Photo: Dancing With The Stars
Vinny Guadagninogot real about his struggles with pre-show anxiety during Monday’sDisney+ nightonDancing with the Stars.
In the intro package ahead of his samba to “Il Gatto E La Volpe” from Disney Pixar’s movieLuca, Guadagnino opened up about how his intense desire to “prove” he belongs on the DWTS stage causes him to feel anxious. “I want to do a good job so badly,” he added.
Later, theJersey Shorestar, 34, told reporters including PEOPLE about how he navigates his pre-show nerves. “It gets the best of me up until I hit the stage,” said Guadagnino.
“Literally, I see his face change,” added his partner Koko Iwasaki, 25, who is in her debut season as a pro dancer on the show.
“But that’s part of it though,” Guadagnino continued. “You can’t try to tell your demons to go away.”
While he revealed he’s “good generally” when it comes to anxiety — “I’m a chill dude,” said Guadagnino — this doesn’t apply to stepping out on the DWTS dancefloor.
Dancing With The Stars
“This right here? It brings it out of me,” admitted Guadagnino.
The key to moving past his pre-show nerves has been communication, said Iwasaki. According to her Guadagnino “laid it all on the table” one day, and that helped break through the ice.
“He laid it all out there and it made me understand,” Iwasaki said. “It made me now know how to help and just be there for him. Even if he doesn’t need it, if he needs it, I’m just here. It just helped our relationship, really.”
He added that learning to cope with hisDWTSanxiety is also helping him deal with “stress and nerves” in other arenas of his life. “I love going through this challenge,” he added.
While he may have been grappling with some pre-show nerves, theJersey Shorestar had plenty to be excited about as his co-starsMike “The Situation” SorrentinoandPauly “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchiocheered him on in the audience Monday.
“It’s two different families now,” he said of introducing them to theDWTScast. “It felt really cool. And listen, I could do no wrong in front of them. You know, we’ve watched each other in our deepest, darkest moments, so this is just silly.”
Iwasaki said she could tell how happy their support made Guadagnino, adding that they “brought the party” with their energy in the audience.
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Dancing with the Starsairs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.
source: people.com
