‘Come Dance With Me’: Jenna Dewan on How ‘World of Dance’ Experience Influenced Judging New Show (Exclusive)

Jenna Dewan is well-known for her incredible dancing talents and her work on various competition shows such as World of Dance and Flirty Dancing. Now, she’s taking on a new challenge with Come Dance With Me, which airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streams afterward on Paramount+. This time around, she’ll be serving as a judge on the program, which sees. While talking to PopCulture.com about the series, Dewan shared how her past experience as a host influenced her time as a judge on Come Dance With Me. 

In the past, Dewan has worked on projects like World of Dance and Flirty Dancing as a host. She’s switching things but this time by being behind the panel and offering judging advice along the way. According to Dewan, her time as a host was especially helpful in her transition over to a judge on Come Dance With Me. She explained, “Hosting those was different, but I learned a lot about the process of dance competition shows. And I learned a lot about how to empathize and be with the contestants in a way that I don’t know if I would have had that same wherewithal going into this show, had I not experienced that prior.”

Being a judge this time may be a different task for the Step Up actor, but she’s so excited to bring her talents to another dance series. After all, she acknowledged that dancing is one of her biggest passions. As a result, being on Come Dance With Me provided for a true “full circle” moment for the star. Dewan went on to explain that this show is one close to her heart, as she has been in the contestants’ shoes before. 

“I was at dance studios. My mom was there with me every single class,” Dewan said. “It just felt so important and it felt really unique and special.” She added that she “definitely learned a lot from the other shows, but it was all in its own.” Considering the emotional ties that she has with Come Dance With Me, it did present a bit of a challenge when it came to the actual competition, as she said, “This show, being able to judge, express my opinions and try and help and have constructive criticism … also it was difficult. It was difficult to judge and have my heartstrings being pulled and then have to let somebody go every week.”

Even though the task ended up being an emotional one at times, Dewan did add that “competition is competition” and that only one duo can win the $100,000 grand prize. You can find out who that winner is when Come Dance With Me airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. You can catch up on the first episode now via Paramount+.