Witney Carson on Why ‘DWTS’ With Robert Irwin Is a “Once in a Lifetime Opportunity” and What Her Second Mirrorball Would Mean

Witney Carson won season 19 of Dancing With the Stars over a decade ago, and it’s safe to say she’s ready for a second mirrorball.

The professional dancer nabbed her first champion title alongside current co-host Alfonso Ribeiro. One year later, Witney competed on season 21 as Bindi Irwin entered the ballroom and won the show again alongside judge Derek Hough. Supporting her throughout the journey was her younger brother Robert Irwin, who was a only 11 years old when his sister earned her mirrorball trophy.

Witney tells The Hollywood Reporter she “never in a million years” thought she’d be partnered up with the younger Irwin child when she first met him 10 years ago. “It never crossed my mind, but now that it’s happened, it feels right,” she explains.

Long before she was partnered with the son of Steve Irwin, Witney established herself as a force in the ballroom. Despite having only one winning DWTS title to her name, she’s made a name for herself as one of the show’s most respected pros. 

Below, Witney dishes on the secret behind her viral choreography, what it’s like being a pro on the show while navigating motherhood, how Robert’s dances on Tuesday night will pay homage to his mirrorball champion sister and what it would mean for her to earn her second DWTS win.

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Part of what triggered this new virality in the show was your leg lift with Danny [Amendola] last season [that started a huge TikTok trend]. You are known to choreograph standout moments. Where does this creativity you have as a choreographer come from?

I think there’s been a lot of factors that contribute to how popular the show is and on social media, but you never know what’s going to take off. So each routine, each song calls for different moments. I always try and have some sort of a wow moment. In the routine, as I’m listening to the music, [I think about] what makes it stand out? What makes the celebrity stand out? I’m always trying to think of that wow moment.

It happened to be that leg lift last season. Is it the routine as a whole? Are there tricks involved? Is it very emotional? As a choreographer, after many years on this show, [it’s] trying to find ways to highlight the celebrity and make them look their very best, and also create a routine that’s entertaining that has technique in it and that the judges are super engaged with and able to get good scores with. Every celebrity, routine and music is so different. It’s something that I’ve learned along the way in my many years on the show — just trying to find that right balance of entertainment and the right technique, and making sure that we stay authentically to that style.

It’s been in the cards for Robert to appear on the show since Bindi made her appearance 10 years ago. When you first competed against Bindi and as conversations of him competing on the show one day began in the Dancing With the Stars universe, did you ever think you would be the pro partnered up with him?

Never in a million years, and I’ll tell you why — he was so little when he was there [during Bindi’s time on the show] and I had just gotten engaged. Our age gap was very, very big, so that wasn’t even something that came to my mind. Even when [it] was announced earlier in the year that he was going to be on the show, I still didn’t think that we would be partnered together. It was honestly a true shock when he walked through the door when we first met [as partners], and that was my genuine reaction of just, like, Oh my gosh. Like, I have a Robert Irwin [as my partner.] I’ve adored their family for years. I love Bindi, so it feels very full circle. From the second that he walked into the room for the start of the season, it just felt automatically right and meant to be. So now that it’s happened, it feels right.

With Bindi having won the show, Robert has big shoes to fill. But you also have big shoes to fill to train him to have just as good of a performance [as Bindi]. Do you and Robert feel any of that pressure to live up to Bindi’s legacy on the show?

Of course we feel that pressure. If there wasn’t any pressure, then we wouldn’t be as good as we are. We really try and live up to our best potential knowing that there’s inspiration. Bindi’s been so lovely and nothing but supportive of everything that we do. She’s so proud of her brother and how far he’s come, and how hard he’s worked. The amount of support from her and his family has been incredible. It really is a privilege to have that pressure, motivation and encouragement every single week, to keep trying to get better and better, get more creative, challenge ourselves. I love the pressure, and I love that we get to push ourselves every single week because of how great they were, but because of our standard as well — what we want to achieve.

Tuesday night, couples are dancing to songs featured in past freestyle numbers. Robert is dancing to “Footprints in the Sand,” which was Bindi’s freestyle song. Is Robert’s Foxtrot going to pay tribute to Bindi’s freestyle, or will it be its own number?

[Binidi’s number] was such a beautiful freestyle. I remember watching it backstage. I was in the finale that season, and everyone [was] in tears. It was so powerful and emotional. That part of it we want to bring, but it’s Robert’s story as well. Even though him and Bindi are from the same family, they both bring stories to tell and have different paths. This is a story that Robert really wants to share, and I don’t think it would be complete without Bindi, because it was really just him and her and their mom for so long, supporting each other and continuing their dad’s legacy. As a choreographer, I want to make sure we pay homage to that beautiful story and that beautiful emotion and how they told the story, but also make it our own and make it Robert’s and make it his journey, too.

On Tuesday night, Tom Bergeron’s going to be back in the ballroom. Are you looking forward to his guest judge appearance and [DWTS] return?

I am beyond thrilled for Tom’s return to guest judge and just be back in the ballroom. He was honestly the heart of Dancing With the Stars, in my opinion. He brought so much life and humor. He’s so smart, and he really, really cared about every contestant and every pro. He felt like our TV dad, taking care of the pros and the contestants. Obviously Alfonso is the new host now, so it wasn’t much of a change for me when Tom left. They’re both this representation of our dance dads, and to have him and his expertise and how long he’s done the show — I mean, he really is an OG of the show; he knows so much. I’m really excited to see him, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

On social media, you recently shared that you’ve been feeling mom guilt. How hard is it for you to juggle your career as a pro dancer on Dancing With the Stars with your home life when you are this deep into the season and have a shot at winning that mirrorball? 

It’s really hard to balance it all. I try to not have any negativity on social media. I wanted to give people an inside look at how hard we all work. It’s all the pros — everyone puts their heart and soul into this show to make it so great every single week for America. I think sometimes people can get super critical, and it comes with the territory, but they forget that we’re human. I just wanted to remind people, like, I’m still a mom, I have feelings, I’m doing my very best. All of my life, [in] anything that I do, I try and go 110 percent in, and right now I’m not physically able to give everything 110 percent in my home life, and that’s where the mom guilt comes in, because I usually am home most of the day. I’m feeding them, I’m putting them to sleep, I’m doing most of the work. So when I’m not with them, it very much feels unbalanced. 

It’s hard to realize that your priorities shift a little bit when you’re in the show. I think for every pro, it’s kind of the same feeling. As much as I feel that guilt, I know that I need to show myself some grace and be as nice to myself as possible, and be able to know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity with Robert, and just to give it my all and to not have any regrets. I don’t want to have any regrets when the show is done. I want to be able to say I put everything I had into it, and I can be with my family at the end of it. Luckily, I have the best support system at home. My husband is the best ever. He’s always taking care of me. He’s taking care of the kids and my mother in law is here, and family members have helped. I feel really lucky to have the support that I have at home, because without them, I wouldn’t be able to do the show at all. I think it’s important for other moms to hear too. Like, it’s okay to take time for yourself and be able to pursue your career and not have that mom guilt. Like, just go and do that for yourself. 

Outside of the show, you’re also a businesswoman. You just launched your dance tutorial app Finesse. For those who don’t know, can you explain the goal of the app?

The goal of the app is really to have accessible [dance] training for everybody. I was very fortunate growing up where I had amazing trainers, amazing coaches, and luckily, my parents were able to trade for dance lessons, because we couldn’t really afford them. I think that dance is very expensive for most people, and it depends on where you live if you have good coaching. We wanted to have an option for people to learn how to dance in the comfort of their home, at a very affordable price [for] $10 a month, from somebody who really has spent their entire life dancing and teaching. That’s where this idea came from, and it’s been really well accepted. It’s something that I’m super passionate about. I’ve put so much time and blood and sweat and tears into this, and so has Carson, my husband. We want to give back to the dance world that has given me so much. It’s a way for beginners to learn from the very beginning. It’s for advanced dancers, as well, to learn really unique and cool choreography to good music. We also have where you can learn trends that have been going around on social media. We have a “Mirror Me” feature, where you can stand or dance side by side with me or other pros and be able to fine tune your dancing. It’s a tool that we’ve created for dancers [that is] very educational.

The app features behind the scenes content with you and Robert, so when the show wraps, how will the app’s content shift?

Right now, the behind the scenes is with Robert and I, and it’s really taking us through backstage, how we’re feeling and the ins and outs of the week. I think a lot of people don’t realize that Robert really doesn’t have any dance experience at all, so we’re really going from zero to what you see on camera, and it takes a lot of time and a lot of work. Those have been really fun to film. I think as the season ends, we’re working on this series called “Skill Swap,” where I actually swap a skill with a different celebrity or athlete, and they teach me their expertise and what they do. It’s kind of a fun play, honestly, similar to Dancing With the Stars, taking them out of their comfort zone and learning how to dance, and taking me out of my comfort zone and learning what they love. We did one with Danny Amendola and with Jessi  [Ngatikaura] from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. We’re going to keep on that entertainment and BTS vibe, and just see where that goes.

You have won Dancing With the Stars once with Alfonso, but you have made it to the finale quite a few times over the years. What would it mean for you to win your second mirrorball with Robert this year? 

I’ve become second place a lot of times. It would mean a lot. It would mean a lot in the regard that I really feel like Robert deserves it. And I’m really not just saying that. I’ve been second so many times that I’m not okay with it by any means, but I just want it really bad for him. I know how hard he works, and I know his message that he wants to spread, and what he would do with that would be so much more important than a mirrorball. Like, just winning a mirrorball is incredible, but what his message is and what he’s trying to really spread to the younger generation, his positivity and his joy and his passion for life, I think, is so much more important. So for him to win, I think it would just mean everything to me.

Who is your dream celebrity Dancing With the Stars partner?

I’ve always said someone who can dance, but he plays Loki on Marvel.

Tom Hiddleston.

Yes! I’ve seen him dance on a talk show, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, he is actually so good.” And I’m a huge Marvel fan, so I think that would be so fun. I think he’s funny, and obviously he can dance. I think we would have a good time together.

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New episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 34 air and stream on ABC and Disney on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and stream the next day on Hulu. Read more of THR’s DWTS season 34 coverage here.