Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Dancing with the Stars’ Lindsay Arnold

Lindsay Arnold fell in love with dance at a young age, but she never imagined she’d do it professionally…that is, until she crushed her So You Think You Can Dance audition, landing a spot in the coveted Top 20. It was on that show that the team over at Dancing with the Stars spotted Lindsay and recruited her to join the cast. In her debut season as a pro, she reached the final with partner Alek Skarlatos, and then tangoed her way to the mirrorball in Season 25 with partner, Jordan Fisher. But with all the success, she’s remained the humble, girl-next-door that America fell in love with back on So You Think You Can Dance. Pop Culturalist caught up with Lindsay between rehearsals to chat about her career, how her family and friends have kept her grounded, and even learn some fun facts.

PC: How did you discover your passion for dance?
Lindsay: It started at a young age; I was around three or four. I don’t remember a lot from that time, like my first few classes, but I do remember when I started competing with a ballroom partner and going to competitions on the weekends. I was traveling the U.S., and even the world, competing every week. That’s when I fell in love with dance and realized it was something that I really, really wanted to do.

When I was younger, I always thought I would dance up until high school, go to college, and get a “real job”, but when I graduated high school and auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance and actually made it onto that show, I realized that dance could be my job. I’ve always taken myself seriously as a dancer, but I took it seriously as a profession when I got on So You Think You Can Dance.

PC: What were your expectations when you auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance? Could you have ever imagined it would lead you to where you are now?
Lindsay: Absolutely not. I actually didn’t even want to audition—it was my mom who talked me into it! She told me that they were coming to Salt Lake City and she encouraged me to do it. My initial thought was “absolutely not. There’s no way I’m going to go. That’ll be so embarrassing. I won’t even make it, so why would I do that?” But my mom talked me into it, I went to the audition, and obviously it led to some pretty incredible things. I know I would not be where I am today if it hadn’t been for my mom pushing me to audition. It kick-started everything for me.

PC: The Dancing with the Stars’ team discovered you as a result of So You Think You Can Dance. What’s surprised you the most about being a part of that show since season 16?
Lindsay: Honestly, it’s the fact that we’re on season 27. This show is still one of the most entertaining to watch. Every season is completely different than the others. Yeah, it’s the same premise, and it’s a dance competition, but we get new celebrities and new personalities, which brings new stories to the table. I love that this show, as much as it’s the same show, is always different and I love that it can switch up like that.

Photo Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

PC: What is your creative process like week to week and has it changed since you first joined?
Lindsay: It’s definitely changed. I feel like I’ve grown as a choreographer and a dancer since I started the show, but my method is pretty much the same: I get the music, I listen to it about 300 times, and picture what I want it to look like in my head. I imagine everything from lighting, staging, costuming, and then the steps start to filter in. As I go through the music and listen to it, I come up with the steps, but then it can all change when you have your partner because you might teach your partner the steps you came up with and they just don’t work. You have to be ready to adapt and change at any moment.

PC: What would you say is the hardest dance style to teach a non-professional dancer?
Lindsay: It’s different every season. I would say usually non-professional dancers have a harder time with the slower, more controlled dances, like the Rumba or the Waltz. because there’s so much slow moment you have to have so much body control. For someone who isn’t a dancer, it’s really hard to understand that. Also, when a dance is slower, it can be boring if you don’t know how to add the finesse to it. That’s something that’s really, really hard to teach. It took me years and years and years to gain the technique that I have and it’s impossible to teach that in a couple of days.

PC: What would you say is the biggest lessons one of your partners has taught you on the show?
Lindsay: Oh, that’s a good question. I feel like every season I learn a different lesson depending on who my partner is. Everyone learns differently, and it’s been cool because over the years while teaching my partners, I’ve learned something new about myself and my talent that I didn’t even know I had. For example, I’ll be teaching somebody how to do a step and I’ll go into detail, and at the end of giving them this big spiel about technical details, I’m like, “Wow I didn’t even know I knew that about dancing!” It’s been pretty cool to see how teaching has made me a better dancer, and just a better person, as well.

PC: You and your partners have done incredibly well on the show. What’s been your key to success?
Lindsay: Like you said, I’ve been very lucky to have had a lot of success on the shows that I’ve been on. One thing that’s really stuck out to me is that success, while it’s great and makes me happy, it doesn’t define who I am. It’s been really amazing through the years to sort of grasp the understanding that while all of this success is incredible, if I don’t have a happy mind, happy home life, and I’m not connecting with my family and with myself, it doesn’t mean anything. I feel like as I’ve grown more successful in my career, I’ve also grown closer to my family, my husband, and who I am as a person.

PC: How are you able to find the balance between your family, your career, and your husband?
Lindsay: It’s my family and husband that keep that balance for me. My husband isn’t a dancer. He has nothing to do with the entertainment industry, which has been really good for me. The weeks on the show can be extremely stressful and sometimes it can overwhelm you and totally encompass your entire life. Being able to come home to someone who will have conversations with me that aren’t just about dance and about my career is something that’s kept me grounded and sane through all the craziness the show brings.

PC: On Dancing with the Stars, there’s a theme week called “Most Memorable Year”. What’s been the most memorable year for you and why?
Lindsay: My most memorable year is 2015 because that was the year that I got married. It’s also the year I got promoted from being in the troop to pro for my first season with Alek Skarlatos. Becoming a pro was pretty stressful because since it was my first time, I wanted to do well, and I ended up getting third place that season! It was also an amazing year because my husband moved out to L.A. with me, we had just gotten married, and it was our first time living out in L.A. together. It was just a really cool culmination of success in my personal life and in my career.

PC: When you look back the various seasons that you’ve been a part of, is there a performance that sticks out to you?
Lindsay: I’ve done four freestyles with my partners and each freestyle was a huge highlight of the season for me. It’s the last performance we get to do together and it’s always a culmination of their special talents and what they’re strongest at. Each one of those performances left a huge impact and will be a lasting memory in my dance career.

PC: So this season you’re also mentoring your sister on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors. What has that experience been like?
Lindsay: It’s been unreal. I mean the fact that I’m on Dancing with the Stars with my younger sister, getting to teach and mentor her while she performs with a celebrity partner…just talking about it sounds unreal and like a dream! I’m so, so lucky and so grateful that I have that opportunity.

PC: If you could get your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be and why?
Lindsay: I’m very lucky that I have people around me that push me and really challenge me to go after my dreams, because I think if I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have done it. So, I would have told myself to listen to the people around me that love me and know that they’re pushing me because they want me to be better, and to also push myself. That’s something that I try to do now—push myself to do better and better every single day, and to be the best version of myself possible.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Lindsay: I don’t even feel guilty about it, but I do feel guilty that I’m super behind. My husband and I started watching Grey’s Anatomy season one about eight months ago. We’ve since caught up all the way to season thirteen. I know we’re still way behind, but it’s been so much fun to watch that show. It never gets old, and I thought for sure it would. I think they’re on season fifteen now and I’m like, “How are they going to keep this exciting?” But, we’re seriously hooked. We watch at least one episode a night before bed. It’s something that’s been so fun to do together.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Lindsay: The Lego Movie! It’s not a classic and it’s kind of a kids’ movie, but I love that movie so much. I seriously quote it all the time.

PC: Favorite book?
Lindsay: I read all of the Twilight series, which now I feel like is like super lame to even say, but when I was reading them, they were everything to me…like I loved those books. Also, a huge guilty pleasure book, which they actually made a movie out of, is The Fault in Our Stars. Oh my gosh! I was an emotional wreck reading that book. Then when they made the movie, it made it even better because I got to kind of relive that again.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Lindsay: I saw Wicked in New York when Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were in it. I think it’s so cool that I get to say I saw it with the original cast.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Lindsay: I don’t know if they’d be surprised because all my fans know that I’m obsessed with country music. Honestly, all I listen to these days is country radio and it’s just on repeat every single day in my car. I love all things country. I don’t think that would surprise people, though, because I’m pretty open about how much I love it.

PC: Favorite dance style?
Lindsay: It changes depending on the day. I think that’s what’s cool about dance; it’s like if I’m feeling really, really happy and excited, I’m going to want to do a Jive or a Salsa, if I feel like kind of angry, I might want to do a Paso Doble. So it really does change, and that’s something that I love—I’m able to express my emotions through different dance styles.

PC: Do you have a dream partner?
Lindsay: Yeah! I’ve always said that it’d be really awesome to have Channing Tatum or Zac Efron on because we obviously know that they’re incredible, but they also have dance experience, so that would be something that I feel like would be just amazing.

PC: Hidden talent?
Lindsay: I don’t know if it’s really hidden, but I don’t think people will expect that growing up I did a lot of outdoors things. I go snow skiing, water skiing, wakeboarding, surfing, like I’m very much into all of those sort of outdoor sports, and I don’t think people see that because I’m mostly just dancing, but that’s something that I really enjoy doing.

Make sure to follow Lindsay on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Brandon Showers