{"id":2045222,"date":"2025-09-24T01:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T01:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2045222"},"modified":"2025-09-24T01:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T01:35:13","slug":"dwts-pro-jenna-on-season-34-viral-tarzan-dance-dream-celeb-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/dwts-pro-jenna-on-season-34-viral-tarzan-dance-dream-celeb-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"DWTS Pro Jenna on Season 34, Viral Tarzan Dance, Dream Celeb Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tDancing With the Stars<\/a><\/em> professional dancer Jenna Johnson<\/a> knows how to entice an audience. That\u2019s partly why she\u2019s been a mainstay of the reality competition series\u2019 recurring cast since 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter debuting her first season as a part of the pro dancer slate in 2016 with season 23, Johnson returned to the cast for the long haul for the one-of-its-kind all-athletes installment of DWTS<\/em> and nabbed the mirrorball trophy alongside Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSince that 2018 win, she\u2019s appeared on the show in consecutive seasons, only missing out on season 31, when she was pregnant with her and husband (and fellow DWTS<\/em> pro dancer) Val Chmerkovskiy\u2019s son. Now with the show\u2019s landmark 34th season, Johnson is fresh off her second win, having nabbed the top placement last year with The Bachelor<\/em> star Joey Graziadei<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI will never forget that,\u201d she tells The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> of her win with Graziadei. \u201cYou don\u2019t get partners like that often, [where] it just feels so meant to be. It just meant so much to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn between rehearsals with her season 34 partner, The<\/em> Goonies<\/em> and The Lost Boys<\/em> star Corey Feldman, Johnson reflects on the premiere of the new season, the show\u2019s growing virality and which celebrities she\u2019d like to be partnered up with on DWTS<\/em> in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tCorey Feldman is an established actor. What was your reaction when he walked in the room and you learned he was going to be your partner?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tHe is an icon, and when he came in with the sunglasses on, I was like, \u201cOh yes, he means business.\u201d One of my favorite things about Corey is his energy, and he comes into the room with that charisma and that energy. I really love that, and I want to make sure that I highlight that [in] each dance that we do, because it is so special about him. He\u2019s really electric on the dance floor and in our rehearsal space.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tJenna Johnson and Corey Feldman<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney\/Eric McCandless<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWhat was it like hitting the stage with Corey Feldman for the first time last Tuesday?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m always curious how my partner is going to respond in that situation, because it is really intimidating and so scary to go live. But I was just so impressed with Corey. I mean, he is a performer. He is a showman, and he put on a full performance [on Tuesday] night. I was just so proud of him. I love that he showed up, he was giving facials and energy, and that is everything that I asked for. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs the reigning winning pro dancer, do you feel pressure going into a new season? How do you approach going into a new season with a new partner after having just won?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI definitely am grateful to have that title and be the reigning champion, but I approach every season with a clean slate. It\u2019s a new experience, a new partner, a new journey, so I just really want to be focused on that. But it has been so much fun to have my past partner, Joey Graziadei, in the ballroom. He\u2019s the host of the Dancing With the Stars<\/em> podcast, so it\u2019s been really fun to still see him on set and be like, \u201cOh my goodness, that happened.\u201d But yeah, it\u2019s definitely a different approach each season and with a new partner.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis season, your niece Hailey Bills joined the troupe. You were her mentor on <\/strong>Dancing With the Stars Junior<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, but what has it been like sharing this experience on Dancing With the Stars<\/em> together so far?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt is truly a dream come true for our family. The fact that I not only get to have my husband [Val Chmerkovskiy] on set, which is very niche and not a lot of people get to experience that, but to then have my beautiful niece, and this has been her dream, to be on Dancing With the Stars<\/em> one day. And to even be going to rehearsals together and looking over and seeing her, I\u2019m just so proud. I cannot wait for the world to get to see her dance and perform and fall in love with her. My sister, who\u2019s Hailey\u2019s mom, was in the audience [last Tuesday] night, and all of us just couldn\u2019t stop crying. It was just like, \u201cHow did we get here, these two girlies from Utah?\u201d And I\u2019m not sure we\u2019ve ever had that sort of relationship [between aunt and niece] be able to perform on the show together, so it\u2019s very special.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tJoey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDisney\/Eric McCandless<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPreviously, you won the athletes season, but that was a condensed [four-week long] season. What did it mean for you to win in a full regular season <\/strong>with Joey<\/strong><\/a> last year? He\u2019s also the first Bachelor to win Dancing With the Stars<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt meant the world. Because, yes, I won the athletes season, but it was that shortened season, so I was hungry for that 10-week win. And then to be paired with somebody like Joey, who was so invested in the journey, in the competition and to make history together, well, it was just insane. Like every dream come true. I will never forget that. You don\u2019t get partners like that often, [where] it just feels so meant to be. And we became really great friends in the process. It just meant so much to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve had so many dances go viral, but last year, your Tarzan dance from Disney night had the internet going crazy. When you choreograph in this new age of the show that is dominated by social media, do you think about, <\/strong>\u201cMaybe this part of the dance will go viral?<\/strong>\u201d <\/em>Does that go into your choreography process at all?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt doesn\u2019t, because I want something to go viral on its own, in an authentic way. I think when you try to force something choreographically, it never really hits as much as just doing your best work and being inspired and creative in the moment, and then being pleasantly surprised when people are just attracted to a section. And that\u2019s kind of what happened with the Tarzan dance last year. I had absolutely no idea that it would have the impact that it did, and that section in particular was a really hard section for me that I couldn\u2019t figure out musically. Joey and I just sat in the studio one day and we played that section over and over and over again, and we were like, \u201cYou know what? Let\u2019s just have fun with this part. Let\u2019s not stress over it, and let\u2019s do something that feels good for us, that we\u2019re going to enjoy performing live.\u201d And it kind of just did its thing. I love that TikTok is loving the dancing that we\u2019re doing and picks up certain things and makes them a trend, but I don\u2019t want that to be the sole focus for me when I go into creating a new routine. [Writer\u2019s note: Jenna and Joey\u2019s Disney Night Samba has 4.5 million views on TikTok.]<\/em><\/p>\n

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