00:00Dancing with the Stars fans have longed to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the pros approach their
00:06craft.
00:06How long has a show like The Next Pro been in the works?
00:12That I don't know. I do know that we've always hoped that something like this would happen.
00:19Because it is interesting in the sense that this whole show is giving you a kind of a peek behind
00:24the curtain of what your favorite pro goes through on a weekly basis.
00:28Whether it's the technique you have to teach, the chemistry you have to build, the storytelling, and there's more challenges
00:37coming.
00:37There's teaching challenges, there's choreography challenges.
00:39Like they really, they throw them in the deep end.
00:42And it's the first time ever that any pro has had this type of showcase.
00:46Like back when I started, there was no troupe.
00:49Twitter didn't exist. They just threw us on there and we're like, figure it out, kid!
00:53And now we have the troupe where a lot of people kind of start on the troupe.
00:57They'll be there a few seasons, they get moved up.
00:59But this is like a, it's kind of, someone compared it to like a ballroom boot camp kind of.
01:05Which is a really good way of putting it.
01:06But the reality is, whoever wins this, they are going to be a pro.
01:11And even the winner, they're not going to be ready.
01:12Like it doesn't matter how experienced you are, you are not ready until you're actually doing it.
01:17Because it's, it's a freight train.
01:19AJ was obviously on Strictly Come Dancing.
01:22Stephanie Sosa's been in the troupe.
01:24Do those pros with that, aspiring pros with that kind of experience have an advantage?
01:30I don't think so, no.
01:31I don't think, I think anyone who wants to be a pro on Dancing with the Stars should have background.
01:37They should know what they're doing.
01:38I think just because you've been on Strictly, that doesn't give you an advantage.
01:41Like, if I think about Artem and Gleb, they both came from Strictly, you know, ballroom dancing is ballroom dancing.
01:51And if you're going to be put into a position where you are responsible for, you know, a celeb's journey,
01:57you need to know what you're doing.
01:59Even when it, at times, it feels like you don't.
02:02Because it's just like, and a big part of it is mental and like staying focused.
02:07But because, like, I see like some of the things, I'm like, oh, well, this one's his friend or this
02:13one's brother.
02:14Or like, even like my mom is judging, you know, my mom's trained a lot of our pros.
02:18At the end of the day, you have to perform.
02:21And it's about the performance, in my opinion, you know.
02:24I don't think it matters.
02:25No series with Dancing with the Stars in Australia would be complete without Robert Irwin.
02:31Absolutely.
02:31You know, how do you think he's doing as a host?
02:33When I was behind the judge's desk, watching him host, watching him read off the cue cards, watching his energy
02:40and how he got the contestants hyped up.
02:42Like, he's an excellent host.
02:44I was like, you are literally born for this.
02:46He's excellent.
02:47One of my favorite parts of the show is that we get to see you and your mom, the legend,
02:52you know, Shirley Ballas, judge together.
02:55Were there any hesitation on either of your parts or just excitement to work together?
03:00No hesitation at all.
03:01I mean, we've been, both my parents, my mom and my dad, were my coaches growing up.
03:07And my mom and my dad have trained many of the pros on the show, be it Derek, Julianne.
03:13My mom has worked with Val, Danny, Pasha, everybody over the years.
03:17And to this day, like, outside of the television world, my mom and my dad are still working with elite
03:22dancers all over the world, aside from television.
03:24So, you're not going to find a judge that loves this craft more than her, who is really, really knowledgeable.
03:31What is the rose and the thorn of working with your mom?
03:35Oh, I mean, the rose is that it's my mom.
03:38And, you know, we're obviously very close.
03:41And we're both passionate about this art form, you know.
03:47Even though we see things slightly differently, even though we come from the same kind of background of, like, wanting
03:54to see the fundamentals.
03:55We want to know what the dance is.
03:56Because the thorn, I wouldn't really call it a thorn, but, like, we do see things a little bit differently.
04:03Like, the cool thing is for her is she's only ever judged in the Dancing with the Stars strictly come
04:09dancing space, right?
04:10Whereas I've been a pro for 20-plus seasons.
04:13So, I'm coming from that side.
04:15So, that's where I think our conflict comes from.
04:18Because I have walked in those contestant shoes.
04:20I have been a pro for so long.
04:22I know what it feels like to be in that studio and, like, have a routine not hit as hard
04:27as you were hoping.
04:28Or have a routine that you're like, ooh, I don't know about this one.
04:30And then it comes together on the night, you know.
04:33And then, you know, when you get hard feedback, it's tough.
04:36It's tough, you know.
04:36And she looks at it from the, like, technical, creative standpoint.
04:41So, I think it's kind of cool to have a judge's perspective and someone who's, you know, competed for so
04:46long's perspective.
04:47I do want to go back to talking about seeing some of the pros we love at the judges' table.
04:52Yeah.
04:52You know, we've seen Derek, obviously, on Dancing with the Stars.
04:56But seeing Britt there and Brandon there has really been thrilling.
05:00What's it like for you as a fellow pro to watch them shine in a different sort of avenue?
05:06I mean, it's just great.
05:07I really enjoyed.
05:09All of our rotating judges do a great job.
05:11Like, really, really great.
05:12It's fun.
05:13And because, again, each judge is brought in on a different challenge.
05:17I thought Britt was so great in the group work.
05:19And she's such an amazing, beautiful dancer.
05:23And the way she set that piece was, it was really smart because it was set in a way to
05:28test spatial awareness.
05:30And we got to see the test of that, right?
05:33I thought Brandon's feedback was so honest and straight and to the point.
05:38And I loved seeing him in that light as well.
05:41And then Derek has been, you know, Derek is Derek.
05:44He's been judging for a long time.
05:45So, you know, he is really great at spotting things quickly, speaking from experience.
05:50You know, he's a six-time champion.
05:51He knows what he's doing.
05:52So I think it's just cool.
05:53It keeps the judges' table fresh.
05:54And it keeps it fun within the context of the challenge.
05:58Well, and you are back on Broadway as Billy Flynn in Chicago.
06:02What made your first run so much fun that you wanted to do it again?
06:06Well, the first thing is that, you know, I grew up doing musical theater.
06:10I went to musical theater school.
06:11And Chicago was one of the first shows I ever saw as a child.
06:14When I was doing theater, I grew up in England.
06:16So it was like the West End seemed like such a – that was the goal.
06:21Broadway seemed absolutely unobtainable.
06:23So now to be playing Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway, longest-running American musical
06:30of all time, like, it's just so fun.
06:33And the first run was so short.
06:34Like, it was only a month, you know, when the Weisslers called me and asked me,
06:37would you want to do it again?
06:38I was like, yeah, okay, yeah.
06:40So I'm back.
06:41It feels great, just like riding a bike.
06:43I'm able to dive even deeper with the character.
06:46And there's been some changes in the cast as well.
06:49So it's really fun to discover new things with a show that's been running for so long every night.
06:54And I'm doing it until August 16th.
06:55Obviously, your first time around was with the fabulous Whitney Lovett.
06:59You know, how special was it to get to do this show with her?
07:03It was so special just because I think during our run on dancing,
07:07a lot of our pieces were quite theatrical.
07:10Like, we had, I think, three Broadway-esque numbers.
07:13We did a dance to a Chicago song.
07:15We did a dance to a Wicked song.
07:17We did a dance to a Hamilton song.
07:20And, you know, and Whitney's got that, like, theatrical presence.
07:24And that's something that I really lean into as a choreographer.
07:28So, yeah, to be able to then go into Chicago together, like, that's a dancing with stars first.
07:33So that was, that's history there.
07:35It was fun.
07:35We had a blast together.
07:36It was so fun.
07:36There are some Traders alums on season 35, Maura Higgins and Sierra Miller.
07:42Have you spoken to either, shared any advice with them?
07:45I mean, I've chatted with Maura.
07:47She came to see me in Chicago when I was here doing the first run.
07:50We actually had a little Traders reunion.
07:51A couple of my Traders castmates came out.
07:54And, you know, we chatted a little bit.
07:57I'm so excited for her.
07:58I know that this has been a dream for her.
07:59And she literally manifested this.
08:01So when they announced her as part of the cast, I was super excited for her.
