Jenna Dewan Defends Her Dancing With the Stars Casting Amid Backlash Over Dance Experience

The Step Up star says ballroom dancing is a completely different discipline and that competing on the show is a new challenge for her.

Jenna Dewan is responding to criticism surrounding her casting on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars.

The 45-year-old The Rookie actress was announced as a contestant for Season 35 of the ABC competition series, where she will compete alongside three-time Mirrorball Trophy winner Val Chmerkovskiy.

Her casting quickly sparked debate online, with some viewers arguing that Dewan’s extensive professional dance background gives her an unfair advantage over contestants without similar experience.

From Janet Jackson to Step Up

Dewan began her career as a professional dancer and famously worked as one of Janet Jackson’s backup dancers.

She later became widely known for starring opposite Channing Tatum in the 2006 dance film Step Up, establishing herself as both an actress and accomplished dancer.

Because of that history, some Dancing With the Stars fans questioned whether she should compete against celebrities with little or no professional dance experience.

But Dewan says there is an important distinction between her previous training and what she will have to learn on the show.

‘I Do Not Know How to Ballroom Dance’

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Dewan acknowledged that her dance experience could be helpful but emphasized that ballroom dancing is a completely different discipline.

“Let’s be clear. It’s two different languages,” she explained.

Dewan said her previous training has taught her how to learn choreography and perform, but she now has to adjust to an unfamiliar technique.

“There is a certain sense of unlearning for me,” she said, explaining that she has had to move away from habits developed through years of dancing in other styles.

The actress added that her experience may actually make her more nervous because ballroom dancing “feels really foreign.”

Why Dewan Wanted the Challenge

Rather than seeing her casting as an easy opportunity, Dewan said she wanted to participate precisely because ballroom dancing is outside her comfort zone.

“It has its advantages, but it also has its challenges,” she said. “But that was part of why I wanted to do it. I really wanted to challenge myself.”

For Dewan, the competition will therefore be less about repeating skills she has already mastered and more about learning an entirely different form of dance.

Val Chmerkovskiy Defends His Partner

Chmerkovskiy also pushed back against the criticism surrounding Dewan’s casting.

“First of all, it’s naive to think that this show is just about dance,” he said.

According to the professional dancer, Dancing With the Stars is also about personality, vulnerability and the journey contestants experience throughout the competition.

He acknowledged that Dewan enters the show with “incredible talent,” but said that talent also creates greater expectations.

“With great talent comes incredible expectation — that’s my challenge,” Chmerkovskiy explained.

‘We’ve Seen Her at the Highest Form of Dance’

Chmerkovskiy said his goal is to push Dewan beyond what audiences have already seen from her.

“The way I approach things is that you’re only as good as the thing that you’ve never done,” he said.

He plans to challenge Dewan and himself to showcase something new rather than simply relying on the dance abilities she demonstrated earlier in her career.

“We’ve seen her at the highest form of dance and what that expression can look like—” Chmerkovskiy began, before Dewan jokingly interrupted:

“Many years ago!”

The exchange highlighted the central challenge facing the pair: Dewan may already be an experienced dancer, but Dancing With the Stars will require her to prove she can master a completely different style.