Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik chats with THR at the 'Dancing With The Stars' premiere, alongside partner Rylee Arnold, and shares what was going through his mind during his explosive first performance. Plus, he shares why his girlfriend Tess McCracken is his biggest supporter.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00You guys did incredible tonight. That wink to kick off the performance, that was amazing.
00:04What was going through your head as you were performing? Like do you have thoughts or are you
00:08just like in the zone in the moment? I'm in the zone, I'm in the moment. I've ran this routine
00:12so many times now that it's somewhat muscle memory but of course the things that are going
00:16through my head are look at that camera and smile. That's really all it is.
00:22So good. I'm so proud of Steven. We had so much fun out there and like I'm so proud of all the
00:27work he's putting in and truly this has been like one of my favorite performances I've ever
00:31done on the show. Love to hear that. How are your nerves and how does it compare to performing
00:37at an Olympic level to here in front of a ballroom? How does the nervousness compare?
00:42Well I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear it but it's very similar. You're out here
00:45with a big crowd in front of judges, the cameras, it's a lot to take in so I was feeling the nerves
00:51but just like the Olympics me and Riley went through some breathing exercises, we grounded
00:55ourselves and really just had fun with it and that's really all that matters. In your personal
01:00life who has been a big cheerleader in this journey for you so far? Definitely my girlfriend
01:04Tess. She came here, she's cheering, I heard her. I mean she's just the best and she keeps me
01:08grounded. She keeps me on my feet. Well after this performance you guys are definitely a couple to
01:14look out for this season. What are besides obviously winning it all, do you have any
01:18personal goals that you're hoping that you can hit? Well immediately I want to point my toes
01:22better. That's one thing. You know I take everything those judges say to heart so I'm
01:26going to go back in the gym tomorrow and just work on those small details for week two. I want to be
01:30able to make sure I'm clean for them. I want to hear them say you fixed it next week so that's
01:34really my biggest goal right now.