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That's my air horn sirens. Because welcome to Danielle with the Stars. There is absolutely no turning back now. The news is out. I'm Danielle Fishel, and I'm going to be on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. I am a TV director, a podcaster forever Topanga, and a mom of two boys. But as we speak, I am learning how to ballroom dance one step at a time. You are going to see me on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, which premieres September 16 on ABC and Disney. And throughout it all, I will be recording this podcast chronicling my journey, giving you the inside story of just one celebrity squad quest for the mirrorball trophy. In addition to the recaps, I will be interviewing fellow contestants, past competitors and professionals from the show in an attempt to both help me become a better dancer and also give you an experience like you have never had before. And listen, even if and when my time on Dancing with the Stars ends, I will be recording until the finale because now I am invested and just as excited as you are to see who comes out on top of spoiler. It could be me. Dream big. Dream. Try do good, as Mr. Feeny would say. So this has been a very hard secret for me to keep. I have known now for quite some time that I am going to be doing Dancing with the Stars. I have always wanted to do the show. It's been on now for 20 years. I have thought about it many times over the 20 years. They have even asked me a few times to be on Dancing with the Stars. And I have said no in the past for many different reasons. Something was going on in my personal life that didn't make it feel like it was the right time or something was going on in my professional life that made it seem like it was impossible. And then this year, after having cancer last year, after deciding, you know what, I really just want to say yes to more things. I want to have more fun. I want to take more risks. The podcast doing pod meets world has allowed me such a beautiful second act in my career now as a director and a podcast host and a producer. And I just wanted to do more stuff that feels like that, that feels authentic to me, that allows me to be me. And this show felt like the answer for that. And so they asked me this year, and it was the easiest yes ever. With that said, I'm absolutely terrified. I have no dance experience. None. When I was very little, I don't even think I really took a dance class. I was in some singing choir thing as a 6, 7 year old. And as part of that, we had to, you know, do some little hand movements or something on a stage. That's literally the extent of it. I have no other dance training. I think that that would have been very helpful to have going into a show called Dancing with the Stars. So, yeah, I'm very nervous. With that said, what's the worst that can happen? You know, you fall on your face in front of millions of people. Now that I say it out loud, it actually sounds pretty bad. But I was trying to make myself feel better, but I don't. So this year just felt right for so many different reasons. My husband has been incredible. He's so excited for me, and my boys have been very excited. I waited to tell my sons until we got closer and closer to the announcement day when, which is today, because you know how kids are. They just. You tell them something is a secret. And first of all, I don't like telling kids things are secrets, but if you do, and then the next day they go on the playground and they're like, guess what? My mom's doing Dancing with the Stars. So I couldn't take that risk. So I waited to tell my boys a little later. But my husband has been great about picking up everything that needs to be done for them around the house. Just managing all the stuff that needs to be managed so that I'm able to fully throw myself into this. If you have found this podcast because you are a listener of pod meets world, you have probably gathered by my personality and my organizational skills and my keeping the boys on track that I'm a little type A, I'm a little controlling. Everything I take on, I take on to the nth degree. And as much as I want this experience to be fun, and it already has been, I will get into that in a little bit. But as much as I want this experience to be fun, I'm also here to win it all. All if I can. And I know that's a big if, if I can. My dream is that I have a permanent shelf in my house that a mirror ball trophy lives on, that has its own little light. And that when people come over, I go, come see my mirror ball. So we'll see. As for my odds of that, well, my competition this year is pretty, pretty stiff. Let's talk about who the other celebrities are this year. The people that were announced before today's date were Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck from the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu, Robert Irwin, who is Bindi Irwin's brother and Bindi Irwin won her season of Dancing with the Stars. And Alex Earle, influencer and podcaster. And so they were all announced they have been able to promote the show. They've been able to talk about the fact that they're a part of it. The rest of us have not been able to. The full cast is Jordan Chiles, myself, Baron Davis, Dylan Efron, Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, Alex Earle, Robert Irwin, Corey Feldman, Hilaria Baldwin. Lauren from Fifth Harmony, I just met her tonight. She was a totally last second addition to our wonderful cast. And so I don't even know her last name. She unfortunately wasn't then at our promo shoots with us. She hasn't been at rehearsal with us yet. So I just met her tonight very briefly. So I don't actually know her last name. But Lauren from Fifth Harmony is joining us, Scott from Pentatonix, who's wonderful. I met Scott and his husband Mark the other day. Not in an ideal way. So when we show up to rehearsals, there have been a lot of paparazzi outside. The show draws a lot of attention, and everyone's been trying to figure out who's on the show and who's partnered with who and all of that stuff. And so they ask us to come disguised and they have these face shields that they will give us when we arrive in our cars, but they want us to wear, like baggy, oversized sweats to hide our shape or as much of us as we can. Well, you know, I heard that and I was like, face shield, huh? You don't say. I have two boys. We've got some masks. So I showed up every day in a different character mask. I wore a big, black, oversized hoodie, black sweatpants. And the first day I wore a Hulk mask. The second day, I think I wore an Iron man mask. I wore a Black Panther mask. I wore a spider man mask. And there was a fifth mask I wore that. Now, I don't remember what that mask was, but anyway, I had to disguise myself, which was really funny. And so after wearing all those masks, I saw online a post that said, who is this? Who is this person in a Frankenstein mask? Guess what? That was me in a Hulk mask. Oh, man, that made me so happy, let me tell you. Anyway, I tell you all of that to let you know that I had fully worn my Hulk mask and my oversized sweatshirt and gloves, baseball gloves, my kids baseball gloves, and was getting ready to leave when Scott from Pentatonix was like, hi, Daniel. I was like, hello, this isn't exactly how I wanted to meet you. I couldn't see him. I could barely talk because the mask was pushed up against my face. And you know what he said? He said, you know what? This is better. It's way more memorable this way. And he's not wrong. So he absolutely will have that memory forever. So all of those celebrities are paired with incredible professional dancers. Some of us started meeting our pros about a week ago. Others met a little less than a week. I'm in the a little less than a week camp. I had no idea who I was going to be partnered with. None of us do little behind the scenes stuff about how it works. Celebrities are allowed to make requests, but they tell you right off the bat there are no guarantees. If you request somebody, we will take it into consideration. But they really pride themselves on having done this for 20 years and 34 seasons now. And there's a science that goes into it. They know personalities. They, they really are very thoughtful about who they partner up. And so you could request somebody. It doesn't mean you're going to get the person at all. So I had no idea who I was going to be partnered with. I think he's the perfect personality for me, but I didn't know that until I started hanging out with him. But within the first five minutes of us being in a room together, we were laughing, we were joking. We have an easy camaraderie. Um, we get along just very, very well. And he is a perfectionist and I am a perfectionist. So I think that makes us a really good team because we still have a lot of fun but we want it to be as close to perfect as possible. So that's what we are reaching out to do. I am going to be stepping up my social media game. So much a part of this show is you, the fans. We don't know the exact science behind the votes and the judges scores and then the votes, you the people who, who text or vote on abc.com or whatever the website is link below. I'll figure out what that is before we put this out into the world. But those of you who vote make up the other 50% of it. And you know, I do not have the largest social media following on this cast by a long shot. My competition is very young and very talented. Oh, Elaine Hendricks. I forgot Elaine Hendrix and Andy Richter, two other castmates on the season who are so fun. So a lot of our me, Elaine and Andy, a lot of our competition and Hilaria, a lot of our competition is sign Significantly younger. And a lot of them have dance training and know what they're doing. Everyone wants to know, when did you tell your friends? When did you tell your family? I had to be very, very, very tight lipped. But I did tell Will and Ryder sometime in August because it was time for us to start planning the scheduling for Pod Meets World. And I knew I wasn't really going to be available as much as I had been. Normally they send out the emails and they're like, okay, let's pick some dates. And I'm like, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. Or, you know, I block out this date, but mostly I'm free. And this time it was going to be a little different. So I did tell them very early. They were both very surprised. Writer especially Ryder was just shocked what you're doing. What Will I think knew that it was something that I would do eventually and that it was just a matter of when the time was right. But Ryder was really shocked. They have been so fun about it. They have been so supportive. As a matter of fact, I think we're going to have some very funny and wonderful bonus content coming for you from them related to my journey on Dancing with the Stars. And I'm looking forward to hearing that because the two of them together just make me laugh so much. Pod Meets World is going to continue as normal, as much as normal as we can possibly do it. There may be times I'm there for a recap, but I'm not there for an interview or I'm not there for the second episode that week. And that's just because this schedule for Dancing with the Stars is nutso. So I've only had four days of rehearsal and as of right now, there is a limit on how much they'll let us rehearse. That limit is four hours a day, six days a week. That's what they're limiting us to. So I have only had four days of rehearsal for four hours each day. But then on top of that you have wardrobe fittings, interviews that they call OTFs, which are on the fly. So like in the middle of your rehearsal period, say you're like, I need a drink of water. Sometimes they'll just pull you off to the side and interview you real quick. Like, how's it going? How are you feeling? What, you know, what's this week? What's the stress? So there are those interviews and then there are something called a master interview where you go and you sit down with them and you tell them about Your journey, how it's been, why you're here and what you're looking forward to and what your fears are and all of those things. And then there's spray tanning and you know, there's, I gotta, I gotta wash my hair and I'm not sure when I'm ever gonna get another nail. My nails done again. The time is crazy. My body is so sore. I know that a massage sounds like a pampering experience, but I have had to get multiple very deep tissue, incredibly painful one hour massages just to work out some of the kinks in my neck and my back. So, yeah, it's a very busy schedule. And this is only, it's only four hours, six days a week for right now at the beginning of the season as we go along. And of course my hope is that I make it to the very end. You start rehearsing eight hours a day, six days a week. And even then that's just the rehearsal day. But on camera blocking day and on shoot day, you're arriving at 6am and you're not leaving until 9pm so there's gonna be press lines and it's a whole, it's a whole new thing. And guys, I haven't been in front of a camera in so long. The last time I was a performer in front of the camera was Girl Meets World, which at this point was 11 years ago. Started 11 years ago now. So on the one hand it's a little like riding a bike. I'm very comfortable in front of a camera. But on the other hand, there's a lot of vulnerability with it. I just, I'm not used to it, so I'm taking my time adjusting but it's going to be a whole new ball game. So tonight was the night before our Good Morning America announcement. We had a gorgeous rooftop Dancing with the Stars kickoff party with Julianne and Alfonso and all of the judges, Carrie Anne, Bruno, Derek Hough. We had all of the cast, all of the incredible pros and some spouses, some people from the BBC, some people from abc. Everyone is so warm and welcoming and they truly want every person who's a part of the show and a part of each season to feel valued and to have a great time. And it's like the number one thing. The more people I talk to and I say like, oh, you know, what do you like about the show? Or what are your favorite aspects? Everybody comes back to the same thing, which is like, we want everyone to walk away from this experience saying, that's some of the greatest fun I've ever had in my life. And this sounds insane considering I've only had four days of rehearsal. I've had a photo shoot and four days of rehearsal and now this welcome party in less than a week. It's already been one of the most fun weeks I've ever had. Has it been hard? Has it been kind of stressful? Has it been nerve wracking? Of course. But it has been so much fun and we're just getting started. So I'm already, you know that feeling when somebody is about ready to start your favorite show and they've never seen it. Like when somebody's like, oh, I've never seen Breaking Bad. And you're like, what? You've never seen it? Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous that you get to watch it. For the first time. I, I have that feeling about me that I get to be doing Dancing with the Stars for the very first time. But I'm already envisioning myself in the future. Sad that I don't ever get to do it again. Like trying to live in the moment, but also already sad that it started and that means it'll eventually be over. So this party was unbelievable. Lots of great food, everybody mingling. I have said it before and I'm going to say it again. The pros on this show. So we have Brandon, we have Gleb. We have my partner Pasha, his wife Dani. We have Mark Ballas who came back this year after retiring from the dance floor. He came back very exciting. We have new dancer Jan who was a Taylor Swift dancer on the Eras tour. He is tall and very dreamboaty. Let's see, we have Whitney Carson who is one of easily one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen in my entire life. We have Riley Arnold who is paired with Scott from Pentatonix. We have Emma and Alan who are Emma is dancing with Andy Richter and Alan is dancing with Elaine Hendricks. They are a really fun pair by the way. Elaine and I have been able to spend some time together. We had our photo shoot on on the same day at the same time. So we sat next to each other in the hair and makeup chair for a little bit and then we had the same flight out here to New York together. So we got to chat a little bit in the airport and then at JFK when we were walk to meet our cars. We got to talk then. And her and Alan seem like they're a really fun pairing. Allan is very funny. Gleb and Hilaria are Paired. They're a very good looking couple. And then we have Ezra and Jenna and Val, another married couple. Val was very sweet tonight. So I, I met Val very briefly at a rehearsal the other day. You know what, I think that's why it was we didn't actually meet. I saw him and thought, oh, there's Val. And because I have been a fan of the show and I've seen him on the. To me that was like, we know each other already, but I don't think we actually were formally introduced. So tonight he came up to me and he said, hi, I'm Val, it's nice to meet you. And I said, oh, hi, you know, nice to meet you. And I gave him a hug and he said, is it inappropriate for me to tell you how much I love you? And I said, no. That is so sweet. I will take it. I will listen to it all the time. That's very kind of you. His wife Jenna, also, she and I got to spend a little bit of time together at the photo shoot as well. She is paired with Corey Feldman and Val is paired with Alex Earle, who is actually the only person I have yet to meet face to face. We also have Brit, who recently got married. She was the most gorgeous bride. Every photo I have seen of her, she is like just glowing. And then tonight at the party, they were giving speeches like Conrad and Dina Katz were giving speeches. And I looked across the room and Britt was just sitting there listening to the speeches and. And she's just otherworldly, beautiful, just outstandingly gorgeous. So Britt is one of the dancers. She is dancing with Baron Davis, who is so fun. Can I tell you what kind of feels a little bit like a secret? And I'm not sure how it plays out on this show yet, but I obviously love my partner Pasha. We have a great relationship. We really connect. He's so smart, he's so funny. And I'm completely equally as obsessed with his wife Dani. And the feeling is mutual. She loves me. So already I'm like, Jensen, just get to know these two because I'm never letting them out of our sight. They have like a two year old daughter named Nikita who they call Kiki. I have a 4 year old son named Keaton who we call Kiki. I was like, we, we've got to get our kids together. We kind of live close to to each other. It just feels like this is a match made in heaven. And then to add on top of that, Danny's partner is Dylan Efron. Dylan and I met on day one, same day, we met our partners and we just clicked. He is so smart, so funny, so sweet, has a samsung. You know, all the things that to me, make a good friend. And I just knew that danny and dylan and danielle and pasha are going. I was like, how do we. How do we make this an alliance of sorts? You know, I don't know how alliances work on this. Dancing with the stars. I don't know that it really does, but I want one. I want the four of us, if I could. This is day one, guys. This is insane. Day one planning. But I'm gonna say it here because where else would I say it other than on with danielle with the stars? My goal, my dream on day one is that dylan and danny and pasha and I are in the finals together. That's my dream. That's it. You know what I'll feel like that's a victory period. If the four of us are in a finals, I can't even get myself to say out loud, I don't care who gets the mirror ball, because I do. I care. But if the four of us make it to the finals, I will consider that a mirror ball like victory. I will. I will be thrilled with that. So that's my big goal. I've got a lot of work to do. I am in this process trying to heal a part of me that has spent my entire life chasing perfection, being very hard on myself. And I wanted to take out of this experience at the end the ability to give myself grace and maybe not be perfect. Guess what, Danielle? You don't have a year to become a dancer. You have a few weeks. And so enjoy the road, enjoy the process, but know that you're not going to be perfect. That has been harder. Harder on me than I wanted it to be. I was hoping I was just going to suddenly be a different person and be nice to myself, but I haven't been. With that said, we have time before this first dance, and I'm working really, really hard, But I have a lot of weaknesses. I'm not a dancer. I'm not graceful. I'm not long. I'm not elegant. I'm, you know, five foot one, and I have a very short neck, and I don't have a whole lot of ballroom elegance, But I'm going to do my best. So we are going to talk with pasha in my next episode. I can't wait for you guys to meet him. If you're a fan of dancing with the stars, you already know and love him. He is so beloved Everybody I meet who's a part of the show says to me, who are you partnered with? And when I tell them, pasha, everyone says, oh, my gosh, you are in great hands. He's the best. He's a great teacher. I had multiple people say to me, if I ever had the chance to be on the show, Pasha is who I'd want as my my partner. So I know I really lucked out, and I can't wait for you guys to get to know him. I can't wait for you to get to know us as a team. We have to come up with our team name. You heard it here. My. My goal is for Dylan, Danny, Danielle, and Pasha to be in the finals together. Gosh, I hope that comes true. So dancing with The Stars Season 34 will debut live on both ABC and Disney on September 16th at 5pm and 8pm Eastern. And Pod Meets World. Listeners, I would love your support, so please make sure you watch live Text your votes for me and pasha and also Dylan and Dani make my dream for the finals come true. Please also follow along with us on instagram at daniellewithstars. Know the daniellewithstars and I will see you on Friday with pasha pashkov on the next danielle with the stars. Bye. Danielle with the stars produced and hosted by danielle fishel executive producers Jensen Karp and amy sugarman. Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer, editor and engineer Tara sudbaksh. Theme song by Justin segal. Follow us on instagram at daniellewithstars and vote for me.