November 19, 2025 • 41 mins
You just can’t keep a dancer away from the ballroom! Danielle is back at DWTS, sitting in the audience, on the edge of her seat for the semifinals.
Find out why she went back for Prince Night, her reaction to the dances and what she thought of the surprising elimination.
Plus, Danielle gets real about how much the show, and her cast mates, have meant to her.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
They can try and get rid of me, but I
have become one with the ballroom. It's Danielle Fischl, podcaster,
TV director, mother of two and self appointed Dylan Efron
good luck charm to Penga Lawrence from Boy Meets World,
and yes, just two weeks ago, I myself was a
(00:38):
contestant on Season thirty four of Dancing with the Stars,
eliminated from the Elite eight, only to return like a phantom,
haunting the show from the audience for the semifinals. I
once again saw everything unfold with my very own eyes,
and I am here ready to report back to you. Has.
(01:00):
In addition to joining a show focused on dance with
zero experience in dance, I have also consistently recorded this
very podcast, hoping to take you all on the journey,
right to the very last second when someone who will
not be me is crowned the recipient of a Len
Goodman mehr Ball Trophy. I just returned home from the semifinals.
(01:25):
It was Prince Knight incredible night of music. I don't
know how many of the younger people who are tuning
in to Dancing with the Stars for the first time
know about Prince or no Prince music. But for those
of us who have been Prince fans and who love
(01:46):
Prince music, let me tell you tonight was a fun
night of music. I am in agreement with a lot
of you that the themes can sometimes make the night's
difficult to get behind as far as the dancing, because
it is true that, like, if you're gonna limit yourself
(02:08):
to one artist, which by the way, limiting yourself to
an artist like Prince who has just like smash hit
after smash hit, you could do worse, Like you could
do worse than a Prince Night. But the hard part
is not every song is made for the dance styles
that we have to do. And so you know, I
(02:29):
know that like TikTok Night and even even the first
week Anthem Night were nights that people said, you know,
it kind of makes it difficult, Like, you know, we're
trying to do a traditional ballroom style to a pop
song and it doesn't necessarily fit. So I can see how,
(02:50):
you know, it can be a little difficult, especially if
you're a newer fan and you're like, wait, what's happening here?
And as you heard tonight, some of the songs had
to be slowed down significantly in order them for them
to work for the dance styles, and some of them
had to be sped up significantly in order to work
for the dance styles. So I am in agreement with
the camp of people who are saying that there are
(03:11):
too many themes. I personally think, as fun as they are,
the show is better with some fewer themes. That would
be my overall takeaway. Now that all the theme nights
are done, next week's the finale. We've seen them all.
I love it, but I think maybe maybe it would
(03:33):
be better with just a select group. It doesn't even
have to be a select few. If you have let's
say ten weeks, which is what we have so far.
If you have ten weeks, make five of them themes.
You know Halloween Wicked was an amazing one. Make five,
maybe even six of them themes and then the rest.
(03:54):
Maybe we don't need to have all of them be themed.
That's just my opinion. You can agree or disagree. So
it was a celebration of Prince music, at which I love,
a real coup for the show, and since they have
tried it for years to clear his music and now
they finally worked with the estate to make it happen.
(04:17):
I wasn't planning on going tonight. I was, as you know,
eliminated back in week eight. And the following week was
the twentieth anniversary, which felt like just an event I
really wanted to be a part of. It's a historical night,
it's celebrating twenty years of the show. You know, they
(04:37):
reached out and individually invited me. I felt like I
really wanted to be there for that one. And then
I thought, okay, and then it's Prince week, and then
for the finale, I'm going to be there for the finale.
I get to dance in the finale, so I'll take
a week off. I'll you know, give everyone a chance
to miss me or something, you know. But then last
(04:58):
week was so special being there for the twentieth anniversary,
and Dylan made such a sweet point of telling me
how nice it was to be able to see me
right before he went out and did his dance. And
as you guys have heard us talk, we have a
(05:18):
great friendship and a strong alliance. And he was like,
you know, now, he said, superstition wise, I feel like
I need to be able to see you before I
go out on the dance floor. And he texted me
over the weekend and said, are you going to come
on Tuesday? And I said probably not. You know, unfortunately
(05:43):
my kids are sick and I'm not feeling great this weekend,
so probably not. And he just didn't He didn't respond
in any way. He didn't like say that's okay, or
even thumbs up it or anything. There was just like silence.
And then my kids recovered. I recovered, And so I
(06:04):
texted him today the day of the show, and I said,
we recovered. If you want me there tonight, I am
free and can go. And he was like, oh my gosh, yes,
please come. And so I texted the wonderful Dina Cats
and I said, I know it's last minute. I feel
(06:24):
like such a heel. I'm so sorry, but if you
have room for me to come tonight, I would love
love to be there. And she said, let me get
right on this, and then she got back to me
and said that we could come. So thank you, Dinah,
and I'm so glad I was there. It was it
was it was quite a night. At this point. You
(06:47):
guys all know Dylan's brother Zach was there. It was
so nice to meet him. He is just delightful, beautiful, sweet,
bubbly personality, sat with Olivia the whole time. They just
have such a beautiful family. I also awkwardly inserted myself
(07:08):
into their family. I went and sat with them during
the elimination time and someone I don't even know who
someone was like, let's take a family picture. And they
stood up and took a picture, and I was like, guys,
I'm now in your family picture. I'm apparently an honorary
family member. And I said, the unfortunate thing is that
(07:29):
that probably could have been like a really cute Christmas card,
and now it just can't be. And Zach turned around
and was like, no, now it's a better card, which
is so cute, just so cute. Love their family so
much so I'm really happy I was there tonight and
forced myself into their family. We will be taping a
(07:53):
live episode of Danielle with at Disney California Adventure Park
on December fourth, twenty twenty five. If you live in
the Southern California area, or if you can be in
the Southern California area on December fourth, we have an
opportunity for you to join us between now and November
twenty fourth, of twenty twenty five, you can enter for
(08:14):
your chance to win tickets to attend the Coast one
oh three point five Private Holiday Party at Disney California
Adventure Park on December fourth, twenty twenty five, including an
overnight stay at the Disneyland Resort Hotel for a family
of four and two day one park per day tickets
to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Plus you
(08:38):
will have the chance to meet us while we are
taping an episode of Danielle With inside Disney California Adventure Park.
Visit Coast one oh three five dot com forward slash
Danielle With now to enter for your chance to win.
(09:01):
You know, the ballroom tonight felt different without Andy. I
know that is like, you know, it should feel different
every time somebody's gone home, and of course it does.
And also the energy was probably a little bit different
because it is the semifinals, so there was like a
heightened amount of pressure. There was some tension in the air.
(09:27):
I think everyone's just running on fumes and adrenaline. And yeah,
the ballroom just kind of felt different and I don't
know how to describe it. It was a little less
electric tonight. Then I think it has felt previously and
(09:47):
I cannot put my finger on what that would have
been about, other than the fact that Andy's not there.
I don't know. Okay, let's talk about the dances. Robert
or did a jive, and I saw some people were
annoyed by the amount of repeat dances because they tonight
(10:09):
having to do two print songs. You got to do
an original song and then you got to do a repeat.
And this technically is Robert's third jive if you count
the relay race with Soci last week. I don't care
that it's a repeat. Watching Robert Irwin do a jive
is one of the most joyous experiences you can have.
(10:33):
It just suits his personality and his vibe and his
energy so well, and he's so good at it. I
was just so impressed. I loved it. I loved that
trick they did where he went over Whitney's back. I
thought that was just spectacular. I thought that was amazing.
(10:55):
So he did a jive routine to Baby I'm a
Star and a Viennese waltz to Wow I Was Not
Those are not two of my favorite print songs. I
know a lot of people love them. But when I
first saw that he was doing those songs, I was like, huh,
I wonder how that's gonna work. Knocked it out of
the park, really absolutely loved that. His jive was the
(11:17):
first perfect score of the night. He got ten ten ten.
The gold confetti cannon went off, very exciting, super proud
of him, just thrilled. It was very sweet. I went
and said hello to Mama Terry, and I walked up
and I gave her a hug, and she said, I
have to thank you so much for running up into
(11:40):
the skybox and congratulating Robert last week. He came home
and told me how much that meant to him. My heart.
I just love him so much. And then Whitney Levitt
did a cha cha to nineteen ninety nine and a
Viennese waltz to Slow Love. I thought her purple outfit
(12:05):
for the cha cha was stunning. I love her red hair,
the way it was like crimped or waved, just so good.
She was giving. I saw Mayan Lopez commented on one
of her Instagram posts. On Whitney's Instagram posts that she
was giving Daphne from Scooby Doo and it was so perfect.
(12:27):
She totally was just absolutely stunning. Whitney is one of
the most beautiful dancers I have ever seen in twenty
years of Dancing with the Stars. I just think she
is spectacular. There's no denying it. You can not be
(12:49):
a Whitney fan for whatever reason. You cannot deny that
she is an incredible dancer. And Mark has really pushed her.
And some people think, like watching the packages, like, oh,
Mark is pushing her too hard. Let me tell you something,
Whitney wants that. Whitney wants that. Whitney's been a Mark
(13:13):
fan for years, somebody who she's somebody who's watched the show.
She knows how Mark coaches. She wants to be pushed,
she wants to be challenged. She really, you know, this
is what she's built for. She's very clearly a performer.
(13:33):
And Whitney being the best dancer on the show, as
anybody who's watched this show knows, being the best dancer
or one of the best dancers on this season or
on the show is never a guarantee that you're gonna win.
So am I surprised that Whitney isn't in the finals. Yes,
(13:56):
I'm surprised that Whitney isn't in the finals. I thought
she was going to make it to the final round.
I did not think Whitney was going to win Dancing
with the Stars, even though I think she's one of
the best dancers. I am surprised she didn't make it
to the finals. I will say that the way the
(14:19):
package was set up, and with the season premiere of
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives coming out this week, it
felt to me while I was watching the show, it
felt to me like if we look at reality TV
(14:40):
as a storytelling mechanism, the same way dance is a
storytelling mechanism, the way acting is a storytelling mechanism. If
we look at that, what makes the most compelling storytelling
was for Whitney to go home tonight, for her ambition
(15:03):
to be on the show on Dancing with the Stars
to have been played out in the premiere episode of
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and for that to then
be shown in her package and talked about in the skybox,
and I just thought, you know, the craziest storytelling is
(15:27):
somebody being that honest about the things that they want
and about their dreams and having no shame about it,
which I applaud but storytelling wise, what makes the most
captivating TV is seeing all of that and then immediately
seeing that person go home. So I had a bad
(15:50):
feeling throughout the day, like throughout the show, that it
might be Whitney's time to go home. And I was
hoping I was wrong, but I was not. Alex did
an Argentine tango to Little Red Corvette and a Viennese
waltz to Purple Rain. Her Viennese waltz was so unbelievably
(16:18):
beautiful and man Alex's journey on this show is one
of my absolute favorites. I see it personally, I see
it personally, and I see it reflected on the show.
(16:41):
When I very first met Alex was in New York
for Good Morning America and we were in the same
room a couple of times, she didn't make eye contact
with me. I kept trying to make eye contact with
her to like find find a time to introduce myself
and say hi, and I kept like looking at her
and she wouldn't make eye contact with me, And then
(17:02):
we almost crashed into each other in the hallway, and
instead of like using that as the opportunity to say hi,
she kind of like ugh, like diverted around me, and
I had to go out of my way and be like, hey, Hi,
by the way, I'm Danielle. I'm going to be on
the season of the show with you. And she was
like hi, and immediately so nice and gave me a hug.
(17:24):
And I could tell that whatever was stopping her from
making eye contact with me before or from saying hello,
was definitely not that she was a rude person. It
was that she was either nervous or she was uncomfortable
or something. There was something going on that had nothing
to do with her trying to be snooty or rude.
(17:45):
I could tell that right away. But I could also
tell that she wasn't like necessarily super comfortable. And then
as the weeks progressed and we started seeing each other
more and more in the dance rehearsal space, and we
got to know each other better, and we would make
tiktoks together or we would do things together. Her personality
(18:07):
just started developing more. And I'm not saying she didn't
have a personality and it was developing, let's say it
say it a different way. Her personality started. She started
feeling more comfortable showing her personality and being her authentic self.
And the more I got to know her and the
more I just she is you want to wrap her
(18:28):
up in your arms or in a blanket and cuddle
her and hug her and laugh with her and have
a good time with her. And there's a real sensitivity
to her that I just absolutely love. And I think
I think seeing her emotional journey where she first started
and you could tell that maybe her face was a
(18:50):
little more stoic and she wasn't super comfortable, you know,
really revealing who she was. And now to see her
tonight with tears streaming down her face, and those are
tears that I know so well because I felt exactly
the same way about the show. That going there every
(19:13):
single day and meeting up with your dance partner and
learning a new dance and being with the friends that
we made on the season, you forget that, like, oh,
this isn't my every day. This is going to end,
and it is hard when it ends. So I felt
for her and I thought it was really great. As
(19:35):
much as I don't want to see her cry, I
thought it was really great that she was willing to
open up and show everyone that and then for her
come out and just do two such beautiful dances. I
thought it was really it's really nice. Her journey and
her evolution on this show has been just really fun
to watch. I'm so proud of her. And then he
(19:57):
Laan did a foxtrot to I Want to Be Your Lover,
and she opened the show again, and I thought, oh man,
it's tough to open the show. Opening the show is
so hard, so I felt for her having to be
in that position again, and the judges gave it three nines.
And when the show first started, it seemed like there
(20:23):
was a lot of pressure coming from the judges now
that we were in the semifinals to up our games,
like everybody's game needed to be elevated and raised and
upped because it was the semifinals. And I thought there
were quite a few dances that deserved higher scores than
they got, but they were saying, like, listen, it's the semifinals.
(20:48):
I'm not gonna let little mistakes go. If I see
a slip up, i'm gonna mark you down for it,
which I can also appreciate, like at this point in
the competition, you are fighting for your place in the finale.
So I also understood that, and then they said she
wanted they wanted to see more fight from her, and
(21:10):
she went up into the skybox and she said, the
next thing you're gonna see for me is some fight.
And they had a perfect dance to do that with.
They had Apasa Doble to win Doves Cry. I loved
their costumes. I thought their costumes were just great. I
thought Elaine killed this dance. And you know, you'd never know,
(21:33):
like you see people as graceful and elegant as Whitney
and Alex and Elaine, and you see them in the
ballroom styles and you see them with their long arms
and it's so beautiful and flowing, and then you think,
how are they gonna do stomping around? And then you're like, wow,
you're good at that too. So that was great, and
sure enough the judges were just thrilled, and Carrie Anne
(21:58):
came out from behind the judge's table and fell down
to her knees and said, that's what I wanted to see.
And I thought right away, like, all right, Elaine's going
to be in the finals for sure. Based on these reactions,
Elaine is going to be in the finals. And she
got three perfect tens for that dance, which I know
(22:19):
meant the world to her, because, if I'm not mistaken,
the only other ten did she she must have gotten
a ten last week, but maybe not. I think her
only other ten may have been a flav of Flave ten,
which not to say that a flav of Flave ten
is not the same as any other ten, But if
you're one of the core three judges and you're a
(22:42):
contestant on this show, you probably place a little more
weight into what they think, So getting a ten from them,
or three tens, as it were, really means a lot.
So I'm sure she was absolutely thrilled about that. And
then my girl, Jordan, she did a jive to Ratsberry
Beret Oh, one of my favorite songs, and you saw
(23:07):
them set up in her package. How badly she wanted
a perfect score. She wanted it so bad she was
calling it out. I was rooting for and she did
the jive. I thought her jive was amazing. I thought
her kicks and flicks were on point. It was so enjoyable.
(23:27):
I loved her costume, I loved her hair. I just
I thought it was great. I thought it was a
great jive. I thought the choreography was incredible. Ezra killed it.
That little like breakout moment they had over on the
side I thought was unbelievable, very exciting. And then they
called out a mistake and she got three nines and
(23:50):
I thought, oh my gosh, I just want her to
get her perfect score so badly, and she made sure
she got it. She came out with an Argentine tango
in a pose upside down. She looked incredible. Ezra has
really become one of my favorite choreographers on this show.
(24:15):
I love how risky he is. I love the risks
he takes, and I love that Jordan trusts him enough
and goes, yeah, I know this doesn't look like a
conventional you know, this doesn't look like conventional choreography I've
seen done by a bunch of other people. I don't care.
(24:36):
That's exactly why I want to do it. I want
to stand out. I want it to be different, like
I just love it. So they came out and absolutely
killed an Argentine tango to you got the look. It
was so well done, and she got her perfect score
and I cried. It was the only time I cried
(25:00):
in the ballroom. Tonight. You'll be happy to know. I
think everybody thinks I'm just a giant softie who cries
all the time, But that was the only time I cried.
I was so I was just so immensely proud of her,
really truly so proud of her. And she got her
perfect score, and I was sitting not too far behind
her family, and so I got to congratulate them on
(25:23):
not only making the finals, but on the perfect score.
And Jordan's dad was so kind and he said, I
am so grateful that you guys are friends, which is
just so sweet. How did this cast luck out so
(25:54):
much that not only do we all love each other
so much and support each other so much, but we
love all of our families too, Like what it's you,
It's it's not this is not easy to have this
(26:15):
many people spend this much time together during a competition show,
and for everyone to just be so supportive and loving
to one another. And it's very genuine. Speaking of things
that are very genuine, Connor, Whitney's husband. Immediately after Whitney
(26:38):
had been Whitney and Mark had been eliminated, Connor turned
like he watched Whitney walk off stage with Mark, and
I gave him a hug, and I told him the
same thing I told Whitney, which is she has already won.
Being in the finale is not going to change the
(26:58):
fact that Whitney Levitt is going to be a massive star.
It just she already is. And I think the opportunities
for her to be a performer are going to if
they have not already started, they are just going to continue,
and she is going to have her pick of anything
she wants to do in the entertainment industry. And one
(27:22):
more week making it to the finale wouldn't have made
it moren't It wouldn't have changed it. She's already one.
And he said that he was really proud of her,
and I said I was proud of her too, And
immediately after I was done talking to him, he turned
to Jordan's family and just with so much enthusiasm and
like genuine support, said, I am so excited and I'm
(27:47):
so proud of Jordan. Congratulations to you and your family.
It was so nice because no one would have judged
him for just kind of being in his own head
and not saying anything or even just saying like hey,
congratulations and being down, and he just didn't he is
(28:08):
Connor is the hype man in the audience for everybody's family,
and especially for Whitney. His love and support for her
is unmatched. I also really want to specially acknowledge Mark.
Everyone knows that Mark is one of the best dancers
(28:34):
and the best choreographers the dance world has ever seen.
Definitely one of the best dancers and choreographers Dancing with
the Stars has ever seen. He started on Dancing with
the Stars in season five and has been there for
fifteen years. He has been around for a lot. And
(28:56):
I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I
say that this season has been the most difficult season
to manage opinions and online criticism and hate and you know,
(29:19):
death threats, the things people will say online about his
family and just truly insane and through it all, I
think I'm the most amazed by is how well Mark
(29:39):
handles it all. And I know it's difficult. I know
it's not easy, But his strength of character and the
goodness of his heart, oh boy, it's he is a
special He's a special d vial, he really is. He.
(30:02):
He is a great, great friend, and he is a
friend to every single person and every single celebrity, every
single pro that's on this season, and I believe probably
of every season in the past that he's that he
has been a part of. He is there for and
(30:24):
if you need a pep talk, if you need advice,
if you want help with something. I don't know how
he has the bandwidth, but he he's just he's a
really special man. And I told him that tonight. I
told him that, you know, his choreography the season was incredible,
his dancing the season was incredible. All of it's great,
(30:45):
and yet none of it, to me, is as beautiful
as the character he showed throughout this year. And I
told him I would continue to scream it from the
rooftops to anybody who would listen, because I just think
it should be known what an amazing man he is.
And then my boy Dylan, he did a tango too.
(31:08):
I would die for you. I thought his tango was amazing.
I will say I did not see the feet. I
wasn't super paying attention to his feet because I was
so focused on his sharp head turns because I remember
from when I did my tango, like knowing how important
(31:30):
those sharp head turns were. I was watching his elbow
because I saw that something they were talking about in
his package, I was really paying attention to like everything
other than he'll leads, and I know that he'll leads
are important. Derek called it out tonight, and I can't
say that I paid any attention to that, so I
can't even say, like what, But I will say because
(31:53):
I did not without seeing that, I thought this stance
deserved at least one ten. Call me crazy. I thought
this dance was a little underscored. I really liked it.
I thought the tango was great. I thought he did
a great job keeping his booty tucked, and then they
did a cha cha to kiss, which I was so
(32:18):
proud of him for doing a chat cha because they
didn't decide to do his best dance. They decided to
do a dance that would really show how far he's come,
which is you know, you're calling it out. You're saying, hey,
look at me, this is gonna be good. That's why
I'm doing it, because I want you to compare it
to my other one and notice how much better it is.
(32:38):
I just I think that kind of stuff is really
I love that. I think that, you know, it's what
Whitney and Mark said, why they decided to do their
dance as well. I thought this dance was incredible. Danny's
choreography for this Cha Cha was spectacular, the way they
used the musicality to punctuate the dance moves. I just
(33:00):
thought it was great. And it didn't get as high
of a score as I thought, and they were on
the bottom of the leaderboard. And although that made me nervous,
if there is one thing this season has showed us,
it's that being at the bottom of the leaderboard doesn't
(33:21):
mean it doesn't mean that you're going home. So I
wasn't too worried, but I was just a little bit worried.
And when it came time to the elimination, I looked
at Jensen, who was sitting next to me, and I said,
I'm sorry, but I need to go sit with Dylan's family.
(33:42):
And he was like, okay, go, go go, And I
got up and I ran across to the other side
and that's when I sat myself down in the chair
and inserted myself into what eventually became a family photo,
but without Dylan, so they wouldn't use it for a
Christmas card anyway. Dylan's not in it. Oh maybe they
could just replace me with Dylan. They can photoshop me,
or they can photoshop Dylan over me. That's a good idea.
(34:04):
I'll give him that suggestion. Anyway, I still ran over there,
and I sat down next to Dylan's stepmom, and I
held Dylan's girlfriend's shoulder. I held Courtney, she was sitting
in front of me. I held Courtney's shoulder, and I
had my arm around Dylan's stepmom and we sat there
(34:25):
holding our breath. And Elaine was the first one called
safe when Alfonso said she's fifty four, and the whole
place erupted celebration for her, and she ran off, and
then Alex and Val were next. They were called safe,
and then Robert and Whitney were called safe and left
(34:53):
standing up. There was Jordan and Ezra, Dylan and Danny,
Whitney and Mark. And the second there was silence, I
said out loud, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan
and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, and they
announced that Dylan and Danny were safe, and they walked off.
(35:17):
And the minute I knew that it was down to
Jordan and Whitney, I said Whitney's going home, And sure
enough they called Jordan and Ezra safe and that was it.
(35:39):
Whitney came walking down and I was wondering if she
was surprised, but I also know that she told me
last week that she really thought she was going home
last week. And you know, I went out onto the
ballroom floor and she seemed very composed, and I said,
(36:03):
I told you what I told her. I said, you
know you've already won. She said, I know I have.
She gave everybody a hug, and then her and Mark walked,
you know, after they talked to everybody, her and Mark
walked up and then walked off the stage, and she
seemed very composed. She seemed like she was, you know,
(36:25):
probably a little bit in shock and taking it all in.
And then she changed clothes and she was on her
way to go do the Dancing with the Stars podcast,
and I saw her. I saw her one more time
outside and then, you know, she was more emotional at
that point. I think she had had some time to
be with Connor and to let some of the emotions
hit her. And it's never easy. It's never easy when this,
(36:52):
when this journey ends, even if you make it all
the way through the semifinals. You know it won't be
easy next week for the people in the finals. The
show has a weird It has a weird emotional hold
(37:12):
over all of us. And I don't know if it's
just dance. I think it's the immersion. I think it's
the full immersion of our lives and our time and
our physical bodies and the amount of vulnerability and trust
it takes to do this kind of a schedule and
(37:34):
in front of millions of people, and to like really
let the world see you for who you are. The pros,
the cons, the skills, the lack of skills, the flaws,
all of it. And it's I think maybe we're all
trauma bonded. But like good trauma, is there such a thing.
(37:57):
I don't think there's such a thing as good trauma,
but like, you know, it's such a unique experience and
it is so like in the trenches. I just think, yeah,
there's there's a weird bond. But I'm sad for Whitney.
I'm sad for all of us who didn't get to
(38:18):
do it for all eleven weeks, and even when it's
over at eleven weeks. So I'm gonna be sad for
just all of us that it's over. I can't believe
we don't get to like do this for the rest
of our lives. I know that sounds insane. I sound
like an insane person. I'm gonna stop. It's late. It's
nine thirty. This is, you know, almost my bedtime. I
mean minutes away from my bedtime. So, guys, we're at
(38:41):
the finals. I can't even believe it. We're at the finals.
It's just gonna be incredible. We get an Ezra freestyle,
we get an Alan Burston freestyle, we get a Daniella
Kara Gosh freestyle. We get a Val Schberkowsky free style,
we get a Whitney Carson free style. Guys, we are
(39:06):
going to be just floating in free style goodness. I
can't wait to see them. It's gonna be it's gonna
be spectacular. I cannot wait. Also, in the finale, you girl,
that's me, I'm your girl. I get to dance in
the finale. It's a very small little thing. I think
(39:27):
there's like an opening number that I get to be
a part of, and then there's some sort of bumper
that I get to do. I don't know who I'm
I mean, obviously I'm paired with Pasha. Pasha's my forever,
forever partner, but I don't know like who I'm going
to be in a grouping with. I think there's like
two other couples. I don't know who they are. I
will find out soon. Rehearsals for that start later this week,
(39:52):
and then, I mean, it's a week from now. It
is a week from now the finale, and I can't
wait to be there. I can't wait to tell you
you all about it immediately after it's over. I hope
you guys are looking forward to it. And while we wait,
I am going to be sitting down with one half
(40:13):
of the dynamic duo that hosts Dancing with the Stars.
That's right, he's nineties royalty, he's two thousands royalty. He's
just American royalty. It's Alfonso Rivero. Can't wait to sit
down and talk with Alfonso about what it's like to
host Dancing with the Stars. It really does seem like
(40:33):
a total dream job. And I want to know is
is it as dreamy as it looks? And I want
to talk to about his dance schedule too. I want
to know what kind of classes? Is he in? What's
he up to? What's he doing anyway? Thank you all
for listening to this episode of Danielle with I will
see you all next time. Bye. Danielle with the Stars
(40:57):
Produced and hosted by Danielle Fischl. Executive producer Jensen Carpon,
Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer,
editor and engineer Tara Sudbasch. Theme song by Justin Siegel.
Follow us on Instagram at Danielle with Stars and vote
for me
They can try and get rid of me, but I
have become one with the ballroom. It's Danielle Fischl, podcaster,
TV director, mother of two and self appointed Dylan Efron
good luck charm to Penga Lawrence from Boy Meets World,
and yes, just two weeks ago, I myself was a
(00:38):
contestant on Season thirty four of Dancing with the Stars,
eliminated from the Elite eight, only to return like a phantom,
haunting the show from the audience for the semifinals. I
once again saw everything unfold with my very own eyes,
and I am here ready to report back to you. Has.
(01:00):
In addition to joining a show focused on dance with
zero experience in dance, I have also consistently recorded this
very podcast, hoping to take you all on the journey,
right to the very last second when someone who will
not be me is crowned the recipient of a Len
Goodman mehr Ball Trophy. I just returned home from the semifinals.
(01:25):
It was Prince Knight incredible night of music. I don't
know how many of the younger people who are tuning
in to Dancing with the Stars for the first time
know about Prince or no Prince music. But for those
of us who have been Prince fans and who love
(01:46):
Prince music, let me tell you tonight was a fun
night of music. I am in agreement with a lot
of you that the themes can sometimes make the night's
difficult to get behind as far as the dancing, because
it is true that, like, if you're gonna limit yourself
(02:08):
to one artist, which by the way, limiting yourself to
an artist like Prince who has just like smash hit
after smash hit, you could do worse, Like you could
do worse than a Prince Night. But the hard part
is not every song is made for the dance styles
that we have to do. And so you know, I
(02:29):
know that like TikTok Night and even even the first
week Anthem Night were nights that people said, you know,
it kind of makes it difficult, Like, you know, we're
trying to do a traditional ballroom style to a pop
song and it doesn't necessarily fit. So I can see how,
(02:50):
you know, it can be a little difficult, especially if
you're a newer fan and you're like, wait, what's happening here?
And as you heard tonight, some of the songs had
to be slowed down significantly in order them for them
to work for the dance styles, and some of them
had to be sped up significantly in order to work
for the dance styles. So I am in agreement with
the camp of people who are saying that there are
(03:11):
too many themes. I personally think, as fun as they are,
the show is better with some fewer themes. That would
be my overall takeaway. Now that all the theme nights
are done, next week's the finale. We've seen them all.
I love it, but I think maybe maybe it would
(03:33):
be better with just a select group. It doesn't even
have to be a select few. If you have let's
say ten weeks, which is what we have so far.
If you have ten weeks, make five of them themes.
You know Halloween Wicked was an amazing one. Make five,
maybe even six of them themes and then the rest.
(03:54):
Maybe we don't need to have all of them be themed.
That's just my opinion. You can agree or disagree. So
it was a celebration of Prince music, at which I love,
a real coup for the show, and since they have
tried it for years to clear his music and now
they finally worked with the estate to make it happen.
(04:17):
I wasn't planning on going tonight. I was, as you know,
eliminated back in week eight. And the following week was
the twentieth anniversary, which felt like just an event I
really wanted to be a part of. It's a historical night,
it's celebrating twenty years of the show. You know, they
(04:37):
reached out and individually invited me. I felt like I
really wanted to be there for that one. And then
I thought, okay, and then it's Prince week, and then
for the finale, I'm going to be there for the finale.
I get to dance in the finale, so I'll take
a week off. I'll you know, give everyone a chance
to miss me or something, you know. But then last
(04:58):
week was so special being there for the twentieth anniversary,
and Dylan made such a sweet point of telling me
how nice it was to be able to see me
right before he went out and did his dance. And
as you guys have heard us talk, we have a
(05:18):
great friendship and a strong alliance. And he was like,
you know, now, he said, superstition wise, I feel like
I need to be able to see you before I
go out on the dance floor. And he texted me
over the weekend and said, are you going to come
on Tuesday? And I said probably not. You know, unfortunately
(05:43):
my kids are sick and I'm not feeling great this weekend,
so probably not. And he just didn't He didn't respond
in any way. He didn't like say that's okay, or
even thumbs up it or anything. There was just like silence.
And then my kids recovered. I recovered, And so I
(06:04):
texted him today the day of the show, and I said,
we recovered. If you want me there tonight, I am
free and can go. And he was like, oh my gosh, yes,
please come. And so I texted the wonderful Dina Cats
and I said, I know it's last minute. I feel
(06:24):
like such a heel. I'm so sorry, but if you
have room for me to come tonight, I would love
love to be there. And she said, let me get
right on this, and then she got back to me
and said that we could come. So thank you, Dinah,
and I'm so glad I was there. It was it
was it was quite a night. At this point. You
(06:47):
guys all know Dylan's brother Zach was there. It was
so nice to meet him. He is just delightful, beautiful, sweet,
bubbly personality, sat with Olivia the whole time. They just
have such a beautiful family. I also awkwardly inserted myself
(07:08):
into their family. I went and sat with them during
the elimination time and someone I don't even know who
someone was like, let's take a family picture. And they
stood up and took a picture, and I was like, guys,
I'm now in your family picture. I'm apparently an honorary
family member. And I said, the unfortunate thing is that
(07:29):
that probably could have been like a really cute Christmas card,
and now it just can't be. And Zach turned around
and was like, no, now it's a better card, which
is so cute, just so cute. Love their family so
much so I'm really happy I was there tonight and
forced myself into their family. We will be taping a
(07:53):
live episode of Danielle with at Disney California Adventure Park
on December fourth, twenty twenty five. If you live in
the Southern California area, or if you can be in
the Southern California area on December fourth, we have an
opportunity for you to join us between now and November
twenty fourth, of twenty twenty five, you can enter for
(08:14):
your chance to win tickets to attend the Coast one
oh three point five Private Holiday Party at Disney California
Adventure Park on December fourth, twenty twenty five, including an
overnight stay at the Disneyland Resort Hotel for a family
of four and two day one park per day tickets
to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Plus you
(08:38):
will have the chance to meet us while we are
taping an episode of Danielle With inside Disney California Adventure Park.
Visit Coast one oh three five dot com forward slash
Danielle With now to enter for your chance to win.
(09:01):
You know, the ballroom tonight felt different without Andy. I
know that is like, you know, it should feel different
every time somebody's gone home, and of course it does.
And also the energy was probably a little bit different
because it is the semifinals, so there was like a
heightened amount of pressure. There was some tension in the air.
(09:27):
I think everyone's just running on fumes and adrenaline. And yeah,
the ballroom just kind of felt different and I don't
know how to describe it. It was a little less
electric tonight. Then I think it has felt previously and
(09:47):
I cannot put my finger on what that would have
been about, other than the fact that Andy's not there.
I don't know. Okay, let's talk about the dances. Robert
or did a jive, and I saw some people were
annoyed by the amount of repeat dances because they tonight
(10:09):
having to do two print songs. You got to do
an original song and then you got to do a repeat.
And this technically is Robert's third jive if you count
the relay race with Soci last week. I don't care
that it's a repeat. Watching Robert Irwin do a jive
is one of the most joyous experiences you can have.
(10:33):
It just suits his personality and his vibe and his
energy so well, and he's so good at it. I
was just so impressed. I loved it. I loved that
trick they did where he went over Whitney's back. I
thought that was just spectacular. I thought that was amazing.
(10:55):
So he did a jive routine to Baby I'm a
Star and a Viennese waltz to Wow I Was Not
Those are not two of my favorite print songs. I
know a lot of people love them. But when I
first saw that he was doing those songs, I was like, huh,
I wonder how that's gonna work. Knocked it out of
the park, really absolutely loved that. His jive was the
(11:17):
first perfect score of the night. He got ten ten ten.
The gold confetti cannon went off, very exciting, super proud
of him, just thrilled. It was very sweet. I went
and said hello to Mama Terry, and I walked up
and I gave her a hug, and she said, I
have to thank you so much for running up into
(11:40):
the skybox and congratulating Robert last week. He came home
and told me how much that meant to him. My heart.
I just love him so much. And then Whitney Levitt
did a cha cha to nineteen ninety nine and a
Viennese waltz to Slow Love. I thought her purple outfit
(12:05):
for the cha cha was stunning. I love her red hair,
the way it was like crimped or waved, just so good.
She was giving. I saw Mayan Lopez commented on one
of her Instagram posts. On Whitney's Instagram posts that she
was giving Daphne from Scooby Doo and it was so perfect.
(12:27):
She totally was just absolutely stunning. Whitney is one of
the most beautiful dancers I have ever seen in twenty
years of Dancing with the Stars. I just think she
is spectacular. There's no denying it. You can not be
(12:49):
a Whitney fan for whatever reason. You cannot deny that
she is an incredible dancer. And Mark has really pushed her.
And some people think, like watching the packages, like, oh,
Mark is pushing her too hard. Let me tell you something,
Whitney wants that. Whitney wants that. Whitney's been a Mark
(13:13):
fan for years, somebody who she's somebody who's watched the show.
She knows how Mark coaches. She wants to be pushed,
she wants to be challenged. She really, you know, this
is what she's built for. She's very clearly a performer.
(13:33):
And Whitney being the best dancer on the show, as
anybody who's watched this show knows, being the best dancer
or one of the best dancers on this season or
on the show is never a guarantee that you're gonna win.
So am I surprised that Whitney isn't in the finals. Yes,
(13:56):
I'm surprised that Whitney isn't in the finals. I thought
she was going to make it to the final round.
I did not think Whitney was going to win Dancing
with the Stars, even though I think she's one of
the best dancers. I am surprised she didn't make it
to the finals. I will say that the way the
(14:19):
package was set up, and with the season premiere of
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives coming out this week, it
felt to me while I was watching the show, it
felt to me like if we look at reality TV
(14:40):
as a storytelling mechanism, the same way dance is a
storytelling mechanism, the way acting is a storytelling mechanism. If
we look at that, what makes the most compelling storytelling
was for Whitney to go home tonight, for her ambition
(15:03):
to be on the show on Dancing with the Stars
to have been played out in the premiere episode of
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and for that to then
be shown in her package and talked about in the skybox,
and I just thought, you know, the craziest storytelling is
(15:27):
somebody being that honest about the things that they want
and about their dreams and having no shame about it,
which I applaud but storytelling wise, what makes the most
captivating TV is seeing all of that and then immediately
seeing that person go home. So I had a bad
(15:50):
feeling throughout the day, like throughout the show, that it
might be Whitney's time to go home. And I was
hoping I was wrong, but I was not. Alex did
an Argentine tango to Little Red Corvette and a Viennese
waltz to Purple Rain. Her Viennese waltz was so unbelievably
(16:18):
beautiful and man Alex's journey on this show is one
of my absolute favorites. I see it personally, I see
it personally, and I see it reflected on the show.
(16:41):
When I very first met Alex was in New York
for Good Morning America and we were in the same
room a couple of times, she didn't make eye contact
with me. I kept trying to make eye contact with
her to like find find a time to introduce myself
and say hi, and I kept like looking at her
and she wouldn't make eye contact with me, And then
(17:02):
we almost crashed into each other in the hallway, and
instead of like using that as the opportunity to say hi,
she kind of like ugh, like diverted around me, and
I had to go out of my way and be like, hey, Hi,
by the way, I'm Danielle. I'm going to be on
the season of the show with you. And she was
like hi, and immediately so nice and gave me a hug.
(17:24):
And I could tell that whatever was stopping her from
making eye contact with me before or from saying hello,
was definitely not that she was a rude person. It
was that she was either nervous or she was uncomfortable
or something. There was something going on that had nothing
to do with her trying to be snooty or rude.
(17:45):
I could tell that right away. But I could also
tell that she wasn't like necessarily super comfortable. And then
as the weeks progressed and we started seeing each other
more and more in the dance rehearsal space, and we
got to know each other better, and we would make
tiktoks together or we would do things together. Her personality
(18:07):
just started developing more. And I'm not saying she didn't
have a personality and it was developing, let's say it
say it a different way. Her personality started. She started
feeling more comfortable showing her personality and being her authentic self.
And the more I got to know her and the
more I just she is you want to wrap her
(18:28):
up in your arms or in a blanket and cuddle
her and hug her and laugh with her and have
a good time with her. And there's a real sensitivity
to her that I just absolutely love. And I think
I think seeing her emotional journey where she first started
and you could tell that maybe her face was a
(18:50):
little more stoic and she wasn't super comfortable, you know,
really revealing who she was. And now to see her
tonight with tears streaming down her face, and those are
tears that I know so well because I felt exactly
the same way about the show. That going there every
(19:13):
single day and meeting up with your dance partner and
learning a new dance and being with the friends that
we made on the season, you forget that, like, oh,
this isn't my every day. This is going to end,
and it is hard when it ends. So I felt
for her and I thought it was really great. As
(19:35):
much as I don't want to see her cry, I
thought it was really great that she was willing to
open up and show everyone that and then for her
come out and just do two such beautiful dances. I
thought it was really it's really nice. Her journey and
her evolution on this show has been just really fun
to watch. I'm so proud of her. And then he
(19:57):
Laan did a foxtrot to I Want to Be Your Lover,
and she opened the show again, and I thought, oh man,
it's tough to open the show. Opening the show is
so hard, so I felt for her having to be
in that position again, and the judges gave it three nines.
And when the show first started, it seemed like there
(20:23):
was a lot of pressure coming from the judges now
that we were in the semifinals to up our games,
like everybody's game needed to be elevated and raised and
upped because it was the semifinals. And I thought there
were quite a few dances that deserved higher scores than
they got, but they were saying, like, listen, it's the semifinals.
(20:48):
I'm not gonna let little mistakes go. If I see
a slip up, i'm gonna mark you down for it,
which I can also appreciate, like at this point in
the competition, you are fighting for your place in the finale.
So I also understood that, and then they said she
wanted they wanted to see more fight from her, and
(21:10):
she went up into the skybox and she said, the
next thing you're gonna see for me is some fight.
And they had a perfect dance to do that with.
They had Apasa Doble to win Doves Cry. I loved
their costumes. I thought their costumes were just great. I
thought Elaine killed this dance. And you know, you'd never know,
(21:33):
like you see people as graceful and elegant as Whitney
and Alex and Elaine, and you see them in the
ballroom styles and you see them with their long arms
and it's so beautiful and flowing, and then you think,
how are they gonna do stomping around? And then you're like, wow,
you're good at that too. So that was great, and
sure enough the judges were just thrilled, and Carrie Anne
(21:58):
came out from behind the judge's table and fell down
to her knees and said, that's what I wanted to see.
And I thought right away, like, all right, Elaine's going
to be in the finals for sure. Based on these reactions,
Elaine is going to be in the finals. And she
got three perfect tens for that dance, which I know
(22:19):
meant the world to her, because, if I'm not mistaken,
the only other ten did she she must have gotten
a ten last week, but maybe not. I think her
only other ten may have been a flav of Flave ten,
which not to say that a flav of Flave ten
is not the same as any other ten, But if
you're one of the core three judges and you're a
(22:42):
contestant on this show, you probably place a little more
weight into what they think, So getting a ten from them,
or three tens, as it were, really means a lot.
So I'm sure she was absolutely thrilled about that. And
then my girl, Jordan, she did a jive to Ratsberry
Beret Oh, one of my favorite songs, and you saw
(23:07):
them set up in her package. How badly she wanted
a perfect score. She wanted it so bad she was
calling it out. I was rooting for and she did
the jive. I thought her jive was amazing. I thought
her kicks and flicks were on point. It was so enjoyable.
(23:27):
I loved her costume, I loved her hair. I just
I thought it was great. I thought it was a
great jive. I thought the choreography was incredible. Ezra killed it.
That little like breakout moment they had over on the
side I thought was unbelievable, very exciting. And then they
called out a mistake and she got three nines and
(23:50):
I thought, oh my gosh, I just want her to
get her perfect score so badly, and she made sure
she got it. She came out with an Argentine tango
in a pose upside down. She looked incredible. Ezra has
really become one of my favorite choreographers on this show.
(24:15):
I love how risky he is. I love the risks
he takes, and I love that Jordan trusts him enough
and goes, yeah, I know this doesn't look like a
conventional you know, this doesn't look like conventional choreography I've
seen done by a bunch of other people. I don't care.
(24:36):
That's exactly why I want to do it. I want
to stand out. I want it to be different, like
I just love it. So they came out and absolutely
killed an Argentine tango to you got the look. It
was so well done, and she got her perfect score
and I cried. It was the only time I cried
(25:00):
in the ballroom. Tonight. You'll be happy to know. I
think everybody thinks I'm just a giant softie who cries
all the time, But that was the only time I cried.
I was so I was just so immensely proud of her,
really truly so proud of her. And she got her
perfect score, and I was sitting not too far behind
her family, and so I got to congratulate them on
(25:23):
not only making the finals, but on the perfect score.
And Jordan's dad was so kind and he said, I
am so grateful that you guys are friends, which is
just so sweet. How did this cast luck out so
(25:54):
much that not only do we all love each other
so much and support each other so much, but we
love all of our families too, Like what it's you,
It's it's not this is not easy to have this
(26:15):
many people spend this much time together during a competition show,
and for everyone to just be so supportive and loving
to one another. And it's very genuine. Speaking of things
that are very genuine, Connor, Whitney's husband. Immediately after Whitney
(26:38):
had been Whitney and Mark had been eliminated, Connor turned
like he watched Whitney walk off stage with Mark, and
I gave him a hug, and I told him the
same thing I told Whitney, which is she has already won.
Being in the finale is not going to change the
(26:58):
fact that Whitney Levitt is going to be a massive star.
It just she already is. And I think the opportunities
for her to be a performer are going to if
they have not already started, they are just going to continue,
and she is going to have her pick of anything
she wants to do in the entertainment industry. And one
(27:22):
more week making it to the finale wouldn't have made
it moren't It wouldn't have changed it. She's already one.
And he said that he was really proud of her,
and I said I was proud of her too, And
immediately after I was done talking to him, he turned
to Jordan's family and just with so much enthusiasm and
like genuine support, said, I am so excited and I'm
(27:47):
so proud of Jordan. Congratulations to you and your family.
It was so nice because no one would have judged
him for just kind of being in his own head
and not saying anything or even just saying like hey,
congratulations and being down, and he just didn't he is
(28:08):
Connor is the hype man in the audience for everybody's family,
and especially for Whitney. His love and support for her
is unmatched. I also really want to specially acknowledge Mark.
Everyone knows that Mark is one of the best dancers
(28:34):
and the best choreographers the dance world has ever seen.
Definitely one of the best dancers and choreographers Dancing with
the Stars has ever seen. He started on Dancing with
the Stars in season five and has been there for
fifteen years. He has been around for a lot. And
(28:56):
I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I
say that this season has been the most difficult season
to manage opinions and online criticism and hate and you know,
(29:19):
death threats, the things people will say online about his
family and just truly insane and through it all, I
think I'm the most amazed by is how well Mark
(29:39):
handles it all. And I know it's difficult. I know
it's not easy, But his strength of character and the
goodness of his heart, oh boy, it's he is a
special He's a special d vial, he really is. He.
(30:02):
He is a great, great friend, and he is a
friend to every single person and every single celebrity, every
single pro that's on this season, and I believe probably
of every season in the past that he's that he
has been a part of. He is there for and
(30:24):
if you need a pep talk, if you need advice,
if you want help with something. I don't know how
he has the bandwidth, but he he's just he's a
really special man. And I told him that tonight. I
told him that, you know, his choreography the season was incredible,
his dancing the season was incredible. All of it's great,
(30:45):
and yet none of it, to me, is as beautiful
as the character he showed throughout this year. And I
told him I would continue to scream it from the
rooftops to anybody who would listen, because I just think
it should be known what an amazing man he is.
And then my boy Dylan, he did a tango too.
(31:08):
I would die for you. I thought his tango was amazing.
I will say I did not see the feet. I
wasn't super paying attention to his feet because I was
so focused on his sharp head turns because I remember
from when I did my tango, like knowing how important
(31:30):
those sharp head turns were. I was watching his elbow
because I saw that something they were talking about in
his package, I was really paying attention to like everything
other than he'll leads, and I know that he'll leads
are important. Derek called it out tonight, and I can't
say that I paid any attention to that, so I
can't even say, like what, But I will say because
(31:53):
I did not without seeing that, I thought this stance
deserved at least one ten. Call me crazy. I thought
this dance was a little underscored. I really liked it.
I thought the tango was great. I thought he did
a great job keeping his booty tucked, and then they
did a cha cha to kiss, which I was so
(32:18):
proud of him for doing a chat cha because they
didn't decide to do his best dance. They decided to
do a dance that would really show how far he's come,
which is you know, you're calling it out. You're saying, hey,
look at me, this is gonna be good. That's why
I'm doing it, because I want you to compare it
to my other one and notice how much better it is.
(32:38):
I just I think that kind of stuff is really
I love that. I think that, you know, it's what
Whitney and Mark said, why they decided to do their
dance as well. I thought this dance was incredible. Danny's
choreography for this Cha Cha was spectacular, the way they
used the musicality to punctuate the dance moves. I just
(33:00):
thought it was great. And it didn't get as high
of a score as I thought, and they were on
the bottom of the leaderboard. And although that made me nervous,
if there is one thing this season has showed us,
it's that being at the bottom of the leaderboard doesn't
(33:21):
mean it doesn't mean that you're going home. So I
wasn't too worried, but I was just a little bit worried.
And when it came time to the elimination, I looked
at Jensen, who was sitting next to me, and I said,
I'm sorry, but I need to go sit with Dylan's family.
(33:42):
And he was like, okay, go, go go, And I
got up and I ran across to the other side
and that's when I sat myself down in the chair
and inserted myself into what eventually became a family photo,
but without Dylan, so they wouldn't use it for a
Christmas card anyway. Dylan's not in it. Oh maybe they
could just replace me with Dylan. They can photoshop me,
or they can photoshop Dylan over me. That's a good idea.
(34:04):
I'll give him that suggestion. Anyway, I still ran over there,
and I sat down next to Dylan's stepmom, and I
held Dylan's girlfriend's shoulder. I held Courtney, she was sitting
in front of me. I held Courtney's shoulder, and I
had my arm around Dylan's stepmom and we sat there
(34:25):
holding our breath. And Elaine was the first one called
safe when Alfonso said she's fifty four, and the whole
place erupted celebration for her, and she ran off, and
then Alex and Val were next. They were called safe,
and then Robert and Whitney were called safe and left
(34:53):
standing up. There was Jordan and Ezra, Dylan and Danny,
Whitney and Mark. And the second there was silence, I
said out loud, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan
and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, and they
announced that Dylan and Danny were safe, and they walked off.
(35:17):
And the minute I knew that it was down to
Jordan and Whitney, I said Whitney's going home, And sure
enough they called Jordan and Ezra safe and that was it.
(35:39):
Whitney came walking down and I was wondering if she
was surprised, but I also know that she told me
last week that she really thought she was going home
last week. And you know, I went out onto the
ballroom floor and she seemed very composed, and I said,
(36:03):
I told you what I told her. I said, you
know you've already won. She said, I know I have.
She gave everybody a hug, and then her and Mark walked,
you know, after they talked to everybody, her and Mark
walked up and then walked off the stage, and she
seemed very composed. She seemed like she was, you know,
(36:25):
probably a little bit in shock and taking it all in.
And then she changed clothes and she was on her
way to go do the Dancing with the Stars podcast,
and I saw her. I saw her one more time
outside and then, you know, she was more emotional at
that point. I think she had had some time to
be with Connor and to let some of the emotions
hit her. And it's never easy. It's never easy when this,
(36:52):
when this journey ends, even if you make it all
the way through the semifinals. You know it won't be
easy next week for the people in the finals. The
show has a weird It has a weird emotional hold
(37:12):
over all of us. And I don't know if it's
just dance. I think it's the immersion. I think it's
the full immersion of our lives and our time and
our physical bodies and the amount of vulnerability and trust
it takes to do this kind of a schedule and
(37:34):
in front of millions of people, and to like really
let the world see you for who you are. The pros,
the cons, the skills, the lack of skills, the flaws,
all of it. And it's I think maybe we're all
trauma bonded. But like good trauma, is there such a thing.
(37:57):
I don't think there's such a thing as good trauma,
but like, you know, it's such a unique experience and
it is so like in the trenches. I just think, yeah,
there's there's a weird bond. But I'm sad for Whitney.
I'm sad for all of us who didn't get to
(38:18):
do it for all eleven weeks, and even when it's
over at eleven weeks. So I'm gonna be sad for
just all of us that it's over. I can't believe
we don't get to like do this for the rest
of our lives. I know that sounds insane. I sound
like an insane person. I'm gonna stop. It's late. It's
nine thirty. This is, you know, almost my bedtime. I
mean minutes away from my bedtime. So, guys, we're at
(38:41):
the finals. I can't even believe it. We're at the finals.
It's just gonna be incredible. We get an Ezra freestyle,
we get an Alan Burston freestyle, we get a Daniella
Kara Gosh freestyle. We get a Val Schberkowsky free style,
we get a Whitney Carson free style. Guys, we are
(39:06):
going to be just floating in free style goodness. I
can't wait to see them. It's gonna be it's gonna
be spectacular. I cannot wait. Also, in the finale, you girl,
that's me, I'm your girl. I get to dance in
the finale. It's a very small little thing. I think
(39:27):
there's like an opening number that I get to be
a part of, and then there's some sort of bumper
that I get to do. I don't know who I'm
I mean, obviously I'm paired with Pasha. Pasha's my forever,
forever partner, but I don't know like who I'm going
to be in a grouping with. I think there's like
two other couples. I don't know who they are. I
will find out soon. Rehearsals for that start later this week,
(39:52):
and then, I mean, it's a week from now. It
is a week from now the finale, and I can't
wait to be there. I can't wait to tell you
you all about it immediately after it's over. I hope
you guys are looking forward to it. And while we wait,
I am going to be sitting down with one half
(40:13):
of the dynamic duo that hosts Dancing with the Stars.
That's right, he's nineties royalty, he's two thousands royalty. He's
just American royalty. It's Alfonso Rivero. Can't wait to sit
down and talk with Alfonso about what it's like to
host Dancing with the Stars. It really does seem like
(40:33):
a total dream job. And I want to know is
is it as dreamy as it looks? And I want
to talk to about his dance schedule too. I want
to know what kind of classes? Is he in? What's
he up to? What's he doing anyway? Thank you all
for listening to this episode of Danielle with I will
see you all next time. Bye. Danielle with the Stars
(40:57):
Produced and hosted by Danielle Fischl. Executive producer Jensen Carpon,
Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer,
editor and engineer Tara Sudbasch. Theme song by Justin Siegel.
Follow us on Instagram at Danielle with Stars and vote
for me
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