Watch: How Jenna Dewan, Channing Tatum’s Daughter Everly Reacted to Her ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Casting
Jenna Dewan doesn’t need the judges to tell her to step up.
After Dewan and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy scored a 21 out of 30 in the latest episode of Dancing With the Stars Sept. 29, she admitted the judges “probably innately” hold her to a higher standard due to her dance background.
“There’s a certain sense of expectation of somebody who has a dance background coming onto the show,” Dewan told E! News in an exclusive interview following the show, “and there probably is something they’re looking for that we are still needing to work on to give or maybe give less of. I don’t know.”
But despite Dewan having professional experience as a dancer, she’s still a novice on the ballroom floor.
“I don’t understand how all that works,” Dewan—who danced to “Africa” by Toto alongside Chmerkovskiy—admitted of the scoring, “but I know we show up every week and we keep doing our best and we want to keep showing our joy and our love and the fun connection we have together and how much we love getting a chance to keep dancing.”
And ultimately, the scores aren’t what Dewan—mom to Everly, 13, with ex Channing Tatum, as well as Callum, 6, and Rhiannon, 2, with fiancé Steve Kazee—is taking away from this experience.
“It’s the most fun I’ve had maybe in the last 30 years,” the 45-year-old mused. “This is just so fun.”
Indeed, it’s been emotional for the Step Up actress to return to her roots.
“I had a real moment of, ‘I can’t believe that, at 45, and this chapter of my life that dance is still finding me again,’” Dewan shared, “And causing me to grow and causing me to feel all the depths of the emotion.”
As she put of her feelings and the support she’s received from sharing them, “I really had such a moment and it was nice a lot of people felt that feeling and love that I truly feel for dance.”
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy is only fueled by the possibility of improving in the coming weeks.
“I respect the judges,” he added. “We just got to get better. It feels how it feels because you put in so much work and you’re just so hungry for validation but we could validate ourselves.”
For a deeper look into this season’s DWTS contestants, keep reading…
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Disney/Andrew Eccles
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