Val Chmerkovskiy Reveals How He Teaches His Son a Blue-Collar Work Ethic

Val Chmerkovskiy Reveals How He Teaches His Son a Blue-Collar Work Ethic

Val Chmerkovskiy from Dancing with the Stars opens up about how he instills a blue-collar work ethic in his son. He emphasizes the importance of children seeing their parents work hard and take a simple approach to their craft. The conversation also touches on his recent high score on the show and his feelings about being overrated or underrated.

DWTS' Val Chmerkovskiy Shares How He's Teaching His Son "Blue-Collar" Work Ethic | E! News. | Transcript:

I think it's also important for me to see his parents working, working hard, with a simple working approach to this art. You got the highest score to get the highest score. The first highest score of this season. I will be modestly proud of this. I will be proud of this. I was shocked. I was overwhelmed with happiness, honestly, just overwhelmed You know, when you get something like this. I've been overrated before, and honestly, I do n't like it. don't like underrating either, but it 's better to have an

underrating for a great performance than an overrating for a mediocre one. But sometimes everything comes together and you get a great performance that gets the appropriate numerical validation, and I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled about this. The main thing is that people feel something when they look at us, because I share my love, we share our love for dance, and that you feel it. You felt something. This is the kind of dance that I know I'll break, you know, like my wife Jenna, I mean every dance of hers-it's something, but you know, her contemporary is just going to be on a new level.

I feel the same way with my pasodoble, and again, I'm only as good as my partner. And so, the fact that I have, you know, I've been lucky enough to have great partners in the past, and the opportunity to have someone like Jenna who can take dance to that level-it's just a real pleasure to paint with those colors again. So cute. Thank you. I felt, I didn't think about it until the very end, when I thought, "Wow, everyone just gave it their all today." And then I had a moment of, "Oh my God, we have Pasodoble and Bad Romance," and you know, there's a lot of expectation for that moment, and I was like, "Oh, well, let it be." Let's just have fun. And it was just wonderful. And again, strategy and all that, and because it's a dance that I feel

very confident in, I kind of kept it aside, but I had the intention of doing it in the second part of the season. I think we were fairly grounded for the first few weeks, when I realized, "Hey, this is a competition." "And there 's no real pace here." That is, every week matters. So, from now on, I feel like we have to perform at that level every week. Oh yes. Undoubtedly. Yes, we So I definitely pushed the pasodoble. We said: "Bring me I, you know? I think that women, men, people -we all have a lot in common. And when you have a lot to do at once, you just make it work. You find a way out, you understand? You find free minutes. You have to understand that certain things have priority at different times. And for me, being a

mother is always the number one priority. And yet, combining both shows, my kids are so amazing and patient. They completely share this path with me. They are so excited. I mean, my son is literally in tears because Guillermo went home. Yes. Because he's such a fan. I am desperate about this. It's like, He was also very happy about our high scores. I'll tell you this, he was very-he actually cried happy tears for us. And then I cried. Here's what I'm saying: they're so involved, so patient, and they know that mommy is working really hard right now. And the newcomers were just amazing. They say, "You work really hard." So we just manage. It's like everything else.

It's like step by step, you do your job as best you can and treat yourself with understanding. OK. Well, I want to give a shoutout to Steve, Yes. to Jenna's accomplice, because, again, I've been on the show many times. The other half is very important. It is very important that there is contact, understanding, support, and he is here every week. He allows me, as I said, to enjoy Yes. creatively with this incredible artist, and in the process, yes, I take up a lot of her time, and her work takes up a lot of time, so his understanding and patience are very important and vital to the success of this couple. Yes, he has no idea that we are making our dreams come true. I don't think he can grasp it at that level at 3.5 years old,

but on a subconscious level-first of all, he loves music and dancing. He loves watching us perform. As I said, I think it's also important to me that he sees how his parents work. Yes. and work hard, treating this creativity as ordinary work. The fact that he goes on tour with us happens in the studio. He would be here today if the rules allowed it. Unfortunately, children are not allowed in, but again, it's a beautiful thing and I think it's important to set a good example as much as possible in this area, which is quite strange, fun and crazy.

You know, all kids are cute, but I keep telling you that Rome-he's like a wise old soul. He is special. And I witnessed his dance parties. I dance too. Please. Yes. I don't.He dances well. It doesn't surprise anyone. I also, you know, work for this brand. Disney has been my boss for 15 years. Uh, you know, Disney cartoons, Disney movies, all that stuff. I have never loved or appreciated it as much as I do now that I have a son who adores every Disney project under the sun. who is the coach, quarterback, and biggest cheerleader in your life right now?

Good. Oh. Are you answering this question? Yes. Do I answer this? The coach, the quarterback, um.I mean, usually it's my wife, but she's really busy right now, being the quarterback of her own team. Like I said, she's usually on my side, so it's hard. You know how teams that win the Super Bowl get their offensive coordinators poached by other teams, that's what happened to my wife. And the biggest cheerleader in your life right now, well, she still is, so I would say my wife is my biggest cheerleader. Jenna-that's all. She is amazing. Strike out, put on the bench, leave. Your last three dances, including today's. Good. Let's do this. So, to "strike out" is to get rid of it.

Good. Delete. It's very difficult because I liked all our dances. Good. I'd probably cross out tango, because it's the hardest dance for me to do because of the stand. On the bench. This job is on the bench The drive also takes some time. Need a drive. It was what they had. Leave it, tonight's dance. Well, because. I would dance to Bad Romance 100 times in a row. I liked it.

More Entertainment Transcript