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Daniella Karagach is debunking what she calls one of the “biggest” misconceptions about Dancing with the Stars
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In a joint interview with her husband and fellow DWTS pro, Pasha Pashkov, Karagach says there’s “never been a competition” between them in their five-plus years on the show together
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“That bond that you’re creating [with your celebrity] takes so much time out of your day and so much work that you don’t really care about anybody else in the competition,” Karagach says
Fans of Dancing with the Stars might think they know exactly how the drama unfolds outside the ballroom, but Daniella Karagach is ready to put those rumors to bed.
Karagach, who was joined by her husband and fellow DWTS pro Pasha Pashkov, tells PEOPLE that one of the “biggest” misconceptions about the ballroom dance competition show is just that: competition.
“I think that people really think that everyone is against each other in terms of competition. I feel like everyone is very like, ‘They’re competing against each other. They probably don’t want the other person to do well.’ That’s actually not how it goes at all,” Karagach reveals of the pros who partner with celebrities each season. “It’s actually insane how much we support one another.”
That support is “especially” strong between Karagach, 32, and her husband. “Pasha helps me with my choreography all the time, and vice versa. If we ever need anything, always the first person I would ask is Pash, or vice versa.”
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty
(Back Row) Alyson Hannigan, Artem Chigvintsev, Charity Lawson, Ariana Madix, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Xochitl Gomez, Alfonso Ribeiro, Julianne Hough (Front Row) Jason Mraz, Sasha Farber, Pasha Pashkov, Daniella Karagach, Bruno Tonioli, Val Chmerkovsky
She continues, “Having both of us on the show, it’s been so nice to just work together. That has never been a competition, but also, [between] us with other pros has also never felt like a competition.”
“We’re actually all really happy for each other, and we all want each other to succeed,” she says of the pros. “When Jenna [Johnson] won [last season], we were so excited and happy because we see how much work goes into it. We know how hard it is.”
Instead, Karagach, who made it to week seven last season with partner Dwight Howard, says that all the pros can really focus on is their celebrity partner.
“You don’t actually see anyone but your celebrity. The bond that you create with your celebrity is so real [like] what you see on the show because you are spending three months [together], non-stop in the same room, sweating, crying, going through so many emotions.”
“I feel like that bond that you’re creating [with your celebrity] takes so much time out of your day and so much work that you don’t really care about anybody else in the competition. You’re just so focused on yourself.”
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images
Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Pashkov, 39, echoes his wife’s sentiments, as he says that in reality, the “most beautiful moments” of the whole show actually happen off-camera, in bonding moments between the whole cast — competition aside.
“Your celeb doesn’t really get a chance to perform it in front of other people. If you do it for the first time on a show day, it’s nerve-racking, so we’re trying to get those nerves out of the way. We go into each other’s rooms … We collect two, three, four couples, we all sit in one room, celebs and pros, and we all show each other our dances.”
“You get the nerves out of the way. You support each other, you clap, you give each other some compliments to [show them], ‘All right, you are trying, I’m in the same boat with you, we’re all here together doing the same thing.'”
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
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For the celebrities to “see other celebs are going through exactly the same thing, that helps the confidence,” Pashkov says.
“Those are the things that I think you don’t see in the packages, you don’t see on TV, but those are the things that are happening. I think those are the most beautiful moments, to be honest with you.”
Read the original article on People
