'Dancing With the Stars' 2016: Laurie Hernandez Hopes To Achieve Impossible Task In Season 23 [VIDEO]
Laurie Hernandez already has a lofty goal for her upcoming Dancing With the Stars experience.
Hernandez, who just dazzled the world with her gymnastic talent at the Rio Olympics, is hoping to do some more dazzling in the ballroom this fall. The 16-year-old is competing on Dancing With the Stars with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy, and they intend on achieving a seemingly impossible task.
"I'm gonna make Len Goodman smile. ... We are going to make Len Goodman smile," Hernandez said in a new interview.
Goodman is a notorious grumpy judge but if Hernandez shows the same amount of talent as she showed in Rio, she could very well have him smiling as early as Week 1.
Meanwhile, Hernandez has taken the time to speak with other Olympic gymnasts who have competed on DWTS before to get their advice, including season 8 winner Shawn Johnson and her fellow "Final Five" member, Aly Raisman.
"I have spoken a little bit to Shawn. Basically, her and also Aly [Raisman, who was paired with Mark Ballas during 'DWTS' Season 16] told me just to be aware that my calves and my shins are going to get pretty tired from dancing in heels," Hernandez said. "I've worn heels two times in my life and that was the past two days, so I've got to work on dancing in those. But, it'll be good. I'm ready."
Hernandez is also hoping to show her creative side on the dance floor this fall.
"I think I'm most excited to learn and understand dances and to basically transform myself into different characters every week and to basically become like one with the dances. I'm just excited. I mean, I love to dance so this is like a whole new chapter of my life that I'm ready to just pursue and look forward to," she explained.
Dancing With the Stars season 23 premieres Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
