James Van Der Beek’s kids are apparently big fans of his Dancing With the Stars performances, as his latest video shows. The Dawson’s Creek actor posted a clip on Instagram Saturday that featured four of his children: 9-year-old Olivia, 7-year-old Joshua, 5-year-old Annabel and 3-year-old Emilia seen galloping and gallivanting around a room as the Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer song “He’s a Pirate” plays. The song was crafted for the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and soundtracked his Disney Night DWTS performance.
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Van Der Beek captioned the clip, “What you do with all your heart… can be contagious.”
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The actor’s DWTS partner, Emma Slater, was thrilled with the kids’ tribute, saying she was “obsessed” with it.
“[Oh my God] I’m obsessed!” Slater said. “They are adorable!!”
Fans also seemed to to love the glimpse at the Pose and Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23 star’s family life.
“How lovely that they all play so well together,” one fan wrote. “Mine just quarrel for what feels like all the hours of the days!”
Another gushed, “You and your family are incredible!!”
A third added, “You really have such beautiful children. Why haven’t you lost any hair though from all the little people [laugh out loud].”
While it’s unclear what the DWTS judging panel would think of the kids’ rendition, they sure were fans of the original paso doble. Van Der Beek and Slater racked up a score of 26 (two 9s and an 8) from the judges.
The actor, who also starred in Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction, has fully embraced the DWTS challenge, despite the fact that it is “incredibly tiring.
“It is incredibly tiring. I knew it would be hard, but it’s a really good community, a really tight-knit group of people,” Van Der Beek told Entertainment Tonight after the season’s first episode. “And I mean, for someone who has never been enrolled in a dance class, to be able to learn from someone at Emma Slater’s level, that’s my happy place … It’s an incredible art form. I’ve always wanted to dance. I’ve always wanted to do it. This year I just finally had the balls to do it.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo Credit: ABC/Troy Harvey
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“Reverse the Curse” – Back from tribal, tensions rise following the exit of a particularly historic player. The final five immunity challenge ends in a showdown and features one of the closest finishes the show has ever seen. Jeff reveals the outcomes of the remaining in-game fan votes and how they impact the final stage of the competition. Then, one castaway will be crowned Sole Survivor and awarded the $2 million prize, during the three-hour live season finale, on SURVIVOR 50, Wednesday, May 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Jeff Probst serves as host and executive producer. Pictured: Aubry Bracco Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
