Heavy/ABC Danncers from "Dancing With the Stars."
Pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy is still thinking about a “Dancing With the Stars” partner he had a decade ago.
In a May 2023 interview on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the choreographer was asked who his most memorable partner was on the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, and he wasted no time in naming Zendaya. The former Disney Channel star was a teenager when she was partnered with Chmerkovskiy in season 16, and the two just fell short of the mirrorball trophy.
Val Chmerkovskiy Said Dancing With Zendaya Was a “Privilege”
GettyVal Chmerkovskly (L) and Zendaya perform during the 2013 Radio Disney Music Awards.
Chmerkovskiy has won two mirrorball trophies on DWTS. His first win came in season 20 with actress Rumer Willis and this second was in season 23 with Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. But when speaking with Clarkson, he named Zendaya as the most memorable of all of his partners because she joined the competition at a big time in her life.
“One of the biggest pleasures is the dynamic personalities and people that you go through this process with, and it’s, I don’t want to say a gauntlet, but it is something that really brings people together,” Chmerkovskiy told Clarkson. “And one of the partners that I had the privilege to be a pro partner with on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was Zendaya.”
“She was 16, and she was just kind of trying to transition out of the Disney star. And yeah, the rest is history,” he said.
Zendaya was best known as a star on the Disney Channel series “Shake it Up” when she signed on to “Dancing With the Stars” in 2013. And while she shook things up with Chmerkovskiy on the dance floor, the two ended the season in the runner-up position behind Derek Hough and “American Idol” singer Kellie Pickler.
Val Chmerkovskiy Said He Wants a Red-Do of His Partnership With Zendaya
Since competing on DWTS, Zendaya’s career has skyrocketed. The 26-year-old has won two Emmy Awards for her starring role on the HBO series “Euphoria,” per Emmys.com.
And while she no longer needs DWTS to boost her career, Chmerkovskiy has said he would love to get her back on the dance floor to finish what they started.
“My biggest heartbreak was on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ not winning with Zendaya, honestly. That was a huge heartbreak for me because she was 16,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. “I wanted this to be such a huge moment for her. She worked so hard, and I really wanted her to lift that trophy and jump-start her career. And she didn’t lift the trophy and I felt heartbroken about that.”
Chmerkovskiy blamed his own lack of experience as a choreographer and a teacher for the duo’s DWTS loss. “I wish I could go back and have another chance at that season because I feel like she was an incredible talent and I could’ve done better,” he said.
In a separate interview, the dancer admitted that he felt as though he “dropped the ball” with Zendaya. “She was my third partner on the show and so I was just a rookie still trying to figure it out,” Chmerkovskiy told Us Weekly. “I am just so much better now than I was when we were partnered that I wish I got a chance to now do that process again with her knowing everything that I do,”
While he regrets their loss, Chmerkovskiy revealed that he learned a lot from his season with Zendaya.
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