Adele Zaikman is about to experience the biggest professional milestone of her dancing career.
The 24-year-old dancer has officially joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 35 after becoming the first winner of DWTS: The Next Pro, the competition created to find a new professional dancer for the flagship series.
Zaikman’s rise has happened remarkably quickly. After months of keeping her Next Pro victory and her upcoming role on Dancing With the Stars under wraps, she can finally talk about the journey — and she is entering her first season with a mixture of excitement, nerves and gratitude.
“It’s been surreal, honestly,” Zaikman told The Hollywood Reporter. “I would never expect my life to change so quickly.”
Her debut also comes with an intriguing partnership. Zaikman has been paired with Conner Leavitt, husband of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt, for her first season as a professional.
Adele Zaikman says ‘The Next Pro’ changed her as a dancer
Zaikman spent much of her life as a competitive dancer, but she says The Next Pro gave her an opportunity to approach the art form differently.
Rather than simply concentrating on the technical rules associated with competitive dance, the competition encouraged her to discover what made her distinctive as an artist and choreographer.
According to Zaikman, that freedom helped her become more confident in her abilities.
She also believes the demanding production schedule prepared her particularly well for Dancing With the Stars. During The Next Pro, dancers had to create, teach and perform routines under extremely tight deadlines.
Zaikman says the experience taught her how to work effectively under pressure.
That could prove useful on DWTS, where professional dancers have considerably more time to develop each week’s routine but still face the challenge of adapting choreography to a celebrity partner.
“I feel like if I’ve done it in two days, I can do it in a week,” Zaikman said.
Her favorite ‘The Next Pro’ performances
Looking back at her run on The Next Pro, Zaikman struggled to choose a single favorite performance.
Three numbers immediately came to mind.
One was a dedication dance performed during the second week in honor of Allen Genkin’s mother. Zaikman described the performance as particularly emotional and said she was grateful to have been part of it.
She also highlighted her samba with Gleb Savchenko and a foxtrot she performed with AJ Pritchard during the semifinal.
The variety of those performances reflects what Zaikman says she discovered about herself throughout the competition: she enjoys having the freedom to experiment and bring different sides of her personality to the dance floor.
Keeping her DWTS role secret was harder than expected
Zaikman has already experienced one unusual part of being a Dancing With the Stars professional: hiding her identity.
Before the Season 35 cast was publicly announced, members of the new cast had to take precautions to avoid revealing themselves. Zaikman recalled wearing an oversized mask while travelling from rehearsals and even driving to another parking area before removing it.
The secrecy became even more surreal when she eventually spotted paparazzi photographs of herself online.
“I see my pictures online when the paparazzi followed me, and I’m like, really? They follow me?” she recalled.
Zaikman had another secret to protect as well.
She had won The Next Pro at the end of February but had to keep the result private for months. Even though winning was something she naturally wanted to celebrate, she could not publicly tell people what had happened.
With the official announcement finally out, she says she feels relieved.
Now, she can focus on the competition rather than disguising herself with masks, large coats and glasses.
Daniella Karagach gave Zaikman simple advice
Joining an established professional cast can be intimidating for any newcomer, particularly one entering a series with such a long history.
Zaikman says the other professionals have been welcoming, but one piece of advice from Daniella Karagach has stayed with her.
Karagach encouraged her to enjoy the experience and not treat every moment as if it were life or death.
That message resonated with Zaikman because she describes herself as an intensely competitive dancer.
Winning the Mirrorball Trophy is naturally an ambition for the professionals, but Zaikman says Karagach reminded her that Dancing With the Stars is also about enjoying the experience and being part of a close-knit group.
Whenever Zaikman finds herself becoming overly focused on perfecting a routine, she says she remembers Karagach’s advice.
The message is simple: work hard, but have fun.
Mark Ballas has gone from judge to colleague
Zaikman is also entering the ballroom at an interesting moment for Mark Ballas.
After appearing as a judge during The Next Pro, Ballas is now one of Zaikman’s fellow professionals on Dancing With the Stars.
Zaikman says the transition has been surprisingly natural.
She describes Ballas as extremely welcoming and says she has already been comfortable reaching out to him with questions.
The two may also dance together in opening numbers during the season, giving Zaikman another opportunity to learn from one of the show’s most experienced performers.
For a dancer entering her first DWTS season, having someone like Ballas available as a colleague could be particularly valuable.
Adele Zaikman says Conner Leavitt is the right first partner
Zaikman’s first celebrity partnership is with Conner Leavitt, who already has a connection to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom through his wife, Whitney Leavitt.
That familiarity could help Zaikman as she learns the rhythms of her first season.
She describes Conner as funny, energetic, positive, humble and hardworking. More importantly, she says he actively wants to improve.
“He’s like, ‘Push me more. Let’s do more,’” Zaikman said.
She also appreciates the fact that Conner understands the environment because he has already experienced it while supporting Whitney during her Season 34 run.
For Zaikman, that creates an unusual dynamic: she may be the professional dancer, but her celebrity partner already knows something about the atmosphere surrounding the show.
She says Conner has even offered to show her around the ballroom.
“I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this journey,” she said.
Her first ballroom experience was an emotional milestone
Despite joining the Season 35 cast, Zaikman had not yet danced in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom when she spoke with The Hollywood Reporter.
Her first rehearsal there was scheduled for Friday morning, when the cast would work on opening numbers.
Zaikman anticipated that simply stepping into the ballroom would be emotional.
For years, she had watched Dancing With the Stars as a viewer. Now she was preparing to perform inside the very ballroom she had previously seen on television.
The reality of that transition was not lost on her.
She also knows that live television will bring a completely different kind of pressure.
The professional dancers had warned her about the moment immediately before a live performance, when the familiar countdown signals that there is no opportunity to start over.
Zaikman says she is nervous — but in the best possible way.
What Adele Zaikman wants from her first DWTS season
Winning the Mirrorball is undoubtedly part of the competitive nature of Dancing With the Stars, but Zaikman’s priorities for her first season extend beyond the trophy.
She wants to develop through the experience of performing live television and continue growing as a dancer.
At the same time, she wants to make sure Conner enjoys the experience.
Zaikman understands how easily a competitive environment can cause someone to overthink a performance. Having spent years competing herself, she knows the pressure can become overwhelming.
Her goal is therefore to push Conner while also helping him enjoy the opportunity.
For Zaikman, a successful first season would not simply mean collecting high scores. It would mean creating an experience that her partner remembers for the rest of his life.
“I really want him to have this once in a lifetime, unforgettable experience,” she said.
