Here’s ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Wasn’t Ever on Jan Ravnik’s Mood Board, and He’s “A Little Bit Shocked” But “Grateful” to Be Back for Season 35

Jan Ravnik is heading into his sophomore year as a Dancing With the Stars professional dancer, a job he didn’t think he’d ever add to his résumé.

“I have never watched this show in my life,” he says when The Hollywood Reporter asks his awareness of DWTS prior to joining the season 34 cast. “It wasn’t on my [mood] board. And I’m still a little bit shocked that I’m back (laughs).”

Jan entered the DWTS universe with a public presence, having performed as a dancer on Taylor Swift’s historic Eras Tour. It was after one the tour’s final stops in Toronto in the fall of 2024 when Deena Katz, the show’s main casting director and an executive producer, invited him to join the cast.

It took him three months to say yes to Katz’s offer, partially because he didn’t have prior ballroom dance training. “This is not a lie: Everyone knew, everyone saw me,” he says. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself or put my name in a bad name [on DWTS].”

Fast forward over a year later, and he’s fully immersed within the DWTS family, taking on his second season with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali as his celebrity partner for season 35. A year post-his ballroom debut, Jan says there’s “a lot of things” he learned during season 34 that he’s taking into the new installment.

Below, Jan tells THR why he ultimately said yes to the offer to be a DWTS pro, his main takeaway from his debut season last year, how Swifties compare to fans of the dance competition show and if Alfonso Ribeiro will make a cameo in one of Tatyana’s numbers this year.

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Before you joined the show, how aware of Dancing With the Stars were you? Were you a fan? Had you ever watched it?

I have never watched this show in my life. It was never on my mood board or any of my goals that I wanted to be a Dancing With the Stars pro. My goals were always to survive in this country as a foreign. I love working with artists. My head was always to [work with] another artist, and when I knew that I am able to get a green card in this country, then I was like, Now I can start thinking about the movies, even as a background dancer.

But then, after the last [Eras Tour] show we did in Toronto [in November 2024], Mandy Moore said, “Hey, Deena Katz wants to talk with you.” I was like, “I don’t know who Deena Katz is.” Early in the morning, before the show, she was like, “Can you grab a coffee?” I was like, “Okay, great.” Then I grab a coffee with her, and we talked a little bit, probably 10 minutes, and she said, “We are interested to have you in the show,” (laughs) and I was like, Okay, that’s random. She was like, “Yeah, and [the] job is yours if you want it.” Then I decided, like three months after, and started training.

It wasn’t on my [mood] board. And I’m still a little bit shocked that I’m back (laughs).

It took three months for you to come to that decision to do [DWTS]; why did you say yes?

For me, I work too much in my life as a commercial dancer and as a contemporary [dancer]. I love putting my work out, and I was trying to get my name in my world as a commercial dancer, and I didn’t want to destroy my name going to a show where I’m not a trained classical ballroom dancer. Which, this is not a lie: Everyone knew, everyone saw me. I didn’t want to embarrass myself or put my name in a bad name [on DWTS].

But then I had incredible, incredible ballroom teachers, Liana [Bakhtiarova], and she trained me every day for six months, six hours, training like an idiot for this show. But [the] first two months, I started training without deciding, so I saw in my body to be like, Am I even capable of doing that? Especially to learn in a way [to] teach someone; I need to learn a male part and then also female part. Because I had incredible teachers, I was like, I can do it. That’s why I said yes.

What is your main takeaway from your first year as a pro? And are you happy that you ultimately did say yes to the opportunity?

It’s easy to say than being done, [but] just try to ignore the background noise happening around you. I learn about myself that I’m very patient person, which I didn’t know. It’s just to find ways to humble yourself, but still love yourself at the same time. This job, you need to humble yourself a lot.

Is there anything that pops out from your first season that you learned that you are now taking into your second season for season 35?

A lot of things as a production side. All the pros, when they are coming into a show, they are [on] troupe before, so you’re learning the background; how the camera works, how the music department works, how they’re assigning your styles. When I went in, I just went with the flow. And now that I’m thinking back, I’m like, why the fuck did I have cha cha for week four on this song — I didn’t know that I was able to maybe talk with my partner and switch the song, or because I knew the the things that she couldn’t do, but they were still pushing for the style, and I was like, Oh shit!

But now, this time around, the first thing that I did, I went to a studio with Tatyana. We went through a lot of styles, frame, out of frame, the fast speed, so I know what she’s good at. So then, at least if the style is coming, I can be like, “Hey, this is a suicide. We are not doing that for week two. We’re gonna do [this] for week five.” Now I’m more comfortable, and put my foot on the ground and be like, “Hey, we’re not doing that.”

What has it been like working with Tatyana so far?

I fucking love her. I said to Deena that she needs to tell me [my partner] before. I didn’t want to [know] one day before they are opening this door. I respect all the artists, no matter if you are a social media artist or a big pop artist or a movie star; I’m bad with the names and faces. So I was like, I don’t want somebody [to] open the door, and I’m like, Who are those people? Like, if I will get an influencer again, I will be like, “Who are you?” And not in a bad way, but I want to do research. Then, when she told me about [Tatyana], I was like, wait, shut the fuck up! And then also, I call all my Eras [Tour] friends right away. We are always talking about it, and I said, “You know who I have?” And then Tori [Evans] and Raph [Thomas] were both screaming. They were like, “Shut the fuck up! This is our idol,” and I was like, damn! Now I feel even more pressure (laughs).

I was just happy when I met her. Her energy is so calm and so kind. She’s funny at the same time. Like in rehearsals, if something goes wrong, she’s not frustrated. She’s gonna try it again. She’s gonna go home, then text me, “Hey, I’m watching a Blackpool competitions,” which Blackpool is like Olympic games for dancers. I’m like, “You don’t need to watch that,” but, great. She’s doing research, she’s reading about the styles that we’re doing. Everything that we do, she’s like, “What’s the story?” This is a thing that I am passionate about; telling the stories. I love that somebody cares and is so passionate about it.

From the content you have posted online, it seems like you have a really good connection. Something that you guys did post online… Tatyana was the one who spilt the news that the premiere episodes are split by gender. What can you tease about your premiere episode and the number that you have planned?

Okay, so first, she’s one of those people who respect NDA so much. She’s like me, I would not spill anything about my boss. I’m not playing about that, and she’s the same. We have this mutual respect that we can trust each other with things. We tell each other, like she from her world, and all the things, and I’m telling her from [the] world that I’m coming in [from]. And when we’re having [TikTok] Live, she heard someone on a red carpet talking about [the premiere nights], but of course, some press knows they’re gonna release that after, so she’s talking about it [on Live], and when she’s doing it, I was zoned out. I’m listening, I’m like, Wait, I don’t think that this is public. I’m telling you, I pee myself. I actually peed myself. I couldn’t hold it even in, I was crying. It was bad, and she felt so bad.

Then, next day when I talked with her, she said, “I’m not on social media anymore.” I was like, “Why not? Why you didn’t post the video?” She’s like, “I can’t. I can’t go back on social media. I fucked up.” I was like, “No,” and I called Deena. I was like, “Deena, I’m so sorry.” She was like, “It’s fine. It happens.” But yeah, it’s funny that happens to her. It’s always had to be something dramatic or chaotic if I’m around. But for the first dance, she chose “Knock on Wood,” which is incredible song, and we are doing Jive. It’s gonna be a lot of energy. I didn’t do any lifts, anything up, which is shocking for me that I’m not breaking the rules. She’s gonna kill it.

I’ve seen a lot of fan speculation if you will somehow try to work Alfonso into a number. Do you see that happening?

Okay, there’s a lot of things in the back that we are not in charge of in, like clearing stuff, because I see a lot of of people [saying], “You guys need to use ‘Anxiety’ song” — they didn’t clear the song, so we will never be able to use the song, and I know that it’s a big trend for her. [Writer’s note: Doechii’s “Anxiety” went viral in 2025, set to a clip of Tatyana’s Fresh Prince character dancing with Will Smith’s character.]

If we are in the finale, yes, [Alfonso] absolutely is gonna be [in a number]. Even if he’s saying no, he’s gonna be there. But we can’t use him before, because I don’t think it’s fair. He’s also a host, and I feel it can turn in the wrong way. People can be like, “Oh, this is double standard,” so we will not do that. But if we’re coming to the finals, it will be the only way to do it, them two together.

The [DWTS] fandom goes pretty crazy, but you have experience navigating fandom, having been on the Eras Tour and navigating Swifties. How would you say Dancing With the Stars fans and Swifties compare?

Swiftie fans, there’s no hate. But we were performing; we are one team, so of course you love everyone. Where Dancing With the Stars fans, they do love all the pros. It’s always love there, but when it comes to competition, you’re rooting for your own team and bashing other people. [DWTS] is a competition, I totally understand. I’m very competitive person, too. So if I will watch the show, if I will not be [a pro on] it, I will be like, “Well, fuck you, Brandon, I’m for Alan.” I don’t think we can compare because one is a competition, and one is a world tour. But I would say they’re all crazy in a good way. But for us [on the Eras Tour], it was different. While we were traveling, they were following us to the hotels and everything.

Before you joined Dancing With the Stars, had you known any of the other pros?

I knew Jenna Johnson and Val [Chmerkovskiy]. I used Ezra [Sosa] for So You Think You Can Dance submission, he danced my choreography.

What is your favorite part of a full week of Dancing With the Stars: the choreography process, teaching/rehearsing, dress rehearsals, or the live show day?

The beginning, choreography, and then live performance. Everything in the middle, it’s like a stress kickball change.

What is the hardest style of dance to teach a celebrity?

Depends who you get. I would say that rumba, it’s such a beautiful dance, and samba, but if they don’t have awareness of their body and softness, it’s very hard to teach. But very technical dance, I would say cha-cha.

You’ve only been on the show for one season, but what is your favorite number that you’ve choreographed on Dancing With the Stars so far?

I would say [the Halloween Night dance to Taylor Swift’s “CANCELLED!”] with Jenna Johnson that I choreographed.

Do you have a dream celebrity dance partner you’d love to be paired up with one day?

I would love to be with Sofia Vergara, which I’m very vocal about (laughs). I just feel if us two will be together, they will need subtitles, and it will be very fun. We will be canceled the first day.

What pro should become a judge one day in the future?

Mark Ballas.

Describe season 35 of Dancing With the Stars so far in one word.

Grateful.

What other hopes do you have for season 35? What are your goals with the new season?

To be more positive.

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Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars premieres on Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m., simulcasting across ABC and Disney+, and streaming the next day on Hulu.