‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Lindsay Arnold Weighs in on Potential Return for Season 30

Lindsay Arnold is ready to make her way back into the ballroom for Dancing With the Stars Season 30 this fall after taking last year off to give birth to daughter Sage. The professional dancer, who welcomed her first child with husband Sam Cusick in November, opened up to Entertainment Tonight on Friday about her plans to return to the hit ABC dance competition show.

“So, I have every intention of coming back!” Arnold told the publication. “I am ready to go, I feel good, I want to dance again, I’m super excited about it.” She pointed out that it’s ultimately up to producers to decide which pros return each season, and she won’t know until “the last hour.” If she gets that call from production, however, she’ll definitely jump at another chance to compete. “But that is my plan. I would love to be back on the show and I cannot wait to get back to dancing,” she sheared “And I just miss it. So I am so in … I’m ready to do it!”

If she does take her place in the Season 30 pro lineup, Arnold said she would love to dedicate a Mirrorball Trophy to her daughter. “I think Sage would be really disappointed in her mom if she doesn’t win,” she joked. “So, c’mon, we gotta do it! Bring it home for Sage! I gotta win as a mom now. It’s gotta happen.”

Arnold also gave insight into the mindset of best friend and fellow pro Witney Carson, who also became a first-time mom recently, welcoming son Leo with husband Carson McAllister in January. “I think she’s in the same boat as me,” Arnold answered. “And it’s so good because we both have had a good amount of time. It was nice we had our babies and it’s not like the season was the next week or the next month; I don’t know if I would have been ready for that at that point.”

Having time to stay home with Sage has been wonderful, Arnold said, and the fact that she would be older by the time the new season’s rehearsals kick off makes it “a little more possible to make happen.” The affection she and Carson have for the show makes it even more appealing to return. “It will always have a special place in our heart and I know we both missed it last season,” the new mom said. “It’s been so fun because we’ve had this whole new phase in our lives, but I know that is always going to be there. That’s always going to be a passion of ours and something we love to do.”