'Dancing With the Stars' Season 23: How Did Laurie Hernandez's Mom React To Sensual Tango? [VIDEO]
Laurie Hernandez performed a very sultry dance on Monday night's Dancing With the Stars, but what did her mother think?
Hernandez, 16, showed a very different side Monday with her Argentine tango set to "Cell Block Tango" from the movie Chicago. The Olympic gymnast had the attitude and sass of one of the musical's lead characters, Velma Kelly, and her spirited performance earned her a perfect score from the judges.
The gymnast admitted that her mother did not mind the sexual nature of the routine.
"She thought it was awesome," Hernandez told People this week. "I showed her a little clip we had from practice and I said: 'Okay, mom, this dance is like, very sexy.' And she said: 'You go out there and give it your all! When are you going to be able to do anything like this ever again? I support you. Just go for it!'"
Val Chmerkovskiy, her pro dancing partner, quipped, "How many people get to dance argentine tango with Val?!"
The routine may have pushed some limits compared to Hernandez's previous dances, but Chmerkovskiy made sure to not go over the line.
"You never want to cross the line," he said. "Sexy is strong and confident ... it's classy."
Hernandez said that she felt "totally in character" as she performed on Monday. "I was excited to do the dance and it was fun. I was channeling my inner Velma."
Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy have now advanced to the Final 5, with just a couple weeks left until the grand finale. Past perfect scores suggest they are frontrunners to win the Mirrorball trophy, but there are also valid competitors in James Hinchcliffe, Terra Jole, Jana Kramer and Calvin Johnson Jr.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
