Adele Zaikman on Winning ‘DWTS: The Next Pro’ and Daniella Karagach’s Advice for Season 35

Adele Zaikman is gearing up for her first season as a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars.

She had one of the most untraditional paths to the show’s cast yet, becoming the first contestant to win The Next Pro spinoff, which challenged 12 dancers to compete for a spot on the season 35 cast. News that Adele won the show was announced on Monday, and two days later, the full cast of celebrities and pros was revealed, sending the Dancing fandom into a frenzy.

“It’s been surreal, honestly,” the dancer, 24, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I would never expect my life to change so quickly. It’s a lot to take in.”

Adele has been catapulted into an online sensation, thanks to the buzz surrounding Dancing and its full cast after season 34. The celebrities are the spectacle of each new season, but the pros stay put year-after-year, building their own level of celebrity. 

Viewers are passionate about the pros and who they’re partnered with, and the team behind the show knows the dancers are “at the core” of Dancing, showrunner Conrad Green previously told THR, and Adele has a myriad of emotions going into her first season on the cast. 

“I’m nervous in a good way. I’m excited, I’m thrilled,” she says. “I’m all of these emotions.”

Below, Adele reflects on her run on The Next Pro, the biggest lesson the spinoff taught her ahead of her first season, the advice her Dancing With the Stars colleagues have offered her as a first-time pro and why Conner Leavitt is “exactly what I need” in her debut celeb partner. 

This week, it was revealed that you were the winner of Next Pro, and then immediately you went through the GMA reveal and announced your partner. What has this week been like for you? 

It’s been surreal, honestly. A dream come true, because I would never expect my life to change so quickly. It’s a lot to take in. It’s amazing, though. I’m so, so grateful. I’m receiving a lot of love on social media, a lot of nice messages of people supporting me. It’s been great. 

You say you couldn’t imagine how your life would have changed so quickly; how do you think your life has changed so far from this experience of going on Next Pro? 

As a dancer, I became so much more confident after The Next Pro. I’ve been a competitive dancer for all my life, and we have certain rules that we have to follow. The Next Pro allowed me to figure out who I am on a deeper level as a dancer. What can I bring to the dance floor? Maybe something new that people haven’t seen before. [On DWTS,] you can break the rules. You can be more creative. You can do so many things that I didn’t get to do, and I was like, Oh my God, I love that. As a dancer, as a choreographer, as an artist, I’ve really developed myself, and I feel like I’m bringing something refreshing. I can’t wait to explore myself more on Dancing With the Stars.

Now that you are in prep for season 35, looking back to Next Pro, what was the greatest piece of advice or lesson that you learned that has prepared you for the main show for season 35?

I feel like because we’ve done everything in two days, we had two days to perform, to make a routine, to teach the routine. If we were dancing with an amateur, to make it clean, to make it look good. Just working under so much pressure, making great product in two days was so, so hard. I feel like this really prepared me for Dancing With the Stars, because now I get more time. I get a week to actually think, to realize what my partner’s strengths are. I feel like if I’ve done it in two days, I can do it in a week. 

What was your favorite number you performed during your time on The Next Pro?

Wow, that’s so hard. There’s top three coming to mind. Not in a particular order, the first that I think about is week two, the dedication dance to Allen [Genkin]’s mom. It was amazing, so emotional. I was so happy to be a part of it. The next one that comes into my mind is the Samba with Gleb [Savchenko]. I was enjoying that really much, and the foxtrot in the semifinal with AJ [Pritchard].

What has it been like these past few months as you have started prep for season 35? It’s been so secretive. Those paparazzi photos of y’all going to rehearsals go so viral. What has it been like celebrating this win, but also trying to focus on the future with season 35?

It’s been crazy because I know that we had to wear these huge masks on our faces [to conceal our identities before the cast reveal,] so I wore the mask all the time. And then when I drove from the dance studio, I drove to some parking lot seven minutes away, and I took the mask off, and then I see my pictures online when the paparazzi followed me, and I’m like, really? They follow me? Like, this is my life right now? It feels insane.

Also, when I won [The Next Pro at the] end of February, it’s been so many months that I had to keep it a secret. Obviously, when you win something, you want to talk about it. You want to be proud of it. You want to be like, “Oh my God, I won,” and I couldn’t. I feel relieved that it’s finally out. I don’t have to hide anymore. I don’t have to wear huge coats and glasses and stuff like that. [I can] just enjoy the process and be present. I cannot wait for that. 

How are you feeling about your first live show as a pro dancer being so soon? It’s almost a week away.

Yes, you ask me this question, I start to be nervous. I’m nervous in a good way. I’m excited, I’m thrilled. I’ve been watching Dancing With the Stars this last season because I got the phone call from the production back in October, so I was like, OK, let’s start watching just in case I get on the show. It seems surreal because just last season, I was watching it in my apartment, watching it on TV on my couch, and now I’m gonna be a part of it, and it’s live, and it’s this whole journey. I’m like, Oh my God, all over the place. Live show is definitely something that other pros talk to me about. [They] say that once you hear those four clicks and you’re about to go live, it’s getting to you, so I am excited. I’m nervous. I’m all of these emotions.

Now that you are a pro, you’re going to be dancing alongside Mark Ballas. He’s not going to be your judge; he’s going to be your colleague. How has that been so far, and are you looking forward to anything about working with Mark in this capacity?

I have to say, Mark was the sweetest and is the sweetest person to me in the world. He’s like, “Whatever you need, I got you.” I’m texting him quite often, asking him a lot of questions. We’re gonna be probably dancing together in the opening numbers coming up, so now he’s also sometimes my dance partner. It feels like quite a big change because he was the judge, and now we’re so friendly with each other. But he was so welcoming and warm that it feels natural, actually.

As you go into this experience of season 35, your first live show, have any of the other pros given you any advice for taking on the whirlwind that can be a Dancing With the Stars season?

Actually, Dani [Karagach] came to me the other day and was like, “It’s so much fun, and it’s not that serious. Just enjoy it.” I was like, that’s actually very good advice, because I’m a very serious competitor. And I feel like Dancing With the Stars, everybody is competitive. Everybody wants to win that mirrorball. But also, everyone there is such a family, and having such a good time. Her words are actually replaying in my head a lot of the time. Whenever I get too worried or in my head, or like, I have to make this routine better, [I think,] yeah, I have to do that, but let’s also have fun. It’s not that serious. We all wanna have fun and enjoy our dancing. She gave me this amazing advice, as simple as that. Jenna [Johnson] was so nice. After The Next Pro, she texted me, “Let’s go out and grab some lunch.” We went to lunch all together. Everyone has been amazing.

Have you been in the ballroom yet?

No, I have never been there.

When do you anticipate that happening, and what do you think that moment is going to be like for you in your career?

[Friday,] actually, at 7 a.m., we have a rehearsal in the ballroom [for] all the opening numbers we’ve done so far. I’m going to be quite emotional, because that is it. It’s happening, you know. You’re in the ballroom, you’re dancing, even if it’s not the real deal [for a live show], I feel like my heart is gonna beat really fast. 

[Writer’s note: Adele’s interview was conducted before her first time in the DWTS ballroom.]

It’s been revealed that you’re partnered with Conner Leavitt. What has it been like having him as your first celebrity partner?

Production has been so nice to me that they gave me Conner as my first partner. It’s exactly what I need. He is funny. He is so bubbly, positive, so humble, such a hardworking guy. He’s like, “Push me more. Let’s do more.” He’s just such a good human, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this journey. He understands it’s my first season, and it’s kind of like he knows everything already because he’s been there with [his wife] Whitney [Leavitt during season 34.] He’s like, “I’ll show you around.” So it’s kind of like it’s my first season, and he knows more than I do in a way, because he’s been in the ballroom. I met Whitney [Wednesday] in New York. She has been so sweet, and I’m thrilled that he’s my first partner.

What other hopes do you have for the rest of season 35 of Dancing With the Stars? What are you most looking forward to in your first year as a pro?

I am so excited just to gain experience. Being on live TV, I feel like that’s gonna make me feel like I’m progressing even more as a dancer. I also look forward to giving Conner the best experience, because it can get very stressful. As a competitive dancer, I know it can be so stressful. You can get in your head. You can be doubting yourself, and I just want to be there for him. I feel like, of course, everybody wants to win, and I know Conner is really competitive. But at the end of the day, I really want him to have this once in a lifetime, unforgettable experience.

Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars kicks off with a double premiere on Sept. 15 and 16 on ABC and Disney+, streaming the next day on Hulu. Season one of The Next Pro is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Catch up on all of THR’s Dancing content here.