Speaker 1: I can bring institutes. All that's okay, becaus no one here.
Speaker 2: Is welcome all my Fanielle dishals. Just go with it, okay,
Speaker 2: I think people will dig it. It's time for another
Speaker 2: teen beat. I am your host, Danielle Fischel, a podcaster,
Speaker 2: former sitcom star, a TV director, and the unforgettable eighth
Speaker 2: place celebrity on season thirty four of Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 2: More on that soon. This year podcast has me sitting
Speaker 2: with interesting people who have done interesting things in hopes
Speaker 2: of diving into their origin story, even the awkward years
Speaker 2: of childhood, because we all well know where we've been
Speaker 2: will tell us where we're at and maybe even where
Speaker 2: we're going. I see it like this, I gave you
Speaker 2: my childhood. It's time we hear yours. And this week
Speaker 2: I get to have a conversation with a peer of mine,
Speaker 2: a fellow professional dancer. We share a passion for the craft.
Speaker 2: He began professionally dancing at just seven years old part
Speaker 2: of a now legendary Minnesota ballroom family, and debuted on
Speaker 2: TV as part of So You Think You Can Dance
Speaker 2: in twenty thirteen, but his real journey began as part
Speaker 2: of the Dancing with the Stars Troop in season twenty
Speaker 2: then as a fan favorite pro in season twenty five.
Speaker 2: With a past lineup of celebrities that includes Debbie Gibson,
Speaker 2: Amanda Kluts, Jamie Lynn Spears, Alana mar and Elaine Hendrix.
Speaker 2: He's always one half of a couple guaranteed to bring
Speaker 2: the heat, most notably in season twenty eight when he
Speaker 2: won it all alongside Hannah Brown, and now with the
Speaker 2: show in an all time fever pitch amongst new spinoffs
Speaker 2: and fan conventions like July thirty first through August second
Speaker 2: and Palm Springs. Limited tickets still available at dwts con
Speaker 2: dot com. The world is my guest's oyster. We share
Speaker 2: a love for three things, masterful dancing, Emma Slater, and
Speaker 2: watch us. He is my favorite Jewish dancer since Paula Abdul.
Speaker 2: Welcome to teen Beat, Alan Burston.
Speaker 3: What an intro. I'm so impressed. I love it, you
Speaker 3: love it? I love it. Okay, good, I think that's
Speaker 3: a whole episode. We can actually got there.
Speaker 2: Wrap it up. He's ready to go home.
Speaker 1: How you doing.
Speaker 2: I'm great, so good to see you.
Speaker 3: It's so good to see you.
Speaker 2: I mean, we got to spend quite a bit of
Speaker 2: time together on tour, which was amazing, But it now
Speaker 2: it feels like that was a whole lifetime ago.
Speaker 3: I know. I feel like every year it's just like
Speaker 3: three different lifetimes happen. Yeah, season, the tour.
Speaker 2: And then in between and then in between time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know, I feel like our time was so valued.
Speaker 2: It was, it was so valued. Thank you so much
Speaker 2: for sitting down with me. This is long overdue, and
Speaker 2: any chance I get to hang out with you, I
Speaker 2: will take. So we are going to cover a lot today.
Speaker 2: But I'm always very interested in how our childhoods shaped
Speaker 2: who we are today. I have always imagined you grew
Speaker 2: up in like a real Partridge family situation, everyone on
Speaker 2: a bus traveling state to state, dancing for crowds.
Speaker 3: Am I right? Yeah? You know. I was the youngest
Speaker 3: of three siblings, and I kind of just followed in
Speaker 3: the footsteps of my older brother, you know, dancing, I don't.
Speaker 3: My parents just kind of put us in a studio
Speaker 3: one day and we're like, hey, you guys are ballroom
Speaker 3: dancing though. Yeah, and it wasn't very cool in Minnesota, okay,
Speaker 3: but it turned out pretty cool.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it worked out pretty well, but.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know. We would travel like in the Midwest
Speaker 3: a lot, like in a van and go to competitions.
Speaker 3: How do you know that this is weird? I never
Speaker 3: told anyone.
Speaker 2: I do my research. Baby, So you started dancing at seven?
Speaker 2: Your older brother was already immersed kind of No.
Speaker 3: I think we all started together.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, and your parents helped create it by seeking
Speaker 2: instructors throughout the state and encouraging teachers to come and visit.
Speaker 3: Yes, why you are good.
Speaker 2: What was it like growing up in a house where
Speaker 2: everyone shared this artistic goal?
Speaker 3: Honestly, I think my parents just saw the passion we
Speaker 3: had and they're like, we don't know how else to
Speaker 3: do it, then give them everything that we can. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and so they were very you know, just driven to
Speaker 3: help us follow our passions.
Speaker 2: How did they see the passion you had? Were you
Speaker 2: guys just dancing around the house all the time? Were
Speaker 2: you watching them?
Speaker 3: I will tell you. I think. So. We're very close
Speaker 3: with like, oh, I call them our cousins, but it's
Speaker 3: like my mom's we call her sister, but it's really
Speaker 3: probably her like first cousin, her first cousin. Okay, but whatever.
Speaker 3: We would always hang out every weekend, and my brother.
Speaker 3: They have two children. My one guy is my brother's
Speaker 3: age and one girl is my sister's age. So they
Speaker 3: were always like best friends and we and I was
Speaker 3: always the youngest one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you were the one who was told you got
Speaker 2: to play the dog when you play house. Exactly, you
Speaker 2: could be the dog exactly.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: No, but we would always try to stay at each
Speaker 3: other's houses for like five extra minutes, and we'd be, Oh,
Speaker 3: we're gonna put on a dance show for you guys,
Speaker 3: And this is before we even danced. So I think
Speaker 3: it just kind of fell into place.
Speaker 2: I love that. I remember doing that, by the way,
Speaker 2: as kids with my cousins who were I had one
Speaker 2: cousin who's a year older than me and a cousin
Speaker 2: who's year younger than me, and I was right in
Speaker 2: the middle. So we the three girls inseparable, and we
Speaker 2: would always do the same thing, watch our dance, you know.
Speaker 2: And it's some ridiculous, but absolutely we used In California,
Speaker 2: we had a pool in the backyard, and so mine
Speaker 2: would always end. I'd do them in the backyard and
Speaker 2: they'd always end with a dive into the water, and
Speaker 2: which at least you have that and to dry off
Speaker 2: swim exactly, so that that's pretty cool. Your sister Melanie
Speaker 2: danced as a kid, but she had she had to
Speaker 2: go become a doctor of pharmacy. Why, I mean, why
Speaker 2: did she choose to do that? Did you guys make
Speaker 2: fun of her for being too smart?
Speaker 3: No, she was the only one that was smart enough
Speaker 3: to go to school. You know. I think me and
Speaker 3: my brother tried, but we I don't know. I can't
Speaker 3: explain it. I just I can only speak for myself.
Speaker 3: I just love performing and connecting and I was not
Speaker 3: very motivated in school, but I was good at it.
Speaker 3: I did exactly what I needed to do, so I can.
Speaker 2: Go dance, right, But then when it was over, you
Speaker 2: were like, I don't need to do that ever again.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not itching to go back to school, right
Speaker 3: my mom wants me to?
Speaker 2: But no, Mom, does your brother call with notes after
Speaker 2: your performances?
Speaker 3: Yes? Yes, so does my mom though really?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, your mom considers herself to be a bit
Speaker 2: of an expert now, Oh, she for sure is.
Speaker 3: And you know what, it makes sense though, because she's
Speaker 3: who watches the show. Yeah, you know, and like you
Speaker 3: want to obviously cater to to professional dancers, but at
Speaker 3: the end of the day, you want to connect to
Speaker 3: the audience.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So do you call your mom when you when
Speaker 2: you find out who your new partner is and then
Speaker 2: be like, mom, help me, what do you think I
Speaker 2: should do to appeal to the masses.
Speaker 3: Well, it's really cool when I can call my mom
Speaker 3: and I'm like, this person's on the show and she's like,
Speaker 3: no way. You know, she's excited, so it is. It
Speaker 3: is nice. She'll always tell me she she could have
Speaker 3: pointed her toes a little bit better, and like.
Speaker 5: Really, come mom, Okay, does she get those ideas just
Speaker 5: from herself watching as a fan, or does she take
Speaker 5: what the judges say and then go, yeah, yeah, you
Speaker 5: know that's right.
Speaker 2: I think maybe she didn't point her toes, you know.
Speaker 3: I think it's she just notices things. She she would
Speaker 3: watch us compete when we were growing up. She always
Speaker 3: traveled with us, and so she's got the inside.
Speaker 2: Okay, inflation, she really knows what she's looking at. I
Speaker 2: know you are also a sports fan, and growing up
Speaker 2: in Minnesota, you have a plethora of teams to root for.
Speaker 2: You also have arguably the most robust youth hockey program
Speaker 2: in the US, and I have run into this problem
Speaker 2: with my oldest son, who wants to do everything. How
Speaker 2: do you pick your hobby? You focused on dance, but
Speaker 2: you're also very well rounded, So I'm wondering how did
Speaker 2: you navigate that as a kid.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I didn't, you know. I danced. I tried drums
Speaker 3: for a second, I tried guitar. I feel like my
Speaker 3: parents were like, you can't get hurt in ballroom dancing.
Speaker 3: My brother did a little bit more. He played football
Speaker 3: growing up, but I remember he like hurt his hip,
Speaker 3: and then my mom was like, no one's ever playing
Speaker 3: sports again. We're a bubble family exactly. We are just dancing.
Speaker 3: You can't hurt yourself that bad dancing. You can?
Speaker 2: You can, you can have you hurt yourself pretty bad.
Speaker 3: Would I don't think so.
Speaker 2: If I did, I.
Speaker 3: Probably blacked it out. It's gone. But it's like I like,
Speaker 3: in my later years, I was like, I wish I
Speaker 3: played piano, and so I started playing piano, and I'm like,
Speaker 3: this is way too hard to learn at this age,
Speaker 3: Like I know so much easier as a kid.
Speaker 2: As a kid, do you have long fingers.
Speaker 3: I've got big hands.
Speaker 2: You do a big hands? Yeah, you have piano hands.
Speaker 3: Yeah, except I think they're too big, so they press
Speaker 3: multiple keys?
Speaker 2: Got it? And you're like exactly, yeah.
Speaker 3: No, I can do it. It's just I'm a memory
Speaker 3: kind of guy. It's hard for me to read notes.
Speaker 3: So I wish I did.
Speaker 2: As a kid, right, I know. I also wish I
Speaker 2: learned multiple languages as a kid. You speak, I speak Russrussian.
Speaker 2: You speak Russian and English. Do you remember any particularly
Speaker 2: embarrassing moments from high school? Or have you also blacked
Speaker 2: all of those out?
Speaker 3: Also? Those are blacked out? For sure. I was not
Speaker 3: a popular kid, if you can imagine. Really.
Speaker 2: Do you think it's because of the ballroom?
Speaker 3: Oh? For sure? Okay, And I was just a weird kid.
Speaker 2: What are you like as a kid?
Speaker 3: Well, I started by going to it I from first
Speaker 3: or from kindergarten until eighth grade. I went to a
Speaker 3: Jewish private school. Okay, and so like me, I was
Speaker 3: very like one of my best friends. Still, we went
Speaker 3: to school there together, and then we went to high
Speaker 3: school together. We went to a public high school.
Speaker 2: Okay, So you had been very sheltered in a small,
Speaker 2: private Jewish elementary and junior high and then.
Speaker 3: Were straight into high school.
Speaker 2: Right plopped into a public high school.
Speaker 3: As it was not I was definitely a fish out
Speaker 3: of water, okay, but it was it was whatever, Like
Speaker 3: I really found my community in dance and my good
Speaker 3: friends in school, you know. But by no means it
Speaker 3: was like cool for dancing.
Speaker 2: Did you go to any high school dances.
Speaker 3: I didn't, not a single one. No, I would have
Speaker 3: been really cool if I did.
Speaker 2: Wow. Probably not actually have any high school girlfriends.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but like it was again, it was more of
Speaker 3: like I was always in dance, so.
Speaker 2: Like, so your friends are like dance, okay.
Speaker 3: And we were traveling like at least once or twice
Speaker 3: a month. Yeah, and so I was like always you know,
Speaker 3: gone for these like the prom and homecoming. I was
Speaker 3: always gone, so I never got to go.
Speaker 2: So that's I mean, in some ways, that's really nice
Speaker 2: because you had a well established community where you shared
Speaker 2: common interests with these people and you had them consistently.
Speaker 2: And then school was just kind of the place you
Speaker 2: went to for education and you had some good friends there,
Speaker 2: so you weren't like a lone wolf.
Speaker 3: No, it was close, but I had three good friends.
Speaker 2: Okay, I am legally obligated to talk to you about
Speaker 2: the Mall of America because so were you a frequenter
Speaker 2: of the Mall of America Mother of America.
Speaker 3: Like growing up, there was a competition that was actually
Speaker 3: in the Mall of America. So we would go a
Speaker 3: few like there and then we would ride rides and
Speaker 3: go dance. And I was like ten years old, so
Speaker 3: it was like really fun. Yeah, because I don't know
Speaker 3: if you know this. In All of America, there is
Speaker 3: like an amusement park.
Speaker 2: Oh, I know, I've been there. I did an autograph
Speaker 2: signing there as a team. It's the greatest thing ever.
Speaker 2: I also ate twelve mini Cinnabonds from the mall.
Speaker 3: That's specifical, but.
Speaker 2: I'll always think about it as the Mall of America thing.
Speaker 3: Did you throw up from the twelve Cinnabons? Because that's
Speaker 3: a lot.
Speaker 2: That's a lot. Actually, I had sex. My mom and
Speaker 2: I shared a box of twenty so yeah, it's cut
Speaker 2: that in half a fan and we were hungry.
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, it's I think like when you're there, it's
Speaker 3: so big and there's so many people that, like, you
Speaker 3: don't really want to go there to shop I know, how.
Speaker 2: Could you possibly? Also, if you buy something now you're
Speaker 2: lugging it miles of mall.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I've been many, many times.
Speaker 2: What would you say is your favorite attraction there?
Speaker 3: So when I was there, it was called Camp Snoopy,
Speaker 3: the traction place, and there was it was like an
Speaker 3: axe and I think it was like Paul Blart and
Speaker 3: Paul Blart he's a Minnesota folk tale I think. But
Speaker 3: he had like an axe, I think, And there's a
Speaker 3: ride that was an axe and it would like hold
Speaker 3: you upside down. It was cool.
Speaker 2: What would the Paul Blart ride be? And that would
Speaker 2: be really fun to actually, you know what you're not
Speaker 2: You're not wrong, honestly that I would too. It reminds
Speaker 2: me kind of like when you can surf in place.
Speaker 2: Oh could do that with segues. That'd be so fun.
Speaker 2: Did you ever eat at Hulk Hogan's Pastumania?
Speaker 3: No? I didn't.
Speaker 2: Well, it opened in the food court in nineteen ninety
Speaker 2: five and it featured items like Hulk ewes and Hulk
Speaker 2: coroni and cheese. I must have missed that, but it
Speaker 2: closed less than a year later.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised. I was born in ninety four,
Speaker 3: So okay, it would have been very I don't think
Speaker 3: it was.
Speaker 2: Would never remember. I couldn't chew it got born in
Speaker 2: ninety four. Get the hell out of here. What did
Speaker 2: you do for fun in Minnesota as a kid? Did
Speaker 2: you go to the state Fair?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, the best?
Speaker 2: It was a very good state It still is.
Speaker 3: I I mean, I feel like if I went there,
Speaker 3: I'll gain fifteen pounds in the day. You know, No,
Speaker 3: it's they have the best cookies. There's like a bucket
Speaker 3: of cookies. You get unlimited milk, and it was delicious.
Speaker 3: But they have everything on.
Speaker 2: A stick, unlimited milks. You sit there and you sit there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you said.
Speaker 2: I feel like if I have a bucket, I want
Speaker 2: to put it on my arm like a cute bag
Speaker 2: and just eat as I go about.
Speaker 3: I think you do too. You get one for there
Speaker 3: and one to go.
Speaker 2: Oh great, it's harder to dip the milk on the
Speaker 2: to go.
Speaker 3: Box, it is. Yeah, you find a way?
Speaker 2: Do you find a way? Okay? Sorry, I'm hungry.
Speaker 3: Listen. I've never said no to good cookies.
Speaker 2: So what did you do for fun? Other than a
Speaker 2: state fair moment?
Speaker 3: You know? We would dance a lot. That was fun
Speaker 3: ride my bike. I feel like that was really cool.
Speaker 2: How old were you when you learned how to ride your.
Speaker 3: Bike out the womb?
Speaker 2: Really, you just have no memories where you didn't know
Speaker 2: how to ride.
Speaker 3: I have no memories not knowing how to ride a bike.
Speaker 2: Really, do you remember learning how to ride? No, it
Speaker 2: was just like instant, obviously coordinated, I think so.
Speaker 3: I genuinely could not tell you. I remember, I remember
Speaker 3: putting like the baseball card in the back spokes to
Speaker 3: make it sound cool sound, but that I don't Yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't remember learning.
Speaker 2: My seven year old still doesn't know how to ride
Speaker 2: a bike, but that's because we also don't ever ride bikes.
Speaker 2: It's a bit of a problem, like he rides bikes anymore.
Speaker 2: And also we don't have sidewalks yea. And I'm like,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, but we're not going to learn in the
Speaker 2: middle of the street.
Speaker 3: No. And I feel like in Minnesota there's so much
Speaker 3: more space, exactly.
Speaker 2: But I do feel like I'm a bad parent. If
Speaker 2: you don't teach your kid how to ride a bike, you.
Speaker 3: Have I mean, he will talk about it in his
Speaker 3: memory for sure.
Speaker 2: My mom to Panga never taught me to ride a
Speaker 2: bike is the name of his memoy. He's already working
Speaker 2: on it. Do you have an opinion? Back to food?
Speaker 2: This is my favorite. Do you have an opinion on
Speaker 2: the best juicy lucy in Minneapolis? We have eaten at
Speaker 2: Mats and the Nook. I don't know if you're not
Speaker 2: going to like this.
Speaker 3: I don't know what a juicy lucy is.
Speaker 2: Okay, allow me to explain.
Speaker 3: I remember I'm Russian. I did not eat a lot
Speaker 3: of fast food or restaurants.
Speaker 2: Well, juicy lucy is a hamburger that has the cheese
Speaker 2: in the middle of the.
Speaker 3: Patty, as opposed to what there is a.
Speaker 2: Juicy lucy cut into it and the cheese oozes out
Speaker 2: of the mist. And it originated in Minneapolis.
Speaker 3: This should be bigger. I don't know why it's not
Speaker 3: big enough. It should be bigger.
Speaker 2: It should be bigger. Well, I'll tell you I have
Speaker 2: been to two places, Matt's and the Nook, both a plus.
Speaker 2: So next time you're back.
Speaker 3: I don't know how you can go wrong with cheese
Speaker 3: in a cheese breer. I know, the more cheese the better.
Speaker 3: Couldn't agree more so the Nook, I'll have to be there.
Speaker 2: So you compete throughout your childhood and you end up
Speaker 2: as a contestant. So you think you can dance season
Speaker 2: thirteen in twenty.
Speaker 3: Oh no, so close? Season ten?
Speaker 2: Season ten? Oh you know why because I got twenty
Speaker 2: thirteen and it's like season ten in twenty third.
Speaker 3: On it, on it, but now you're still on it.
Speaker 2: I'll okay. Jenna Johnson was also on that season You
Speaker 2: make it to the top twelve, Yes, but now TV
Speaker 2: is in the equation. Did you love the addition of
Speaker 2: being on TV through all this?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 3: Absolutely? I think I was nineteen years old. Maybe I
Speaker 3: just turned nineteen. And you know, my brother was already
Speaker 3: running the dance studio.
Speaker 2: If you were born in ninety four and it's twenty ten.
Speaker 3: No, twenty thirteen, season ten.
Speaker 2: Oh, season ten?
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah he is.
Speaker 2: I was going to correct you on your mauth. I
Speaker 2: was like, you were sixteen, got it?
Speaker 3: No? No, I was nineteen, and like I was like,
Speaker 3: I know, I want to dance. I don't know what
Speaker 3: it leads to. Obviously dance when the stars is there,
Speaker 3: so you think he's there. My brother also did the
Speaker 3: show called Burn the Floor. Huh, And I was like
Speaker 3: I just want to dance. I want to perform. I
Speaker 3: don't know what it is. And then last minute I
Speaker 3: literally got a stand by flight to the audition for
Speaker 3: so you're thinking you dance. It was in Boston and
Speaker 3: barely made it in.
Speaker 2: The door is closing and you slid your way in.
Speaker 3: So my brother auditioned earlier and they kind of brought
Speaker 3: him back. He auditioned with his wife. I don't know
Speaker 3: if you remember the show, but like, if you audition
Speaker 3: and you're really good, you go straight to Vegas. And
Speaker 3: if you're like, oh, we like you, but we want
Speaker 3: to see you do another round. In the audition, there's
Speaker 3: like a big dance. They put you with a partner.
Speaker 3: I had to do that, okay, So I was like crawl,
Speaker 3: clawing my mind. Yeah, and my brother and his wife
Speaker 3: obviously I had to do a solo my like they
Speaker 3: danced together. I dance by myself, and ballroom's very hard
Speaker 3: by yourself. Yeah, I'll it's also hard. If not by yourself,
Speaker 3: it's hard.
Speaker 2: It's just hard.
Speaker 3: But so I I.
Speaker 2: Did did you do? What dance? Did you do solo?
Speaker 3: I did a samba?
Speaker 2: I think okay, so you did your own body roll multiple.
Speaker 3: Body multiple body rolls are there, and it was just
Speaker 3: you know again, it was like I think my mind,
Speaker 3: Oh I'm young. Whatever happens, happens, I'm gonna try. I
Speaker 3: really want it, but like whatever.
Speaker 2: Right, I mean that is obvious by fly and standby. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you're like, let's see if I get on this exactly.
Speaker 3: Like I didn't really believe until we got to Vegas
Speaker 3: and I was like, Okay, I really want to do
Speaker 3: this now, like I really think this is going to
Speaker 3: be something amazing. Me and my brother made it all
Speaker 3: the way to the end. It was called Green Mile,
Speaker 3: and it's like before they picked the top twenty okay,
Speaker 3: and they like brought us in together and like only
Speaker 3: one of you can make it, you know the drama
Speaker 3: of course, do you think.
Speaker 2: They manufactured that from the beginning.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I mean, it would have been cool
Speaker 3: to have two brothers on. Yeah, I know, but I'm
Speaker 3: assuming they were like, oh, this is gonna be good. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And you know, they took me, and honestly probably the
Speaker 3: right choice just because he already had a kid, like
Speaker 3: he had the studio, like he was a little bit
Speaker 3: older than now what everyone else was on the show.
Speaker 3: You know, like I was nineteen and I was the
Speaker 3: age that everyone wants exactly, but he's a phenomenal dancer,
Speaker 3: so it was just more like casting casting, you know,
Speaker 3: and then I was like, Okay, I don't know what
Speaker 3: I'm doing now, and it was just it was I
Speaker 3: would say it was an incredible experience. I was very
Speaker 3: tough on myself, so I didn't enjoy it, oh, you know,
Speaker 3: and I think a lot of people that go through
Speaker 3: it are like, I have to do the best otherwise
Speaker 3: my career is over. And then you finish and you're like, oh,
Speaker 3: I wish I would have enjoyed that a little bit more. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And that's what I do a lot more on Dancing
Speaker 3: with the Stars now, is like enjoy it, yeah, because
Speaker 3: it is. It is tough. You've been through it. It's stressful,
Speaker 3: but it is one of the most remarkable and beautiful
Speaker 3: and uplifting shows there is, and you learn so much
Speaker 3: about yourself and.
Speaker 2: Also as just a personality and a person. Life is
Speaker 2: so much more enjoyable when we can just take a
Speaker 2: deep breath and laugh at our like laughter makes everything
Speaker 2: feel better. If we're taking it too seriously and judging
Speaker 2: ourselves too harshly. That's those are not enjoyable days. You know,
Speaker 2: we're all going to have them, and we're all going
Speaker 2: to have moments where we go, Man, I'm bummed with myself.
Speaker 2: I stayed up too late, I didn't show up as
Speaker 2: well as I could have. I didn't push myself as
Speaker 2: hard as I needed to. I'm disappointed in myself, but
Speaker 2: like as a whole to like enjoy the process.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the best thing you can do.
Speaker 2: Especially, like you said, when your entire year ends up
Speaker 2: feeling like three stages of life. One of them is
Speaker 2: the season while it's going, which is you know four months, Yeah,
Speaker 2: between all the weeks of the show and then the
Speaker 2: weeks where you start to get to rehearse before it's
Speaker 2: really looking at four months, and then a four month tour.
Speaker 2: If you're being hard on yourself through all of that,
Speaker 2: you're being hard on yourself through two thirds of your life.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And you you know, again, if you are just
Speaker 3: looking for the result of things, you miss the beauty
Speaker 3: of it, you know. And I think the season, you know,
Speaker 3: even last season for example, everyone that was a part
Speaker 3: of it, I feel like one yeah, you know, everyone
Speaker 3: left the show either feeling better, doing new opportunities.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: Even if you didn't win the show, there's so many
Speaker 3: beautiful outcomes that came from it, yep, that it's like
Speaker 3: just being a part of it and enjoying it is winning.
Speaker 2: Couldn't agree with you more two years later than after,
Speaker 2: So I think you can dance. You joined the troop
Speaker 2: of Dancing with the Stars, Yes, thrown right into it.
Speaker 2: Do you remember your first impressions of this insane, beautiful universe?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I actually remember vividly. So I was doing some
Speaker 3: little dance tour. They were like, hey, do you want
Speaker 3: to audition for the show. It'll be like a little interview,
Speaker 3: and I was like absolutely absolutely. I flew back to
Speaker 3: LA because I was traveling. I don't remember where I was,
Speaker 3: did this like audition and I was like like, this
Speaker 3: is my dream, Like I really want to be on
Speaker 3: Dancing with the Stars. Some time goes by, like maybe
Speaker 3: a few weeks. I was actually a dancer on Glee
Speaker 3: at the time. Yes, And I remember being on set
Speaker 3: for Glee and like getting a call and it was like, Hey,
Speaker 3: you're gonna be on Dancing with the Stars. You're gonna
Speaker 3: be on Troop. And I was like Oh my god,
Speaker 3: this is the best thing in the world.
Speaker 2: I mean, all your dreams coming true on set of
Speaker 2: Glee truly like dreams come true.
Speaker 3: And I was like, being on the show is like
Speaker 3: the dream come true. You know, I'm just so happy.
Speaker 3: And then it's like okay. Then so I was on
Speaker 3: Troop and then it was like, Okay, the next dream
Speaker 3: is to be a pro. I mean, I will say
Speaker 3: being on Troop was the best thing because you learn
Speaker 3: so much. It's really hard to just go in as
Speaker 3: a pro, not really knowing what you're doing. It's your
Speaker 3: first time. It's the celebrities first time. When you're on troop,
Speaker 3: you get to see it firsthand, you get to experience it.
Speaker 3: I stepped in a few times as Troop, so I
Speaker 3: got that firsthand experience.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And it was just mean to replace a pro.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So I think first it happened with Mark Yeah,
Speaker 3: he got he got injured, and I danced with Page
Speaker 3: and then in season twenty four Max got injured and
Speaker 3: I stepped in with Heather Morris for like three weeks maybe, yeah,
Speaker 3: and like I had to choreograph my own.
Speaker 2: Dances and everything and good experience.
Speaker 3: So great, and Heather was unbelievable. Yeah, so it was like,
Speaker 3: just go out and do it and you don't have
Speaker 3: to worry about like her freaking out because she's such
Speaker 3: a such a pro. Yeah, so I got so lucky.
Speaker 3: And again, I think the Troop helps build you as
Speaker 3: a pro.
Speaker 2: I know. I really also think that it would really
Speaker 2: benefit the Troop to be able to let them sit
Speaker 2: in on some of the rehearsals yet, because they I
Speaker 2: mean obviously they're so busy too. They're all they're doing
Speaker 2: dances all throughout the week and everything, but they usually
Speaker 2: just get to see the day of the camera blocking.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And in the past, like when I was Troop,
Speaker 3: I was helping a lot of the celeb a lot
Speaker 3: of the pros choreographing and being in the room, So
Speaker 3: back then it was more like that. Yeah. I think
Speaker 3: because of COVID, they like really made sure no one
Speaker 3: was in the room and then it kind of just stuck.
Speaker 2: Like that, because that would be so helpful to see
Speaker 2: the way the pros talk to their celebrities, to see
Speaker 2: the way they teach. I mean, that's teaching is a
Speaker 2: whole skill set on its own. You could be the
Speaker 2: best dancer in the entire world and not know the
Speaker 2: first thing about teaching.
Speaker 3: And that's I think what is so special about the
Speaker 3: pros on the show. They're also talented. They have to
Speaker 3: be incredible dancers, yep, they have to be incredible choreographers,
Speaker 3: and they have to be incredible teachers. Yeah, and therapist.
Speaker 3: So you can mind though, but it's you know, it is,
Speaker 3: it's so much. It's multifaceted. Yes it is, and so yeah,
Speaker 3: you can get the best dancer, but if they don't
Speaker 3: know how to teach, then then the celebrities out of luck.
Speaker 2: You're also forgetting personalities themselves.
Speaker 3: It's a lot.
Speaker 2: It's yeah, you guys are I mean talk about we
Speaker 2: say triple threat, but you talk about you guys have
Speaker 2: to have like a bion.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: Well, good news. You were promoted in season twenty five
Speaker 2: with Debbie Gibson as your first celebrity. What was the
Speaker 2: biggest lesson you took away from your first season.
Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing I realized was like the pressure.
Speaker 3: So when in season twenty four when I was with Heather,
Speaker 3: there wasn't really any pressure because I wasn't her main partner, right,
Speaker 3: and then when it was like okay, now you have
Speaker 3: a main partner you are. Basically it's not as a pro,
Speaker 3: it's not my season. Yeah, you know, at most it's
Speaker 3: our season, but mainly it's it's my celebrity season. You know.
Speaker 3: I want to make sure my celebrity has the absolute
Speaker 3: best season. Yeah. And so that is something that I
Speaker 3: learned right away. I was like, this is not about me, right,
Speaker 3: you know. And Debbie was the sweetest person out She's wonderful. Yeah,
Speaker 3: she's the best.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And so that was a great first season. But the
Speaker 3: pressure of like, oh, this is fully on me now,
Speaker 3: that's what I realized, And I was like, all right,
Speaker 3: now I know how to really you know, not let
Speaker 3: the pressure get to me and trust myself more.
Speaker 2: Well, just a few years later, you win a Lenn
Speaker 2: Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy with Bachelorette star Hannah Brown. Yes,
Speaker 2: I mean, what a rapid rise to the very top.
Speaker 2: Why do you think that partnership worked so well? And
Speaker 2: what was it about that season that you think got
Speaker 2: you guys to the end.
Speaker 3: Honestly, so many things. It's not one thing. You know,
Speaker 3: she just came off the Bachelorette. She was the most
Speaker 3: popular thing on television. She's incredible and she worked really
Speaker 3: really hard, you know, and she was very real and
Speaker 3: I think people saw that and people loved her being real.
Speaker 3: I think at the end of the day, in order
Speaker 3: for anyone to make it to the end, they just
Speaker 3: have to care. Yeah, you know, no matter what, like
Speaker 3: whether you care for yourself or for for your mom
Speaker 3: or for it, you just have to care. You have
Speaker 3: to show up and you have to do it right.
Speaker 3: And then if you're lucky enough and it clicks, then
Speaker 3: it's you know, it just it's magic.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is. It does feel like the kind of
Speaker 2: thing that is a perfect recipe that it's really hard,
Speaker 2: Like there's so many elements that have to fall into
Speaker 2: the right place at the right time in order for
Speaker 2: the magic to happen. Yeah, it gets you to the
Speaker 2: end and then to eventually win.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think everyone's journey is different. Yeah, and
Speaker 3: like every season, yeah, there might be like a oh
Speaker 3: I think this person might win, but that changes yep
Speaker 3: every time. I will say, right before I did when
Speaker 3: I won with Hannah. First, we did something called Dancing
Speaker 3: with the Stars Juniors, Oh huh, and I had the sweetest girl,
Speaker 3: Sky Brown, and we won there. So it was like, yeah,
Speaker 3: it was. I started to like realize more.
Speaker 2: You do well with people who have the last name Brown.
Speaker 3: Exactly two wins, two wins with.
Speaker 2: The name Brown. That works for you, No, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3: But also it's just like when people are genuine in themselves,
Speaker 3: it resonates a lot more.
Speaker 2: Yeah, people can pick up on that, they can smell
Speaker 2: in authenticity.
Speaker 3: And it's not just with the celebrities. It's with the partnership,
Speaker 3: it's with the pros. Like people can see us more
Speaker 3: than I think people they realize. Yeah, And so like
Speaker 3: when people are there just to enjoy it and have
Speaker 3: passion and purpose, it goes a long way.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, here we are in a complete renaissance for the
Speaker 2: show the now Emmy nominated season thirty four.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I have to say, this is the first year
Speaker 3: in many years that it's Emmy nominated, and it's the
Speaker 3: first year you've been on it.
Speaker 2: Oh oh, okay, it's me. You think it's me. It's
Speaker 2: gotta be the I'm the missing link. Well listen, I'll
Speaker 2: take it. I mean it was Season thirty four was
Speaker 2: above and beyond. I think what anybody could have imagined
Speaker 2: for the show. You were paired with the Great Elaine
Speaker 2: Hendrix in the sixth most watched TV show of the year. Wow,
Speaker 2: Now is life different for Alan Burston? Now, what is
Speaker 2: your visibility?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Are you getting stopped everywhere? Because I hear from friends.
Speaker 2: It's how I knew you were in my neighborhood not
Speaker 2: that long ago, because I was at a basketball game
Speaker 2: for my son this past Saturday and a girlfriend of
Speaker 2: mine said to me, oh, I saw Alan. Alan was
Speaker 2: walking into Polo checks this past weekend. I said, well,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to ask him, what do you was
Speaker 2: picking up?
Speaker 3: You know what? It's It's so funny. I feel like
Speaker 3: right when I won, yep, I went like on a
Speaker 3: run like a few like a week later and like
Speaker 3: some congrats Alan just on the show, and I was like,
Speaker 3: that's pretty cool. But you know, it's been like whatever,
Speaker 3: nothing crazy. I feel like the last two years when
Speaker 3: I was partner with Alona mar Yes, I was walking
Speaker 3: down Larchmont and everyone, like construction workers were like you, Alan,
Speaker 3: You're so good.
Speaker 2: I'm like, that's so cute that is going on.
Speaker 3: Over here, you know. But it was really just like
Speaker 3: the show did have this resurgence, and whether it's social
Speaker 3: media or or whatever it is, it is just so
Speaker 3: awesome to be a part of. That's not the focus,
Speaker 3: but it's it's definitely cool to see that recognition and like,
Speaker 3: if anyone stops me, I will gladly take a photo
Speaker 3: with them.
Speaker 2: I know you're always so.
Speaker 3: I literally went for a run yesterday and I run
Speaker 3: on Melrose a lot, and like a group of girls were.
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, did you stop your run?
Speaker 3: I didn't finishing, but I definitely said hi, and then
Speaker 3: they messaged.
Speaker 2: As you mentioned, a lot of the popularity has to
Speaker 2: be thanks to social media. The show is a TikTok phenomenon,
Speaker 2: and for the pros it is like you take on
Speaker 2: a second full time job during the season. Your season
Speaker 2: with Elana, you two were incredible online. How important is
Speaker 2: the social media game now? Do you think to going
Speaker 2: far in the competition?
Speaker 3: Let me start with this. I felt when I was
Speaker 3: with Amanda Clutes, I think it was season thirty, we
Speaker 3: made a big effort of like social media, and I
Speaker 3: look back and we posted one TikTok a week and
Speaker 3: I was like, that's a big effort.
Speaker 2: Like you felt like you were like, wow, we're really folks.
Speaker 3: I think we went live on Instagram and TikTok every
Speaker 3: camera blocking day and then we posted like one TikTok
Speaker 3: a week, and I was like, we're doing so much,
Speaker 3: like more than everyone.
Speaker 2: Else flooding the season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then I'm like, oh, with Alona we did
Speaker 3: like three videos a day.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, what the hell did you have time?
Speaker 3: You know? So I think it was also very easy.
Speaker 3: So like with Ilona, we didn't do a lot of
Speaker 3: dance trends. We kind of just did quick personalities videos,
Speaker 3: funny things. I really learned that season of like, just
Speaker 3: post whatever you want. Don't be precious. If it doesn't
Speaker 3: do well, who cares? Just post and be a good person,
Speaker 3: you know. And I think what really resonated was, especially
Speaker 3: with Alona, it was it showed our partnership and it
Speaker 3: gave an avenue outside of just the show. You know,
Speaker 3: you get your minut and a half dance, your minute
Speaker 3: and a half package and whatever questions are in the
Speaker 3: skybox with Julianne all week. You know, that's five minutes maximum.
Speaker 3: And social media now gives you a platform to talk
Speaker 3: about your partnership, talk about struggles, talk about what's going good,
Speaker 3: you know, having fun and just showing that partnership even more,
Speaker 3: And to me, I think that's the most important thing. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's not your celebrity and you trying to get the
Speaker 3: most vote. It's like, how can you showcase your partnership? Yeah,
Speaker 3: and it's a lot easier when you actually like each other.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I can't even imagine what a season would
Speaker 2: have been like if Pasha and I did not get
Speaker 2: a lot. I really like, what a you? I mean,
Speaker 2: to wake up every day and be so excited to
Speaker 2: see your partner and work with your partner is such
Speaker 2: a blessing to wake up and like dread it.
Speaker 3: That's why it's not like when it goes well, it's
Speaker 3: not hard, it's not work. The hard part is obviously
Speaker 3: learning dances and choreographing and all that. But like being
Speaker 3: in the studio, when time flies it's fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, when you're like, how have we already been
Speaker 2: here for four hours?
Speaker 3: So even though it is four hours a day, when
Speaker 3: it's fun, it's like, give me four more.
Speaker 2: Well, now you have added pressure because your girlfriend, also,
Speaker 2: my love, Emma Slater, is the world's greatest social media guru.
Speaker 2: You bounce ideas off of her.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, always I'm always First of all, I'm
Speaker 3: she's so eloquent with her words and I'm not so
Speaker 3: I'm like, hey, does this capture make sense? Like do
Speaker 3: I sound like an idiot? And she helps because I'm not.
Speaker 3: I'm so just like lah, yeah, like almost like a caveman,
Speaker 3: like I'll just say things and they're like what I
Speaker 3: read about? Like what this doesn't make any sense? But
Speaker 3: I'm just like I'm the type that I'm like, I'm
Speaker 3: excited to post something, I'm just gonna post it. And
Speaker 3: I think she's very just so she's so smart.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she really is. Do you have if you think
Speaker 2: about your any of your seasons, do you have like
Speaker 2: one post that you think of as being like, oh,
Speaker 2: that's my favorite post I've done.
Speaker 3: Yes, actually, okay, it's with Ilona. We did like a
Speaker 3: package before one of our dances was the Jive. It
Speaker 3: was rock and roll Night and we did like, uh,
Speaker 3: we were in the gym and we did a whole
Speaker 3: package for the show, and then afterwards we filmed a
Speaker 3: TikTok of like partners doing everything together and we just
Speaker 3: did a bunch of workouts together and it went so
Speaker 3: viral that they put that in the package. Really yeah,
Speaker 3: and it was like, I mean, for for weeks people
Speaker 3: were just copying it and it was just so like
Speaker 3: we didn't even think about it. It was just like
Speaker 3: so just like, hey, let's do this quick video and
Speaker 3: it was so fun and it was just like partners
Speaker 3: doing everything together. That's so cute and so like that
Speaker 3: was a really fun video.
Speaker 2: So talking about last season, we all remember Elaine's injury
Speaker 2: on Halloween night. I remember seeing your sad face up there.
Speaker 2: I do that to me and I felt so bad
Speaker 2: for you. Were you sure you were going home?
Speaker 3: I mean there was It was twofold. That was like, Wow,
Speaker 3: they're really going to send me home by myself. Elaine
Speaker 3: doesn't get eliminated, no, but I I part of me
Speaker 3: was like her, Elaine's journey is not done. Yeah, So
Speaker 3: part of me was very like hopeful and wishful of
Speaker 3: like this is not that it can't be the end,
Speaker 3: Like she has so much more, she loves it so much,
Speaker 3: and so I was very hopeful. But then when they
Speaker 3: put me in the bottom three, I was like Jesus,
Speaker 3: what was going on here? And it was Oh, that
Speaker 3: was very memorable of me just standing there hugging myself
Speaker 3: everyone's saving, they hug people, and I'm just like, I
Speaker 3: just wanted to hug someone. But you know that was
Speaker 3: definitely scary.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you don't know.
Speaker 2: I'll never forget that feeling of those bottom three and
Speaker 2: how much it catches you off guard. You know it's coming,
Speaker 2: but you don't think about it throughout the week, and
Speaker 2: then all of a sudden, you watch everybody dance. You're
Speaker 2: enjoying everyone's dance. You're like, oh my gosh, that was
Speaker 2: so incredible, and then it's like, oh it's time. Shit,
Speaker 2: I forgot this part happens, and it.
Speaker 3: Kind of happens really fast, like maybe not I don't
Speaker 3: know how happens on TV, but when you're in the
Speaker 3: audience or when you're in the skybox watching they're like, okay,
Speaker 3: last an's everyone down, You're like, oh shit, that's exactly it.
Speaker 2: Oay out of nowhere, Like, oh my gosh, I forgot
Speaker 2: this and it's already here. Here it is.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's honestly, it doesn't get any easier. I've been
Speaker 3: a pro so many years, so like that's the worst
Speaker 3: part because it's out of your control. I think, for me,
Speaker 3: the best thing in what I tell my partners is like,
Speaker 3: don't stress about it, Yeah, because the more you stress
Speaker 3: about it during the week, then it's inevitable. No.
Speaker 2: I know there's a part of me that is so
Speaker 2: grateful that it seems like it comes out of nowhere
Speaker 2: because it means I wasn't I'm not focused on it
Speaker 2: at all. I'm just focused on, you know, what I'm
Speaker 2: doing and working hard and having fun. We are just
Speaker 2: a few months away. I know I'm season thirty five.
Speaker 2: We know a few contestants already on the female side.
Speaker 2: We know Mara Higgins and Sierra Miller. Yes, do either
Speaker 2: of these possibilities excite you?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Honestly both? Okay. I also feel like anyone who
Speaker 3: does the show now is going to want to do
Speaker 3: the show.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exact know.
Speaker 3: They're not doing it just because their agent made them.
Speaker 3: They're doing it because they love They're either fans of
Speaker 3: the show, they see how like fun it can be,
Speaker 3: but they want to do it. And to me, that's
Speaker 3: like the best thing in a partner exactly, somebody who
Speaker 3: wants to be there, who is passionate about it, because
Speaker 3: you can't teach passion. So both Mara and Sierra are great.
Speaker 3: I feel like They're both very popular on social media,
Speaker 3: which is a help. They both did Traders. Yeah, I know,
Speaker 3: so I feel like they know how to play a game.
Speaker 3: But when Dylan did this season, he was not that
Speaker 3: he was calculated. That sometimes has a bad connotation, but
Speaker 3: like he is strategy, He's very strategic.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, Oh, I know. I was involved in irate.
Speaker 3: Strategy and it's great. You know, I think to a
Speaker 3: certain extent, you know, I think you don't want to
Speaker 3: come into the season and plan every little thing. I
Speaker 3: think the beautiful part about Dancing with the Stars is
Speaker 3: the spontaneity.
Speaker 2: Of course, exactly, l And I think every week that's
Speaker 2: actually what resonates more than anything else.
Speaker 3: You know, when somebody has a surprisingly good week and
Speaker 3: you're like, where did that come from? Right, And that's
Speaker 3: what is special from that episode, you know. So I
Speaker 3: think the spontaneity of the show is great. I think
Speaker 3: they were both on reality TV, so they understand the
Speaker 3: sharing aspect and I think that's very important as a Yeah,
Speaker 3: and I'm curious how you were, like, because was this
Speaker 3: your first stint in reality.
Speaker 2: It was, yeah. I mean, now, granted I had hosted TV,
Speaker 2: so I was comfortable being myself, but I had never
Speaker 2: done a reality to the show, so it was my
Speaker 2: first go at it, and I do remember thinking a
Speaker 2: couple of times, it's very annoying to be miked all
Speaker 2: the time.
Speaker 3: You know, there's there's a vulnerability to it, and I
Speaker 3: think if you embrace that, yeah, it's amazing. If you
Speaker 3: try to like hide your feelings and the America can't
Speaker 3: connect to you. And at the end of the day, yes,
Speaker 3: it's a dance show, but it's it's about connecting and
Speaker 3: you know, connecting with the audience and showing your true
Speaker 3: self and letting them learn something about you, because that's
Speaker 3: what's intriguing, you know, whether you're learning the dance or
Speaker 3: learning something about yourself. People don't just want to see
Speaker 3: good dancing from the start and just that's it totally.
Speaker 2: And so it helps to be an authentic person because
Speaker 2: if you are a reality TV star who is very
Speaker 2: brand focused and maybe who you are is not necessarily
Speaker 2: who your brand is, that would be difficult. If you
Speaker 2: are an authentic person who's willing to show up as
Speaker 2: yourself warts and all going to you're going to probably
Speaker 2: have a fan base that's going to relate to you.
Speaker 3: Exactly. Yeah, and I think that's the key of the
Speaker 3: show totally.
Speaker 2: People need people need to be able to relate to you.
Speaker 2: If they can't relate to you, what are they voting for?
Speaker 2: What are they rooting or how do they see themselves
Speaker 2: in you? Well, we're guaranteed to get a new pro.
Speaker 2: This is crazy to the competition show for pro.
Speaker 3: Are you watching, No, I'll definitely be watching. I think
Speaker 3: it's beautiful to see how the show is expanding, you know.
Speaker 3: I think the show had such success in season thirty four. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and there's a right way to capitalize on that. And
Speaker 3: I think, you know, expanding the universe of Dancing with
Speaker 3: the Stars is the right way. Yeah, you know, I
Speaker 3: think the fans want more. It's really hard to do
Speaker 3: two seasons a year. I will not say no to
Speaker 3: two seasons a year, obviously, but I feel like it's
Speaker 3: hard to do that, and so this is a nice
Speaker 3: way to like ease into the new show, into the
Speaker 3: new season.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think you're right. Well, this will be another instance
Speaker 2: where a pro is going to burst right into the
Speaker 2: big show with no troop experience. You were able to
Speaker 2: soak in the show and learn the process. Do you
Speaker 2: think being on kind of this fast track to being
Speaker 2: a pro can hurt the dancer.
Speaker 3: So I think this is the best way to do
Speaker 3: it without putting somebody on troop is you test them out.
Speaker 3: You know they're going to have to go through these challenges.
Speaker 3: You know it is you're being judged by Mark and Shirley,
Speaker 3: who are both unbelievable yep, you know, plus a third
Speaker 3: rotating rotating judge, professional Dan, yes, which you know. To
Speaker 3: me though Mark and Shirley are are incredible choices. You know,
Speaker 3: Mark is a phenomenal judge, so creative. Shirley is on
Speaker 3: strictly who is this? She is like the goddess of
Speaker 3: all right? Yes, you know, so it couldn't have been
Speaker 3: two better judges yep. And so now you're putting these
Speaker 3: contestants through a series of these challenges, which I imagine would
Speaker 3: only help set them up. You know, I think it's
Speaker 3: only gonna benefit them in the long run. And you
Speaker 3: know it adds that pressure which comes with the show,
Speaker 3: which on Troupe there isn't that pressure. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 3: so that's something that you do have to learn. And
Speaker 3: the only way you get better as a pro is
Speaker 3: through experience. You know, no one can tell you a secret.
Speaker 3: Thing to make you better is just experiencing it for
Speaker 3: yourself and learning what.
Speaker 2: Works and hopefully having a good connection with your with
Speaker 2: your celeb Yeah.
Speaker 3: I would say to anyone the biggest thing is make
Speaker 3: sure it's not about you. It's not about the pro.
Speaker 3: As a pro, it is our job to make our
Speaker 3: celebrities feel safe.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And so that's like, whenever I go into any season,
Speaker 3: that's my first, which might.
Speaker 2: Be hard in this case. They've had an entire show
Speaker 2: about them getting cast on the show, and then they
Speaker 2: have to come in and be like, and it's not
Speaker 2: about me at all, even though it was just all
Speaker 2: about me for ten episodes.
Speaker 3: But I think I feel like the people they have
Speaker 3: on the show are going to.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they know what they're getting into. I'm not letting
Speaker 2: Alan off that easy. We're dropping a bonus episode this
Speaker 2: Friday where I get to talk to my ballroom buddy
Speaker 2: some more and we listen to your embarrassing childhood stories,
Speaker 2: which I want listeners to send me their awkward tales.
Speaker 2: Just email a voice memo somewhere between one to two
Speaker 2: minutes to Teenbeatpod at gmail dot com, and we just
Speaker 2: might play it on the show. And you can come
Speaker 2: see me and Alan at the Ultimate DWTS Fan Convention
Speaker 2: and live show at the end of this month July
Speaker 2: thirty first to August second in Palm Springs. There are
Speaker 2: limited tickets still available at dwtscn dot com. Teenbeat is
Speaker 2: an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fischel. Executive
Speaker 2: producers Jensencarp and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production
Speaker 2: Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Subosch. The theme song
Speaker 2: is by Mark Coppis Yes that Mark Cooppus. Follow us
Speaker 2: on Instagram at teenbeatpod.