must have been a hard adjustment. Yeah
Speaker 1: it was, but so okay, good. I like to hear that.
Speaker 1: So I want everyone to know that we are talking
Speaker 1: just a few days before the season thirty four premiere. Yes,
Speaker 1: and even if I tried, I would I would never
Speaker 1: be able to explain the amount of excitement that is
Speaker 1: bouncing around my entire body.
Speaker 2: This will mark.
Speaker 1: Your ninth season on Dancing with the Stars. Are you
Speaker 1: jaded at this point or do you still feel.
Speaker 2: The excitement of the unknown? Oh? Man, I still get
Speaker 2: butterflies every single time, especially before the premiere, because you
Speaker 2: have to realize that technically it's only like three and
Speaker 2: a half months out of the year, and we wait
Speaker 2: that nine months to be back on air, and I
Speaker 2: think it's all of the pro's dream project or job. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so there is nothing like that first show, especially and
Speaker 2: you're with somebody new, like, yeah, you're seeing how they
Speaker 2: react live the first time. It's all a new experience.
Speaker 2: So I definitely have that excitement still. It never never
Speaker 2: gets old.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's good to hear. Yes, you started as a
Speaker 1: member of the Troop. Yeah, how did you find yourself
Speaker 1: on the show's radar as a dancer to begin with?
Speaker 2: So, I was on a show called So you Think
Speaker 2: you Can Dance? Uh huh, And we actually filmed at
Speaker 2: CBS across the hall, and so I think I was
Speaker 2: just scouted out from there, like the producers had seen
Speaker 2: my journey. Yeah I coached you. Yeah, I represented ballroom
Speaker 2: on that show, and it was a really smooth transition.
Speaker 2: I'm so grateful and so lucky because I know that
Speaker 2: that doesn't happen a lot of the time. But that's
Speaker 2: initially how I was found, and then yeah, I joined
Speaker 2: the Troope. I was on the Troop for I think
Speaker 2: like seven seasons. But at the time we were doing
Speaker 2: two seasons a year. Oh right, I think it was
Speaker 2: like three and a half years I was on the
Speaker 2: troop and then I got myself a partner and here
Speaker 2: we are. That is so incredible. When you're on the troop, is.
Speaker 1: It difficult watching and seeing the pros competing?
Speaker 2: Are you critiquing everything? Wishing you could jump in? You know?
Speaker 2: It's so interesting And I'm actually I feel like I'm
Speaker 2: in this full circle moment right now because my niece
Speaker 2: actually is joining the Troop first time. Yes, and it's
Speaker 2: been so fun to like see her get introduced to
Speaker 2: this troop experience. And I think at the time I
Speaker 2: was like, when I joined the show, I was so
Speaker 2: desperate to be a pro. I wanted that shot. But
Speaker 2: looking back, at the time I joined the show, we
Speaker 2: had Derek still as a pro, Mark was a pro, Karna,
Speaker 2: Peter Wow, Cheryl Kim Johnson like they were still competing Max.
Speaker 2: So it was like the og crew. So I and
Speaker 2: they would all like either ask me to help prep
Speaker 2: a routine with them or I would be in their dances.
Speaker 2: And so I saw how they orchestrated their rehearsal Ah,
Speaker 2: and I feel like it was the best research that
Speaker 2: I could have ever done. I got to learn from
Speaker 2: the pros themselves how to do this and who was
Speaker 2: successful with it, who wasn't necessarily, So I'm so grateful
Speaker 2: for my time on Troop. I think it really helped
Speaker 2: me become the teacher that I am, the partner that
Speaker 2: I am, And so I'm I'm excited for my niece
Speaker 2: to have this similar experience and I'm just like, absorb everything,
Speaker 2: learn from everyone.
Speaker 1: I got to meet the Troop yesterday. They were actually
Speaker 1: were Oh my gosh, there is just the cutest, sweetest.
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, Pasha pulled the Troop in
Speaker 1: to watch us dance because, as you mentioned, the pros
Speaker 1: have no idea what people are going to do when
Speaker 1: they get out in front of a crowd. You're just
Speaker 1: doing your dance, you know, for two people, you and
Speaker 1: the dance are the entire week. So he brought Troop
Speaker 1: in and told them to be vocal.
Speaker 2: You had a little audience.
Speaker 1: I had a little audience, and let me tell you, baby,
Speaker 1: I came alive.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It was great. I was so excited. I was
Speaker 2: great because usually it does the reverse and people panic
Speaker 2: and everything goes out the window. So that's great. It
Speaker 2: was really great. So she helped me yesterday.
Speaker 1: I also, I think they were very excited because I
Speaker 1: met them and then immediately I had just that morning.
Speaker 1: I didn't even know I was going to meet Troop yesterday,
Speaker 1: and that morning I thought, I want to do Troop
Speaker 1: on the Stoop.
Speaker 2: Have you seen that on TikTok no Coop on a Stoop? No,
Speaker 2: it's a dad.
Speaker 1: It was a son named Cooper, and every morning he
Speaker 1: takes his son out and he talks about whether the stoop,
Speaker 1: the little curb is dry or if it's wet. Sometimes
Speaker 1: he has snacks and then he like records him sitting
Speaker 1: down on the stoop.
Speaker 2: So anyway, we're going to do Troop on a Stoop.
Speaker 2: I love that. Thank you. I'm here for the series.
Speaker 2: I'm tuning in.
Speaker 1: Oh well, I also want to talk to you about
Speaker 1: the fact that you have another family member joining the show,
Speaker 1: your niece, Haley Bills. She's already a fan favorite. Is
Speaker 1: this just an absolute dream come true for you?
Speaker 2: An absolute dream come true? I yeah, it's very surreal
Speaker 2: because I think too, for so long I didn't have
Speaker 2: any family out here or in the business, and I
Speaker 2: felt so lost and confused on how to navigate. And thankfully,
Speaker 2: like the Tchmerkovsky family adopted me and took me under
Speaker 2: their wing and gave me a bunch of tools to
Speaker 2: learn how to navigate. And I know that this has
Speaker 2: been Hailey's dream for so long, and this was a
Speaker 2: really hard year for her deciding what to do with
Speaker 2: her life. She was in college last year she made
Speaker 2: the and she had another college that really wanted her
Speaker 2: to join their dance team. And she made the decision
Speaker 2: without knowing if she was going to be on the show,
Speaker 2: to go for her Yeah, move to LA and go
Speaker 2: for her dream. And if it didn't happen, that's fine,
Speaker 2: She's going to try like the auditioning, the whole La
Speaker 2: dance experience, but this was ultimately her goal. And so
Speaker 2: it was really special and I actually cannot wait to
Speaker 2: release the video. But when I got picked up as
Speaker 2: a pro, because we get picked up every year, right,
Speaker 2: we're waiting and crossing our fingers. And so Dina Katz
Speaker 2: called me and I'm like, oh, so grateful, thank you,
Speaker 2: so excited to be back. And she was like, and
Speaker 2: by the way, do you have Haley's number? And I
Speaker 2: was like immediately start sobbing. VAL's like taking a video
Speaker 2: of me. I'm soalming him. My godh gosh. And so
Speaker 2: she was like, do you want to be on the call,
Speaker 2: And so she let me call Haley and she was like,
Speaker 2: don't say anything, just be like, hey, I'm going to
Speaker 2: transfer you to Dina. And so me, Val, Haley and
Speaker 2: Dina were on this call, and Haley was like sobbing
Speaker 2: and so unexpected because again she like they didn't have
Speaker 2: her number, she hadn't heard anything from the show. So
Speaker 2: it was just like such a beautiful moment. And I
Speaker 2: cannot wait to see her shine. I think that she
Speaker 2: is She's the next star. I really do. Like she's
Speaker 2: coming from my job and I'm like, let's get it, girls,
Speaker 2: let's get it. But I can't wait to be there
Speaker 2: for her, yeah, and help like guide her through this
Speaker 2: crazy industry and all that it has to offer. But
Speaker 2: it's gonna be really special to share the stage. Like
Speaker 2: we have rehearsal coming up together, and I'm like to
Speaker 2: be in rehearsal with my niece and my husband and
Speaker 2: like my best friends, Like what is life so great?
Speaker 1: It's one of the reason one of the things I
Speaker 1: love most about directing is that I get to work
Speaker 1: with a lot of kids directing Disney Channel shows, and
Speaker 1: it feels very much like giving back to a young
Speaker 1: version of myself. And for you, it's you getting being
Speaker 1: there for Haley is going to feel like the kind
Speaker 1: of care and that you would have needed as well.
Speaker 2: It's wild because she is the exact age that I
Speaker 2: was when I joined the show. So it does feel
Speaker 2: very surreal. Yeah, so excited.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you make it. You make the transition from
Speaker 1: Troop to Pro for season twenty three. In twenty sixteen,
Speaker 1: with partner actor Jake T. Austin, you mentioned that Troop
Speaker 1: was like the best schooling you could ever have.
Speaker 2: But what happens you get a partner? Now? Is there
Speaker 2: like a pamphlet there? How do you know what to do?
Speaker 2: Good question? No, I was so fresh, newbie. I didn't
Speaker 2: have much experience, and I think I I was so stressed,
Speaker 2: and I could tell that like we were the young
Speaker 2: ones of the crew, you know, he was like a
Speaker 2: Disney kid. We were so so young. So I don't
Speaker 2: think I was equipped with all the knowledge that I
Speaker 2: needed to be the best partner. And I think something
Speaker 2: too that I've learned with all my ears on the
Speaker 2: show it is not about me at all, and it's hard.
Speaker 2: When you are a professional dancer and you take your
Speaker 2: craft very seriously. This is not a moment for you
Speaker 2: to show off. This is a moment for your star
Speaker 2: to shine. And so I think even like choreographically, I
Speaker 2: was highlighting myself and limiting how he looked, if that
Speaker 2: makes sense.
Speaker 1: Especially no offense to the male pros, of course, because
Speaker 1: they're often doing spectacular things themselves, but like, as a
Speaker 1: female dancer, it's so often about you showing off.
Speaker 2: Yes, they're supposed to highlight us, yes, exactly.
Speaker 1: That's the technical job of the male is to be
Speaker 1: the frame.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think I had That was a great
Speaker 2: first season for me. But then I had to learn, Okay,
Speaker 2: I need to maybe not hold back, but I need
Speaker 2: to be more strategic with my choreography. I need to
Speaker 2: highlight my partner, make sure that they look the best,
Speaker 2: and I will compliment.
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, so I mean being just thrown into it's
Speaker 1: kind of the best education you could go.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, you placed.
Speaker 1: Thirteenth that year. You were the first couple eliminated. Were
Speaker 1: you super hard on yourself?
Speaker 2: And what did you do.
Speaker 1: The next year to make sure you didn't repeat that
Speaker 1: same mistake.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was it was hard. It was a learning experience,
Speaker 2: but there was I'm all about timing and there's always
Speaker 2: a meaning to everything. So I was eliminated. First, I
Speaker 2: was super down because I felt like I had of
Speaker 2: like defeated my role that I had just been promoted to.
Speaker 2: But that season, there was an incredible celebrity on the
Speaker 2: show named James Hinchcliffe. Yeah, and his partner Sharna actually
Speaker 2: got injured. She got really really injured. And so for
Speaker 2: a couple weeks, I think it was like two weeks,
Speaker 2: I was rehearsing with him and I actually got to
Speaker 2: perform with him, and we did this piece, this like
Speaker 2: suicide squad dance, this Fox Shaw and it just like
Speaker 2: blew up. I felt like I had more understanding. I
Speaker 2: also had like Sharna's guidance in the room and how
Speaker 2: to handle myself. But it like blew up the dance,
Speaker 2: and I felt like it gave me the confidence that
Speaker 2: I needed to be right, Okay, I've got this, right,
Speaker 2: I just need a bit more understanding, but like I've
Speaker 2: got this. So that was an incredible experience. For me
Speaker 2: to have that same season, yes, and then yeah, the
Speaker 2: next season, I was given this just like Diamonds of
Speaker 2: Adam Ribon, and I felt like I had the confidence
Speaker 2: and like, okay, the challenge. I accepted the challenge. I
Speaker 2: was ready.
Speaker 1: It's so great how quickly you were able, Like truly,
Speaker 1: just within weeks you were like, I've already learned a lesson.
Speaker 1: Oh and I'm going to put it into play just
Speaker 1: weeks later. Thankfully you didn't have to wait the entire season,
Speaker 1: you know. Wow, Okay, so yes, you get for athletes season,
Speaker 1: you get Adam Rippon. When did you realize, oh, hey,
Speaker 1: I think we have a chance of winning this thing?
Speaker 2: You know. It's funny, Well, I knew that he was talented,
Speaker 2: like obviously he was this gorgeous skater, so he had artistry.
Speaker 2: But I think I knew that we had a shot
Speaker 2: when I understood our chemistry was so so connected. Very
Speaker 2: early on in the rehearsal space. We just got along
Speaker 2: so well. We had great banter. We loved each other. Yeah,
Speaker 2: we really loved spending time together. And that is as
Speaker 2: big as part of the process as much as this dance.
Speaker 2: The dancing is totally right like totally. You have to
Speaker 2: trust your person. Yeah, you have to feel safe and
Speaker 2: vulnerable in their arms. And so I think that, like
Speaker 2: I started to be like, oh, I think we have
Speaker 2: great chemistry. I think this can translate on the dance floor.
Speaker 2: He obviously is an Olympian. He was so hard working
Speaker 2: and I was so motivated to make this happen for him.
Speaker 2: Well you did. You did make it happen to him.
Speaker 1: Your hard work paid off because you won the whole thing,
Speaker 1: having gone from first to be eliminated, I know, to
Speaker 1: winning the mirror Ball.
Speaker 2: It's one of my favorite stories. It's so incredible. I
Speaker 2: actually told that to Ezra last year. You know, he
Speaker 2: was promoted to a pro from Troop and he was
Speaker 2: eliminated first last year and I was just like Ezra,
Speaker 2: I was eliminated first, and then I won the next season.
Speaker 1: So you just never know exactly exactly that whatever happens
Speaker 1: that first year is not any sort of telling of
Speaker 1: what's to come in the future. What are some of
Speaker 1: the collect attributes you think you and Adam had as
Speaker 1: a team that made you into champs.
Speaker 2: I think trust okay was huge. I think being able
Speaker 2: to like tune everything out on the dance floor and
Speaker 2: just be so present with one another was our superpower, Okay,
Speaker 2: and you will feel that, like, I'm very excited for
Speaker 2: you to have your first camera blocking because a lot
Speaker 2: of the times I'm just gonna prep you. Yeah, the
Speaker 2: first run is just an absolute mess. Okay, it is,
Speaker 2: and it's fine. You get three gos usually, Yeah, the
Speaker 2: first one is a disaster. There's things happening, there's cameras out,
Speaker 2: the lights. You're just like new space. And then Pasha's
Speaker 2: gonna grab your hands and like, yeah, call me down
Speaker 2: me just just focus on me, nothing else, no other distractions,
Speaker 2: and then you'll like find your footing. And so Adam
Speaker 2: and I had that like great connection where we just
Speaker 2: found each other into everything out. So I think that
Speaker 2: was great. I think that our chemistry, we just we
Speaker 2: had so much fun. We laughed. I think a majority
Speaker 2: of our rehearsals like we got work done, but it
Speaker 2: was so much fun good And I think that was
Speaker 2: also the first time that I was like, oh, I
Speaker 2: can enjoy this while we work hard. And I think
Speaker 2: not losing that joy also sparks creativity, inspiration, you know,
Speaker 2: moments magic. But also he is a huge reason why
Speaker 2: we won. He is such a hard worker. He was
Speaker 2: determined to become a ballroom dancer. I think people love
Speaker 2: that journey of like I'm entering this so I can
Speaker 2: learn how to be a ballroom dancer. Like no ego involved.
Speaker 2: He was down to take criticism, critiques from the judges,
Speaker 2: and then he was just hysterical live Like his banter
Speaker 2: with the host was so funny, so funny.
Speaker 1: That goes such a long way with forming a connection
Speaker 1: with the audience too.
Speaker 2: Personality. I wanted to talk.
Speaker 1: About season twenty nine with Catfish's Neve Schulman. You place
Speaker 1: second so close down to the finale? Would you rather
Speaker 1: just come in eighth?
Speaker 2: Like? Is there any I feel like I would have
Speaker 2: a heart attack. I'm telling you, Second is torture is
Speaker 2: the worst. It's torture. I mean, it's such an accomplishment,
Speaker 2: but you like sitting there the mirror balls in between
Speaker 2: two couples and you're just like so close, and then
Speaker 2: they don't even like announce your name, right, You're just
Speaker 2: like the winners, you know, and you're just like so
Speaker 2: happy for the other couple, but just dying inside. I'm
Speaker 2: so like crumbling.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, well then you have another second place for
Speaker 1: a legendary season with Jojo Seewak. You were the first
Speaker 1: same sex coupling in the show's history. Yeah, what adjustments
Speaker 1: do you have to make when prepping for that?
Speaker 2: So many? Yeah, because again, this was the first time
Speaker 2: that the show is it, and so I didn't have
Speaker 2: any reference point, and they were so awesome about being like,
Speaker 2: you really can just figure this out right, whatever you
Speaker 2: make the blueprint, Yeah, kind of, And I wanted to
Speaker 2: respect the rules of Ballroom and the technique and the
Speaker 2: framework and everything, but I think they also were pushing
Speaker 2: me to get creative with it. I think something that
Speaker 2: was really important for me going into it is I
Speaker 2: as a dancer, As a performer, I am very feminine
Speaker 2: when I dance, and I wanted to make sure that
Speaker 2: I didn't lose my identity but still make this partnership work.
Speaker 2: And it was really interesting because even Jojo, she was like, no,
Speaker 2: I want to look like a girl too, Like I
Speaker 2: want to be feminine and sexy, but like I'll do
Speaker 2: the guye part right, which was so interesting. So it
Speaker 2: was fun to like make this new version of ballroom
Speaker 2: okay and to really have that like female empowerment on
Speaker 2: the floor. I thought, was so so much fun. That's
Speaker 2: so great. So oh gosh, it seems so confusing.
Speaker 1: So she was playing the male dancer ballroom part, which
Speaker 1: you had to teach her how to do, but she
Speaker 1: also wanted to do it with a feminine.
Speaker 2: She wanted all of her styling like the female. Okay,
Speaker 2: so the fingers, the arms, like the hips to everything.
Speaker 2: She still wanted to represent that, but she was definitely
Speaker 2: down to do the male steps okay, and you have
Speaker 2: to teach all of it because you have to. Like, yeah,
Speaker 2: she I mean she was, I mean, she's incredible. Of course,
Speaker 2: she was just and she was so open to the process.
Speaker 2: She loved every I think she cried for like the
Speaker 2: last week every day because she was so sad it
Speaker 2: was ending. No, you're like devastated. But it was such
Speaker 2: a magical experience. And I think too, I felt so
Speaker 2: connected to her, just like two women in the room,
Speaker 2: you know, you understand each other's emotions.
Speaker 1: Yes, you're like you're all close thing, you're both on
Speaker 1: your periods together.
Speaker 2: You're just like yeah. So it was it was a
Speaker 2: really magic season, and I felt like she became my
Speaker 2: little sister, which was so fun.
Speaker 1: At what point in the show were you told that
Speaker 1: you were going to have Jojo as your partner? Like,
Speaker 1: were you because it feels like almost the way it
Speaker 1: was for this season, I did not know who my
Speaker 1: partner was until literally the day I met him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it feels like for.
Speaker 1: You to meet Jojo, that feels like they should have
Speaker 1: given you a little bit.
Speaker 2: Of lead time. They they did tell me that I
Speaker 2: would be dancing with a girl, okay, but you didn't
Speaker 2: know who. Yeah, they kind of gave me a heads
Speaker 2: up that it would be this person, okay, But they
Speaker 2: honestly kind of posed it as like, would you be
Speaker 2: willing to dance with a girl? Okay? And I was
Speaker 2: like yes, yeah. So I don't know if she knew
Speaker 2: that we were going to be partners, but I think
Speaker 2: they wanted to like respect this new thing and give
Speaker 2: me the opportunity to say no, okay, And I am
Speaker 2: forever grateful that I said yes. So great, good for you.
Speaker 1: And so with Neive and Jojo, they both had dance experience. Yes,
Speaker 1: And I talked a little to Pasha about this as well.
Speaker 1: But where do you fall on the celebrities who come
Speaker 1: into Dancing with the Stars should or should not have
Speaker 1: prior dance experience.
Speaker 2: So it's interesting because Nive didn't have dance experience. He
Speaker 2: was just a megafan of dance. Okay, so his father
Speaker 2: they would go to like ballets, and I think he
Speaker 2: had like dabbled in it, but he had never really
Speaker 2: been trained in it. He just loved the art form
Speaker 2: of dance, got it, and so I don't think anybody
Speaker 2: expected him to become the dancer that he did, and
Speaker 2: it was just such a beautiful story. And then Jojo
Speaker 2: obviously she was a dancer, not a ballarm dancer. Again,
Speaker 2: she's learning a male part, so there were challenges. I
Speaker 2: think every partner is going to have their challenges, yeah,
Speaker 2: if they have experience or not, like you saw I've
Speaker 2: had even with Jojo, when you're like, yes, they have
Speaker 2: dance experience, but is that going to be relatable? Right?
Speaker 2: Are people going to fall in love with the journey
Speaker 2: or is it going to be like, well, she already
Speaker 2: has experience, but you know, so it's also like connecting
Speaker 2: on finding that that growth and your partner's chemistry. So
Speaker 2: it's hard. I think there are a lot of people
Speaker 2: that have dance experience on our season currently right now, yes,
Speaker 2: but every it's all about the journey. I think as
Speaker 2: long as there is an arc, you can still make
Speaker 2: it entertaining and exciting. Absolutely, But I do think, I
Speaker 2: do think it is so beautiful to see somebody with
Speaker 2: no dance experience evolve into a dancer. Yeah, yeah, I bet,
Speaker 2: I bet that, even if it's not your partner, just
Speaker 2: watching someone come in with like zero and then seeing
Speaker 2: where they are by the end. It was my partner
Speaker 2: last season, Joey no dance experience, and to like, I
Speaker 2: just got to thinking about it, but like, watching his
Speaker 2: evolution and watching him fall in love with my favorite
Speaker 2: art form was so incredible to see he is. Can
Speaker 2: we talk about him for a second? Please?
Speaker 1: What a gem I know of a man. So I
Speaker 1: have now had the opportunity. It just so happened that
Speaker 1: he was in New York. He was there for the
Speaker 1: us O base. He was the same time we.
Speaker 2: Were for Good Morning America.
Speaker 1: We ran into each other in the Delta sky Lounge,
Speaker 1: so I got to meet him there for the first time,
Speaker 1: and I thought, what a lovely man this guy is.
Speaker 1: And then we saw each other at the Hulu end
Speaker 1: of Summer Soire and I got to hang out with
Speaker 1: him and his fiance Lovely people. Yeah, just incredible. And
Speaker 1: I was like, what do you have to teach men?
Speaker 1: What can I learn from you, sir? And he's like
Speaker 1: he's like, I don't know, I'm just naturally this wonderful.
Speaker 2: Now. He is such a special, special human. Something that
Speaker 2: I think makes Joey magic is he just really has
Speaker 2: no ego. Yeah, none, no, and he's just like he
Speaker 2: kind of stands like this, he's like doesn't want to
Speaker 2: be in the way or like front and center. But
Speaker 2: then this performer like unleashed when we were on the
Speaker 2: dance floor and everyone was like wait what and it
Speaker 2: was just it was it was so great and he
Speaker 2: I don't know if we ever missed a day of rehearsal.
Speaker 2: We were there all of our time frame. He was
Speaker 2: giving me all of his efforts. And I think for
Speaker 2: a little bit he had this like imposter syndrome and
Speaker 2: he spoke about that because there's like all of these
Speaker 2: celebrities and he just got off The Bachelor and he's like,
Speaker 2: what am I doing on Dancing with the Stars. But
Speaker 2: I think everybody loved how relatable he was. Yeah, he's
Speaker 2: just like awesome guy going through life. Yeah, and then
Speaker 2: winning Dancing with the Stars. I know, so gosh, I
Speaker 2: love him so much. It seems Green Kelsey are so great. Yes.
Speaker 1: If you had to suggest one dance or one routine
Speaker 1: to someone as your favorite from the show, what would
Speaker 1: you choose?
Speaker 2: I would maybe say tango. You like tango Tango? I
Speaker 2: think it's really encompassing of like ballroom, Yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: because it is in that frame. There's drama to it still,
Speaker 2: so there's still that performance element, there's footwork, there's partnering,
Speaker 2: and I just I love tango. I love dancing tango.
Speaker 2: So that would be the one that if it was
Speaker 2: like a newcomer or beginner, I'd be like, let's start
Speaker 2: with this, Okay.
Speaker 1: Are you surprised by the fandom? The show still has
Speaker 1: thirty four seasons in. I mean, it's arguably a bigger
Speaker 1: fandom now than ever before thanks to social media.
Speaker 2: Yes, so I joined. I think right after, like the
Speaker 2: show was its biggest and it's high And you know,
Speaker 2: my brother in law, Max Murkowsky was on the show
Speaker 2: at the time. He was like the guy and he
Speaker 2: would just be telling me of these crazy stories, like
Speaker 2: thirty million viewers tuning in. Yes, that's unheard of, and
Speaker 2: so I think it was for a while we were
Speaker 2: kind of like living in the past of it and
Speaker 2: just getting Ye, there was still interest, but last season
Speaker 2: there was a drastic shift and you can feel it. It
Speaker 2: is palpable even going on the Dancing with the Stars
Speaker 2: tour this last year after the season, the audiences, the screams,
Speaker 2: the like lining up the buses, it was just I
Speaker 2: think it's also a different age group that's now interesting
Speaker 2: in the show, the younger, not just moms and grandmash
Speaker 2: which we love and they're still here. Oh yeah, there's
Speaker 2: nothing wrong with moms and grandma's. Oh they want you around,
Speaker 2: We want them. They're just oh, granddaughters and daughters and
Speaker 2: it's like a full family experience and it's really it's insane. Yeah,
Speaker 2: Like we are celebrating thirty four seasons. What show can
Speaker 2: say that?
Speaker 1: I know, unbelievable, thirty four seasons, twenty years ye, twentieth
Speaker 1: anniversary this year. So you mentioned Max as your brother
Speaker 1: in law. You are married to Val himself a three
Speaker 1: time champion. You guys met on the show in an
Speaker 1: attempt to avoid asking you the same questions you've probably
Speaker 1: always asked about working with your husband. I want to ask,
Speaker 1: if you two weren't dancers, what other job would you
Speaker 1: two work well together at.
Speaker 2: I think we would find different paths. I love the honesty. No,
Speaker 2: it's obviously incredible to share a craft with the person
Speaker 2: you love most. But there are their challenges, you know. Yeah,
Speaker 2: But I would say thou would for sure be in comedy. Okay.
Speaker 2: He loves he's a performer, so he would always be
Speaker 2: in the performance field of some sort. But he's so
Speaker 2: funny and he ticks me up. He is so funny,
Speaker 2: and he like dabbled in comedy this past year on
Speaker 2: her time off, and he was actually really funny, Like
Speaker 2: he do stand up yes, And I'm telling you, you
Speaker 2: could not pay me a million dollars to go in
Speaker 2: front of a crowd right and try ouph and do
Speaker 2: jokes like no, thank you bye. I would die dead.
Speaker 2: He not only did it, but he was good. He
Speaker 2: was good and he did like I think, eight shows. Wow.
Speaker 2: So I love that about him. He has like no
Speaker 2: fear and he's just like, yeah, I'm gonna try something
Speaker 2: that terrifies me. So I think he would do that,
Speaker 2: and I would love to just like go giggle and
Speaker 2: watch his shows for me. I mean, I love performance,
Speaker 2: but I also love anatomy. So okay, yeah, I'm like
Speaker 2: obsessed with murder investigations. It's really I'm probably a psychopath,
Speaker 2: but I think I would be a forensic anthropologist, like
Speaker 2: putting together they're at the murder scene with the bones
Speaker 2: and the whole.
Speaker 1: You know, you know, I was obsessed with Forensic Files.
Speaker 1: I had seen I think every single episode of Forensic Files.
Speaker 1: And there was a period of time in my twenties
Speaker 1: before I decided I was going to go to school
Speaker 1: for psychology and become a therapist. Before I'd made that decision,
Speaker 1: which never panned out because I ended up becoming a director,
Speaker 1: but I did pursue that. But before I did, I
Speaker 1: thought about being a blood splatter expert.
Speaker 2: That's amazing. We could start a business.
Speaker 1: I will be this and when you're ready to retire, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I am who knows what I'll be doing, I'll
Speaker 1: be like a thousand years old, but stop whatever that is.
Speaker 1: Start a business. Yeah, okay, I love this. You have
Speaker 1: a beautiful two and a half year old son, Rome.
Speaker 1: What is scheduling like for your household? Considering how busy
Speaker 1: a season Dancing with the Stars is, my husband has
Speaker 1: had to so just with one of us being on
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars, my husband has had to pick
Speaker 1: up so much slack and he's done it happily, he's
Speaker 1: done it willingly. The kids are doing great, but like
Speaker 1: he's had and then and then when he can't do something,
Speaker 1: our nanny has had to pick up the slack.
Speaker 2: Yeah, how do you guys do it with both of
Speaker 2: you having the schedule? It is a lot when we
Speaker 2: are in season. Yeah, also to you know, like last
Speaker 2: minute things get added, a fitting, an interview, a master this,
Speaker 2: a creative call of zoom, all of these things. So
Speaker 2: it is hard and valin I have very different schedules,
Speaker 2: like we're we have yet to rehearse at the same time. Luckily,
Speaker 2: I have the most angelic in laws and they recently
Speaker 2: moved from New York to just be with the babies
Speaker 2: and help out. And so this season we also like
Speaker 2: went rogue and we don't have a nanny currently. Wow,
Speaker 2: but my son is in school, so he goes to
Speaker 2: school and then my in laws are just like they're
Speaker 2: here for us for the next three months and they're
Speaker 2: like anything you need, like please, and they love it
Speaker 2: like they are just a dreams. So but it is
Speaker 2: a lot, and like even last season, you know, when
Speaker 2: I was going to the finale and I'm stressed every
Speaker 2: night in this and that all got a limited I
Speaker 2: think week seven he was picking up a lot of
Speaker 2: the slack and he was being mommy and daddy for
Speaker 2: us and like putting Rome to bed, and I remember
Speaker 2: it broke my heart so bad. But I had missed
Speaker 2: putting Rome to bed a couple of times and Rome
Speaker 2: only wanted Belt to put him to bed, and I
Speaker 2: was like, what's happening here? Yes, but he is an
Speaker 2: incredible co parent and I would not be able to
Speaker 2: do this world without him. And so yeah, it's a
Speaker 2: it's a lot of communication, it's a lot of effort,
Speaker 2: but so so worth it. Yeah, And when he gets
Speaker 2: to like come on set and see what we're doing,
Speaker 2: and he understands that we dance, and I think he
Speaker 2: loves watching us dance, It's it's really fun and so
Speaker 2: rewarding and fulfilling. Does he show any promising dancer attributes?
Speaker 2: Is he athletic? Is he he is? He loves music? Okay,
Speaker 2: so I'm not sure if it's dance like you see
Speaker 2: it are giving stuff, you know, I'm not sure about
Speaker 2: the turnout. But he has incredible musicality already, like can
Speaker 2: find to be a rhythm, you know, so I'd love
Speaker 2: something in the music space.
Speaker 1: I would Oh, that'd be so wonderful. Does anything feel
Speaker 1: different about this season for you?
Speaker 2: I think every season feels different. Okay. I think it's
Speaker 2: it's exciting. It's challenging to be like, Okay, I have
Speaker 2: to forget everything that I've experienced with past partners and
Speaker 2: just focus on how does my partner learn, how does
Speaker 2: he absorb information? What are cues that I need to
Speaker 2: give him? How is he going to react live? And
Speaker 2: again we haven't we haven't premiered yet, so these are
Speaker 2: still things that, like all of us pros are having
Speaker 2: to learn. But I just love the magnitude that is
Speaker 2: happening with the show right now, So that excites me.
Speaker 2: I think seeing the response and just seeing it get
Speaker 2: bigger and bigger, that's very exciting. I think. Also, I've
Speaker 2: never been invested in my social media as much during
Speaker 2: the season as we all are currently. You know, it
Speaker 2: feels like a TikTok fest off, like who's doing the
Speaker 2: most tiktoks together. But you see the traction. Yeah, there
Speaker 2: are so many eyes on the cast and this season
Speaker 2: and the excitement. So I think that that's exciting for
Speaker 2: me too to be like, yeah, let me have fun
Speaker 2: with this show a different side of me too, Maybe
Speaker 2: show some of my process how I work, you know,
Speaker 2: how Corey and I work. So yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2: So you were paired with Corey Feldman.
Speaker 1: You guys have had a little bit of a false
Speaker 1: start because he had some misrehearsals because of prior engagements.
Speaker 1: How do you adjust with getting less time than you
Speaker 1: would ideally want in a situation like this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's so funny because everyone was like, he's missing,
Speaker 2: you haven't heard from him. We were in communication the
Speaker 2: whole time. I mean, it was just, you know, he
Speaker 2: had probably or engagement engagements that he had to do,
Speaker 2: and so we both knew going into this that like
Speaker 2: we were going to miss some time and we had
Speaker 2: some catching up to do before the premiere. But I
Speaker 2: I love that first of all, he's aware of that
Speaker 2: and he comes in now to each of our rehearsals
Speaker 2: with this like not wanting to prove people wrong. But
Speaker 2: he is excited to work hard, right, And I love
Speaker 2: that that is one of the best qualities you can
Speaker 2: ask in a new partner, like they need to want
Speaker 2: to be there, yeah, and he does and he's excited
Speaker 2: and he's fully like I have no ballroom experience. I
Speaker 2: have no partnering experience. It's always been like on my
Speaker 2: own and I get to do whatever I want. It's
Speaker 2: a free for all when I perform. So I love
Speaker 2: that he's like, treat me like the biggest beginner.
Speaker 1: Right right, talk to me like I'm five, yes, yeah,
Speaker 1: and tell me everything.
Speaker 2: Yeah exactly. So yeah, it's been it's been so also
Speaker 2: just so lovely to get to know him. Yea. He
Speaker 2: is hysterical, like really funny. Good You're gonna have to
Speaker 2: use some of that humor. Oh I'm ready for Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: you're you're already thinking. You recently posted a video talking
Speaker 2: to people because people were wondering, like, why aren't you
Speaker 2: posting tiktoks together? There were all kinds of rumors, and
Speaker 2: so you posted a video talking about the fact that
Speaker 2: you knew this was gonna happen. It was an no
Speaker 2: big deal, but you were eating a pinkberry and not to.
Speaker 1: Get too serious here, but what is your go to
Speaker 1: flavor and your go to topping's easy?
Speaker 2: Okay, hazel nuts okay, and pomegranate.
Speaker 1: So pomegranate, pinkberry, and then the hazel nut topic, yes okay.
Speaker 2: Then if you door dash it, you get three scoops
Speaker 2: of the milk chocolate crunch. Oh, don't judge. I'm also
Speaker 2: it was like I was also on my cycle gettings
Speaker 2: were real. You get three scoops. Specifically you get the
Speaker 2: popping boba. And then this was a new one that
Speaker 2: I just tried pomegranate juice. Oh and they poured a
Speaker 2: little pomegranate juice on it and seeped in. It was exquisite. Well,
Speaker 2: I'm glad to hear that because the whole video you
Speaker 2: didn't take a single bite.
Speaker 1: And I I was like, please eat the pink berry.
Speaker 2: You know it's so funny. Please eat the pink berry
Speaker 2: because it looked so good. The amount of dms that
Speaker 2: said take a bite, take it, well, eat it. We
Speaker 2: were all rooting for you then. And then somebody else
Speaker 2: is getting real real She was like, don't post these
Speaker 2: fake videos because we know you don't eat this, Like
Speaker 2: it's okay to be real. I was like, girl, I
Speaker 2: devoured it.
Speaker 1: I just didn't want to talk and eat on.
Speaker 2: I'm like, like an ASMR video, I'm not gonna do that.
Speaker 2: You won't get that for free.
Speaker 1: You're not exactly save that for the Patreon or something,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 2: But the amount of people that were like, take the bite.
Speaker 1: Honestly, it was just because I was like, man, even
Speaker 1: wish I had a pinkberry. Do it just then, I'll
Speaker 1: taste it because I could tell it was I could
Speaker 1: tell it was pomegranate, which is my go to as well.
Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. Brandon Armstrong danned me and he
Speaker 2: was like, I know, milk chocolate, a good chocolate crunch.
Speaker 2: If I've ever seen what I was like, we've got
Speaker 2: the same.
Speaker 1: More to Brandon, okay, now to me, Yes, if you
Speaker 1: could give me one piece of advice, what would it be?
Speaker 2: Oh? Just one? Just one? Okay, give me. I'm sure, Pasha,
Speaker 2: he is so great at his job and actually he's
Speaker 2: given you all the tools, all the advice. Okay. My
Speaker 2: biggest advice not every week is going to be your
Speaker 2: best dance. Yeah, and I think what you do after
Speaker 2: a rough dance is going to be your biggest superpower.
Speaker 2: That's good because it's going to be easy, you know,
Speaker 2: after you've gotten harsh critiques, low scores while other people
Speaker 2: are just soaring. If you have maybe a rough week
Speaker 2: and you sit in that and wallow in that, and
Speaker 2: that's when you're gonna get in your head and that's
Speaker 2: when your spirit's gonna decline. Your dancing is gonna decline.
Speaker 2: And it's okay to like feel that, but I think
Speaker 2: use it as a challenge, right instead of defeat. Yeah,
Speaker 2: because that's usually when you have your breakout moments, and
Speaker 2: it's always kind of like mid season and that's where
Speaker 2: things shift.
Speaker 1: Such good advice, especially because I am a perfectionist and
Speaker 1: so my biggest weakness is that I'm my own worst
Speaker 1: critic and I'm hard on myself. So if it's actually
Speaker 1: valid that it wasn't my strongest dance and I'm getting
Speaker 1: critiqued and I'm hard on myself, I can immediately ruin
Speaker 1: any future chances I have unless I get my head
Speaker 1: back in the.
Speaker 2: Game, Yes, because then you'll just be stuck here exactly,
Speaker 2: And that's that's when you can see people like lose
Speaker 2: their drive lose their heart, lose their you know that spirit.
Speaker 2: So you are such I think you are. When I
Speaker 2: saw that you were casted, I was like, you are
Speaker 2: that perfect candidate for the show, like you are Dancing
Speaker 2: with the Stars, and I am so excited to watch
Speaker 2: your journey, Like I can Readie tell it's going to
Speaker 2: it's going to be exquisite. Thank you so much, Jenna.
Speaker 2: I am so grateful you came and spent this time
Speaker 2: with me this morning. Thanks for having me. I absolutely
Speaker 2: adore you.
Speaker 1: I don't get to spend nearly nearly as much time
Speaker 1: with you as I would like, so we'll just need
Speaker 1: to change that.
Speaker 2: Yes, okay, thank you so much for being here with
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. Bye.
Speaker 1: Danielle with the Stars Produced and hosted by Danielle Fischel,
Speaker 1: Executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge
Speaker 1: of production, Danielle Romo, producer, editor and engineer Tara Sudbosch.
Speaker 1: Theme song by Justin Siegel. Follow us on Instagram at
Speaker 1: Danielle with Stars and vote for me