00:00How have rehearsals been going?
00:01Amazing.
00:02Yeah.
00:02Again, I know it's a very generic word.
00:06Electric is my word of the season.
00:08Yeah, I agree.
00:09Yeah, I'm just, again, I'm proud to be back on the show.
00:11We're celebrating 20 years.
00:12I'm proud that I'm still in shape to dance and dance well.
00:17I'm proud that I'm given a chance to teach and perform with someone as awesome and talented as Alex.
00:23Like, it's a dream come true because it does, you know, mean a lot to me personally to continue to do what I committed so much in my life to do.
00:32Yeah, definitely.
00:32Any challenges or any bumps along the way so far?
00:35Any bruises so far?
00:37Yeah, you know, it's like, it's a human tragedy, right?
00:42It's like the more you have to work with, the more you squeeze and the harder it gets, you know?
00:46And so I have an incredible talent in Alex, but I inherently can't help but make it super challenging even for that talent.
00:57And so that's where we're at.
00:58And in that process, I think the more talented you are, the obviously more chances we take.
01:03And so it does get more and more painful physically.
01:07Now that you've eyed up the competition a little bit, who do you feel like is the biggest competition?
01:11Or do you not focus on that?
01:13So many.
01:13I think, yeah, what am I judging by?
01:18Some past, some TikTok videos, maybe some promo shoots.
01:22I think I'll really get a better picture for that premiere September 16th.
01:27And we'll go from there.
01:28Ask me then.
01:29Yeah.
01:30Do you put pressure on yourself each and every year to get to a certain point in the competition?
01:34I put pressure on myself to give my celebrity partner the greatest experience they've ever had.
01:40That's a lot of pressure.
01:41A lot of these celebrity partners are, you know, they've lived very dynamic lives and done some incredible things.
01:48But I am ambitious.
01:50So this is my vehicle to be of service to them.
01:53So that's my priority, really, is like whoever it is.
01:56Last year it was Phaedra.
01:58The year before that was Sochi Gomez.
01:59This year it's Alex Earl and she will have my undivided, unconditional effort for at least the next three months.
02:06Definitely.
02:06What do you think about having Mark back?
02:08We have a new dancer, Jan.
02:10What do you make of that?
02:11Oh, it's exciting.
02:14It's bigger than that.
02:15It's that plus the fact that the world cares about Dancing with the Stars.
02:19And I think just feeling the gravity, whether it be on TikTok, whatever socials, it translating in actual numbers.
02:29It's just, again, it's a beautiful thing.
02:3120 years in, we're having our record-breaking season.
02:34It's a huge accomplishment, not just for me, but for the entire production that you never talk to and never get to see on camera.
02:42You know, I was a little disappointed not to see Sasha and Pita back, though.
02:47Yeah, I mean, it's...
02:49It's the way it works.
02:50It's not personal.
02:53Yeah.
02:53It's the nature of this business.
02:56Now, it's personal for anybody who's invested.
02:59The way I'm speaking about Dancing with the Stars is the same way they feel about this kind of stuff.
03:04So it definitely hurts.
03:06But it's, you know, breakups happen in life.
