"They are just light": Dancing with the Stars pro Jenna Johnson shares her honest opinion of Andy Richter and Emma Slater

Dancing with the Stars professional Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy recently sat down with season 33 champion and her dance partner at the time, Joey Graziadei, to break down some of the acts from Dedication Night.

During the October 16 episode of the Dancing with the Stars podcast, Jenna expressed her candid opinions about each duo in the competition, including Andy Richter and his professional dance partner, Emma Slater.

“They are just light. Every time they take the stage, they are just joy, they are light. It is the epitome of what Dancing with the Stars is about,” she said.

While Jenna pointed out that there was still room for improvement for Andy, she appreciated how he took the judges’ advice and displayed “growth” every week. 

She also mentioned that Andy had the capacity to “shine in frame,” so if he worked on his stance and footwork, he could turn into a formidable competitor. 

According to her, Andy and Emma had the caliber of making it to the finale if they worked on certain aspects of their performances. 

Meanwhile, Jenna Johnson’s journey on Dancing with the Stars with partner Corey Feldman ended during week two, when Corey was eliminated from the competition series. 

Dancing with the Stars professional Jenna Johnson sees Andy Richter and Emma Slater in the finale

While speaking about Andy and Emma, Jenna applauded Emma for “always” putting her dance partner first.

She believed Emma was “so in her niche and in her bag” that no one could do it like her. 

Jenna added that the current season reminded her of Emma’s first season with Bill Engvall, during which she took her dance partner all the way to the finale. 

“She just knows what she’s doing with a certain partner,” Jenna said.

That said, the dance professional appreciated the effort Andy put into improving and reworking himself every week. 

Jenna applauded him for pushing his limits and doing “the most amount of steps” in his Dedication Night performance. 

While she admitted that the timing of his dance was “a little” off, she liked how he delivered “more content” like judges had asked him to. 

However, Jenna noted that Andy could develop more by improving his stance and including “a little hip action.”

The Dancing with the Stars alum believed Andy could shine in ballroom dances, once he focused on improving “that strong frame” and his footwork. 

That said, Jenna was excited to see what Emma did with Andy in the coming weeks. 

“At this rate, Andy is going to the finale, and I’m here for it. I’m on the Andy train,” she said.

Looking back on Andy and Emma’s performance on Dedication Night

For his Dedication Night act, Andy brought his five-year-old adoptive daughter, Cornelia, on stage as he performed a salsa routine to Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line. 

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba noted that although Andy was “off in the musicality,” he brought “joy” to the stage. 

As for Derek Hough, he called the performance “positively playful, pure, and full of love.” Bruno Tonioli echoed Carrie Ann’s remark, saying his steps were not on time, but were “always entertaining.”

Guest judge Kym Johnson Herjavec, on the other hand, complimented Andy for being able to connect with the people. 

All four panelists gave Andy and Emma a six each out of 10 points, bringing his total to 24 out of 40. 

Stay tuned for more updates.