Emma Slater is on a quest to win her second Mirrorball Trophy on DWTS. She won in 2017 with Rashad Jennings. This season, she’s partnered with comedian Andy Richter. He left viewers in stitches for years as late-night host Conan O’Brien’s sidekick.

Emma has been a pro on DWTS since 2013. She was part of the troupe before getting the coveted promotion. The England native moved to Los Angeles, California, after joining the ABC dance show. She’s currently dating fellow DWTS pro Alan Bersten.

The Dancing With The Stars pro shared a behind-the-scenes look at the reality competition that left fans shocked. Keep reading to find out why.
Emma Slater from Instagram

Emma Slater Shares DWTS BTS Secrets

The contestants and their pro partners take the dance floor every Tuesday night to perform their dances live for the judges and the television audience. What viewers see is the final version of the dances. Emma Slater gave a behind-the-scenes look into exactly how much work the pro put into the routines.

A video she posted on social media showed her arriving at rehearsals at 7 a.m. on a Friday. But she wasn’t rehearsing for her dance with Andy Richter.

She joined other pro and troupe dancers to learn the choreography for the opening number for next week’s Wicked-themed episode.

She revealed that the dancers will have the routine down by 10 a.m., but their day isn’t over then. The pro dancers who still have celebrity partners competing on the show head over to the other rehearsal studios to work on their individual dances.

Emma Slater said that the pros won’t do the opening routine again until Monday for camera blocking. After rehearsing with Andy Richter, she said that she’ll start choreography for Week 7 in case they make it through the upcoming double elimination.

Once Season 34 is over, Emma Slater is among the pros joining the DWTS Live Tour that kicks off in January 2026. Unfortunately for fans, Rylee Arnold isn’t doing the tour.

Fans In Shock

Most DWTS fans truly had no idea how much work the pro dancers put into the competition. Emma Slater’s social media followers took to the comments in awe. Check out what they said:

“My brain doesn’t understand how yall remember all of these”
“It baffles my mind how much you all learn in so little time. You all are so amazingly talented”
“It stresses me out thinking how quickly you guys have to learn everything”
“And that is why y’all are professionals. Only 1 real rehearsal of the opening number is INSANE!”
“Wow, I knew you pick up choreo fast, but man oh man.”
“I can’t remember how to 5 dance steps how do you guys do it???”

The pros on DWTS make the dances look effortless. Now viewers know how much work actually goes into being a pro on the ABC reality show.