Julianne Hough isn’t mad at the Dancing With the Stars judges for how they scored a new group of contestants.
“I think over the years, we’ve done a lot of fusions of proper technical ballroom and Latin dances have fused into sort of these hybrid dances,” Julianne, 37, explained on the Thursday, September 18, episode of the “Dancing With the Stars Official Podcast.” “I really appreciated Bruno [Tonioli] and Derek [Hough] dropping the scores a little bit because you want to be able to see people improve, and you want to be able to give them the right critique so they can learn and grow.”
From Julianne’s perspective, it’s important to go back to the fundamentals.
As she explained to podcast host Joey Graziadei, late judge Len Goodman was all about the little things that made a big difference in the ballroom.
“He’d really be talking about the fundamentals and I think there was a lot of hybrid dancing [on Tuesday], which by the way, I get because we’re in this new generation of TikTok and playful fun and it’s entertaining,” Julianne shared. “But that’s why Dancing With the Stars is so amazing because it is technical and it’s a specific genre and it’s hard to do.”
Julianne — who served as a professional dancer on the ABC show before becoming a judge and then a cohost with Alfonso Ribeiro — believes Derek, 40, and Tonioli, 69, started the season off on the right foot.
Alfonso Ribeiro, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Julianne Hough Eric McCandless/ABC
“Especially for a premiere night, a little kick up the butt,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go.”
During the season 34 premiere on Tuesday, September 16, Derek and Toniolo delivered scores to a new group of contestants. (Carrie Ann Inaba was absent from the judges’ panel because she was sick.)
Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, as well as Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas, had the highest scores of the night with 15 out of 20.
“The scoring tonight, just be mindful, it might be a little lower than you’re expecting because there’s a long way to go,” Derek explained at the beginning of the show. “This is a marathon. We want to give you guys room to grow.”
As excitement continues for a new season — which includes Disney, Halloween and Wicked night — Julianne is sensing a fresh level of competitiveness in the ballroom.
No elimination took place during the season 34 premiere of Dancing With the Stars, which means two couples will be saying goodbye next week. “I knew they were gonna do something,” pro Mark Ballas exclusively told Us Weekly after his first performance in the ballroom with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt on […]
“I think the pros are getting more competitive again. I think we got some new blood again,” she explained. “I feel like there is some nostalgic energy but with this modern take, and that’s why I think our show is bigger than it’s ever been now.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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