Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko aren’t afraid to lean into their chemistry when it comes to their performances on Dancing With the Stars.
“I think that when you have that energy in real life, it’s easy to bring it to the dance floor every week,” Nader, 27, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 17, after performing a tango to Britney Spears‘ “Piece of Me” with Savchenko.
The pair received a score of 18 out of 30 from the judges, which Nader contributed to a “healthy flirtatious vibe” while speaking to cohost Julianne Hough.
“That will be a theme throughout the season. But it’s a huge bonus to actually really be into your partner,” the model shared with Us. “You have to be with this person sweaty and on top of them all day for five hours. Every day — not just show day. So it’s kind of nice that you like each other.”
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Savchenko, 41, couldn’t agree more about how forming a bond has helped their performance.
“We both love to dance,” he noted. “[We also bonded] over TikToks. We started doing a lot of TikToks. We were like, ‘Why don’t we just do it?’ And then we were killing it so hard.”
Their friendship has since progressed to Nader celebrating Savchenko’s birthday with him.
“This one got me a cake and then sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ I was very blessed. It was so nice,” Savchenko gushed, while Nader added that all her sisters were there for the special occasion as well.
Nader and Savchenko’s trust in each other was evident on the dance floor — and they are excited to keep proving themselves to the judges, who gave them three sixes.
“I’m kind of a perfectionist. I thought it was cool that they were all the same number. It was kind of witchy,” Nader said about the final score during the season 33 premiere. “There’s something cool about it. But I would like them to be a little higher.”
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While Nader is looking forward to “improving,” Savchenko isn’t sweating their first score as much.
“When I was backstage [judge] Carrie Ann [Inaba] stopped me and said, ‘You have such a huge potential. Your lines were gorgeous,’” Savchenko told Nader during the joint interview with Us. “She loved your tango. So she really complimented you on your frame and your lines and your legs.”
Savchenko is more focused on the progress he and Nader hope to make, adding, “Sometimes the scores are good. And six is a good score on the first week. Keeps us solid and keeps us somewhere in the middle of the pack. But in my opinion, I think we could have gotten all sevens. I think she did a great job. It is what it is — there’s always room for improvement.”
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day.
With reporting by Carly Konsker
