Danielle Fishel is going to do her own thing on Dancing With the Stars.
That’s why the Boy Meets World alum didn’t quite follow the advice she got from two-time DWTS competitor Sabrina Bryan during the season 34 premiere on Sept. 16.
“Her best piece of advice to me that I didn’t follow,” Danielle exclusively told E! News‘ Will Marfuggi following the show, “was to not watch the packages.”
Explaining that the video packages, which air before dance routines, can sometimes “make you emotional,” the 44-year-old said that Sabrina told her to avoid watching them prior to going on stage to keep focus on the performance.
“She said, ‘Don’t pay attention to the package. Just lock in with your partner,'” Danielle shared. “But I was like, ‘I wonder what’s in my package?'” (For more interviews from the DWTS cast, tune into E! News tonight, Sept. 17, at 11 p.m.)
Though curiosity got the best of Danielle, she and pro partner Pasha Pashkov managed to walk away with a score of 12/20 for their tango to Kelly Clarkson‘s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” In fact, the actress found that watching the video package “didn’t distract” her at all because her mind was on her routine from the get-go.
“That’s the number one thing on my mind,” she said. “I am improving every week. I know where I started three weeks ago and I definitely improved in those three weeks.”
Danielle added, “With Pasha’s guidance, I’m only going to continue to grow and I’m looking forward to that journey.”
But that doesn’t mean Danielle thinks winning the Mirrorball Trophy will be a walk in the park. After all, she’s “very, very nervous” about her competition.
“I do not mean any disrespect to other seasons,” she quipped, “but I do not remember ever watching a for a premiere episode of Dancing with the Stars and being like, ‘Oh, so just every person’s better than the next person.'”
Danielle jokingly added that Robert Irwin is her main competiton since she and Pasha have been “tucked away” in a different part of the studio every time he performs with his pro partner Witney Carson.
“I still don’t know how great it is,” she said of the animal conservationist’s routine, which earned him a whopping 15/20 score, “but I’m going to go home and watch it.”
Who else is Danielle up against this season? Keep reading to find out.
Baron Davis
Partnered with Britt Stewart
Jennifer Affleck
Partnered with Jan Ravnik
Alix Earle
Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski
Dylan Efron
Partnered with Daniella Karagach
Corey Feldman
Partnered with Jenna Johnson
Elaine Hendrix
Partnered with Alan Bersten
Robert Irwin
Partnered with Witney Carson
Jordan Chiles
Partnered with Ezra Sosa
Scott Hoying
Partnered with Rylee Arnold
Whitney Leavitt
Partnered with Mark Ballas
Hilaria Baldwin
Partnered with Gleb Savchenko
Andy Richter
Partnered with Emma Slater
Danielle Fishel
Partnered with Pasha Pashkov
