Behind the Scenes of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 21’s Last Rehearsal Before Premier
Inside the final rehearsal as the stars prepare for tonight's season premiere.
— -- Dancing stars and thousands of their fans are shutting down Hollywood Boulevard to tape tonight’s season 21 opener of “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I feel more comfortable when I’m holding a giant snake than when I’m out here,” Bindi Irwin told ABC News behind the scenes of the casts’ final rehearsal.
Irwin’s mom and brother were inside the ballroom, anxiously watching her last-minute rehearsal.
And singer Chaka Khan is realizing she only gets one chance with one dance to impress the judges.
“One dance, one, one,” she said, remaining optimistic. “I’m so happy!”
Some of the stars are overwhelmed.
“It’s my first time here,” said Hayes Grier. “Yeah, it’s unreal.”
“This is crazy,” Alek Skarlatos added. “I mean, the lighting and the spotlights and all of the chairs.”
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The 13 couples have spent three weeks rehearsal tonight’s one dance.
“You know, you commit yourself 100 percent,” Tamar Braxton explained. “I believe in that.”
“That’s why we get along,” Braxton’s professional dancing partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, said.
Alexa and Carolos Penavega are the show’s first dancing married couple, competing against each other.
“We do sit in bed at night and watch videos of us dancing and their past dances,” said Carlos. “And we’re taking this very seriously.”
The Penavegas admit that, at rehearsals, they compare notes with their pro dance partners.
“We do have little pow wows where he’ll come in and see our routine and we’ll go in and check out his routine,” Alexa said.
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter appreciates how dancing keeps his body and mind in shape after being very open with his fans about his past struggles with substance abuse.
“I’m actually doing this show to kind of show our fans who I am, and be like, ‘You can be proud of me on this journey on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’’” Carter explained.
Paula Deen lost 40 pounds before agreeing to dance.
“I just want to do the best I can for everyone that I love,” she said.
“My mom passed away six years ago,” said Andy Grammer. “Doing something like this show where I’m thinking about her every single day has been really sweet for me.”
Dance lessons are also turning into life lessons.
“She’s got a great heart,” professional dancer Tony Dovolani said of his celeb partner, Kim Zolciak-Biermann.
“Only because I cried,” she quipped in return.
Triple Crown winner Victor Espinoza is learning to give up the reigns to his dance teacher, Karina Smirnoff.
“Basically, she treats me like a horse,” Espinoza joked.
And fans are highly anticipating Gary Busey’s debut on the dancefloor.
“Every ten minutes is a different Gary,” he said.
“Dancing With the Stars" premieres tonight at 8 p.m., 7 Central on ABC.