Speaker 1: Welcome back to Stepping on Toes. I am professional dancer
Speaker 1: Danielle Fischel and.
Speaker 2: I'm a celebrity podcaster val Chmerkovsky.
Speaker 1: It is week two of Dancing with the Stars. The
Speaker 1: next pro ten contestants remain. Last week we said goodbye
Speaker 1: to Briar and Jake, and we saw some stiff competition.
Speaker 1: It feels like everyone is so good and it's gonna
Speaker 1: come down to every single performance, and it gets us
Speaker 1: very excited for season thirty five. Well, I know a
Speaker 1: lot of our listeners want to know how much you
Speaker 1: are aware of before the show starts. Do you know
Speaker 1: any celebrities that will be on the show? Do you
Speaker 1: know who your partner is already? Will you do the
Speaker 1: knee walk again?
Speaker 2: I think I retired the New York I mean, forget
Speaker 2: the season. I did it ninety seven times on the
Speaker 2: road tour. But no, that was such a fun time.
Speaker 2: Hopefully I'll be able to create something else that goes
Speaker 2: viral exactly like like a.
Speaker 1: I don't know, something that's not as hard on the knees.
Speaker 2: Made something a little more stationary. But yeah, no, there's
Speaker 2: always whispers. I think, like you know you've been in
Speaker 2: this industry. In any business, there's whispers, you know, before
Speaker 2: any big project, but I try to respectfully keep my
Speaker 2: distance from the gossip. I have a great relationship with
Speaker 2: the show. I continue to hopefully be desirable by the
Speaker 2: production and they continue to bring me back, and I
Speaker 2: don't really get involved in all the gossip beforehand. You
Speaker 2: know who they give me is who they give me. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And I can't complain. I've been very lucky with the
Speaker 2: way Dancing with the Stars a streeting me in regards
Speaker 2: to partners. So I trust the process and whoever I get,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna do my best with. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's so funny. I asked you the question, like,
Speaker 1: do you know who your partner is? And you reminded
Speaker 1: me in the most diplomatic way. I'm not even sure
Speaker 1: they're asking me back. You guys. You guys find that
Speaker 1: out kind of in the eleventh hour, whether or not
Speaker 1: you have a partner, because who they cast and who
Speaker 1: then kind of determines who the pros need to be,
Speaker 1: how many men, how many women, how tall they need
Speaker 1: to be. Totally, so yeah, everyone always asked, are you
Speaker 1: sure you didn't know who your partner was? I'm like
Speaker 1: it is one. Not even one second point five seconds
Speaker 1: before I walked in, they were like, his name's Pasha.
Speaker 1: And then the door opened and I was like, it's
Speaker 1: all real.
Speaker 2: It is it is, it is real. And yes, there's
Speaker 2: a lot of uncertainty, a lot of hope, a lot
Speaker 2: of prayer. Yeah, but yeah, it's been the process for
Speaker 2: all these years, and I think now we've built a
Speaker 2: certain resilience to it. But it's again, it's it's hard
Speaker 2: for everybody. It's a live show. Yeah, there's really very
Speaker 2: little pre production happening outside of the casting. I think
Speaker 2: it's a really difficult puzzle to piece together. I think
Speaker 2: our casting director does a great job. And yes, the
Speaker 2: compatibility of the celebs being casted with the pros that
Speaker 2: are there to service that season for them is very
Speaker 2: also nuanced. The good thing about this is that I
Speaker 2: am a perfect height.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're also just a perfect person.
Speaker 2: I feel like, yeah, the thing got the look, so
Speaker 2: so yeah, so I'm excited regardless.
Speaker 1: Yes, I figured people should know. They taped this next
Speaker 1: pro show in Australia while you were on tour, which
Speaker 1: means the guest judges had to fly in for just
Speaker 1: a few days and then they were turned back to
Speaker 1: the road whatever city we were in. How insane was
Speaker 1: this schedule while you guys were on tour?
Speaker 2: It was? It was insane, It was it was exciting. Obviously,
Speaker 2: I've given myself you know, I had five years off
Speaker 2: away from touring with Dancing with the Stars, so I
Speaker 2: kind of last year gave myself the license to really
Speaker 2: dive into dance. And you know, kind of because I
Speaker 2: try to do a lot of things entrepreneurially whatever outside
Speaker 2: of dance. But I kind of just was like, yo,
Speaker 2: just do this, enjoyed for however long you still got.
Speaker 2: And so I just celebrated dance last year. So I
Speaker 2: did the season. I went straight into the tour. And
Speaker 2: so for me, showing up on our days off for
Speaker 2: three months, not having a day off was challenging on
Speaker 2: the body. But like, I couldn't have been more happy. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, like I want to. In the previous episode,
Speaker 2: I gave you a Russian phrase.
Speaker 1: About you know, breath before the this No matter how
Speaker 1: many breaths you take, your still going to die.
Speaker 2: That's a great translation. Well, I'm taking all the dance
Speaker 2: steps I can before I don't anymore. So the form
Speaker 2: a professional podcaster full.
Speaker 1: Time, full time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I embraced it. But yes, it was a
Speaker 2: lot of challenge. It was very challenging for Mandy Moore
Speaker 2: and the production of Dancing with the Stars because there's
Speaker 2: a tour, because there's a certain integrity that we want
Speaker 2: to keep with the show and to all of our
Speaker 2: fans that come out and watch us. So it was
Speaker 2: it was a bit of a juggling act, but we
Speaker 2: we did it. It was hard on the pros leaving.
Speaker 2: It was a lot a lot of work for the
Speaker 2: pro staying, but we we handled it. It kept it fun.
Speaker 1: Can you talk a little bit about the swings Anya
Speaker 1: and Keaton?
Speaker 2: Oh yes, again superstars. Anya and Keaton had to learn
Speaker 2: every single track of every single dancer and so they
Speaker 2: were kind of the glue between. They filled in for
Speaker 2: any like So for instance, someone like Keaton and Anya Ball,
Speaker 2: I'll give you Keaton's side, he had to be Brandon. Actually, okay,
Speaker 2: let's actually give you Anye because that's better. She had
Speaker 2: to fill in for three female pros left to do. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: and so she had to fill in for Danny, for
Speaker 2: Jenna Fort, for brit then, but also in different ways.
Speaker 2: Sometimes she had to fill in for Emma because Emma
Speaker 2: had to step in for Jenna, and so she had
Speaker 2: to learn Emma's part. It's like it was a lot
Speaker 2: and so shout out to Anye, Stevenson and Keaton because yeah,
Speaker 2: they were they were excellent.
Speaker 1: It's incredible.
Speaker 2: I could I could barely remember my own track.
Speaker 1: I mean, you and I laughed every single night about
Speaker 1: whether or not we were going to get tambourines, right, yeah, yes,
Speaker 1: that's just one small part.
Speaker 2: You just had to be there. You just had to
Speaker 2: be there.
Speaker 1: Coming into episode two of the next pro how are
Speaker 1: you feeling? This is someone who's going to be competing
Speaker 1: against one of these dancers next season? Are you are
Speaker 1: you feeling it? Do you think it will deliver the
Speaker 1: next Dancing with the Stars stand out?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think so. I think there's definitely an abundance
Speaker 2: of talent in this cast, and it's exciting to see
Speaker 2: a lot of faces I'm familiar with, a lot of
Speaker 2: you know, a few faces that I've I'm being introduced to,
Speaker 2: just like the rest of the world. And it's exciting. Again,
Speaker 2: it's exciting to shed even more light on ballroom dance
Speaker 2: and to do so on the community and therefore expose
Speaker 2: and introduce, you know, these guys to to the rest
Speaker 2: of the world. Yeah, I'm proud of that. Again, I
Speaker 2: think we have a lot of incredible talent in the
Speaker 2: ballroom competitive ballroom community, and you know, Dancing with the
Speaker 2: Stars has been a vehicle to broadcast that talent to
Speaker 2: a wider audience and very few have enjoyed it, and
Speaker 2: it's been life changing. And so it's nice to not
Speaker 2: gatekeep this awesomeness and allow a new generation to come
Speaker 2: in and enjoy it. But they'll have to go through me.
Speaker 1: That's right. Welcome them in and also kind of stop,
Speaker 1: enjoy your stay, see you later. So we start with
Speaker 1: a little recap of last week's show, reminding us of
Speaker 1: what has happened so far, and then here comes our host,
Speaker 1: the greatest Australian exports since Tim TAM's. It's Robert Irwin.
Speaker 1: He reintroduces the judges, Shirley and Mark Ballas, and then
Speaker 1: he reveals this week's guest judge, a ten season vet
Speaker 1: of the show, a tremendous choreographer and storyteller, and a
Speaker 1: student of the Ballast family himself, it is Brandon Armstrong.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 1: What do you think makes Brandon such a great asset
Speaker 1: for Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 2: I wrote in my notes, Yep, Brandon smashed.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah he did.
Speaker 2: Brendan did a great job. By the way, you know,
Speaker 2: Jen always corrects me. It's it's Brandon.
Speaker 1: It's not Brendan, right, not Brendan Brandon Brandon.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Brandon and Brandon are the same name for me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know you have to say it. You have to. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Brendan Brandon, Brendan Brandon, Brandon. There you go, right, Okay.
Speaker 2: I think Brandon did a great job. I'm proud of
Speaker 2: him because it's interesting you said a ten year vet,
Speaker 2: and I'm like, damn, Brandon's been on the show for
Speaker 2: ten years. I know that means I've been on the
Speaker 2: show for much. But I'm proud of him too, because again,
Speaker 2: I looked at Brandon for a long time as one
Speaker 2: of these contestants, you know, whose dream came. I know
Speaker 2: him since he was a kid as well. And to
Speaker 2: now have him as my peer and somebody I like,
Speaker 2: I said, I get along very well with and I'm
Speaker 2: an incredible amount of respect for him, and he's grown
Speaker 2: so much, so I'm proud of him. And now to
Speaker 2: see him come in and be a mentor was really
Speaker 2: really special and he nailed it. Just to see again
Speaker 2: his evolution on camera as far as speaking on camera
Speaker 2: and giving feedback and being confident. And he shed a
Speaker 2: tear in this episode, which was so sweet. I didn't
Speaker 2: even know Brandon was that emotionally available. We actually all
Speaker 2: we have a consensus that he's.
Speaker 1: Not oh, that he's kind of cold and now super coold.
Speaker 2: Well he's not friends with us.
Speaker 1: Oh, I know.
Speaker 2: Single day after the tour ends, he just ghoests the
Speaker 2: Let me tell.
Speaker 1: You, I have texted Brandon about many things. I've never
Speaker 1: gotten a text back.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just text his wife. But yeah, No, Brandon did
Speaker 2: a great job and he directed them very well.
Speaker 1: Well, just like Derek last week. Brandon arrives with an
Speaker 1: incredible performance for the contestants, telling a story to the
Speaker 1: song Rescue by Lauren Dagel. It is a beautiful duet
Speaker 1: all about how he was adopted at a young age
Speaker 1: by a white family and how he views adoption now
Speaker 1: that it changed his life. We see that some of
Speaker 1: the contestants were brought to tears.
Speaker 2: These kids, man, generation is so emotional.
Speaker 1: They are I know you had some thick skin.
Speaker 2: No, I mean again, he did a great job. And
Speaker 2: that's so what's the theme of this episode storytelling?
Speaker 1: Yeah, choreography.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so he did a great job obviously telling a
Speaker 2: story and it's a very powerful one. I think a
Speaker 2: lot of a lot of people can relate to and
Speaker 2: they did clearly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, fittingly. This week's challenge, like we said, is all
Speaker 1: about storytelling. The contestants are paired into couples to use
Speaker 1: dance to tell a story from their life that is meaningful.
Speaker 1: They are going to be looking for a strong narrative
Speaker 1: that warrants an emotional response. And then we get our pairs.
Speaker 1: Eric will be with Natalie, Benji will be with Nina.
Speaker 1: We have Tristan and Stephanie together and they seem like
Speaker 1: they have a very strong connection. Aj and Selena, and
Speaker 1: finally Alan and Adele. Alan uses the rules Royce nickname.
Speaker 1: So it appears that sticking. We've now had it for
Speaker 1: two episodes.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna I'm gonna throw something out there. We could
Speaker 2: find the sod. But I did a podcast and I
Speaker 2: was asked about.
Speaker 1: You did another pot cast.
Speaker 3: This was years ago, okay, thank you, okay, And I
Speaker 3: was asked about Daniella, and I was like, well, you know, Daniella.
Speaker 2: She's a Formula one car, Like that's she's on. Her
Speaker 2: mechanics are on a different level.
Speaker 1: You think Derek hurt, Well.
Speaker 2: I know he because I used that same metaphor in
Speaker 2: conversation with him.
Speaker 1: So I'll just I'll just you're just leaving that little
Speaker 1: nugget out. She doesn't mean anything.
Speaker 2: Nothing, just just but now that I have the mic,
Speaker 2: I'll just just think you you could look at the timeline,
Speaker 2: just to just go.
Speaker 1: Back, select the gallery, look at the details, look at
Speaker 1: the details. I love it.
Speaker 2: Royce.
Speaker 1: Okay, she is, She's the rolls Royce off the show.
Speaker 1: So now with each pair, they will need to choose
Speaker 1: whose story they want to tell, what song they will
Speaker 1: dance to, and in which style they will choreograph it themselves.
Speaker 1: And so the contestants break off off. Stephanie and Tristan
Speaker 1: are the first to make the very important decision. They
Speaker 1: will tell Stephanie's story about honoring her Latina roots and
Speaker 1: embracing her true self. Yeah, and so it seemed to
Speaker 1: me like the couples had a very easy time deciding
Speaker 1: whose story they were going to tell. Is that usually
Speaker 1: the way it goes that you are with your partner
Speaker 1: and you have a decision to make, and it just
Speaker 1: you kind of sense whose should take priority.
Speaker 2: I mean yes and no. First, so I've never been
Speaker 2: in a position where I'm negotiating whose story.
Speaker 1: You've never been the celebrity.
Speaker 2: A priority until now. But but yeah, no, So typically
Speaker 2: we have a story, which story we want to tell.
Speaker 2: We kind of have a conversation, and whatever feels more
Speaker 2: authentic to my partner, you know, we go with that story.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I can help direct. I know, some pros will
Speaker 2: be like no, no, no, yeah, they want to cry,
Speaker 2: so don't tell that story. Let's tell the story. I
Speaker 2: try to go with, like, whatever story is going to
Speaker 2: resonate with you the most, that's the one I want
Speaker 2: to you know, I'm here at your service. So but
Speaker 2: certain things are are just more interesting than others and
Speaker 2: a little bit more translatable. I guess more you could,
Speaker 2: you could, you could tell that story in a mind
Speaker 2: because again it's you don't have a two hour feature
Speaker 2: film to tell your story. I know, yeah, you have
Speaker 2: a minute ten you know, and in dance and not
Speaker 2: that much bells and whistles production wise, so it has
Speaker 2: to be a very clear message that you're trying to tell.
Speaker 1: It is a very important week for former hip hop
Speaker 1: dancer Tristan, considering he was in the bottom two in
Speaker 1: the first episode. And then Benji comes in wanting to
Speaker 1: create an homage to Miami and his Latin roots, while
Speaker 1: Nina mentions perseverance she took ten years off of competitive
Speaker 1: dancing thanks to a jealous ex boyfriend and returned at
Speaker 1: the same time as the sudden death of her father.
Speaker 1: And they pretty easily decide they're going to dance to
Speaker 1: Nina's idea, which you know, I guess he felt like, well,
Speaker 1: mine's the celebration of Miami and hers has some maybe
Speaker 1: some heart strings. Do you think that was the right
Speaker 1: choice to go with Nina's story?
Speaker 2: Yes, But here's the thing again, It's like that, you know,
Speaker 2: when people reflect on their success and they look like
Speaker 2: and they say, man and obviously a lot of hard work,
Speaker 2: a lot of this, but also a little bit of luck.
Speaker 2: These are the moments, right. So it was just really
Speaker 2: unfortunate because this story was told through rumba and that
Speaker 2: is not where he was going to shine the most,
Speaker 2: you know, So if they did go with his story
Speaker 2: for Instance'm just giving you an example of where he actually,
Speaker 2: in going and doing the right thing, put himself in
Speaker 2: a much more challenging situation. Yeah, because if they did
Speaker 2: something that celebrated his heritage and Miami and Q and
Speaker 2: Latin and to probably do maybe like a salsa or
Speaker 2: ensemble or something more lively and yes, no, on the surface,
Speaker 2: that is not the most impactful story, but as a performance,
Speaker 2: that would have been a much brighter moment for him,
Speaker 2: and also allowing him to do all of the bells
Speaker 2: and whistles that he brings to the table. His strengths
Speaker 2: are the versatility of the showmansh and the tricks that
Speaker 2: he could throw. The backflips, you know, again, that is
Speaker 2: really valuable range and that is really hard to do
Speaker 2: and he's one of maybe two people on the show
Speaker 2: that can do that. It is really important when you're
Speaker 2: competing that you are constantly thinking of strategies that put
Speaker 2: your best foot forward. Now you're you know, not your
Speaker 2: worst foot forward, but.
Speaker 1: You want to find opportunities to shine totally.
Speaker 2: And so he did the right thing and going with
Speaker 2: Nina's story and kind of respecting that the depth of
Speaker 2: that connection, he put himself in a much more challenging position.
Speaker 2: Why does that put him in because I can quickly
Speaker 2: see that partnering, especially in the rumba, is in his
Speaker 2: strongest suit and it's really challenged. The rumba is just hard.
Speaker 1: Yes, it's a hard dance.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a very hard dance. So that's what I
Speaker 2: mean by that now, not that he can't do the
Speaker 2: rumba or you know, there's no other style.
Speaker 1: But so back at the house, Adele is talking to Alan.
Speaker 1: She wants a dedication to her husband, who is also
Speaker 1: her dance partner. Alan wants to perform for his mom.
Speaker 1: They used to watch Dancing with the Stars together and
Speaker 1: her dream was for him to join the show one day. Sadly,
Speaker 1: she passed away when he was just fifteen, and dance
Speaker 1: became his life as a result. Adele decides to forego
Speaker 1: her idea and dance for Alan's mom. And I thought
Speaker 1: this was a very emotional moment for the show. It's
Speaker 1: the first time we've heard about Alan's mom passing. It's
Speaker 1: still very raw for him, even if twenty plus years
Speaker 1: have passed. I thought it was very vulnerable of him
Speaker 1: to open up that way and to know how important
Speaker 1: it was for him to tell this story.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, this was definitely the highlight of the
Speaker 2: season for me. And it was just really honest, the authentic,
Speaker 2: you know, it didn't feel forced. The reaction in the
Speaker 2: room was really genuine. And like I said, I know, Alan,
Speaker 2: I was there around him at the time that this happened,
Speaker 2: and so I you know, I just appreciate that he's
Speaker 2: having this moment to heal. Yeah, and I yeah, it
Speaker 2: was definitely a very powerful moment. Definitely the moment of
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 1: It's now day one of rehearsals. Eric and Natalie have
Speaker 1: decided to tell Natalie's story about finding her voice through
Speaker 1: dance after moving to America from Hong Kong. Eric is excited.
Speaker 1: He wants to show the judges he can tell someone
Speaker 1: else's story and place them in the spotlight, since that
Speaker 1: is a vital element to dancing with the start. Are
Speaker 1: you are you shaking your head because my hair is
Speaker 1: attached to the.
Speaker 2: Oh no, no, I'm just saying, Eric, that's a winner right there.
Speaker 2: You know, for me, that's that's a huge quality. You know,
Speaker 2: we talked about, you know, you know, my celebrity being
Speaker 2: having my undivided attention for three months and focus and
Speaker 2: energy and just having the right perspective, Like his energy
Speaker 2: is all about his partner. Yeah, and as a male
Speaker 2: pro on the show, I think that's a quality that
Speaker 2: is very important, and it's very and really comes through
Speaker 2: when it's there, and I think it comes through in
Speaker 2: a very endearing and charming way. So he's he's got
Speaker 2: the look, he's got the you know, the skill, and
Speaker 2: now you know he's got the charm, he's got the heart.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Aj and Selena decide to tell his story about
Speaker 1: winning the British Open Dance Championship in twenty fifteen, and
Speaker 1: it seems like Aj runs a tight ship, giving Selena
Speaker 1: a lot of notes for technique correction in the jive.
Speaker 1: What did you think about that?
Speaker 2: I'm getting too comfortable on this podcast episode too. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean I think again, it makes good TV at
Speaker 2: his expense. I guess that's how I want to say it,
Speaker 2: because I don't think it's I like his. I mean
Speaker 2: there's a part to it that I like. I wish
Speaker 2: he just kind of wrapped that arrogance into like a
Speaker 2: little softer present, you know, Like, I get it, you
Speaker 2: did your thing, you won some awards, but so did Natalie. Right,
Speaker 2: we got we all got pedigree. Everybody wants something. Now again,
Speaker 2: I appreciate that he's a well accomplished competitive dancer and
Speaker 2: he does have experience as already this job, he had
Speaker 2: this job.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I.
Speaker 2: Understand if he's coming in with this feeling of like,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna say entitlement, I don't want to use
Speaker 2: that word, but yeah, if he comes in with not
Speaker 2: a chip on his shoulder, but kind of like, you know,
Speaker 2: what am I even doing here? Why do I have
Speaker 2: to go through this process if I already I know
Speaker 2: I'm good enough and I already did this. I can
Speaker 2: appreciate that, but dude, that's what then don't sign up
Speaker 2: for the show, you know. But if you are going
Speaker 2: to show up, you gotta have humility in the sense
Speaker 2: that you got to prove yourself right now. There's a
Speaker 2: reason why you're here and no longer have a job
Speaker 2: there because and so to be here, be present, don't
Speaker 2: live in the past of I know this is reflecting
Speaker 2: on a big story for you, and I'm cool with
Speaker 2: doing a story about your winnings. I didn't even hear
Speaker 2: a word that Selena had to say. I'm not really
Speaker 2: sure why because I'm sure she also lived a life
Speaker 2: and has stories to tell. But I understand that. Okay,
Speaker 2: take the lead on that. That's a special moment. You
Speaker 2: want the Wimbledon of dance, but it's the rehearsal footage
Speaker 2: that kind of you know, when he's using his foot
Speaker 2: to push her hit back. Yea, like I and even that,
Speaker 2: you know, I'm not gonna I'm gonna have I'm gonna
Speaker 2: have some grace on that because that is something that
Speaker 2: would be done in some rooms, you know, and not
Speaker 2: have like any negative energy to you know. It's just
Speaker 2: like the utility of we're here and I can use
Speaker 2: you know, and I get that, but all in all
Speaker 2: together and then that visual, you know, you're not gonna
Speaker 2: win people over right unless they're into that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean even just strategically for the show.
Speaker 2: Strategically for the show, that is a huge turnoff. And
Speaker 2: you know, everything I just said about Eric, you know,
Speaker 2: I would say the opposite about about that moment.
Speaker 1: Okay. Meanwhile, Benji and Nina work on their perseverance piece,
Speaker 1: but not all is copasetic. It seems Benji is getting
Speaker 1: frustrated that Nina is not listening to him. It seems
Speaker 1: as though we have some trouble in paradise.
Speaker 2: It's so interesting because we just talked about one pairing
Speaker 2: where it was like like the pendulum just took continues
Speaker 2: this and then it's swung here, and now you have
Speaker 2: kind of like two people that aren't sure what to do,
Speaker 2: you know, And like I said, I think Benji quickly
Speaker 2: realized that in doing right by his partner, he placed
Speaker 2: himself in a very vulnerable situation as far as this competition. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and I think that started the frustration of that started
Speaker 2: coming out. Plus again the challenge of it all, you know,
Speaker 2: I could see that again, these are these are high stakes,
Speaker 2: and so these are young people. It takes real self
Speaker 2: discipline to maintain your not just composure, but your humility
Speaker 2: while you're fighting for the biggest break of your of
Speaker 2: your life.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and these are things that like doing Dancing with
Speaker 1: the Stars and seeing the way the packages all turn out,
Speaker 1: you can't predict these things. You can't predict that you're
Speaker 1: going to end up having three couples that tell three
Speaker 1: totally different stories, one couple that just seems to have
Speaker 1: such an incredible connection, and everything falls into place so easy,
Speaker 1: another couple that's like, okay, he's pushing her hip with
Speaker 1: his foot, and then a couple in between is like,
Speaker 1: are you listening to me? I'm not sure what to do.
Speaker 1: Like it's so well done that you get to see
Speaker 1: all the different scenarios that could happen in partnerships where
Speaker 1: you have to work together totally. And even if all
Speaker 1: the decisions happened easily, we'll tell your story. We'll tell
Speaker 1: your story. It actually didn't all come together easily.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I think again, it's like you're only as
Speaker 2: good as your partner. Yeah, and so if you keep
Speaker 2: that in the forefront of your kind of like like
Speaker 2: just the way you approach it, that that's my approach.
Speaker 2: Doesn't mean that I don't have an ego, doesn't mean
Speaker 2: that I you know, well we all know I do.
Speaker 2: But it doesn't mean that I'm like, yes, man, but
Speaker 2: I lead with that. I lead in shadow position, you know,
Speaker 2: I I don't. I try not to lead with with
Speaker 2: with just brute force, like it's not my way or
Speaker 2: the highway, it's our way. Especially on this show, no
Speaker 2: one's a celebrity and no one's a professional. And that's
Speaker 2: why when I was watching the the aj Selena package.
Speaker 2: To me, it felt like you're already on Dancing on
Speaker 2: the Stars and you're not right. So again, enough with that.
Speaker 2: I get he doesn't deserve all of that. It's definitely redeemable.
Speaker 2: I like that. You but that that was a that
Speaker 2: was a very you know, that wasn't a moment I enjoyed.
Speaker 1: Okay, Alan and Adele are analyzing their routine looking to
Speaker 1: incorporate a lift into their dance, which makes Adele very nervous.
Speaker 1: She did not seem like she was super excited by
Speaker 1: this lift idea.
Speaker 2: Again because this rolls Royce doesn't fly.
Speaker 1: No, it doesn't have wings.
Speaker 2: It doesn't have wings, not yet.
Speaker 1: How to grip the floor?
Speaker 2: And again that isn't that it's such a I think
Speaker 2: that's what makes this so exciting, And I think that's
Speaker 2: why ballroom translated in this format, because it is so
Speaker 2: opposite of the not the showmanship, but the trickery, the
Speaker 2: circuit silay that people love to see. Like a fundamentally,
Speaker 2: ballroom is not that we talk about wow moments. The
Speaker 2: wow moment, at least for me, is always the intensity
Speaker 2: and the relationship between the two people. It isn't how
Speaker 2: far I could throw her up in the air and
Speaker 2: catch her, even though again that that exuberance is also important.
Speaker 2: But borm dance structurally also is a very grounded dance,
Speaker 2: and so I could see why she's I mean again,
Speaker 2: And when you excel in one, you know, in that
Speaker 2: craft so so much like as she does, you're going
Speaker 2: to find the challenging too. All of a sudden, be.
Speaker 1: Lifted, jump into my hands. I promise I won't drop you.
Speaker 1: It's like, okay, it's the.
Speaker 2: Most romantic thing over here.
Speaker 1: Surrender, Surrender to my arms. That night, back at the house,
Speaker 1: Nina confides in the group that she and Benji are
Speaker 1: having a struggle coexisting, but Benji thinks sometimes she's just
Speaker 1: not willing to listen, and privately he isn't so sure
Speaker 1: about the linear nature of her story.
Speaker 2: He's just he's it's a kid from Miami sharing space
Speaker 2: with the chick from the tri state New York area.
Speaker 2: That's all it is, is just another conversation, I guess. No,
Speaker 2: I mean again, she's a strong personality. She's has the
Speaker 2: I guess, the track record to speak her truth, you know,
Speaker 2: I mean, she's also an accomplished competitor she's not a child.
Speaker 2: She runs her own business. I mean, this is a woman.
Speaker 2: Yeah and she Yeah, she's commanding the space. But again,
Speaker 2: just like with AJ, this is not just your competition,
Speaker 2: And just because we chose your story or to tell
Speaker 2: doesn't mean that you're the only person leading this this ship.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think you know, maybe it got in
Speaker 1: her mind while we're being judged individually, and so she
Speaker 1: didn't care as much about how he presented. But when
Speaker 1: you are in a partnership, if you're both dancing, you
Speaker 1: should very much care how the other person looks, because
Speaker 1: it's only gonna make you look better if they look
Speaker 1: totally totally, gonna make you look worse if they don't totally.
Speaker 2: Again the cliche phrase, you know that rumba is the
Speaker 2: dance of love, but it's it's also the woman's dance,
Speaker 2: you know, And it's even more so than any other style.
Speaker 2: This is a style that really presents the lady. And
Speaker 2: so again, huge opportunity because I think men look the
Speaker 2: strongest when they're presenting their ladies, not when they make
Speaker 2: it about themselves. I think that there's a real strength
Speaker 2: and masculinity to that. But again, like I said, earlier,
Speaker 2: I don't think the rumba really fit his strengths right, And.
Speaker 1: The next morning, with just one day left until the performance,
Speaker 1: Benji apologizes at rehearsal, he brought her food as a
Speaker 1: peace offering, and now everyone is working out the kings
Speaker 1: and their routines with some help from Brandon. He thinks
Speaker 1: AJ's routine has too many bells and whistles to tell
Speaker 1: a story. He also isn't so sure about Stephanie and
Speaker 1: Tristan and whether or not their moves are working with
Speaker 1: their goal. He doesn't think Eric and Natalie are gelling
Speaker 1: as people and is questioning if Nina's story is clear enough.
Speaker 1: And Brandon really comes across like a great coach.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he did a great job, he's Yeah, he was
Speaker 2: very in tune with what they were going through and
Speaker 2: offered some really great insight. I think. Yeah, No, he
Speaker 2: checked out. He was awesome and he you know, he
Speaker 2: called out the things that needed to be called out too.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, he didn't shy away from speaking the truth.
Speaker 2: No, and I agree with him. I mean, again, doing
Speaker 2: a jive to tell a story? You know, it's funny
Speaker 2: as we talk about who made what choices and in
Speaker 2: regards to who it's like. In that same breadth, the
Speaker 2: jive isn't necessarily the most feminine right to dance to
Speaker 2: dance either, right, so he definitely not wasn't supposed to
Speaker 2: be Selena's moment to shine, you know. And again that's
Speaker 2: a testament to when you got it, you got it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and I love her for that. She said, I'm here
Speaker 2: to work and you keep yep, it's cool, all right,
Speaker 2: and then she delivered Yeah.
Speaker 1: On the other side of the spectrum, Brandon is very
Speaker 1: impressed with Adam and Adele. Again. Everyone rehearses through the night,
Speaker 1: leading to back at the house Human Kangaroo Baby. Robert
Speaker 1: Irwin decides to meet with Alan to talk about his
Speaker 1: very important story, and Robert, of course knows all about
Speaker 1: what Alan is going through. Both of them lost their
Speaker 1: parents a young age, and of utilized dance to deal
Speaker 1: with grief. Alan thinks this is going to be the
Speaker 1: closest he's felt to his mom since her passing. It's
Speaker 1: very sweet to see Robert be able to.
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, totally. I mean, if anybody can relate, Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was a great moment in the show. I think again,
Speaker 2: I love that the show doesn't just highlight dance, but
Speaker 2: really highlights human stories and you know these moments and
Speaker 2: that these guys are all available to tell these stories
Speaker 2: and do so so openly. Yeah. But yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: Alan is he's that, he's sincere, he's gentle, and you
Speaker 2: know he's been through a lot, and he genuinely loves
Speaker 2: this thing. He loves dance a lot.
Speaker 1: Now it's time for the competition. Robert welcomes everyone back
Speaker 1: to the ballroom, reintroducing our judges. Now with Brandon in
Speaker 1: the third seat. The first couple is Natalie and Eric,
Speaker 1: who will perform a Viennese waltz. To hold my hand
Speaker 1: with the story of Natalie's journey from Hong Kong to
Speaker 1: America surely reminds us that she had concerns about both
Speaker 1: of their confidence last week. Do we think this was
Speaker 1: some attempt at a redemption dance for the two of them?
Speaker 1: Maybe they did a Viennese waltz, So not about the dance,
Speaker 1: but just about like she was worried about their confidence
Speaker 1: last week and then this week.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean again, you you gain confidence when you're
Speaker 2: more in your element. Yeah, I think this was in
Speaker 2: Natalie's element. She's an expert in this In this style,
Speaker 2: you could accomplish a lot of things when you're confident, right,
Speaker 2: and so I think there was already a built in
Speaker 2: confidence in the fact that, Okay, I need to redeem
Speaker 2: myself for sure, but I'm at least in a genre
Speaker 2: that that will allow me to do so. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: then Eric, again like perfect partner, did a great job
Speaker 2: packages I mean all of it. And the performance was excellent.
Speaker 2: I know, I thought it was excellent. I don't think
Speaker 2: that they had as much of like an emotional impact,
Speaker 2: but that wasn't the story she was saying. I mean, yes,
Speaker 2: it was emotional, but it you know, it wasn't sorry,
Speaker 2: it was more empowering. It was that it was like
Speaker 2: it was a really sound dance. I know, the like
Speaker 2: I said, I know that the the the assignment was storytelling,
Speaker 2: but it's still got to be a really good dance
Speaker 2: and gotta be technically sound. And this was like a
Speaker 2: plus for me.
Speaker 1: Well, the judges agreed with you. Surely thinks that Natalie
Speaker 1: found her confidence this week. She called it divine to
Speaker 1: watch and compared Eric to Prince Charming, calling him a
Speaker 1: perfect partner.
Speaker 2: I could have just called him Prince Eric.
Speaker 1: Prince Eric an opportunity missed opportunity for Prince Eric. You know,
Speaker 1: she loved it. Brandon liked it in practice, but loved
Speaker 1: it tonight and thinks they both did amazing. It was
Speaker 1: a great showing by all accounts.
Speaker 2: And now time that was a great clean It was
Speaker 2: like really digestible, you know, it was like it wasn't
Speaker 2: too much, it was just it was perfect.
Speaker 1: I know. Shirley said, this is going to be a
Speaker 1: hard act to follow. And and next up was Benji
Speaker 1: and Nina, so who a partnership that was having some
Speaker 1: difficulty follows what ended up being kind of a perfect performance.
Speaker 1: They danced to Harry's styles signed at the times in
Speaker 1: a rumba.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: Keep in mind, surely yelled off balance mid routine and
Speaker 1: I felt so bad for her for but it's true.
Speaker 1: What did you think of the performance?
Speaker 2: I love it of Shirley's performance.
Speaker 1: No, no, What did you think of Benji plus Shirley?
Speaker 2: Yeah? No, I thought it was very disconnected. I thought
Speaker 2: that she was like back leading. I don't know for
Speaker 2: those that are not familiar with it, again, it's action reaction,
Speaker 2: It's not it's not a matter of I lead you follow.
Speaker 2: It's never that. But it's just like driving a car
Speaker 2: if one person has to steer the wheel right and
Speaker 2: we could take turns. It's not just my car. We
Speaker 2: could both. We could both Daniel drive the.
Speaker 1: Rolls for sure, drive it the first hour. I could
Speaker 1: drive it the next hour.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. But we're not both hands on, not at
Speaker 2: the same time. So that's what I mean by that.
Speaker 2: And it felt like she was again just kind of
Speaker 2: taking the lead. And what happens then if it completely
Speaker 2: takes away any sort of responsibility from from like and
Speaker 2: when I say responsibility, I mean like you are my purpose,
Speaker 2: My whole purpose and especially this dance is to create
Speaker 2: and initiate your movement and help support your movement. But
Speaker 2: if you have completely taken me out of that equation
Speaker 2: and are just now doing a you know, a contemporary
Speaker 2: looking rumba without you know, I don't need no man,
Speaker 2: maybe that is that was but it left him completely
Speaker 2: homeless as far as like, okay, now what do I do?
Speaker 2: And yeah, it was I said it in the beginning,
Speaker 2: like it was a perfect storm of he did the
Speaker 2: right thing, but it didn't serve him. Yeah, and yeah,
Speaker 2: and you felt it again it was very disconnected.
Speaker 1: Well, Brandon keeps it one hundred and says he found
Speaker 1: it disjointed. Mark asks how rehearsal was, and they both
Speaker 1: agreed they had some communication issues. Benji does take some
Speaker 1: accountability and admits he was confused himself and he could
Speaker 1: have spoken up. Surely thinks the stance was a disservice
Speaker 1: to Benji and points out that Nina didn't service his
Speaker 1: work correctly. And then we have Stephanie in trist In
Speaker 1: performing a rumba to Dreaming of You by Selena. Robert
Speaker 1: thought these two were connected and very much in sync.
Speaker 1: What did you think of the two of them?
Speaker 2: I agreed with Shirley. I think the technique was a plus,
Speaker 2: but it was it was the attentiveness from Tristan to
Speaker 2: Stephanie and her again her embracing that. I mean, she
Speaker 2: reciprocated that. Again, back to talk about shadow position. I
Speaker 2: know this isn't going to be visual. People use your imagination,
Speaker 2: but there's a constant connection. And the most obvious are
Speaker 2: the eyes, obviously, but there's even just awareness and just
Speaker 2: an you don't have to stare at me to connect
Speaker 2: to me, but there's a warmth that I that I
Speaker 2: include you on right, and I thought that they had that.
Speaker 2: Plus on top of that, I don't think there's anything
Speaker 2: more powerful than you know, just kind of the focus
Speaker 2: and the fact that he didn't take his eyes off
Speaker 2: of her. That in itself, you know, because as much
Speaker 2: as we focus on technique and this and that and
Speaker 2: the perfect placing over the whatever whatever, Ultimately, when I'm
Speaker 2: watching someone perform, I'm looking in their face and their
Speaker 2: eyes yea, And it's when they lose me there that
Speaker 2: I start to pay attention if the toes are point
Speaker 2: or not. And so when I'm looking at his eyes
Speaker 2: and they're constantly attending to her, I'm not even paying
Speaker 2: attention to is his foot pointed? It's his technique perfect,
Speaker 2: and so that's you know, it's such a small difference,
Speaker 2: but that's what allowed Tristan, who also isn't a master
Speaker 2: of ballroom of lamba technique and partnering. Maybe he has
Speaker 2: more or less. I don't know what Benji's experience and
Speaker 2: that is, but because his partner was available for him
Speaker 2: to connect with and he was able to really help,
Speaker 2: you know, just again, it was her dance. Still, she
Speaker 2: was definitely showcased, but he shined because he helped her be showcased.
Speaker 2: And isn't that the beautiful paradox of it all? You know,
Speaker 2: It's like the more you give, the more you'll get yep,
Speaker 2: And the more you take, most likely you'll have a lot, but.
Speaker 1: No one will like it exactly to watch anymore.
Speaker 2: So I just love that. I love how that translated
Speaker 2: the fact that he was really there for her, and
Speaker 2: and she looked exquisite. I thought she nailed it.
Speaker 1: The judges completely agreed with you. They mentioned that they
Speaker 1: did want them to work more on their technique, but
Speaker 1: they thought they worked really well together. They told a
Speaker 1: nice story, and they found it so impressive that Tristan
Speaker 1: never took his eyes off of Stephanie. And now we
Speaker 1: have Aj and Selena performing a fast paced jive to
Speaker 1: run Away Baby by Bruno Mars.
Speaker 2: She wanted to That's what she wanted.
Speaker 1: We are reminded that last week the judges thought Aj
Speaker 1: played it too safe when he also performed a jive. Uh,
Speaker 1: and then Shirley was confused, why did Aj choose a
Speaker 1: jive again after being told he played it safe last week?
Speaker 1: And then he repeated some of the same moves with
Speaker 1: that though she thought Selena ate aj for lunch and
Speaker 1: that she is truly amazing. Brandon thought the story wasn't
Speaker 1: very relatable, and Mark thought it was technically great, but
Speaker 1: it was it was missing some giddy up oomph. And
Speaker 1: there's a very funny moment here too, where Shirley says
Speaker 1: Brandon and Mark were very kind with their critiques, and
Speaker 1: Mark laughs saying she hid enough of the harsh points
Speaker 1: by herself.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, I agree with them kind of collectively
Speaker 2: individually I phrase it differently, but yeah, there was zero story. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, that was zero story. But it was
Speaker 2: a really good dance.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I again, it's like, was the assignment here? And
Speaker 2: if the assignment was to tell a story, then there
Speaker 2: was no story at all, not even remotely. But again,
Speaker 2: how do you tell a story? But like like that, right,
Speaker 2: there's ways, there's creative ways you know, they could have
Speaker 2: I don't know, if props were available, maybe the trophy
Speaker 2: gets thrown in at the last second behind the camera.
Speaker 2: There's ways to again on a low budget or a
Speaker 2: no budget. Yeah again, when you do this show long enough,
Speaker 2: there's ways to enhance your story even though it's really
Speaker 2: hard to tell.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, a story definitely has a beginning, a middle, end,
Speaker 1: an end, and so there has to be a bit
Speaker 1: of a journey in a story and a.
Speaker 2: Giant Yeah, like she could have stuck a velcro number
Speaker 2: on his back, you know, like tell the story of
Speaker 2: being on a competition. I don't think they had any
Speaker 2: of those elements.
Speaker 1: No, it was just a celebratory give of I won.
Speaker 2: Yeah, which again I wish he could have included that,
Speaker 2: and that would have wrapped it up nicer. Yeah, which
Speaker 2: is after you win a competition. A lot of time,
Speaker 2: they don't do that in Blackpool, I don't think, But
Speaker 2: in a lot of competitions, we do what's called an
Speaker 2: honor dance, and so the winner, after receiving their award,
Speaker 2: they play a song of their choice and they come
Speaker 2: out and they do like a solo dance, just one
Speaker 2: last time. So he could have said, like, look, we
Speaker 2: don't have a real narrative throughout the piece, but the
Speaker 2: piece itself is what tells the story of winning Blackpool,
Speaker 2: you know. So you gotta be a little bit of
Speaker 2: a wordsmith in this game too. Yeah, you gotta make
Speaker 2: a story where it's where there isn't. But again I
Speaker 2: thought zero story, but the dance was excellent. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: now you know that leads to the next thing. It's
Speaker 2: like part of storytelling or being an effective performers. If
Speaker 2: you don't have a really clear narrative like you said, beginning, middle,
Speaker 2: and end, then you gotta lead with your own personality
Speaker 2: and emotions and like your story that you're creating in
Speaker 2: the moment with your partner. And so I thought. I thought,
Speaker 2: like I said, they did enough of that. I would
Speaker 2: still love to see him being more supportive Chris partner.
Speaker 2: But I thought that she still did really well because
Speaker 2: she don't need no man.
Speaker 1: That's right. She showcased herself.
Speaker 2: She killed it, killed it again, two styles completely different.
Speaker 2: A jive is less dependent on your partner than the rumba.
Speaker 2: But like I said, I think she killed it, and
Speaker 2: the dance itself was really great. I do have to
Speaker 2: disagree on the omph and the pace of the routine.
Speaker 2: I thought it had ophin pace. I thought I thought
Speaker 2: it was perfect. I know they mentioned something about slowing
Speaker 2: down in the beginning or I don't remember if it
Speaker 2: was in this dance or different dance, But I thought
Speaker 2: the dance itself was great.
Speaker 1: Okay, Yep. Our final dance is Alan and Adele who
Speaker 1: are going to Rumba to see You Again by Wiz Khalifa,
Speaker 1: a tribute to Alan's deceased mother. Now, there was so
Speaker 1: much emotion in this one. What did you think of
Speaker 1: these two favorites working together in this fireball of emotion.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, this is what you get when you
Speaker 2: this is what you get. This is what you get,
Speaker 2: shout out Sherman. But this is what you get when
Speaker 2: you get two quality dancers come together, like he is
Speaker 2: a craftsman of this of this art, and she's excellent
Speaker 2: of this art. And together they did the most I
Speaker 2: guess quintessential ballroom dance outside of the walls, which is
Speaker 2: the rumba, And just that's magic, you know. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's the essence of why the show has been on
Speaker 2: air for you know, thirty five seasons now going on
Speaker 2: to thirty five seasons is because of that, Because when
Speaker 2: you bring two exceptional ballroom dancers together, you're probably gonna
Speaker 2: get a really quality ballroom dance. Yeah, And that's what
Speaker 2: they did, and they were able to tell a story.
Speaker 2: And I think on top of that, he had a
Speaker 2: real genuine connection to the story that you know. I mean,
Speaker 2: it was like a perfect performance. I thought.
Speaker 1: Alan and Adele are very emotional. Sureley and Brandon tear up.
Speaker 1: Their fellow contestants and Robert are also in tears. Brandon
Speaker 1: calls the performance beautiful and says he will remember it
Speaker 1: until the day he dies. Mark is very impressed and
Speaker 1: looks forward to working with both of them. Shirley calls
Speaker 1: it by far the best performance of the night and
Speaker 1: one of the most beautiful things she's ever witnessed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she's witnessed a lot of things. I mean she's
Speaker 2: up there.
Speaker 1: She's up there. Yeah, she's witnessed a lot. She's the
Speaker 1: founding mother of all dance as.
Speaker 2: We said, Yeah, no, totally. I mean again, it's like
Speaker 2: there's a great dance and at the same time, it
Speaker 2: evoked the emotion that we're looking for and did so authentically. Again,
Speaker 2: it's also nuanced, which is so exciting. But also, you know,
Speaker 2: it's not like two plus two is four, right, these
Speaker 2: two could have bounced off of each other, but they
Speaker 2: really integrated together and they did well together, and she
Speaker 2: was But again, also it's not like just standing there
Speaker 2: with an emotional face, like you still got to dance
Speaker 2: really well? And I thought they danced really well.
Speaker 1: Yeah they did so, yes, story.
Speaker 2: Yes, emotions, but also on the backdrop of really really
Speaker 2: excellent and impressive movement. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, now it's the moment we all dread. It's the
Speaker 1: elimination time. Robert sets the stage and he asks Mark
Speaker 1: who is in jeopardy? And it is Nina and Benji,
Speaker 1: the couple who had a tough week with not only
Speaker 1: their dance but their communication and their ability to work together.
Speaker 1: Do you think that was the right move? Is that
Speaker 1: the couple that should have been on the chopping block
Speaker 1: this week?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, I thought. I thought they were the weakest
Speaker 2: performance of the evening unfortunately, but yeah, I thought that
Speaker 2: that was the right Definitely the bottom two were correct.
Speaker 1: I think if aside from performance, if in only the
Speaker 1: second week, you can't fix communication issues when someone just
Speaker 1: says I feel like you're not listening to me. The
Speaker 1: odds of you now being able to be paired with
Speaker 1: any celebrity and you're going to be able to have
Speaker 1: confidence walking into a scenario where you're going to be
Speaker 1: able to overcome almost anything they throw at you, and
Speaker 1: let's be honest, celebs are a weird bunch. We could
Speaker 1: throw a lot at our pros. I feel like they
Speaker 1: deserved to be in the bottom two just for that,
Speaker 1: because I didn't really see them ever truly dig in
Speaker 1: deep and work on fixing it. It was just kind
Speaker 1: of like, well, I'm sorry, you don't think I'm a
Speaker 1: good listener, and so now let's get back to my story.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah again, And somebody said it, I think Derek
Speaker 2: said in the first episode and therapist. Yes, So like yeah,
Speaker 2: you're you're a coach, you're a choreographer, but you or
Speaker 2: also a therapist. You have to be again, also, you
Speaker 2: got to be available as a human to be there
Speaker 2: for someone else. That's like a whole different quality that
Speaker 2: it isn't for everybody. Yeah, And and that's there's no judgment, no,
Speaker 2: but that's not that's not a successful pro on our show.
Speaker 2: I don't know one pro that's been successful on our
Speaker 2: show that has just had no ability to communicate.
Speaker 1: Over or listen exactly. That's why they need some work
Speaker 1: in that still. And that's so I thought they were
Speaker 1: this was the right move. When all is said and done,
Speaker 1: surely reveals that Benji has been eliminated on his way,
Speaker 1: he gives a few final classy words, thanking everyone for
Speaker 1: the opportunity, but on the.
Speaker 2: Way out, he slashed Nina's.
Speaker 1: Tired allegedly allegedly.
Speaker 2: Sorry illegal, No, I you know it's interesting. After the
Speaker 2: first episode, I was like, yo, I could see this
Speaker 2: kid as a pro just because of his look, even
Speaker 2: though he's I got the long hair now. But no,
Speaker 2: he just he just had it. He really had it.
Speaker 2: It's but this is the show, you know, somebody good
Speaker 2: is going to go and and and it's.
Speaker 1: A tough job exactly, And he now knows some areas
Speaker 1: for opportunity for growth for him. He needs to stand
Speaker 1: up for himself a little more, needs to be better
Speaker 1: at communicating.
Speaker 2: But again, he did the right thing. I don't want
Speaker 2: him to like live in regret or or feel like,
Speaker 2: you know, yeah he was he got the shorter end
Speaker 2: of the stick. He just again he ran into something
Speaker 2: that he next time moving forward, he'll be a little
Speaker 2: bit you know, he'll consider that aspect of the game,
Speaker 2: which is like, what are my strengths and how am
Speaker 2: I constantly positioning myself right now? That doesn't mean that
Speaker 2: you're only doing the thing you're good at. That's boring.
Speaker 2: You have to push yourself, but in this competition, you
Speaker 2: have to lead at least with that and then try
Speaker 2: to conquer all the other things. But yeah, I thought
Speaker 2: Benji is very talented and hopefully he continues to dance.
Speaker 2: I know he will.
Speaker 1: He will for sure. Robert choreographs a final hug between
Speaker 1: the contestants and he wishes us a good night. So
Speaker 1: now we've seen two episodes, do you feel like you're
Speaker 1: narrowing down your male favorite anymore? And is Adele still
Speaker 1: your favorite female?
Speaker 2: I mean, Adele really had a breakout that first, I
Speaker 2: know that well. First and second, I thought that she
Speaker 2: was excellent. I know it's Alan's story and it was
Speaker 2: an Alan moment, but but she you know, I think
Speaker 2: she supported that story very well and elevated that piece
Speaker 2: and helped him and all of that. It was a
Speaker 2: great partner, Like she just nailed it. So I thought
Speaker 2: that this was a great episode for her. Selena is
Speaker 2: like making an impact. She's just but I know, like
Speaker 2: I've seen Selena shine like this for years on the
Speaker 2: male side against Stephanie. Stephanie's excellent.
Speaker 1: Stephanie's not on the male side, No, no, no, no, no, Okay.
Speaker 2: People can't see my thinking face.
Speaker 1: I can see it.
Speaker 2: Thanks for reiterating the people. Yeah, and on the male side,
Speaker 2: I think again, Eric is a stand alan obviously. AJ. Look, AJ,
Speaker 2: I don't mean this disrespectfully. I think he's an excellent dancer. Yeah,
Speaker 2: definitely has earned his voice in this space. But nobody,
Speaker 2: no matter how many championships you win, earns, you know, ever,
Speaker 2: earns the ability to make someone else feel less then.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying that he necessarily had those intentions.
Speaker 2: I'm not. But even in the package, the rehearsal package,
Speaker 2: I don't know if you saw this, they didn't show
Speaker 2: her crying, but you see Selena when she's given her interview,
Speaker 2: she like she had been crying what it looked like.
Speaker 2: And so I'm like, bro, no, that's you know, you
Speaker 2: don't need that. And it's like I said, maybe it's
Speaker 2: a good TV, maybe it's not, but you don't need that.
Speaker 2: You could be firm, I mean, like you could be
Speaker 2: stern rather and and still uplifting. You have to have
Speaker 2: you have to have that.
Speaker 1: Tack, especially as a pro on Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 1: You were going to catch more flies with honey than
Speaker 1: you are Vinegar.
Speaker 2: Danielle, like Selena is just a sweetheart who's trying to
Speaker 2: earn her keep. But like, if he was with you,
Speaker 2: and you're also a sweetheart, but what were.
Speaker 1: You going to say there?
Speaker 2: You would be like, grab this choke and kick him back.
Speaker 1: Exactly what are you doing with that foot?
Speaker 2: I think again, I think there's a balance. I'm also
Speaker 2: I'm also not like an angel, and I understood the
Speaker 2: utility of their foot. I don't want to also continue
Speaker 2: to talk about the same thing. Aj I'm sure I
Speaker 2: don't know him as a person, so I'm sure he's wonderful,
Speaker 2: But just be careful with that.
Speaker 1: Like, and votes are very important on Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 1: They may not be important on the next pro because
Speaker 1: they're not voting.
Speaker 2: But totally and also, don't make your life harder than
Speaker 2: it already is. Like it's already a challenge, and when
Speaker 2: you're pron and dancing with it's already going to be hard.
Speaker 2: Like I just again, I've done the show for so long,
Speaker 2: I've seen pros. I've seen myself look awful on TV
Speaker 2: because I overstepped my ambitions, right, and so you got
Speaker 2: to learn from that. So hopefully he learns from that.
Speaker 2: I hope he, you know, had had feedback on that, Yeah,
Speaker 2: and moving forward kind of changes that up.
Speaker 1: That is a good point too, because I have certainly
Speaker 1: been unaware of how something I have said or the
Speaker 1: tone I've used comes across, Like in my head, I
Speaker 1: hear it a certain way, and then I'll like hear
Speaker 1: it played back for me on camera and I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: that didn't sound the way I intended. So hopefully he
Speaker 1: watches the episode and sees how it comes across and says, wow,
Speaker 1: I was not proud of myself in that moment, and
Speaker 1: I can learn from this, because that is We're all
Speaker 1: going to make mistakes. No one's ever going to have
Speaker 1: a perfect season where they go, look at me, I
Speaker 1: didn't ever screw up. We all make mistakes. There has
Speaker 1: to be room to make mistakes. But if you can
Speaker 1: learn from them and you can grow from them, then great.
Speaker 1: So hopefully totally we see some change from him moving forward.
Speaker 2: Totally, And like, again, I'm not perfect. I have at
Speaker 2: least two of those type of days throughout the season. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and some have more, some have less. I definitely overstep
Speaker 2: my authority and my ambition, and I want the best
Speaker 2: for you. And in the name of the best for you,
Speaker 2: I'm going to make you feel like like I have
Speaker 2: those days. Yeah, because also I come from that type
Speaker 2: of background. You know, not not to excuse myself from that,
Speaker 2: because I'm an adult and I can't blame my background anymore.
Speaker 2: You know, you've done your growth, you've done your work,
Speaker 2: and you know how to communicate better. But we grew
Speaker 2: up at a time when it was like, you know,
Speaker 2: it was physical to get you where you needed to be,
Speaker 2: let alone, verbally semi abusive, you know. So it's like
Speaker 2: he needs to change that. That isn't what you're signing
Speaker 2: up for, respectfully, and that doesn't mean that you can't
Speaker 2: get the work done. I had a partner, Sochi who
Speaker 2: was who I that coincidence? We want, we want? But
Speaker 2: she was I think she was seventeen at the time
Speaker 2: or eight. No, No, I think she was seventeen, you know, seventeen.
Speaker 1: I thought she was seventeen.
Speaker 2: Anyway, The point is young, young woman. But she had
Speaker 2: so much joy and flair and just she just loved it,
Speaker 2: and she was so talented. A lot of things came
Speaker 2: naturally for her, a lot of but she also showed
Speaker 2: up and worked really hard and so like. But when
Speaker 2: we ran into that, overstep a little bit because again,
Speaker 2: it's not because you're not doing well. I just feel
Speaker 2: like if it doesn't hurt, then you're not doing enough.
Speaker 2: You know. It's like, but bro, what right? And when
Speaker 2: I say heard, I mean figuratively speaking, like if it's
Speaker 2: not hard, then are we pushing enough?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: I'm like, yo, you gotta change that mindset, you know.
Speaker 2: And she actually put me on and I was checked
Speaker 2: by this younger person who like, we sat down after
Speaker 2: one of those hard rehearsals and she was like, I
Speaker 2: don't I don't like that, Like, I don't want to
Speaker 2: do this like that.
Speaker 1: I don't want to feel like that.
Speaker 2: I don't want to feel like that. If I'm not
Speaker 2: having fun, you're not going to get anything from me. Like,
Speaker 2: that's not that is not the energy in which I
Speaker 2: thrive And now different people different totally. I thrive in
Speaker 2: that energy right again, But that's my background, that's that's
Speaker 2: my upbringing. But that's not for everybody. And that's another
Speaker 2: part of this show that's so important. You have to adjust.
Speaker 2: It's not your way.
Speaker 1: You have to pivot.
Speaker 2: It is not a way, is not Bow's way. It's
Speaker 2: not Mark's way. It's the way of your partner and
Speaker 2: the the you know, the person that's in front of you,
Speaker 2: who you're trying to lead in in this thing, and
Speaker 2: who's taking this incredible leap of faith and trust and
Speaker 2: puts puts that trust in you, and it's so vulnerable,
Speaker 2: like you have to support that, not just push that.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you need to catch that. Mm hmm. And yeah
Speaker 2: that's my spiel.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you very much. That is the end of
Speaker 1: episode two. It's in the books. We will continue to
Speaker 1: be here weekly, watching on as we get closer and
Speaker 1: closer to crowning Season thirty fives and newest pro. And
Speaker 1: in the meanwhile, come say hello to valin me and
Speaker 1: all the other Dancing with the Stars pros like Hannah Brown,
Speaker 1: Sasha Farber, Jan Ravnik, Whitney Carson Riley, Arnold Sochi Gomez
Speaker 1: and so many more at Dancing with the Stars Fan
Speaker 1: Convention and live show July thirty first through August second
Speaker 1: in Palm Springs. Limited tickets are still available now at
Speaker 1: dwts con dot com. Thank you everyone for listening. We'll
Speaker 1: see you next week.
Speaker 2: I'll be taking off my shirt at the con at
Speaker 2: the con, Yeah, a couple of times.
Speaker 1: Now, we just sold five thousand tickets