Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy React to First ‘DWTS’ Scores: ‘All Relative’ (Exclusive)

Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy performed a spicy tango on Night 2 of the “Dancing with the Stars” premiere.

“Extra” spoke with the pair, who reacted to their score of 19/30.

Val said, “Listen, I understand them. It’s all relative and the feedback they give is all relative to not the talent that’s in front of them, but the expectation that talent has in front of them. We rightfully deserve a certain, you know, it’s like when you grade on a curve, like, we don’t get a curve and we shouldn’t get a curve and that’s okay. We just need to be better.”

Along with agreeing with Val, Jenna had a “blast” with their first dance, saying, “I’m really, really proud of what we did… I feel motivated.”

According to Jenna, she and Val are “aligned” with “raising the bar” with their performances, saying, “From the beginning, we said, ‘Let’s go out as many weeks as we’re lucky enough to be here and live our joy and just try to push ourselves.’”

While Jenna has dance experience, she admitted that there are still challenges. She explained, “It’s a whole new, brand-new style of dance and language that I’m learning and that comes with its own set of difficulties because I have to… unlearn things.”

Years ago, Jenna and Val worked together on the reality show “Flirty Dancing,” in which she hosted and he choreographed. 

He recalled, “Literally, in that one-day shoot, I was like, ‘Man, she’s so dope,’ and we had great chemistry, just good banter and I was like, ‘I’d love to collaborate somehow.’”

Six years later, Val got his wish!

He said, “The fact that she said yes to ‘Dancing with the Stars’ took this kind of leap of faith in a lot of ways. There’s professional a lot to lose, but personally a lot to gain… I appreciate her taking this risk and doing it with me and choosing me to be her partner.”

Referencing Jenna’s Hollywood-breaking film “Step Up,” Val shared, “She made us believe that a dancer could become a star and could shine on their own and be in movies. That was never on the radar for a lot of us, so the fact that she now returns to the ballroom as a star, into the place where we all idolize her, she’s an icon in this world because of that effort, because of that transition.”