Competition, beware! Laurie Hernandez and her Dancing With the Stars partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, are already nailing their dance moves, judging from an impressive clip that the dancing pro posted to Instagram on Wednesday, August 31.
“Still need a lot of work on the frame. But eyyyyy we already got a handshake,” the 30-year-old dancer captioned a video of the pair practicing in the studio while dressed down in sweats. “So excited for the season. Helping this incredible girl reach her ballroom dreams. She’s a real gem.”
In the short clip, the pair both hold impressive postures as they waltz across the floor, ending with Chmerkovskiy twirling the 16-year-old Olympic gold medalist around.
The dynamic duo then gleefully show off their secret handshake, with Hernandez flashing her trademark big smile as the pair high-five.
On Tuesday, August 30, Chmerkovskiy — who won season 20 with Rumer Willis — shared a selfie of the pair together showing off their pearly whites. “I’m so grateful to announce my partner for Season 23 of #DWTS is none other than the incredible @lauriehernandez_ … Let the journey begin,” he captioned the picture. “Now we need a team name, leave your suggestions in the comments below.”
ABC announced Tuesday that the gymnast will be joining the likes of Amber Rose, R&B singer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, The Fosters alum Jake T. Austin, The Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick, Little Women: LA star Terra Jole, General Hospital actress Emma Samms, Vanilla Ice, fellow Olympian Ryan Lochte on the dance floor in her quest for the mirrorball trophy in season 23.
“The thought of it sounds really cool,” Hernandez told Us at the Rio Olympics earlier this month of being linked to the hit dancing competition. “We have the tour coming up, so we’ll see what goes on with that. But I love Dancing With the Stars; I watched it all the time when I was little.”
Dancing With the Stars returns to ABC Monday, September 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
