Episode 10: Semi-Finals Breakdown

Summary

Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast

Episode 10: Semi-Finals Breakdown

Release Date: November 20, 2025

Host: Joey Fatone (& BBC Studios)
Guests: Kaitlyn Bristowe, Xochitl Gomez, Daniella Swentner, Steven Lee, Whitney, Mark, and more

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Overview

This episode delivers a comprehensive breakdown of the Season 34 Dancing with the Stars semi-finals, including heartfelt cast interviews, expert performance analysis, behind-the-scenes secrets from the costume department, and exclusive reveals like the finale’s freestyle song selections. The atmosphere is celebratory but poignant, marking the emotional journeys of the departing contestants and anticipation for next week’s Mirrorball Trophy showdown.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Semi-Final Stakes & Results (05:01–09:03)

• Semi-finals theme: “Prince Night.”
• Competition Format: Each couple performed two dances in different styles.
• Top of the Leaderboard: Robert and Whitney.
• Eliminated: Sadly, Whitney and Mark’s journey ends here.
• Finalists Announced: Elaine & Alan, Alex & Val, Dylan & Daniella, Jordan & Ezra, Robert & Whitney.

2. Kaitlyn Bristowe Reflects—Alumni Perspective & Emotional Highs (02:35–14:44)

• On Returning to the Ballroom:
  Kaitlyn recalls the thrill:
  • “I'm still pinching myself. ... It's my Super Bowl.” (03:38)
• Favorite DWTS Memory:
  • Her Argentine tango to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” “was the best,” and Artem was Emmy-nominated for the choreography. (04:22)
• Judging This Season:
  • Kaitlyn reacts emotionally to Whitney’s elimination (“It just broke my heart because she really is such a sweetheart, and she wanted it so bad.” – 05:21), expressing frustration with backlash over dance experience.
• Insight on “Having a Dance Background”:
  She clarifies that prior dance training isn’t always an advantage due to the difficulty of unlearning for ballroom.
  • “I thought of it as a disadvantage ... I found it so challenging.” (06:13)
• Finale Advice:
  • “It all goes by so fast that you gotta enjoy each moment... I go, this is like ... my Stanley Cup.” (13:28)

3. Performance Highlights & Standout Moments (09:03–14:44)

• Alex Earl’s Viennese Waltz described as “absolutely stunning.”
• Elaine’s Paso Doble:
  • “That paso was sick. It was fire. She hit it hard.” (09:17)
  • Judges’ critiques high; shifted the night’s competitive energy.
  • “I felt her dance in my bones. … I want hype people like that in my life.” (09:38–09:52)
• Dylan & Daniella’s Cha Cha:
  • “His hips are phenomenal. They don’t lie. ... It makes him more powerful.” (10:11–10:28)
• Zac Efron’s Appearance:
  Special audience moments for Dylan; added to the night’s excitement.
• Jordan & Ezra’s Argentine Tango:
  • “She was so clean ... She finally got the perfect score she deserved.” (11:34–11:47)

4. Finale Preview: Freestyle Songs Revealed (15:02–16:29)

Joey presents the exclusive finale freestyle song list, sparking predictions and excitement:

• Robert & Whitney: “Black and Gold” (Sam Sparrow) / “The Nights” (Avicii) [Mashup].
• Alex & Val: “Man Eater” (Nelly Furtado) / “Sportscar” (Tate McRae) [Mashup].
• Dylan & Daniella: “Something in the Heavens” (Lewis Capaldi).
• Jordan & Ezra: “Motivation” (Normani).
• Elaine & Alan: “I Hope I Get It” (District 78).

5. Xochitl Gomez: Winner’s Insights & Season Reflection (17:51–28:03)

• On Returning as a Past Champion:
  She shares jive nerves and thrill at stepping into the “hot seat,” emphasizing the importance of dance partnership and the bittersweet feeling as finale looms.
  • “The thing is, in the finale...that's your last dance. That's it. … It was really difficult.” (20:57)
• On DWTS Strategy & Partnership:
  • “I just want to have fun.” (24:03)
  • “Leaning onto your pro ... is really important.” (27:22)
• Semifinal Significance:
  • “Semifinals can win the finale.” (24:48)
• Rooting for Robert:
  • “I'm telling you right now, I was in the room...he's doing it. He's a dancer putting in that work.” (26:52)
• Final Week Advice:
  • “At this point it’s just about having fun and savoring it as much as you can. Make the day go slower.” (27:51)

6. Costume Department Deep Dive—Behind the Sparkle (29:23–41:04)

• Guests: Daniella Swentner (women’s costumes) & Steven Lee (men’s costumes).
• Their Tenure: 18–19 years, “since season three.”
• Weekly Costume Creation:
  • Only 1 week to go from initial creative brief to custom-made, stage-ready costumes.
  • Each Monday: “First time you wear the costume is two hours before the show.” (38:00)
  • Hand-placed rhinestones, custom fabrics, and up to $5,000 per women's dress and $3,000 per men's outfit.
• Most Memorable Costumes:
  • The more complex “simple” designs, and Sadie Robertson’s foxtrot dress with 25,000 crystals (~$10,000). (35:20)
• Costume Storage/Recycling:
  • Most stored and sometimes repurposed for tours or ensemble numbers.
• Shoe Science:
  • “A different heel height for every dance ... it’s a science.”
• Quick Changes:
  • “It’s fast ... you have only that commercial break to do a quick change.”
  • Sweat management is real: “I have sweaty pits ... just, it's gonna be sweaty.” (39:42)

7. Whitney & Mark Interview—A Bittersweet Farewell (42:29–53:35)

• Reaction to Elimination:
  • Whitney: “It kind of feels like a breakup, if I'm being honest. But … I'm beyond grateful.” (42:49, 46:11)
  • Mark celebrates her performance energy: “The thing about Whitney I really admire is just how dynamic she is. ... You can’t teach that.” (43:34)
• Favorite Routine:
  • Both recall their Argentine Tango/perfect score as a hard-earned highlight.
• On Dance Evolution:
  • Whitney shares the struggle transitioning from solo dance to ballroom:
    • “Even with a dance background, I'm so used to dancing by myself. Mark would tell me multiple times, let. Me lead, like, I'm the leader.” (47:16–47:25)
• Reflections on Social Media Pressures:
  • Mark: “The social media of it all is very new and can be quite difficult at times … there were some really tough weeks.” (51:24)
  • Both highlight their mutual support through ups and downs.
• What Competing Has Meant:
  • Whitney: “There was like this light inside me that lit up and ... that I will forever be grateful for.” (50:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kaitlyn Bristowe, on being back:
  “I'm still pinching myself ... It's my Super Bowl.” (03:38)

• On the heartbreak of elimination:
  “It just broke my heart because she really is such a sweetheart, and she wanted it so bad.” – Kaitlyn (05:21)

• On dance experience not always being an edge:
  “I thought of it as a disadvantage ... I found it so challenging.” – Kaitlyn (06:13)

• On the changing semifinal energy:
  “That paso was sick. It was fire. She hit it hard.” – Kaitlyn (09:17)

• On making costumes:
  “We only have a week to make everything, and everything's custom made.” – Daniella Swentner (30:31)

• On partnership in dance:
  “Leaning onto your pro and also just ... being there for each other and having fun and dancing, not just on your own, but dancing with the person that you're paired with is really important.” – Xochitl Gomez (27:22)

• On the afterglow of DWTS:
  “There was like this light inside me that lit up ... and I found that light and it like lit up while experiencing this.” – Whitney (50:08)

• On the pressure of live quick-changes:
  “The first time they wear the costume is like two hours before the show ... that's really, like, nerve-wracking.” – Daniella Swentner (38:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Results Recap: 05:01–09:03
• Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Alumni View: 02:35–14:44
• Finale Freestyle Songs Revealed: 15:02–16:29
• Xochitl Gomez’s Reflections: 17:51–28:03
• Costume Team Interview: 29:23–41:04
• Whitney & Mark’s Exit Interview: 42:29–53:35

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode weaves high energy, humor, and emotion; the hosts and guests banter effortlessly while digging into the nuances of performance, resilience, and creative production. The blend of candid confession (“It kind of feels like a breakup, if I'm being honest.”), unfiltered fun, and immense gratitude is reflective of DWTS's spirit.

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In Summary:
A must-listen episode giving fans unprecedented access to the emotional, technical, and creative intensity of Dancing with the Stars’ semi-finals—complete with vivid storytelling, expert dissections, exclusive teasers, and heartfelt goodbyes as the finalists gear up for the finale.

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I will say rip to a dance floor as soon as I get there because I'm gonna murder it.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I'm in the hot seat where everyone else at home wish as they were.

[Daniella Swentner]

What people don't know is that the first time they wear the costume is like two hours before the show, even.

[Whitney]

With a dance background. I'm so used to dancing by myself, Mark would tell me multiple times, let.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Me lay the plate.

[Joey Fatone]

Hello and welcome to the Dance with the Stars official podcast sponsored by Sonic. Tonight was Prince night for the semifinals and we are just one week away from finding out who will take home the season 34 Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy. With only days left, the stakes have never been higher and the competition is really heating up. Tonight we saw each couple take on two rounds and two dance styles each. Robert and Whitney land at the top of the leaderboard and sadly, it's the end of the road for Whitney and Mark who are eliminated. They're headed over to chat with me, so stay tuned for that. So that means that the season 34 finalists moving on to next week's finale are. Elaine and Alan, Alex and Val, Dylan and Daniella, Jordan and Ezra and Robert and Whitney. Later, I'll be joined by a team you have been asking for the costume designers. Daniella Swentner and Steven Lee will be here for a real look behind the scenes at how they make each costume from scratch every week. And I'm going to be giving you the songs for all of next week's freestyles a little bit later on, so. So make sure you don't miss that. And because next week is the finale, we have two Dancing with the Stars champions here tonight to give us their thoughts on what these finalists will need to do to bring home that trophy. Actor and season 32 champion Xochitl Gomez will be here to chat in just a bit. But joining me now is a Bachelor Nation favorite and season 29 champ, Kaitlyn Bristowe. Hi, Kaitlin.

[Marshall's/Nordstrom Rack Announcer]

Hi, Joey.

[Joey Fatone]

How are you?

[Xochitl Gomez]

I'm so good.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

How are you?

[Joey Fatone]

This is actually a full circle moment here because the first time we met was on your podcast.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yes. I was thinking that I wanna ask you all the questions, but that's your job now.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah, well, you just get to chat, and my job is to ch. To help, but, you know, ask some questions. You want to ask some questions. You're comfortable here. You're in a podcast.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I'm too comfortable here. I got to let you work.

[Joey Fatone]

No, this is. It's work, but it's fun. It's work, but it's fun.

[Mark]

I get it.

[Joey Fatone]

Let's first talk about last week before we get into tonight, because we have plenty to talk about tonight.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

You got to dance last week. How was I being back on the ballroom floor?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I'm still pinching myself. Because you. You know, like, once you do it, you're like, I'm never going to be able to do that again. I'm never going to get a chance to do it again. And then you do, and it's like, it's my Super Bowl.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. And you got to dance with the People's Princess, Mr. Andre, which, by the.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Way, it is National Princess Day today, and I got to podcast with him.

[Joey Fatone]

That's amazing.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

It felt very appropriate.

[Joey Fatone]

I also need to make sure, because it might have not been done enough. You looked great that night. You did amazing. The dance was awesome.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Did they tell you to say that?

[Joey Fatone]

No, I wanted to say that. No one tells me to say anything. That's the fun part about this job, is I actually have free will.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, that's nice.

[Joey Fatone]

Dangerous. But I. I like it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah, that's. That's dangerous for me, too.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, you looked great. And there was one moment that I need to know whose idea it was. The Andy shirt rip open. That seemed like a past.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

That was America's idea.

[Joey Fatone]

Whose idea was that?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

No, that was actually Emma's idea.

[Joey Fatone]

I love it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

She saw it or got the idea somewhere for it, and she was like, babe, you're gonna rip off his shirt. And I can't do accent, but I tried really hard.

[Joey Fatone]

The worst accent ever.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Anyways, it was Emma's idea, and it was brilliant, and she's. She did brilliant choreography for the two of us together because we wanted to show, you know, him actually doing a nice waltz and bring some humor. And it was just perfect.

[Joey Fatone]

It was the shirt rip, but then when you did the streak across his chest and he, like, had, like, the tickle down his spine type face was. I. It's actually stuck in my head. I'm talking about it right now, and I'm envisioning it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I know.

[Joey Fatone]

It's hysterical.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I know. I remember him saying before we went out there, he went, really dig your nails in. And I was like, you Got it, Andy.

[Joey Fatone]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Is there a dance you look back on that was one of your favorites from your time on the show?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Definitely. Definitely. The Argentine tango. That was. That's always my favorite style of dance to watch anyone do to do it myself. And I remember saying, artem, God, I hope we get one. And it was to Britney Spears, toxic. But it was a male version, and it was a violin version, and it was slowed down. And Artem actually was nominated for an Emmy for his choreography for that dance. And that was when I got all tens, and it was the best.

[Joey Fatone]

Oh, I'm sure you still think about that all the time.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Every day.

[Joey Fatone]

There's. There's nothing better than getting three tents.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

What did you get yours for?

[Joey Fatone]

I got mine for the first one. We got with the semi semifinals.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

And it was our foxtrot.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Oh, foxtrot.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

And let's get into tonight a little bit, because everyone's making it look easy. Everyone is so good this season. It is actually unreal. And I said it, like, I didn't. I didn't know who was going home tonight, but what did you think about how everything unfolded tonight?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I'm still not computing what happened.

[Joey Fatone]

Fair. I'm still. It's taken me a little bit, too.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

It's crazy just because. I don't know if it's because, you know how the Internet is, and the, you know, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been airing, and I feel like she always gets such a tough time on that show. And like I was saying, you know how the Internet is. I feel like they all rallied against her and decided, like, as a group, we're not gonna vote for her. And it just broke my heart because she really is such a sweetheart, and she wanted it so bad. And she's so fun to watch because you just watch her and you go, you could be a pro.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

So I was definitely sad and shocked to see her go, but I. The. The power of the Internet with voting.

[Joey Fatone]

It's. It's the reality TV side, which we know very well. And then on top of it, it was also a lot about her having dance experience, and I would love for you to talk on that too, because you had dance experience going on the show. Right. But ballroom than everything else.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I felt bad that she was getting some heat for having dance background, but so does Alex.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

But on my season, Neve Schulman, he tried to hide this from everybody, but he got caught. He also had ballroom training. He did something in college, like, took a. Whatever. I didn't go to college but. But I had danced my whole life. I did jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, hip hop. My mom was a professional ballerina. Dance I feel like was in my blood. But I thought of it as a disadvantage once I started to learn ballroom because I was like, I have to unlearn everything I've ever been taught in my life. Count differently. There's heel, toes, there's toe, heel, leads, there's this. And everything was so different of how you hold your body and it was. I found it so challenging. Yeah, Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

I can speak from the side with someone that has no dance experience.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Doing this show didn't give me dance experience. I'm still deathly afraid to go dance in front of other people. Like I can't go on a wedding dance floor and like break a move. I promise I got rhythm but I'm just two stepping. What am I going to do if you're there? We'll do a tango if you want, but that's all I got.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I will say rip to a dance floor as soon as I get there because I'm going to murder it.

[Joey Fatone]

That's fair. Every time I know I try.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I love weddings.

[Joey Fatone]

I do love weddings.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

And we want to see all sides of the show. Like the Andy's who literally can barely move and he's just getting his spirit back and he starts to feel confident and becomes this like heart of the show. We want those people. We want the people who are like incredible dancers. We want the people who are improving. We want the underdogs. Like there's, it's reality TV and you need all those different peoples to make a show. And that's. Whitney was part of that and she.

[Joey Fatone]

Was getting that experience for her. Like you could tell how much joy it gave her. Again. I, I'm bummed to see her go because I really did want to see that freestyle too, but I think she.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Should do it anyways.

[Joey Fatone]

I agree.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I will build a studio for her to come perform and I'll stream it live. Everyone come to my social media.

[Mark]

Yes.

[Joey Fatone]

We'll talk. I'll make it about me. Who else was amazing for you tonight? I know everyone was great, but what are like dances that you think back on tonight that you thought were incredible?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Alex Earl's. I can't remember what style it was.

[Joey Fatone]

Oh, her Viennese waltz.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Her Viennese waltz was absolutely stunning. And I, I really felt people's emotions tonight. Like tonight felt like they knew that next week was the finals and dancing, finals, dancing. And Alex, I thought danced Absolutely beautifully. I think she has such beautiful control and beautiful lines and she knows how to do both performance with her face and body, as does Robert Irwin. I think both of them are very good at that. Um, I could never figure out how to perform up here because I was so focused on what my feet were doing. And watching them be able to do both was really cool. Um, I'm rooting for Elaine so hard, just watching her get better every week and how confident she's becoming.

[Joey Fatone]

The moment of the night that shifted for me was when she did her paso, because you saw all of the judges say after the first dance how they wanted more. They're like, this is the semifinals.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

She gave it.

[Joey Fatone]

She was the one that started that change. I don't know what happened. Yeah, that paso was sick.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

It was fire. She hit it hard. I find that to be the hardest dance to do as a woman, because it's a very masculine dance. And she hit it.

[Joey Fatone]

It was. That was the. There was a tune change, obviously. Robert getting the first perfect score of the night, that was amazing. But there was just something different that happened when Elain came back out there and then everyone else just kind of followed suit, and then we didn't know what was going to happen at the end of the night because of it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I felt her dance in my bones. And also just seeing Alan so proud of her each time they dance, and her fans in the front row, her friends, I love watching them, like, crying every time. I'm like, I want hype people like that in my life.

[Joey Fatone]

I know, I know. And it's something again. It's back to the Andy effect, too. There's. It's like. There's joy that's coming out of this for them. But, yeah, I mean, all the rest of the couples that are going to be in the finals, you have Danny and Dylan. They.

[Marshall's/Nordstrom Rack Announcer]

Oh, yes.

[Joey Fatone]

That Cha Cha he did was the best dance I think he's ever done, in my opinion. I thought it was so much better than the first one that he did.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

It was absolutely. There was so much improvement. His hips are phenomenal.

[Joey Fatone]

They don't lie.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

They don't lie. And they. They aren't stiff and they really know what they're doing.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

And I love watching him do it because his legs are so long that, like, it doesn't actually make sense how he's doing.

[Joey Fatone]

It makes it more powerful.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

So good. And, I mean, Danielle is one of the best coaches and she's just so brilliant. But I. I was really proud of them tonight and I'm not going to talk about the fact that I was probably making Zac Efron uncomfortable because I was directly across from him and I just kept being like, no, Caleb. So embarrassing. God.

[Joey Fatone]

Hey, it's okay.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

He's my, like, teenage heartthrob.

[Joey Fatone]

I think Zach has got to be one of the biggest stars we've had in the ballroom.

[Mark]

For sure.

[Whitney]

Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

And the biggest studs.

[Joey Fatone]

I'm just glad he finally came to support Dylan because I know. I'm sure he's wanted to the entire time. I'm. I'm guessing there was a version of him that wanted to, like, wait because he wanted to let him have his experience. But I know that was probably so special for Dylan to have totally.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Because I know how close they are because I'm a creep and follow them. But I know that they both have said, like, you know, Dylan probably feels like he lives in that shadow and this is his moment. So Zach was probably being the hottest, sweetest guy ever and saying, this is your moment. I am so creepy.

[Joey Fatone]

It's fine.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

And I thought it was really cool that he came and supported and seen their little sister on its lap and they're just. I love it. I just love watching everybody come together.

[Joey Fatone]

How did you feel about Jordan Ezra? Tight.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

They're Argentine tango. Oh, was. She was so clean.

[Joey Fatone]

She finally got that perfect score. There's been a few. I thought that could have been really close, and I might have given those all tens, but I'm just glad she finally got that first score.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Me too. I was so excited for her. She. I. She's so sharp.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah. Really, really clean. I loved watching it. She was so intense. She was so locked in. And I love Ezra, and I thought they did their best tonight.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

I agree.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Let's talk a little bit about going into finale week, though, because you've been through it. I've been through it. Something shifts.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Oh, yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

It just fully changes. What was it like for you when you were going to the finale week? Like, how did you feel going into that? What was going through your head? What were you doing to get prepared?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I was a crazy lady. Like, I remember I had a pt. I had a masseuse. I had, like. Like a Woo Woo person that would come do, like, witchcraft on me. Okay, that's dramatic. But it was something like Woo Woo person's real spiritual energy worker. I'm not kidding. I. I would just, like, sit with my feet in an ice bath. I would get someone to massage my neck. I would just, like, Full team. A full team. And then I had something that looked like this. It was. I. I'm obsessed with Christmas. So we put up a Christmas tree in the apartment in November, and all the ornaments were mirror balls. And I would sleep with one because I would manifest it being in my hands every single night. And I would sleep with a mirror ball there.

[Joey Fatone]

I mean, you wanted it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I wanted it so bad. I remember my body falling apart. I had torn muscles under my ribs. I think a rib. I still think a rib is out of place.

[Joey Fatone]

I still have an issue with my wrist. It hasn't come back.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

And I'm okay with it because guess what? I got this guy, and it was worth it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I would do it again.

[Joey Fatone]

Is that the advice that you would give to the people that are coming back? Not break your ribs, but, like, just fully immerse yourself in this and just know, like, give everything you got because you're gonna miss it when it's gone.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yes. That's what I would say, is that it all goes by so fast that you gotta enjoy each moment. That's the cheesy advice that I would give. But what I actually think is, I'm like, this is playoffs, baby. Like, I always thought, because I'm Canadian, I think of it as hockey. And I go, this is like, to me, I grew up dancing. I was told I wasn't good enough. I had to quit dancing. I got another chance to somehow come back on the biggest show of a dance show, win the mirror ball. I'm like, that's like a guy being in the ahl, almost getting called up to go to the NHL. But you're like, you're just not good enough. And then 10 years later, he gets to play on a team and win the Stanley cup and be like, oh, my gosh, this is my Stanley Cup.

[Joey Fatone]

That's amazing. And I think that everyone left is up to that challenge. I can tell they're already competitive. I really don't know what's going to happen.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I don't either.

[Joey Fatone]

Do you have a favorite in your head, though? Is there any. You can give me multiple names, but who's who right now is speaking to you and saying mirrorball winner, Possibly.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

It changed tonight to Elaine.

[Joey Fatone]

Okay.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah, I like it. I mean, Robert seems like the obvious one because he's like, he is so good, so talented, but everyone is. But Elaine, I just feel like she's the reason people watch the show, and I just. I just feel like I'm really rooting for her right now.

[Joey Fatone]

Okay. I like it. I Can see it happening.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I don't like to have favorites, but.

[Joey Fatone]

Hey, it's a good person to be putting your faith into. They all are. I think this, this is going to be a really good finale. There's going to be a lot of dancing, but I have little gift for you and for everyone else. Would you like to hear what the freestyle songs are for next week?

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Wait, is this an exclusive?

[Joey Fatone]

This is an exclusive here. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna go and it's in no particular order, but I'm gonna read the songs and I just want to know what your thoughts are for me reading it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Oh, I'm gonna get hyped.

[Joey Fatone]

So we have Robert and Whitney, who will be performing a mashup of black and gold by Sam Sparrow and the Knights by Avicii.

[Commercial Announcer]

Oh, great.

[Joey Fatone]

I know. Interesting matchup.

[Mark]

Do.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Wait, do we know what.

[Joey Fatone]

It's freestyle, so there's not really. You gotta just take the songs and kinda see what you think they would make with that. What I'm excited about and I think people will do is they might just go listen to these songs and then try to figure out what could it look like. What would you do to this? The next one we have Alex and Val, who will be performing a mashup of Man Eater by Nelly Furtada and Sportscar by Tate McRae.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Ooh, good one.

[Joey Fatone]

Those are two powerful songs. And then we have Dylan and Daniela, who will be performing to Something in the Heavens by Lewis Capaldi. It's a little bit of a slower song. Yeah.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Oh, interesting.

[Joey Fatone]

I know. Again, I listened to it.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Wait, who's doing that one?

[Joey Fatone]

That's gonna be Dylan and Daniella.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Interesting.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Okay.

[Joey Fatone]

And then we have Jordan and Ezra will be performing Motivation by Normani. I see that being a song that I feel like Jordan's just gonna eat up.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah, Ezra's been doing such fun choreography.

[Joey Fatone]

I'm excited for all of these, but that one has. That one's got some good, good tune to it on that one. And then last but not least, we have Elaine and Alan will be performing to opening. I hope I get it by District 78.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Oh, how exciting. Thanks for sharing the news.

[Joey Fatone]

Of course. I'm glad that you're here to listen to this with me. I'm again, I am going to go to Spotify. I'm going to go on. I'm just going to. I'm going to listen to some music and see what these like envision the dance.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I feel I'm not because I have a 6am wake up call and that'll hype me up too much. I'm going to do it tomorrow night.

[Joey Fatone]

Okay.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, since you have a 6am Wake up call, I'm going to let you go. But I appreciate you being here. It was so great talking to you.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Thank you for having me.

[Joey Fatone]

Stay right where you are, guys, because coming up, Whitney and Mark will be here to chat. But up next is Xochi Gomez right after this. Sometimes after a long hard day of dancing, you just need a refreshing Coca Cola from Diet Coke with BlackBerry and lime or my drink of choice today, a Coke with blue, raspberry and vanilla. You can make your Coca Cola your way with Sonic's endless Coca Cola and flavor combinations. So whether you're into the waltz, foxtrot or jazz, Sonic has the perfect Coca Cola for you. Whatever you choose, create a Coca Cola your way, any size, any flavor, free with any purchase in the Sonic app. Live free Eat Sonic Limited time offer Seattle app for details. My next guest is someone that also knows a thing or two about what it takes to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy. It's actor and season 32 champ Xochi Gomez. Hi, Sochi. How are we?

[Xochitl Gomez]

I'm good. How are you?

[Joey Fatone]

I'm good. I'm excited that you're here. I think the first thing we have to start with was what was it like dancing last week in the ballroom again? It's been a bit.

[Xochitl Gomez]

It's been since a year when I danced. Were you nervous as the like reigning champion? Was I nervous? Were you nervous?

[Joey Fatone]

I was definitely nervous. Well, I lost so that, you know, like I have the reason to be nervous. You were the winner, so.

[Xochitl Gomez]

No, I was so nervous mainly just because I had never danced jive before.

[Joey Fatone]

That was a big thing, I think people don't know. I thought that was super impressive that you were able to learn jive in.

[Xochitl Gomez]

That short amount of time as the Mirrorball champions. We gotta step it up.

[Joey Fatone]

I mean, we had to bring our own game.

[Xochitl Gomez]

We had to bring our A game.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, one thing in that dance that was commented on by Derek and a lot of people online was the chemistry between you and Robert. Do you think that helped with you guys dance?

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, I mean, for sure. I mean the thing is is that going into it, we both have the very, very similar work ethic and he's also just very technical, very much a perfectionist, and also everything is very much rooted in fun. So we both came at it with a very similar mindset. But besides that, it was funny to see him kind of stepping into his dancer mode. Like, Robert's a dancer. And he was like. Cause I had never done the jive before. So it was kind of up to him when Whitney was gone to help me get into, like, okay, what are the technicalities of jive and the kicks and the flicks? And then it was funny to see me kind of swoop in and also be like, okay, loosen up the frame. Let's have some fun. Like, don't forget, like, we gotta add all those little details that made people, you know, so excited about that dance. Like, all the elements of, you know, the smiles and then the, like, the going away and coming back and stuff. And I was mainly just going into it thinking, okay, I'm in the hot seat where everyone else at home wishes they were, you know? So I really wanted to elevate and, like, capitalize on what my role was in that dance and make sure that people at home were like, oh, my God, that I wish that was me.

[Joey Fatone]

You know, I love that, and it was great, and I was so happy for you guys. The other thing I loved watching from afar, being there, because I could see it happening, was the fact that Val was there on the other team watching you. What was that like? Because I could tell it was tough for Val, too.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, no. I mean, the thing is, when we were in rehearsals, before you arrived, I saw Val in, like, the rehearsal studio alone, and I was like, val, I'm so nervous. Like, I'm so scared. Like, I've never done this before. And he was like, you got this.

[Joey Fatone]

So he gave you that confidence, which.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

That's surprising, though. I feel like jive fits your personality a lot. I know. It's probably.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I feel like jive fits your personality.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. You know, I try. I like the performance factor of the jive. I feel like that was what you also. I could tell. Enjoyed, was when you do that dance, you just kind of get to have more fun, and you get to, like, be this. I don't know, this joyous character. And you get those moments where you're kicking and flicking and you just feel like you're, like, really in it.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I accidentally do that in every single dance. It's like the tango, and I'm like.

[Joey Fatone]

It'S hard to have that serious vibe. I know changing it is a big part of dancing, but what's crazy now is we are getting into the finale. I feel like this season just flew by, but we both have been there before. I feel like that's something that is a shift in the competition. Do you remember what it was like getting into finale week? How you were feeling at the time?

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, yeah. I mean, you've been in that seat. You know what it's like. And I was very much sad. I was really sad. You know, I didn't want it to end. And the thing is, is that in the finale, like, that's your last dance. That's it. And not only that, but the next day, you don't have rehearsal. You don't have, like, another blocking with Val. You don't have another anything. It's kind of over. And that's, like, the most kind of, I think, difficult aspect of the show, is that you're doing this show for, like, three months, especially once you've made it to the finale. You've been going and going and going for three solid months with no break. And to go from that to, like, kind of nothing was really difficult.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. And it's a blur, too, I feel, as it leads up to it, you're so worried about that week that you're in, and then after that, you're like, well, now I have folks on the next week, and it just becomes such a routine base.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

I know.

[Xochitl Gomez]

It really does.

[Joey Fatone]

The finale week tends to be the week where you sit back, you're like, whoa.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yes, whoa.

[Joey Fatone]

Like, okay, guys.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Like, wow. I really gotta, like, simmer in it. Like, suddenly I become sentimental. I'm, like, watching people get crafty, and I'm like, you get crafty?

[Joey Fatone]

No, it's good. I think it's one of the weeks that everyone gets the most present, and I think we're gonna see that a lot this week from all the different CA members, the pros, because that's. It's the way to look back on what you've accomplished, but then see what's coming next. Like, what's going to end up happening? How is this going to end up? Was there anything that was hard for you getting into the finale? Like, was there anything that felt like it was difficult leading up to it, too?

[Xochitl Gomez]

No, there was definitely a week there where I was going through it. Like, I think it was, like, week seven, going into week eight, and I had, like, a. It was music video night. I, like, messed up bad with my outfit. Like, hat came off, jacket didn't even go on. And then I. In rehearsals that, like, the night prior to the live show, I twisted my ankle during the, like, team dance. And so going into week eight, it was my tango, and I was just, like, my life, I'm. I'm a failure. Like, I just I didn't do it. My foot's, like, broken. Like, everything's a mess. And it was just really funny to see Val have to become, like, Sochi. He was like, no, Sochi. We got this. Like, you know what? Let's stop dancing. Let's do tiktoks. Like, let's go to. Let's do an ice plunge. Let's just recover and take a minute. Because what's most important is that you have fun. And right now, it seems like you're not having a good time. And so it was really interesting to see, you know, this, like, person who's supposed to be known for his, like, toughness and hard love to actually, like, swoop in and help me.

[Joey Fatone]

And I think that probably led to everything that came after it, because if you're having fun, America sees that, and you also get that chance to propel yourself to the finale, which you did.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I mean, that was the most important thing for me. I mean, people love to talk about, like, strategy going into Dancing With Stars, once you start getting into it and really want to be a part of the competition and what you're like, how you're going to move your whole thing and your dances and all that. And I didn't necessarily have a strategy. I just went into it kind of going like, hey, Val, like, I just want to have fun. And I remember during our first camera blocking, he started getting real serious and tough on me, and I was like, okay, we need to have a chat, because this isn't the vibe. And once you start bringing in, like, real, like, technical Val, you're not going to get anywhere with me. And I just want to have fun.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, that's great. And I also love that you guys had a lot of dance going up to it, where I felt like you were getting stronger and stronger. Was there one that you look back at that you think is, like, a memorable dance or one that really propelled you to get to that finale?

[Xochitl Gomez]

I mean, I love every single dance you have.

[Joey Fatone]

Like, each one holds a special place in your heart.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Yeah, I mean, I. I never thought I was going to get further than, like, week five. So I tried to make every single dance, like, important and with a message and something, whether it was representing my culture or representing, you know, young girls or something. But definitely, once we started getting to the semifinals, I mean, it was. It's like, a known fact of the pros that they're like, the semifinals. Those dances are what, like, kind of solidify the win. Yeah, that's just, like, what they all.

[Joey Fatone]

Say they Say semifinals can win the finale.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Xochitl Gomez]

And so I was like, okay, well, let's see, what, what styles do we have left? And we had samba and we had waltz left. And I was like, okay, like those are two very distinctly different dances. And I think that we can really show, you know, our range. Like, Val did amazing samba and then I think the dance that honestly I feel like was the most memorable and special was our waltz. Delavion Rose and like the red dress.

[Joey Fatone]

You look great. And I think one of the cool things you said is the range because those are two completely different energies. But also you almost. You're different characters.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Oh, yeah. 1,000%. During the waltz with Lovey and Rose, I felt like. Felt like that was the first moment where I felt like a dancer. Like I was performing that and I was just like, wow, I feel like a dancer. Like, I feel like I'm doing a message and people are like, this is it. And so that let me go into the finale just having fun and not really thinking about anything else because I was like, I'm doing this. I got this. Now it's just about having fun and entertaining people.

[Joey Fatone]

That's amazing. And I know you talked about Val. There's one thing I need to touch on too. You were probably one of the first people that got him to start bringing in some social media game in terms of getting him on TikTok.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Now he's like, all about it.

[Joey Fatone]

What's happening with this man? He's like a full on social media diva now.

[Steven Lee]

He's like, I know.

[Xochitl Gomez]

He's like fully doing just like his own fit checks like no one else. He's like, Alex is in the room and he's just like, my outfit.

[Joey Fatone]

I'm like, wow, okay, he stepped into it. You definitely should take some kudos for getting him into that world though, because I don't know. I don't know.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I don't know if that should be kudos.

[Joey Fatone]

You know, you're like, I don't want to touch that.

[Xochitl Gomez]

No, I'm like, don't hashtag me, mention me. No, nothing on that stuff.

[Joey Fatone]

Oh, I love. It has been great to have you here every single week. I feel like I've been able to see you a lot throughout this season and I'm glad. Yeah, no, please. We're both sticking around. We love this.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I know. I'm like, so I'll be back next season.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah, we'll see you next week. I need to know, do you have going into the finale right now, do you have a favorite who do you think can possibly win this thing?

[Xochitl Gomez]

See, this is the issue. I feel like I'm biased now. I mean, I was biased before, but definitely now. I mean, Robert, you dance with him.

[Joey Fatone]

I would expect that.

[Xochitl Gomez]

No, I'm rooting for him. And I know that going into, you know, whoever wins or whatever, it's. It has a lot to do with number one, do you have dance experience or not? And he doesn't at all. And he. I'm like, telling you right now, I was in the room, and he. He's. He's doing it. He's a dancer putting in that work. And not only that, but his partnership with Whitney is amazing.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I mean, I think that. I mean, you can testify to what honestly gets you that far is that partnership. Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Leaning on your pro is huge.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Leaning onto your pro and also just, like, being there for each other and having fun and dancing, not just on your own, but dancing with the person that you're paired with is really important. And I see that so much with him and Whitney. And not only that, but he's an amazing guy. He's so fun. He's so, like, just. His intention is just so pure and kind that I'm like, please, this has to go to him.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, you're pulling for Robert. Would you give advice to anyone else, too, going into this? No more advice.

[Mark]

No.

[Xochitl Gomez]

I mean, there's only one more week left. So at this point, it's just about having fun and, like, savoring it as much as you can. Make the day go slower.

[Joey Fatone]

I think it's important to remember why we're here, just to have some fun and enjoy what we're doing, because it's a crazy experience.

[Xochitl Gomez]

At the end of the day, we just dance and y', all, like, it's not that serious. I mean, it's pretty serious.

[Joey Fatone]

Soji, thank you so much for being here. It was great to chat with you.

[Xochitl Gomez]

It was lovely to chat with you.

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[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

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[Joey Fatone]

So good, so good, so good.

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[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

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[Whitney]

Just so many good brands. I get an extra 5% off with.

[Joey Fatone]

My Nordstrom credit card.

[Steven Lee]

Total queen treatment.

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[Joey Fatone]

My next guests are two incredibly talented people who lead the costume team here at Dancing with the Stars. They're here to give us an exclusive look at how they make every single costume from scratch each week. It's costume designers Daniella Swetner and Steven Lee. Daniella, Stephen. Hi, guys. How are we?

[Daniella Swentner]

Joey, good to see you again.

[Joey Fatone]

Good to see you guys. This is true. I'm not just gassing you up. Probably one of the most requested interviews that we've had since, like, the first episode. They've wanted to talk to the costume department. And Daniella, you oversee the women's side of the costume. Right. You're the costume designer for the women's. And Steven, you're the costume designer for the men. Correct. How long have each of you been on the show? Daniella, I'm gonna start with you.

[Steven Lee]

I'm 18 years now.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Wow.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah, and I'm 19 years. I started season three, so I've seen, like, so many of the dances, so many of the dancers getting married. It's been a long. Yeah. They're like family to us.

[Joey Fatone]

That's amazing. You guys have been here for so long.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

So it is amazing that you guys have the ability to create everything from scratch every week. How does this process start? Can you kind of break down the day to day and how you come up with these outfits? Yeah.

[Daniella Swentner]

So we only have a week to make everything, and everything's custom made. So let's just start, like, on Wednesday. We have a zoom meeting with the creative team, creative producers, with you guys, with the dancers. And we kind of break it down like what you want to wear and like, what the lighting and set, you know, themes are and stuff like that. And then once we get that, you know, we would get the fabrics. We have assistants that help us shop the fabrics. We get the fabrics on Thursdays to the workroom. They start cutting and fitting them on Friday. We start fitting Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And that's all fitting. Yeah, it goes into work if it goes well, if there's no changes. And then. And then Monday's our last fit. We have our camera blocking here, and then we have have fittings with the couples together so you can see each other. And then Tuesday is the show.

[Joey Fatone]

And then you guys have individuals that help you with cutting the fabric. Correct. Who helps you out, Daniela?

[Steven Lee]

My workroom supervisor is Ifat Elayari.

[Xochitl Gomez]

And.

[Steven Lee]

Yeah, Ifat. And so we have her. She, you know, cuts and patterns and does all that. And then we have a relatively big workroom with, you know, who puts it together. But on the girls end, the rhinestoning part is obviously the.

[Joey Fatone]

Gotta have rhinestones.

[Steven Lee]

Yeah. We spend many hours rhinestoning. Like, one stone, you know, it was all put on by hand, glue, spot and stone on. So it's a process.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah, it's amazing, the craftsmanship. And then on the men's side, you have.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah, Mr. Garo, as you know, you've come to many fittings over there. He's been on since season one, and he just is amazing. And it's just him and his wife cutting and fitting with me, and they're like family to me, like my dad, you know, my work dad and my work mom. Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

So it's special. And if you go into Mr. Garo's shop, he has pictures for days, all of the different seasons. It is. It's a family vibe when you get in there, which I really, really love.

[Daniella Swentner]

And, like, he's. He. There's no more room on the wall, so I told him he should put it on the ceiling, but he hasn't done that yet. So.

[Joey Fatone]

It is crazy, though, what you guys do from scratch, because I do remember sometimes walking into Mr. Garo's shop and you. You see just the fabric and you're like, we're going to make it into this. And it's amazing how everything is handmade. Is there any that you look back on that you're like, this was a really elaborate costume that you guys created. You can speak on the women's and the men's. Either side of it, it.

[Steven Lee]

Well, you know, I mean, truly, like, often the elaborate ones are not the tricky ones. Often the ones that need to be really simple but have, like, interesting style lines or, you know, under women, we have so many decisions to make. There's so many necklines, so many different skirt styles. That is where it's tricky for the women. And, you know, you. You do a sketch, but it's sort of just a guideline because then you get into it and the fabric doesn't do what you think it will do, and you have to adjust that. You know, it's just so many little questions in your head. So I don't think it's elaborate ones, because the elaborate ones, you normally have either a guideline that you follow or they have so much stuff on them that it does. You hide a little bit underneath. What's. You know, what's tricky, actually, is the sidelines often.

[Joey Fatone]

Makes sense. Yeah. Because you also always are factoring in, like, the functionality, too. It's not always just how you want to look or feel confident. It has to work with the style of the dance, too, right?

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah. The style of the dance, the song.

[Whitney]

Yeah.

[Daniella Swentner]

You know, the best one was your Tarzan one. Well, that wasn't even elaborate. That was elaborate.

[Joey Fatone]

That was. That was.

[Daniella Swentner]

You saved a lot of money there.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. You pretty much gave me a loin cloth.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah. That was really, like. You know, the crazy thing is that.

[Joey Fatone]

Actually they wanted less clothing. We talked about, could we maybe not have pants? I'm like, I need pants. I'm not going with just a loincloth.

[Daniella Swentner]

We had to show what you've been working hard on.

[Joey Fatone]

Joey, it's how it is sometimes. I get it.

[Daniella Swentner]

But, like, for me, the paso costumes for the men are the most elaborate because it's very detailed with all the trimming and the rhinestoning, and, like, it's just really elegant.

[Joey Fatone]

For me, that makes sense. And if you guys don't mind me asking, I'm really curious about this. How much does it cost to make each costume?

[Steven Lee]

Ooh, well, it depends, really. I mean, we have, you know, some are maybe, like, not that expensive because the base is not expensive. A lot of the girls stuff is built on Lycra, which is a cheap, you know, fabric. But then you spend lots of money on rhinestoning. But also, when you. Again, the gowns, sometimes you have very expensive base fabric, but you don't spend as much on the rhinestones. We calculate sort of around 5,000 a dress, because stones labor fabric. It adds up faster, for sure.

[Joey Fatone]

And is a men's side different?

[Daniella Swentner]

Men's side's about, like 3,000. And it depends on, again, like, the trimming and stuff like that. But we've gotten some fabric that was like, $150 a yard. Whoa. So, you know, then you add, like, five yards to that, you know, so it's. It adds up. And even for the girls dresses, some more expensive than that.

[Joey Fatone]

We won't talk about it, but there's been some expensive ones.

[Daniella Swentner]

Go too far on that.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah.

[Steven Lee]

I think one of the most expensive ones was definitely Sadie Robertson's foxtrot. I think it was. It had over 25, 000 Swarovski crystals. So that hit probably real crystals. Yeah, 10K, probably $10,000 for that dress.

[Joey Fatone]

So obviously a lot goes into it. They're expensive in that regard too. What happens when you guys are done using the costumes?

[Daniella Swentner]

A lot of it goes into our storage area and like, so then we would. We never really recycle it for the main show at all because it's so specific as, you know, like even this year we had like Wicked, you know, so they're so specific with the body types and like the themes that we can't really reuse it. So we would use it for like say our troop, you know, if they come in to dance with the dances that you guys have. So it kind of goes in there.

[Joey Fatone]

Right?

[Steven Lee]

And then.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah.

[Steven Lee]

Well, the freestyles that are coming up next week will eat up a bunch of the existing costumes too. You know, you try to reuse where you can for the girls. Sometimes it's literally we cut skirts off or change skirts out or make it short, make a gown short and you have a different look, you know, so we'll try to get as much use out of them. And then there's a tour, which is also a big element, you know, so that we have things for that to, you know.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah.

[Steven Lee]

Do the numbers with. So it gets used.

[Joey Fatone]

Another thing, I know it's really important that most people probably don't even think about, but I know you guys probably do a lot is shoes. What goes into picking shoes and why certain styles are this and that. Because I know people probably don't even pay attention to the feet all the time at home. But that's a. I feel like that's sometimes one of the most big conversations that we have.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yes.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Daniella Swentner]

And like the shoe changes a lot too. Because sometimes as you know, being a dancer now, I still point those toes when I can. You know, like sometimes the shoe stretches after you dance, so it has to be really snug. But you know, there's so many requests, like different sizes. Like, I still get texts. Can I get a different shoe? Can I get a different size? It's doing this. And so it's a constant. Like shoe is a full time job for somebody. Yes.

[Steven Lee]

And. And on the girls end, I mean it's, you know, there's a different heel height for every dance. There's a different shoe style for every dance. I mean it's. It's a science. We have a fantastic shoemaker who at this point changes the heel from this shoe to that shoe because we want that shoe. But not that heel height that it comes in. I mean, it's. It is. It's such a game. Like this heel from that shoe in this color and that, you know, it's.

[Joey Fatone]

It's mix and match, but finding something that comes together and it's important because you guys are giving them the confidence in those dances. Not only how they're feeling, but what feels good. Is there anything you guys think about each week to give you that, like, help and confidence for them too?

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah, I mean, they just have to be comfortable in what they're wearing too, you know, and like, it's. It's hard because what people don't know is that the first time they wear the costume is like two hours before the show. That's the first dress rehearsal. I think people think we have a dress rehearsal the day before. We don't. The first time you guys are wearing those outfits is literally two hours before the live TV show. So that's really, like, nerve wracking. I mean, we've done it for so long, but that's kind of scary for you guys too. And because we don't know how, you know, a skirt length or like a hem or, you know, anything could happen during the show, but they don't, you know, the weight of it is also different, you know, so it's. It's kind of, you know.

[Joey Fatone]

Another thing you talked about too, in terms of, I feel like something that's really big that they don't know how much you do, is quick changes. And it's gonna be a big part of next week because you guys literally have the instant dance coming up and, like, they get a little look, I think, at how quick you guys actually do changes. But what is it like every week? I'm sure it changed all the time, but how does that work on your department with quick changes and how they have to change getting ready for the next dance?

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah, it's like fast, you know, Like, I mean, if you see our quick change room and you've been in there, it's small and like, we have only like that commercial break to do a quick change, you know, and for the guys, it's difficult because it's layers, you know, so it's the pants, the shirt, the this and that, and the bow tie and all that. And like, so it takes a lot of time. But we have such a great team, you know, costume department that is so fast, so amazing. And we couldn't have. Couldn't do without them, you know, but yeah, but you see how fast it is there and Then it's all the sweat too. Everyone's sweating. The boys are sweating.

[Joey Fatone]

I mean, everyone knows I have sweaty pits. And you guys had to find a way to have like, remember that? Yeah. I remember Eric sitting there with a blow dryer just trying to get it going. I was like, guys, just, it's gonna be sweaty.

[Daniella Swentner]

Let's move on.

[Joey Fatone]

But yeah, it's that. And I can't even only imagine how crazy it is with the girls too.

[Steven Lee]

You know, funnily enough, it's often a little easier because it's all a one piece. You know, they can slip it on over their shoes often. I mean, it depends obviously on the outfit. It can be stressful too. But in general, the girls a little bit easier on that end because they can slip one dress off and put another one on. That's when it's helpful. That's very little fabric on the girls too.

[Joey Fatone]

And then. Yeah, for sure. And then also this week, I think for. For Prince tonight, it was probably two outfits for the celebrities, probably three for the pros. Because the opening number.

[Daniella Swentner]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Are we breaking a record next week for the most changes? Because there is going to be, there's. They are going to wear something, I'm sure for the opening number and the celebrities are going to wear something for the opening in the end. And then three dances. Have there ever been four changes before?

[Daniella Swentner]

I'm sure we can't keep count anymore, but we have.

[Joey Fatone]

It's gotta be a lot.

[Daniella Swentner]

They're adding, you know, like the finale. It's like super size now. So there's like so many dancers. So including. We don't even know like how many, how many people want now, but it's like maybe eight plus dancers in additional to all those dances. So it's like hundreds and hundreds of concerts.

[Joey Fatone]

The finale is crazy. I'm just glad you guys came in this week because there's zero chance we'd get you next week. And I love shining light on amazing stuff you guys do. Thank you for speaking with me. I appreciate having you here.

[Steven Lee]

Thank you.

[Daniella Swentner]

See you at the ballroom.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah, I know.

[Joey Fatone]

Do not go anywhere because up next, Whitney and Mark will be here to chat with me.

[Marshall's/Nordstrom Rack Announcer]

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[Joey Fatone]

You're tuned into Auto intelligence live from AutoTrader where data, tools and your preferences sync to make your car shopping smooth. They're searching inventory oh y there they find what you need they going to find it can make a budget for your wallet to help you succeed. Pricing is precise and true. So true it's smarter. Car shopping oh, just for you oh, it's just for you Find your next [e-mail] powered by Auto Intelligence. These are two people I am very surprised. Surprised to see here right now. They've had such an incredible season. It's Whitney and Mark. Hi, Joey.

[Whitney]

Hey, Joey.

[Joey Fatone]

I will start off by saying I know this season has been super, super competitive.

[Whitney]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

I don't know who should be sitting here right now, but I'll be the first to say I don't think it should be you guys.

[Whitney]

Oh, well, that's sweet.

[Joey Fatone]

I appreciate that, what you've done every week. You have so much to be proud of. But I just first want to start off by asking, how are you feeling right now?

[Whitney]

I mean, obviously it's sad because you spend so much time with someone every single. I've become friends with the cast, the crew, makeup, like, people that you don't see behind the scenes. So it's like, sad because I'm not gonna see them every day. So it's like. It kind of feels like a breakup, if I'm being honest. But, yeah, it's sad.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

Mark, from this season alone, I felt like a lot of times you came up to me and you were so proud of the dance you created. But one of my favorite things you always said was how much of a performance Whitney is. Yeah. How there's stuff that you just can't teach. You can try this entire time to teach her all these things about dance, but how amazing was it to have a partner like her that came and brought that performance every single week?

[Mark]

I mean, we did have a laugh, didn't we? We had a laugh. We got very close. We've become, I think, lifelong friends. But, yeah, the thing about Whitney that I'll say that I really admire is just how dynamic she is. I think there's something you can't teach you. I can't teach you how to, like, just be up for it. Like, I, you know, more than anyone, like, the biggest hurdle in this experience is to just be up for it. Like, dive head first in and go for it. And she did that every week. And the trust she had in me, too. Let me do my thing, essentially, and, like, getting to learn about you as a performer and as a mover and just the trust she had in me with. Between music selection and choreography and, like, that means the world as a coach.

[Joey Fatone]

Is there a dance you look back on Whitney, that you were so proud of? As I said, I think you could talk about every single one. And I know it's hard, but, like, which one comes to mind if you're, like. If you think of proud out.

[Whitney]

I mean, that Argentine tango, because that was the one where we got a perfect score and we worked really hard on that one. There's, like, these last two lifts at the end that we took a lot of time figuring it out, but it was so cool because it was just us figuring it out. Like, there wasn't someone in there to guide us. Like that. Yeah, that one's in the memory books for sure.

[Mark]

For sure. Yeah. I remember, like, Like. Like, learning those was a challenge. You know, you've done Artango. Like, you've done all these dances. It's hard, it's scary. And, like, I think we've had a lot of those moments where we just. It's just the two of us in the room trying to, like, figure this stuff out. And, Yeah, I was really proud of that dance too.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. The Argentine tango is one of those dances that I remember. You could have so much flow in certain sections, but then out of nowhere, you know that trick's coming, and you're like, wait, I don't even know if I'm focused on dancing right now. I just know that trick's around that corner.

[Mark]

You had a cool one. It was Halloween week, right. And you had the, like, the vintage 1920s vibe. Look good on you, man.

[Joey Fatone]

Thanks. It was a vibe. I might bring it back. Kelsey likes mustaches for some reason, but I do think it is important to touch on this because I am guilty of it. It is so fun to have the ability now to go back at your phone and just look at these dances. I do it all the time. And you have so many weeks of that.

[Whitney]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

But I know there's this feeling now. You were one week away.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

I'm sure everyone comes into this with that thought of, like, maybe I could be moving into the finale. Maybe I couldn't be. Is there a level of shock that you have?

[Whitney]

I mean, I'm gonna be so honest. Like, I didn't even think that I was gonna make it this far. Like, I even remember Mark and I were talking about. I was like, he was like, do you remember, like, week one, week two, I was like, oh. Like, I just. I felt that every single week. Like, I was surprised every week. So I am beyond grateful to have even have made it this far, truly.

[Joey Fatone]

Well, that's also beautiful. Cause that meant you were staying very present through the whole thing. Like, you were enjoying every dance, not knowing what was coming next. And you were just like, I just want to keep enjoying this. Which is amazing. I feel like you should feel that way. I do think it was talked about a lot through the season, this idea of you having dance experience. Right. But I want you to be able to talk about. Cause I saw it throughout how fun it was to gain this new skill of ballroom dancing and put a lot of time into it. And I know Mark can touch on that too. It was unbelievable. See your transformation as a dancer throughout this and how much more confident. And it was really shown tonight with that cha cha. Cause it was way different than the first one. I remember seeing the first cha cha, I was like, damn, so you can do a better cha cha than that. And you did tonight. But how was the evolution of ballroom for you?

[Whitney]

I mean, it's really challenging.

[Joey Fatone]

Yes.

[Whitney]

Because even with a dance background, I'm so used to dancing by myself. Mark would tell me multiple times, let.

[Kaitlyn Bristowe]

Me lead, like, I'm the leader.

[Whitney]

Because I just wasn't used to, like, dancing with someone.

[Joey Fatone]

But how did I say?

[Xochitl Gomez]

It.

[Joey Fatone]

Does sound like Mark, right?

[Mark]

No, it doesn't.

[Daniella Swentner]

Joey.

[Whitney]

No, this is Mark.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Yeah.

[Whitney]

No, it's really challenging. But specifically with the cha cha, I wanted to, like, show that improvement from the one in the red to the one that we did today. Because that one was really hard. That cha cha was hard.

[Mark]

Yeah. Like, I think. I mean, as you know, those early dances always feel like a bit of a whirlwind. And then you get into a rhythm.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Mark]

And then we get into this thing, which I always call. And I told you this at the beginning, and I'm sure you can relate to this, too. It's like the trench where you have the team dance, then you have two dances a week, and then all of a sudden it's just this, like, tornado of an experience. And then you can attest to this, Then it's just over. And then you just remember all the hours and the time. And even though we fell at the last hurdle, I think, like, we were in that trench last week.

[Marshall's/Nordstrom Rack Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mark]

And when we got to repeat a dance, I was like, I think the chacha is a great one. Because even though you Had a great song. Like, the band killed that too. Like, was it. Play that funky music.

[Joey Fatone]

I love that cha cha.

[Mark]

It's so fun. But like, when you watch it back, like, if we're being like, brutally honest and we're being analytical about it, there was some stuff that was a little chaotic, A little like. What's the word? Like, rambunctious. Rambunctious. But the saving grace of that dance was your performance quality. And I can't teach that that. No one can. You either have that or you don't. Like, you can develop it. It takes time, but you just have that stuff. And I feel like if you didn't have that, like, you, you probably would have seen a lot more things that could have been improved upon. So when it was like, oh, repeat a dance, I thought the chacha was such a good one for you because as your coach, like, I watched that back and I'm like, great performance. Them legs though.

[Joey Fatone]

And Whitney, for you in general, what has this experience really meant for you? Because I can tell when you're in that skybox, I'll even say it. Today you let out a little curse word. You were so excited. But I mean, it's 21 seasons. I saw your face when it happened. I was cracking up.

[Mark]

I was like.

[Joey Fatone]

Look, she's kicking our table now too. You're just. You're disappointed. Start. No, seriously, like, what has it meant to you, though? Because there is this idea of joy. Like you can see how excited you are and you have a moment like that on the skybox. Like, what has it meant?

[Whitney]

Wow, that's a loaded question.

[Joey Fatone]

I know.

[Whitney]

Yeah, I just feel like it's like truly meant the world to me. I like, made like, very, hopefully long lasting friendships forever, always. You're not getting rid of me. And I think most importantly though, I just feel like there was like this light inside me that lit up and like I found that light and it like lit up while experiencing this. And that I will forever be grateful for.

[Joey Fatone]

And I hope you really do look back on this proud because there's so much that you've done. I know. Like, right now you're in that moment of you were so close to getting to see the whole show, but. But like he said, you were in the trench. This, this is. This is one of the craziest weeks. This double semifinal dance is always a really, really tough one.

[Whitney]

Yeah.

[Joey Fatone]

And these dances tonight were unbelievable.

[Whitney]

Thanks, Joey. Thank you so much.

[Joey Fatone]

And I, I just, I. I will say I think we are. We missed really good freestyle. I know it's going to be incredible. And I, I hate to ask because I know it's a little, it's a little fresh but can you at least, because I know people are going to want to know. Can you give us a little bit of like what you guys are thinking? Cuz I, I was so excited for that freestyle. I've heard some little things but I want you guys, if you feel comfortable, to talk a little bit about it if you want to.

[Xochitl Gomez]

Yeah.

[Mark]

So I feel like we were just going to tell an organic story with the dance from coming on the show, being excited, there being really a few really hard weeks. The social media of it all is very new and can be quite difficult at times. And then there was weeks where it was harder for me, me and like I learned so much from her. Like the toughness in her and the resilience, like is quite admirable. And as a competitive dancer for so long who like, trust me, I grew up in England. Right. There's nothing that can be said to me that hasn't been said to me in a southeast London playground. I always say that. But still, like there were some really tough weeks that when I was having a bad day, she picked me up. When she was having a bad day, I feel like I picked you up absolutely. And we were just gonna go on that ride together and it was a classic song. There was going to be emotions of highs and happiness and then moments of darkness and pain and struggle.

[Joey Fatone]

I hope to see something cuz like I said, I'm bummed I'm going to miss it.

[Mark]

Thanks, Joey. But I will say you've got a stacked final.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah.

[Mark]

You've got incredible contestants and pros. Some pros that have been here for a long time, some newer pros that are like showing themselves for the first time in this capacity and I'm really excited to watch them, them like do their thing. I'm proud of everyone. This is a great cast to watch. So I'm sure we're going to get some really beautiful finale pieces. So it's still going to be wonderful to watch.

[Joey Fatone]

Yeah. Like I said, I, I, I didn't know who's going home tonight. I am just shocked that it's you guys because I really, really have enjoyed watching your journey. Thanks, Johnny. And like you said, I can understand the reality side. I know how it can be really tough and I do commend you for rising above a lot of that and still having that smile on your face every week and doing your best just to enjoy this competition. Because you could tell that you really did. You're gonna be Miss Whitney, truthfully.

[Mark]

Thank you.

[Joey Fatone]

And I know you guys are still gonna be here for the finale to be able to dance, and I can't wait to see a little bit of that.

[Mark]

I'm so curious, like, what they're gonna have us do. Oh, my God. How did it work with yours? Did returning contestants repeat one that they did.

[Joey Fatone]

So what it was, from what I saw is it's gonna be part of the opening number. Maybe. I don't know. All I know is it's gonna be a long finale, and I hope to see you guys in it. And thank you so much for being here.

[Mark]

You're a class. I appreciate it.

[Joey Fatone]

Appreciate you guys. That is a wrap on Prince semifinals. There's only one show left, you guys. We will be chatting with all five finalists right here next week. Plus, I'll be giving you behind the scenes access that has never been seen before. So make sure you don't miss that. And as always, make sure to catch Dancing with the Stars every Tuesday live on ABC and Disney plus and the next day on Hulu. And then get your exclusive look behind the scenes right here on the Dancing with the Stars official podcast every Thursday on Disney and Hulu. And wherever you get your podcast, we'll see you next week. This has been a BBC studios production for abc and disney plus.