Speaker 1: Welcome back.
Speaker 2: It's me Danielle Fischel, TV director, podcaster, mother of two,
Speaker 2: and colloquially known as Tapega from the nineties family sitcom
Speaker 2: Boy Meets World, but to almost seven million viewers and
Speaker 2: counting every week. I am a competitor on season thirty
Speaker 2: four of Dancing with the Stars, paired with my professional
Speaker 2: pal Pasha Pashkov, And in addition to my transformation from
Speaker 2: no prior dance experience to ballroom vet, I have been
Speaker 2: recording this year podcast, keeping tabs on every single moment
Speaker 2: along the way, hoping that the details of my journey
Speaker 2: might make your Dancing with the Stars fandom even more enjoyable. Plus,
Speaker 2: I have been joined by pro's former contestant and my
Speaker 2: beloved competition in hopes that these interviews could double as
Speaker 2: insider information to push me over the proverbial hump and
Speaker 2: into the winner's circle, holding the mirror ball trophy well
Speaker 2: above my head in the name of every listener. And
Speaker 2: today I am joined by a man who was there
Speaker 2: when it all started, a national champion gold medalist who
Speaker 2: joined the show in season one and went on to
Speaker 2: compete with a total of eleven partners, including Kelly Osborne
Speaker 2: in season nine, where they made it to the finals
Speaker 2: and placed third. He's been seen in the ballroom this season,
Speaker 2: taking in the festivities, and I, for one felt just
Speaker 2: a little more nervous knowing he was in attendance. And
Speaker 2: with the twentieth birthday of the show just around the corner,
Speaker 2: it would be impossible to imagine its early days without
Speaker 2: my guest. And now I'm honored to say it. It's
Speaker 2: Danielle with Louis van Amstell.
Speaker 3: Hi, Danielle, Hi, how are you there? You are? Yes?
Speaker 1: How are you.
Speaker 3: Nice to meet you? I didn't meet you. I saw Pasha, yes,
Speaker 3: and two weeks ago.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I know I saw that you were there.
Speaker 2: But after the fact, I think we may have passed
Speaker 2: each other very quickly in the breezeway when I was
Speaker 2: either on my way to warm up or getting one
Speaker 2: of those many last minute hair and makeup touch ups.
Speaker 3: You get yes, and I know how important that is.
Speaker 3: So I do this and I do not. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: don't want to disturb anyone, whether it's my partner on
Speaker 3: the show. It's that that me time, you know, when
Speaker 3: you have to get ready and get into game game mode, game.
Speaker 2: Base exactly game face mode, and there's not much time
Speaker 2: and it all depends on where you fall in the
Speaker 2: show and how you know.
Speaker 1: Are you last, are you first?
Speaker 2: Are you right in the middle. It's it's a it's
Speaker 2: a lot. And I wanted to talk with you because
Speaker 2: you bring such a unique POV considering you were there
Speaker 2: from season one. When do you remember getting the pitch
Speaker 2: for Dancing with the Stars and did it sound in
Speaker 2: saying to you what was your first thought when you
Speaker 2: heard about it.
Speaker 3: It's interesting you asked me this question because even though
Speaker 3: it's twenty years ago, it feels like yesterday and I
Speaker 3: remember every single detail. So Dance with the Stars is
Speaker 3: based on Strictly Come Dancing, which is Dance with the
Speaker 3: Stars version in England, and when they successfully brought it
Speaker 3: back on TV, I guess the producers asked the British professionals,
Speaker 3: who do you know in the United States. Well, I'm
Speaker 3: from Amsterdam, I'm from Holland my partner was British Julie Fryer.
Speaker 3: So we were actually on the original Come Dancing when
Speaker 3: it was counties against each other and then England against Europe.
Speaker 3: So we danced on the original version before it quit
Speaker 3: in the late nineties anyway. So then one of the
Speaker 3: producers called me while I was teaching in New York
Speaker 3: City and if I was interested in being part of
Speaker 3: the show that ABC was willing to test out of
Speaker 3: a show about bareroom dancing. They weren't sure, and I
Speaker 3: didn't think twice. Growing up in theater, I was already
Speaker 3: retired from competing, and I just had done my Broadway
Speaker 3: show in two thousand and two at City Center. So
Speaker 3: when they said do you want to be part of it? Yes,
Speaker 3: I want to, I didn't have to think twice. No, Wow,
Speaker 3: I did not question it. I did. I also thought
Speaker 3: it was the golden opportunity for ballroom dancing UH to
Speaker 3: be put in the limelight, and that it was interesting
Speaker 3: because then of course they asked me who do you know. Well,
Speaker 3: I was coaching Alec Mazo and edits Lavinska at the time,
Speaker 3: so of course I asked them. And then after they
Speaker 3: hired Alec Mazo, a Ukrainian edit, tes Lawns Cut Polish,
Speaker 3: myself Dutch, Sharlot to Jurgensen Danish, and then John Roberts American.
Speaker 3: So then they called me back, Joe Sunkert, do you
Speaker 3: we won an all American, I get it immigrants. So
Speaker 3: I was teaching at the famous Center Stage in orem
Speaker 3: Utah where all the Utah dances are from. Yeah, and
Speaker 3: he was asking me. I picked up the phone while
Speaker 3: I was teaching, and Ashley del Grosso, who was the
Speaker 3: final lady joining season one, she was in the other room.
Speaker 3: So I said, Joe, hold on. So I walked to
Speaker 3: the room. I said, here, pick up the phone and
Speaker 3: make sure you say yes wow. And so that's how
Speaker 3: that happened. Yeah, just put my phone in Ashley's hands
Speaker 3: and she talked to Joe and she did audition and
Speaker 3: she made it on the show.
Speaker 2: So you're basically responsible for the entire pro cast of
Speaker 2: season one.
Speaker 3: Well, I wouldn't say the entire cast. It was more
Speaker 3: you know John Roberts, who I did work with as
Speaker 3: a coach. He was approached, I guess through another producer
Speaker 3: and Charlotte Jurgenson, who I competed with in Europe at
Speaker 3: World Championships. So it was fun for all of us
Speaker 3: to be in a different medium because competition scene or
Speaker 3: theater is still different than live TV. But we loved it. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and then I got Julian Hoff and Derek Houff on
Speaker 3: the show and a few more. But for me, you know,
Speaker 3: I'm the old one of the bunch. I coached most
Speaker 3: of them that are now on. So for me, it's
Speaker 3: about getting the best dancers that are appropriate for the show.
Speaker 3: So if you look at Jenna Johnson, you look at Lindsay, Arnold, Winsey,
Speaker 3: Whitney Carson, these are all cross Ray dancers Ezra cross
Speaker 3: Train Brandon and I know them since they were That
Speaker 3: makes me really old them all since they were eight,
Speaker 3: nine and ten years old because I was teaching them
Speaker 3: at center Stage. It's just wonderful to see they never
Speaker 3: decided to go into the ballroom Ballroom World Championships, but
Speaker 3: instead they have an amazing career on TV.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I ain't mad about it exactly.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's really smart and it was forward thinking
Speaker 2: of you as someone who had competed in Blackpool, had
Speaker 2: three Latin Dance Champion gold medals and a US National
Speaker 2: Championship with a partner that you knew I sure have. Well,
Speaker 2: you knew they that it was a chance to celebrate
Speaker 2: ballroom dancing instead of having fear that it was going
Speaker 2: to be something that made a mockery of it. Is
Speaker 2: that how they presented it to you or did you
Speaker 2: just know that this was going to be a shining
Speaker 2: opportunity for ballroom dance?
Speaker 3: In my heart, I knew that this was going to
Speaker 3: be a success because of having done a Broadway show
Speaker 3: of my own in two thousand and two when we
Speaker 3: had no TV, no ballroom dancing in the limelight, and
Speaker 3: I knew because of the enthusiasm from that audience that
Speaker 3: the public will like this. And so many people, not
Speaker 3: just in the eighteen thirty eight, eighteen to thirty nine,
Speaker 3: but also the older generation. How many of them did
Speaker 3: ballroom dancing when they grew up, the katillion, all that,
Speaker 3: and that's what Danced with the Stars represents twenty years in.
Speaker 3: It still represents that romance, the sassiness, and you know
Speaker 3: a little bit more nodding.
Speaker 1: You know, a little bit of drama, a little.
Speaker 3: Bit of everything. Yes, yeah, so I think it's I
Speaker 3: never questioned it. And also when they asked me do
Speaker 3: you know more dancers? I was right away thinking these
Speaker 3: have to be the right dancers, not the best dancers. Now,
Speaker 3: now having said that, when you take a Valsh Mukofsky,
Speaker 3: who I coached as well, he could have easily been
Speaker 3: world champion. He was world champion in junior. He could
Speaker 3: have taken every single title titled. Derek Huff could be
Speaker 3: world champion. He was youth champion. I was actually there
Speaker 3: when he became world champion in youth. These dancers are
Speaker 3: not only the right dancers for the show, they're also
Speaker 3: the best dancers. I mean, they're so well trained, and
Speaker 3: I'm proud to say that I was part of that
Speaker 3: before Dance with the Stars as their coach.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: Do you remember a specific moment, maybe it was even
Speaker 2: during season one where you felt like, whoa, this is working.
Speaker 2: It's all it's gonna go. This show is going to
Speaker 2: be a massive success, the show itself.
Speaker 3: Yes, I was so happy to hear that. Everyone was
Speaker 3: so nervous that first one. Danielle, you guys are nervous
Speaker 3: coming down those stairs.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: But season one, week one, everyone ABC, the show run
Speaker 3: at Conrad Green, Dina. Everyone was so nervous because this
Speaker 3: is the first time. And then we had thirteen point
Speaker 3: five million viewers and they couldn't be happier. And that
Speaker 3: was the summer show. So I knew then it's a hit. However,
Speaker 3: I've never won this show, but I think I deserve
Speaker 3: a trophy because stress the ctter and I were the
Speaker 3: first ever eliminated couple in season one. Don't you think
Speaker 3: that deserves something?
Speaker 2: You know what I do? I think what's the opposite
Speaker 2: of a mirror ball?
Speaker 3: The well turn it outside of second? It's yeah. I
Speaker 3: learned a lot that first season. Oh my gosh. I
Speaker 3: learned a lot because I came in and not to
Speaker 3: brag or anything, but just to give you and your
Speaker 3: viewers perspective. I came in from coaching, coaching people like
Speaker 3: Jenna Johnson, Welshikovsky, Max Murkowsky, and then I went in
Speaker 3: with that coaching attitude in dense with the stars, Oh
Speaker 3: my gosh, I looked like and I mean, I'm not
Speaker 3: going to say the capital A because we strect yes.
Speaker 3: And then on top I had long hair in a ponytail,
Speaker 3: I have these cheek pumps. It looks oh my gosh,
Speaker 3: I look so dang arrogant. And then in the package, yeah,
Speaker 3: I'm a three time world champion, and oh my gosh.
Speaker 3: It was a very humbling experience, and season two was
Speaker 3: amazing because of the learning lessons from season one.
Speaker 2: I see, do you was that attitude that you had
Speaker 2: in season one? Was that something that is that what
Speaker 2: you were like as a coach generally or was it
Speaker 2: something put on for the TV show?
Speaker 3: Well that's that's a two first. So the first portion
Speaker 3: is that for me, if you tell me you want
Speaker 3: to be a champion, national or world champion, then I'm
Speaker 3: going to treat you as such, not in being nasty,
Speaker 3: but okay, here are the goals, and I'm going to
Speaker 3: hold you accountable. But that's with the stars. I mean you, guys,
Speaker 3: I mean I respect you so much. You put yourself
Speaker 3: out there. You're a working actress, you can control your work,
Speaker 3: and here you are putting yourself on the chopping block potentially,
Speaker 3: and so I respect every and all celebrity for doing that.
Speaker 3: But for me as a coach, I realized, wait a minute,
Speaker 3: Wait a minute, wait a minute, this is not your
Speaker 3: bread and butter, and this is your hobby. Now in
Speaker 3: a way, it is your bread and butter because you
Speaker 3: put yourself out there as a celebrity. And but I
Speaker 3: was never I don't think I'm arrogant. It's just I
Speaker 3: hold you accountable. But then the way the questions are asked,
Speaker 3: you know, when you have your Thursday interviews. You have
Speaker 3: to be mindful on how you say it because everything
Speaker 3: can and will be used against you. And that's not
Speaker 3: on the producers. That's on us to be mindful on
Speaker 3: you know, what you say in terms of in terms
Speaker 3: of the bad Boys status. I think they tried, and
Speaker 3: then you know, Max came on board in season three,
Speaker 3: and I guess he took the role. But I don't
Speaker 3: want to play a role. I've always said I'm a
Speaker 3: chameleon as a coach, as a teacher, as a dancer,
Speaker 3: Expect the unexpected. I've said it in so many interviews
Speaker 3: because I, for example, if you and I were parted,
Speaker 3: I don't know you, so maybe I have one approach. Well,
Speaker 3: then that approach doesn't work, Okay, a different approach. Maybe
Speaker 3: you're a visual learner, audio learner. Maybe you're just slow
Speaker 3: in picking up, so the first three days take it
Speaker 3: a easier and then when I see you pick it up, boom.
Speaker 3: Then we're going to spend the hours on really diving deep.
Speaker 3: And others say, let me give me, give me everything
Speaker 3: on that first day and then slow down towards the
Speaker 3: end of the week. So they tried, and I think
Speaker 3: that's part of the reason I'm being really for that
Speaker 3: off not being in all seasons, because that was never
Speaker 3: my choice, not to be real, I just don't like
Speaker 3: being put in a box. I don't like labels. So
Speaker 3: I also don't want to be called the gay dancer
Speaker 3: or the I am me. There's so many more sides
Speaker 3: to me, and so yeah, I you expect the unexpected.
Speaker 3: That's really my coaching philosophy because I don't know who
Speaker 3: I am partnered with totally.
Speaker 1: It's funny.
Speaker 2: We interviewed Max as well, and Max said something similar
Speaker 2: about coming onto the show, and he said, you know,
Speaker 2: when I joined the show, I was told your goal
Speaker 2: was to get this celebrity to be a trained dancer,
Speaker 2: and he said, and so I came in very much
Speaker 2: with like, if you want to be a star dancer,
Speaker 2: you're going to have to do all of these things.
Speaker 2: And he said, and then of course, over time you realize,
Speaker 2: like these celebrities, it's impossible for them to become in
Speaker 2: ten weeks eleven weeks. You can't possibly learn all the
Speaker 2: things you need to learn. And he said, you know,
Speaker 2: so I realized that maybe my approach wasn't working and
Speaker 2: that that really wasn't the hook of the show. So
Speaker 2: it's interesting to hear you say something similar that, Like,
Speaker 2: you know, they told me I was taking a celebrity
Speaker 2: and wanted to make them a national champion.
Speaker 1: Well, of course I have to hold you accountable to that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And of course, again it depends on the celebrity.
Speaker 3: I can give you two examples. In season nine, I
Speaker 3: had Kelly Osborne. Yeah, no dance experience. There was a
Speaker 3: lot of baggage, emotional baggage that we had to go through.
Speaker 3: So that was one step at a time, very slow going,
Speaker 3: and she made the final. So it doesn't mean you
Speaker 3: can't make the final when you're a non dancer, but
Speaker 3: you have to approach it differently from a dancer. And
Speaker 3: when we lose our patients, you can hold all the
Speaker 3: pros accountable because that's on us because a good coach
Speaker 3: never loses their cool. You can be frustrated, but you
Speaker 3: cannot lose your patients. It's not well, you're not getting it.
Speaker 3: You're not getting it. Well, that means us as pros,
Speaker 3: we have to dig deeper, change our strategy until you
Speaker 3: get that hook where your celebrity really feels oh, I'm growing.
Speaker 3: And then in the All Star season I had Sabrina Brian,
Speaker 3: I had that season the best dancer of the season,
Speaker 3: but hip hop trained cheerleading, everything is slice and dice,
Speaker 3: bam boom, and I love Sabrina, so it was my
Speaker 3: goal in that one. I put on my coach's head
Speaker 3: and I said, and this was also discussed with Sabrina, look,
Speaker 3: you are the best dancers that can backfire. It did
Speaker 3: in season six with marks Week six, three tenths voted off,
Speaker 3: and she was willing to go do the work, but
Speaker 3: I made her go for that lowering and the heat
Speaker 3: leads and the posture up and the chest up and
Speaker 3: you know all about it now.
Speaker 1: I do.
Speaker 2: I do, And I never expected to love it nearly
Speaker 2: as much as I do. I just it's shocking to me. Well,
Speaker 2: thank you, I do. I just love it so much.
Speaker 2: And you, as a quok well hearing what you have
Speaker 2: to say about what it means to be a good coach.
Speaker 2: All I can picture in my head is my dear Pasha,
Speaker 2: who is every single day consistent. There's never a day
Speaker 2: where I have to wonder what kind of a mood
Speaker 2: he's going to be in, or adjust what how I'm
Speaker 2: feeling or doing based on something that's going on with him.
Speaker 2: He is a total professional. He is always committed, he's
Speaker 2: always prepared, he's always ready to work. He doesn't He
Speaker 2: gives me space to have my feelings about something, but
Speaker 2: he's never He's very quick to just sit there and
Speaker 2: let me have the experience and then go, Okay, it's
Speaker 2: time to get back on now. He's the most patient
Speaker 2: human being. I mean, maybe I've ever met in my
Speaker 2: entire life. I can't imagine having been partnered with anybody else.
Speaker 2: So I really feel like I lucked out the season.
Speaker 3: You Hit the Jackpot. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I
Speaker 3: know every single pro dancer on the show, probably eighty percent.
Speaker 3: I was the coach growing up, so I have to
Speaker 3: preface that I like most and love a few. I mean,
Speaker 3: like there's no tomorrow. I never actually worked with Pasha
Speaker 3: or Danielle, but I've seen him grow up. And they
Speaker 3: are not just Pasha but also Danielle, the most grounded couple.
Speaker 3: And they've been on the show now for many seasons
Speaker 3: and it hasn't changed them as humans. But also where
Speaker 3: You hit the Jackpot, Pasha is had to always get
Speaker 3: it from hard work, and Danielle that is such a
Speaker 3: natural gifted, naturally gifted beast, I mean, and everyone can
Speaker 3: see it. And he just worked, worked, worked, And also
Speaker 3: they did ten dance, so they're especially Pasha. He's equal
Speaker 3: in the standard ballroom dances as he's in the Latin dances.
Speaker 3: And on top, he taught a lot of proem which
Speaker 3: is an amateur dancing with the pro such as Pasha,
Speaker 3: they compete. He has a lot of teaching experience too,
Speaker 3: So you hit the jackpot on the kindness as a human,
Speaker 3: but also has a lot of different ways on how
Speaker 3: he can approach that. He is successful with you and
Speaker 3: I just for me, kindness is number one. If you're
Speaker 3: a kind human being and you are grounded, then you
Speaker 3: have my respect. And if you are on top a
Speaker 3: great dancer and teacher, then you've made it. And these
Speaker 3: two are wonderful.
Speaker 1: People couldn't agree with you more. I know.
Speaker 2: Oh, you have been watching this season both on TV
Speaker 2: and you've been in the ballroom, and there has been
Speaker 2: a lot of talked about that this season is a
Speaker 2: stacked cast. It's become a large part of the discourse
Speaker 2: on surrounding the show. Considering you were there for its genesis,
Speaker 2: what are your thoughts on the conceit of dancing with
Speaker 2: the stars and celebrities who have prior dance experience.
Speaker 3: Well, especially in the early years, I was really frustrated
Speaker 3: when half the cast had dance experience and we are
Speaker 3: the ones, as the pros, that have the non dancers.
Speaker 3: But then I grew to like it more because for me,
Speaker 3: if you have a non dancer, that means that celebrity
Speaker 3: represents the majority of the viewers watching. Yeah, and they
Speaker 3: live vicariously through that celebrity. And that's why people like
Speaker 3: a Kelly Osborn, Bobby Bones and directed this season, they
Speaker 3: make it far because they just move slightly. But also
Speaker 3: we had conversations. I've had conversations with Dina Katz, executive
Speaker 3: director and casting director, like, hey, why can we not
Speaker 3: do a season with all non dancers? Well, what would
Speaker 3: the show look like visually? And there you got me
Speaker 3: as a producer myself, I had to yeah, thank you
Speaker 3: for explaining. And it wasn't really like why are you
Speaker 3: doing this to me? No, it was more sincerely wanting
Speaker 3: to know why why did they do that? And I
Speaker 3: get it. And also again Andy Rictor, and there were
Speaker 3: quite a few dancers, if not every single one that
Speaker 3: have gone home already are better dances than Andy, And
Speaker 3: somehow the people at home keep voting him, and even
Speaker 3: the judges give him low scores. So it's not that
Speaker 3: the judges are helping him either. It's really it's really
Speaker 3: the people at home they're voting. And then there's the
Speaker 3: other question that comes from here, Well, we shouldn't have
Speaker 3: the people at home voting because look, otherwise, hey and
Speaker 3: you would have been mong gone home. Yeah, but then
Speaker 3: we wouldn't have a show on TV. Yeah, it's all
Speaker 3: about ratings and voting, and you just you are in
Speaker 3: the season that really has come back so strong, over
Speaker 3: fifty five million votes, yeah, number one showing it on TV.
Speaker 3: I mean, so I hope that the viewers understand that
Speaker 3: it's hard to just have non dancers celebrities or do
Speaker 3: a season with all dancing celebrities. Would it be fun
Speaker 3: if Jennifer Gray would come back, Nicole Scherzinger, Bindy Irwin,
Speaker 3: maybe get Paul Abdul. Wouldn't that be a fun season?
Speaker 3: But they won't do it. I don't think they will
Speaker 3: do it. But anyway, there's a fantastic season, and it's
Speaker 3: the diversity that makes it special.
Speaker 2: Right, That's exactly what it is, the dichotomy of watching
Speaker 2: Andy Richter versus watching Whitney Levitt and being impressed with both,
Speaker 2: you know, for different reasons. Like with it's nice in
Speaker 2: one night to be able to run the full gamut
Speaker 2: and just to vote on what it is that makes
Speaker 2: you happy. I thought it was really smart when Andy
Speaker 2: said that a producer told him that they ask you
Speaker 2: to vote for your favorite dance, not the best dance.
Speaker 2: And so you know, that is the joy of America.
Speaker 2: Having a vote is who do you want to see
Speaker 2: more from? It doesn't have to be the best, It
Speaker 2: just means who do you want to see again? And
Speaker 2: that's where they have a lot of power.
Speaker 3: Two things on that one I really want to share
Speaker 3: so on so you think you can dance? Season one
Speaker 3: one Fox, that was to find the best dancer, and
Speaker 3: that was the MC was constantly the best dancer. They
Speaker 3: changed it in season two, We're looking for your faith
Speaker 3: a dancer, same thing because they realized, oh, the judges
Speaker 3: choose one to be the best, but then the audience
Speaker 3: chooses another because it's their favorite and not the best dancer.
Speaker 3: And it's and also, to quote a famous hockey coach,
Speaker 3: and he said, I am not looking for the best players.
Speaker 3: I'm looking for the right players. And to me, that
Speaker 3: is kind of similar. We're not looking for the best
Speaker 3: dancer to win the show. We're looking for the favorite,
Speaker 3: and hopefully the best dancer is also the favorite.
Speaker 1: You know, wow, yep, but well you know there.
Speaker 3: It is.
Speaker 2: As looking back on your time on the show, if
Speaker 2: you had to select one of your famous partners to
Speaker 2: say this is the one you'd make a highlight reel of,
Speaker 2: regardless of where you placed, who would you say is
Speaker 2: your highlight reel partner?
Speaker 3: Easy? Kelly Osborne season nine really underdog. She was the
Speaker 3: sea best kit. She was the one that I think,
Speaker 3: just on paper, she was going to be the first
Speaker 3: one going home. Yeah, and what I find and I'm
Speaker 3: not I always get emotional when I talk about Kelly
Speaker 3: because it was even though it was two thousand and nine,
Speaker 3: that journey has not only affected her or maybe changed
Speaker 3: her life, it has changed mind. I started building my confidence.
Speaker 3: I know I'm a good teacher. I know I'm a
Speaker 3: good coach. I mean, heck, I coached many of the
Speaker 3: ones on the show. But it's it's that's the world
Speaker 3: I'm in this is TV to affect and help someone
Speaker 3: in front of millions and then for her to really
Speaker 3: listen to what you have to say. And we also
Speaker 3: had arguments. There were I mean, she danced in a
Speaker 3: broken toe, her dog died during the show, and I
Speaker 3: mean there were so many things that we had to
Speaker 3: deal with. And then to be in the final because
Speaker 3: of the audience, not because of the judges. The judges
Speaker 3: score were always kind of lower and lower, and to
Speaker 3: see her blossom and even now looking at her, even
Speaker 3: after the show, there were ups and downs with her,
Speaker 3: even in the press you could read it. But in
Speaker 3: the long run, it's how she dealt with it and
Speaker 3: how she's dealing with it. And now she's engaged, she
Speaker 3: has a baby of her own which is growing up.
Speaker 3: I mean quickly that that will be probably the most
Speaker 3: trends formative partnership I think has ever been on the show.
Speaker 3: And I am proud to have been her partner. And
Speaker 3: that almost didn't happen because I believe, and if you
Speaker 3: have Mark after me, I think originally Kelly was partnered
Speaker 3: with Mark ballas with Mikey, and I believe not that
Speaker 3: she said, look, I'm engaged to another guy. She's not
Speaker 3: engaged with the same guy. Now, yeah, she wants someone gay,
Speaker 3: she wants safety, that there would be no kind of well,
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think maybe if you're married and
Speaker 3: you're doing the show, would you maybe you know, feel
Speaker 3: the same way that you kind of want to either
Speaker 3: be safe or be with another married pro that's on
Speaker 3: the show. You know it's but anyway, so it almost
Speaker 3: didn't happen, and it did happen, and yeah, that was
Speaker 3: the most memorable I believe.
Speaker 1: For me, I love that.
Speaker 2: I love that even just to see you get emotional
Speaker 2: talking about it, because I I feel as though the
Speaker 2: show has been completely transformative for me as well, and
Speaker 2: so has Pasha and Daniella in my life. So i'm
Speaker 2: i'm it's it's always nice when I see that those
Speaker 2: feelings are very real and you're still close and it's
Speaker 2: not just something that's only going to last for the
Speaker 2: you know, eleven weeks the show goes on, that it
Speaker 2: really does actually change your life in the way it
Speaker 2: feel like it feels as of right now like it has.
Speaker 1: So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3: It's it's it's wonderful And for the viewers, how many
Speaker 3: of you as celebrities say this has changed my life,
Speaker 3: and then a lot of people probably roll their eyes. Yeah,
Speaker 3: of course you're saying that. No, it's true. It has
Speaker 3: also changed our lives as prod answers, the opportunities we've gotten.
Speaker 3: And besides maybe two celebrities of my eleven I am
Speaker 3: still in contact with and I'm still friends with, It's
Speaker 3: not a lot because I don't live in La, so
Speaker 3: it's it's a little different. But when I'm in La
Speaker 3: for still, op Pressley and I will always dinner. Lisa
Speaker 3: and I Rena we talked back and forth and or
Speaker 3: we like each other's posts, and also you might become
Speaker 3: friends with other pro dancers that are not for sure
Speaker 3: or other celebrities on our side. It's it's really wonderful
Speaker 3: what this show has done, had what it can mean
Speaker 3: to people watching.
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 2: You had a lot of close calls, although you've never
Speaker 2: won a Mirror Ball like my partner Pasha.
Speaker 1: Lisa.
Speaker 2: Renna came in third, Monique Coleman and fourth, Nissi Nash
Speaker 2: in fifth.
Speaker 1: Was there anyone in.
Speaker 2: Particular that you were partnered with other than Kelly who,
Speaker 2: of course you made it to the final with But
Speaker 2: was there another partner that you thought I can I'm
Speaker 2: gonna win with this one.
Speaker 3: All Star season, Yeah, Sam Bryan. I also wanted for
Speaker 3: her to break the week six Furst elimination from season.
Speaker 3: I think it was with Mark, and then ironically we
Speaker 3: got eliminated week six.
Speaker 1: I know.
Speaker 3: And this is a message especially for your fans and
Speaker 3: whoever's favorite is still in vote, vote vote, because in
Speaker 3: week five we had three tents with our Cinderella Disney
Speaker 3: Night walls. Then week six we had three tents with
Speaker 3: our rumba and we had I believe three tents with
Speaker 3: our group dance. So we went out on with sixty
Speaker 3: out of sixty. And people think you're safe when you
Speaker 3: get tens, you're safe. You are not safe. You're not safe.
Speaker 3: And I hate to say that because I really I
Speaker 3: mean Andy, it just looks such like such a nice guy.
Speaker 3: But say you get high scores and people think, oh,
Speaker 3: you you're safe because you get these high scores. No,
Speaker 3: because a person like Andy gets so many votes that
Speaker 3: even a lower scores can mean you're going home. So
Speaker 3: make sure you vote, ladies and gentlemen, vote, vote, vote.
Speaker 2: I know that is I interviewed Sabrina at the very
Speaker 2: start of this podcast, and I asked her that question.
Speaker 2: I was just straight up, I said, do you think
Speaker 2: the reason you went home is because people saw those
Speaker 2: high scores and just assumed that you were safe. Because
Speaker 2: it's it's really the only explanation is that people go, oh,
Speaker 2: I don't need to worry about her, but these other
Speaker 2: people with lower scores, I need to boost them up
Speaker 2: and then low and behold you don't get any votes.
Speaker 3: No, no, it's it's true. It's really people need to vote,
Speaker 3: and I think the message is clear and people are voting.
Speaker 3: I mean, fifty five million votes, it's.
Speaker 1: A lot of votes.
Speaker 2: Yes, looking back on all your seasons, do you have
Speaker 2: any idea thoughts on specific strategy to win, whether it's
Speaker 2: how you arrange when you do which dance or song choices.
Speaker 2: What are some of the strategies to winning as you
Speaker 2: see it now?
Speaker 3: All of the above I was missed a strategy. And
Speaker 3: also when you have a non dancing celebrity, you have
Speaker 3: to be very strategic in every decision but one. And
Speaker 3: this is where being a veteran in this business helps.
Speaker 3: For example, music, so many younger pros and maybe now
Speaker 3: they've learned a lesson, they would find music maybe a
Speaker 3: week two weeks before the show, and then if the
Speaker 3: song that they really want is already chosen, but someone else,
Speaker 3: I'm sorry, so and so already chosen. So I would
Speaker 3: have one hundred and fifty songs on a list divided
Speaker 3: by dances discussed with my celebrity first day. Now what
Speaker 3: they're doing is you are now getting a package to
Speaker 3: fill out. So now the show doesn't But in the
Speaker 3: early years it was on us, and so I would
Speaker 3: make sure that yeah, no, already already asked for it. Oh,
Speaker 3: already asked for it. Oh. And of course then when
Speaker 3: I'm eliminated, they would have a lot of songs for
Speaker 3: others to use, but I didn't at first it would
Speaker 3: frustrate me. But at least with the strategy of music,
Speaker 3: we mostly had the songs we wanted because I put
Speaker 3: in the effort. So that's that's one thing. And when
Speaker 3: it comes to the dances in close hold, like quick
Speaker 3: step in tango, the rules are being bent very much
Speaker 3: by the younger pros, and the judges don't always call
Speaker 3: it out, which to mean they need to be how
Speaker 3: the accountable. You're allowed ten seconds in open hold in
Speaker 3: the beginning and at the end with tangoing quick steps.
Speaker 3: So I want these dances out of the way as
Speaker 3: early as possible. Get it out of the way. So
Speaker 3: later in the season, you want to the dances where
Speaker 3: you can lift. You want to have the dances that
Speaker 3: are more exuberant, like the or the give the higher
Speaker 3: energy or the heartfelt dances. But also depends on who.
Speaker 3: How is my celebrity perceived. If she is perceived as
Speaker 3: more hardcore, then I need to work on the softer side.
Speaker 3: So I want to have those dances later in the season.
Speaker 3: So I was glad with Kelly. I kept Rumba for
Speaker 3: as late as possible and then really show the heartfelt side,
Speaker 3: the heart strings, play on the heart strings. So I mean,
Speaker 3: I could. There are so many more strategies, but the
Speaker 3: dances get us boring dances that you have to stay
Speaker 3: close holds out of the way.
Speaker 1: Really smart, really super smart?
Speaker 3: Well you know, I think.
Speaker 2: So are you looking forward to the twentieth anniversary show?
Speaker 1: Will you be in the audience again?
Speaker 3: Oh? I will be in the audience. I cannot wait.
Speaker 3: It's you know, I've done eleventh season out of thirty
Speaker 3: four and I think of one of the pros that
Speaker 3: have come back over time and coming back again. I
Speaker 3: did three years ago I was back on the show,
Speaker 3: So I've kind of been part of every single change
Speaker 3: or with a new or a different showrunner, or they
Speaker 3: went into a different direction and then it came back.
Speaker 3: So I've been part of that show with the whole
Speaker 3: rollercoaster of all thirty four seasons, and it's so wonderful
Speaker 3: to see after twenty years, thirty four seasons, the show
Speaker 3: is back number one, the most votes ever and so Danielle,
Speaker 3: I thank you and your fellow celebrities for bringing it
Speaker 3: back to where it is right now, because it's ultimately
Speaker 3: the celebrities that are on the show that are bringing
Speaker 3: back the viewers time and time again. So thank you.
Speaker 3: It's it's exciting because you've made it so far. You
Speaker 3: have nothing to lose, so you can take the nerves
Speaker 3: and give up, or you take the nurse the nerves
Speaker 3: and switch on, use the adrenaline and say, people at
Speaker 3: home watch this, and it's you have nothing to lose
Speaker 3: every time you make it past week five. In my opinion,
Speaker 3: as a person that does not have a lot of
Speaker 3: dance experience, but a lot of acting experience. You've done
Speaker 3: your job, you're going for honors. Now you're going through cumblaude.
Speaker 3: So whatever they throw at you, enjoy it and see
Speaker 3: it as they come on. Bring it on, bring it on.
Speaker 1: I really love that advice.
Speaker 2: I have been I'm just going to full transparency. I've
Speaker 2: really been struggling this week. We had our we have
Speaker 2: our team down. I'm a team captain and the team
Speaker 2: dance is amazing. I picked, if I have to, if
Speaker 2: I do say so myself, I picked an all star
Speaker 2: team and it didn't come randomly. I had a full
Speaker 2: strategy going into it, and my strategy paid off and
Speaker 2: I was thrilled with my choices. But my choices were
Speaker 2: such that I am by far the weakest at least
Speaker 2: female link on the team, which is never fun to
Speaker 2: feel like, Okay, everybody's picking this up so fast, and
Speaker 2: I really need this to slow down.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you've got to let it go because you're You're
Speaker 3: not the weakest link. You are the person that came
Speaker 3: in with the least amount of dance experience, so the
Speaker 3: pressure is on them, not you. Okay, everyone knows you
Speaker 3: have grown from week one to now leaps and bounds.
Speaker 3: You have the likability factor and you have no problem
Speaker 3: with the character of the dance. Focus regardless of who
Speaker 3: is in your team. What can you control. The only
Speaker 3: thing you can control is your movements, the involvement in
Speaker 3: the movement, listening to the music and do your part.
Speaker 3: That's what you can control. You can control Oh, how
Speaker 3: the judges look at you, or what the comments they're making. Oh,
Speaker 3: oh gosh, you it's we can go psycho when you
Speaker 3: listen to everything and everyone reads social media, or even
Speaker 3: the looks of the other dances in your team, horse
Speaker 3: caps on. Focus on you and Pasha and your work.
Speaker 3: That's all you can do.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 2: I would like to ask you have you have you
Speaker 2: seen all of my dances? And if so, even if
Speaker 2: you haven't, what if you could give me one piece
Speaker 2: of advice moving forward? What would you say to me
Speaker 2: and how I can improve and how I can do
Speaker 2: better next week and for as long as I'm able
Speaker 2: to remain on the show.
Speaker 3: So I have seen them all, okay, And I was
Speaker 3: wondering if you were going to ask me this question,
Speaker 3: And like I said, I kind of already fed into
Speaker 3: it a little bit earlier. You have the likability factor.
Speaker 3: You could clearly tell you an actress, so you can
Speaker 3: like a chameleon, you step into these different dances. If I,
Speaker 3: like I said, you're you've come so far already. It's
Speaker 3: like an onion that you peel off every single week
Speaker 3: and you show a little bit more of yourself. I
Speaker 3: would say, rip off all the layers that are left.
Speaker 3: It's like when you have your hair ted Lewis, take
Speaker 3: off your throw that lose and right. It's the emotional self,
Speaker 3: your personal emotional self. I feel hell is held back. Yeah,
Speaker 3: because you're a kind person. You're a person and we
Speaker 3: haven't met, but it resonates. You can tell through the
Speaker 3: screen you're a kind person the relationship you have with
Speaker 3: with Pasha. But I would say, f kind, go for it.
Speaker 3: And if you question if you could make the final
Speaker 3: or not, or you could win the show, everyone that's
Speaker 3: still in can win. So you focus on the work.
Speaker 3: You focus on what dance do you have this week? Person,
Speaker 3: temporary contemporary, take off all these layers and go raw, raw, raw,
Speaker 3: don't go in well maybe people won't like this or
Speaker 3: oh well maybe this might screw up. Or that lift
Speaker 3: that's coming, Oh my gosh, that lift, yeah, commit, commit,
Speaker 3: commit to the work, okay, and if there's any doubts,
Speaker 3: talk about it with Pasha. Whatever doubt there is, talk,
Speaker 3: But for me, you you've earned the spot and you can.
Speaker 3: You deserve to be in that finalist as much as
Speaker 3: every other one, because you came with much less dance
Speaker 3: experience maybe.
Speaker 1: Zero, yeah zero, I think I danced at my wedding last.
Speaker 3: There you go, so remind yourself of that. You have
Speaker 3: to tell yourself too, look at what I've done in
Speaker 3: eight weeks time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3: Well, the others have had dance training four years and
Speaker 3: you can tell, you can tell, and and you know. Therefore,
Speaker 3: take out all the stops and commit, commit, commit.
Speaker 2: I appreciate your advice more than you know. It's been.
Speaker 2: It's been my work for this week. It's been exactly
Speaker 2: what Pasha has been saying to me too. So the
Speaker 2: fact that I have two of you who I consider
Speaker 2: to be absolute legends and the world does as well,
Speaker 2: I know that you are right, and so I will
Speaker 2: be thinking of you today in my rehearsal. I'm going
Speaker 2: to try and peel back all those layers of the
Speaker 2: onion and be my emotional raw self. I do have
Speaker 2: a perfect song for it, a perfect story we're telling
Speaker 2: through it, So this is the week to do it.
Speaker 2: If I'm ever going to do it, this is.
Speaker 3: The week may ask what is the song in the story?
Speaker 2: We are doing dream On by Aerosmith because it's Rock
Speaker 2: and Roll Hall of Fame Week and dream On is
Speaker 2: one of my all time favorite songs. It's also one
Speaker 2: of Pasha's all time favorite songs. And the story that
Speaker 2: I'm talking about, which is ultimately why I think this
Speaker 2: week has been difficult for me, is we are telling
Speaker 2: the story about how difficult it can be to be
Speaker 2: a woman in society, where we are somehow always too
Speaker 2: much and also never enough, no matter what choice you may,
Speaker 2: whether it's working outside the home or working inside the home,
Speaker 2: if you choose to work outside, you're selfish and your
Speaker 2: children need you and where's their mother? And if you
Speaker 2: work inside the home, then you are boring and you
Speaker 2: don't have interests. And if you get botox and fillers,
Speaker 2: then you're not aging gracefully. And if you age gracefully,
Speaker 2: then you look old and ugly. And if you are
Speaker 2: too thin, you're told to eat a burger, and if
Speaker 2: you gain weight, you're told to get off the couch,
Speaker 2: and there's just really it feels like there's no winning.
Speaker 2: And having been in the public eye and on TV
Speaker 2: since I was ten years old, I have been, you know,
Speaker 2: under a microscope, and my choices have been scrutinized, and
Speaker 2: I've made terrible mistakes, and you know, there's a lot,
Speaker 2: there's a lot there. And the story is kind of
Speaker 2: about how you can quiet the outside noise and dream
Speaker 2: your own dreams and live life to the fullest, use
Speaker 2: that negativity maybe to rise above, because you never know
Speaker 2: when you're going to dance your last dance or have
Speaker 2: your last day.
Speaker 1: And so that's the story.
Speaker 2: And it has been a difficult week for me because
Speaker 2: I have been really resistant to the dance I've been
Speaker 2: and have been blaming it on things like I'm not
Speaker 2: good at it, or I don't like this move, or
Speaker 2: like I've just been really resistant. And then it hit
Speaker 2: me yesterday after having a really bad rehearsal, and of
Speaker 2: course it's no fault of Pasha's.
Speaker 1: Pasha is the same he is every day. I was
Speaker 1: just in a really down.
Speaker 2: Place and it just hit me last night that like,
Speaker 2: I'm resistant to it because it's it's triggering so many
Speaker 2: things in me. It's triggering a lot of negative self talk,
Speaker 2: it's triggering disordered eating. It's like triggering all of these
Speaker 2: things that are so personal, and instead of me leaning
Speaker 2: into it and embracing that in the dance, it's making
Speaker 2: me not want to do it. So it's been a
Speaker 2: rough week, but I think like the fact that I
Speaker 2: realized it made me wake up today and think one
Speaker 2: so happy to be talking to you and for you
Speaker 2: to have given me the advice you gave, because it
Speaker 2: really lands and resonates. And also just you know, it's
Speaker 2: very clear that this is striking an emotional chord for
Speaker 2: me and there's a reason for that, and this dance
Speaker 2: is actually special and means something.
Speaker 3: So thank you for sharing, Danielle, And this is a beautiful,
Speaker 3: heartfelt moment for you and just having this conversation. This
Speaker 3: is why I loved or loved doing Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 3: This is where friendships are born in these moments. And
Speaker 3: you have been on TV since the age of ten.
Speaker 3: You have kids, right, so your mom, your a wife
Speaker 3: who can say in there whatever age you are, yeah,
Speaker 3: have your success and so let these triggers be the
Speaker 3: reasons why you are peel that onion and in a
Speaker 3: metaphorical way, on Monday, jump off that cliff, Yeah, and
Speaker 3: fly sore, live it take And when I said take
Speaker 3: the health, throw it now, when you said.
Speaker 1: You have that song, yeah exactly.
Speaker 3: There are moments where you just I mean dream on
Speaker 3: dream and you have dreamed, but you also have made
Speaker 3: a reality. So it's kind of nostalgic that all these
Speaker 3: triggers from the past. Yeah, Tuesday is going to be
Speaker 3: your your biggest therapy session exactly.
Speaker 1: That is what it's like.
Speaker 3: You for you, and the world happens to have a seat, yeah,
Speaker 3: to watch you experience that. And this is to me
Speaker 3: why Dance It with the Stars is still on the
Speaker 3: air after twenty years because of your frankness, uronness of
Speaker 3: just sharing this for I don't know how many people
Speaker 3: click in, but it's millions. Yeah, and you have no
Speaker 3: problem showing you the raw, Danielle. So on Tuesday, you
Speaker 3: know what to do.
Speaker 2: Yes, thank you, thank you, I am This conversation has
Speaker 2: meant so much to me and you are just a
Speaker 2: true legend, and I thank you so much for spending
Speaker 2: your time. I can't wait to see you next week.
Speaker 2: And I'm gonna I'm gonna take your advice on Tuesday,
Speaker 2: and I will truly, I'll be thinking of you on
Speaker 2: Tuesday when when it goes the way I hope it goes,
Speaker 2: I will have in the back of my mind, thank you, Louis.
Speaker 3: And you have each other, you have Pasha, but ultimately
Speaker 3: trust you. Yeah, and you You're gonna do fantastic raw.
Speaker 3: The raw Danielle is coming out on Tuesday. Thank you
Speaker 3: for having me. I really enjoy doing this and you've
Speaker 3: done amazing this season. And I can wait to watch
Speaker 3: Tuesday night.
Speaker 2: Yes, and we have to make a point to actually
Speaker 2: meet next week.
Speaker 1: I need to.
Speaker 3: I will not.
Speaker 2: I will not rest until I have been able to
Speaker 2: give you a hug.
Speaker 3: I promise I will come find you. Okay, Thanks, Thank you, Danielle,
Speaker 3: and then joy rehearsal later.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I will Bye.
Speaker 2: Danielle with the Stars Produced and hosted by Danielle Fischl.
Speaker 2: Executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman. Executive in charge
Speaker 2: of production, Danielle Romo, producer, editor and engineer Tara Sudbosch.
Speaker 2: Theme song by Justin Siegel. Follow us on Instagram at
Speaker 2: Danielle with Stars and vote for me