Laurie Hernandez 'DWTS': Gymnast Pressured To 'Go Even Higher' In Ballroom [VIDEO]
Laurie Hernandez scored the first perfect score of the season on Dancing With the Stars this week - but now the pressure is on.
Hernandez and her pro dancing partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, performed an expert Jazz dance Monday night, inspired by Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson ONE show. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave the pair a 10, giving them the very first 30 out of 30 in season 23.
The gymnast and her partner were obviously happy to receive such high scores, but this definitely sets the tone moving forward for their performances.
Hernandez told E! News recently that the pressure is now on for them to perform up to these heights, "just because it's so early in the season we got a perfect score. Now we have to match that and go even higher and keep that expectation going."
Chmerkovskiy even admitted that he did not expect for them to receive a perfect score.
"I'm just glad that our elements stood out and she was able to command the performance," he said. "It turned out awesome. I wasn't expecting a perfect score."
"It was crazy," Hernandez added. "When I was competing it was that crowd-pleaser type of mentality whereas this is more for myself, my partner, just focusing on the dance. I was able to enjoy it the exact same," she said, of her previous gymnast experience.
It can hardly be disputed that Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy are now the frontrunners to take home the Mirrorball trophy. The couple has received the top score from the judges in three of the first four weeks, and considering Hernandez's previous popularity as one of the gymnasts in the "Final Five" from the Rio Olympics, they are seemingly unstoppable. Of course, it's still possible that another contender could take it home, but many viewers would agree that we could be looking at an obvious winner, much like Bindi Irwin in season 21.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
