Season 29 Dancing With The Stars Officially underway!

Distracts He met reigning champ Alan Bernstein about the Mirror Ball Cup competition alongside his famous partner Sky Jackson. The professional ballroom dancer told us exclusively about the pressure he feels to win (or at least reach the end) again, the new actions that have been implemented due to the ongoing coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) pandemic, and more.

Check out the questions and answers below. (Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Distracts: as the world champion Dancing with the stars, Do you feel pressured to win again or help your partner reach the end?

Alan Bernstein: Absolutely! Now that I win I feel people are like, “Oh, secrets must be known.” But there are no secrets. It’s equally tricky, if not harder just because there is an extra layer of expectation, but I feel Skai is doing a great job. I feel like we are communicating on a good level.

What did you learn from the stumbling of the second week?

from: I learned the determination and perseverance of Skai. Honestly, having a little bit of a stumble like that and having a live backup shows how much work you’ve done. Even though she was confused, and so were I, we were able to catch her again without missing anything. She works hard on rehearsals.

With the new procedures in place this season Dancing With The Stars Because of COVID-19, how was that like for you as a dancer and training with your partner?

from: It’s difficult because there is no one in the training rooms. We design everything on our own, sometimes I like when the producers are here and I talk to them and ask, “Does this look good?” Because you need this outside perspective. Now we have to put the phone on a stand, register it, and watch it again.

It’s just one more step to making sure what we do like it. But, I’m sort of like that. I love being in the room on my own with Skai because we have that goofy friendship where we make fun of each other and have a lot of fun. Although there are a lot of limitations, the fact that we’re back on TV is pretty cool.

With the restrictions, do you feel this is the toughest season?

fromI feel that each season is difficult in its own way and rewarding in its own way. It is a good question. I cannot answer that question because every season is difficult in its own way. The positive about not having an audience is that celebrities are more supportive of each other just because no one else claps. Everyone really supports each other and really supports each other. It’s really nice.

With people constantly interacting with the show on social media, and rumors spread during filming, how can you stay focused on the next week when competing and banishing outside noise?

from: I think it’s really important to focus on what’s important for this week. Yes, social media is a huge aspect because it is a fan-voted show. We are very grateful to the fans who support us. When we feel that we have done a good job and that the judges are giving us a lower score, the fans rush to agree with us and say “affirmation”.

This kind of thing helps us and makes us feel a little better. We will use positivity to motivate us and ignore the negativity. Everyone will have an opinion and I think it is important to follow and rely on those opinions that you trust and that matter to you as opposed to what the general public is saying.

Dancing With The Stars It airs Monday 8 p.m. ET on ABC.