'Dancing With the Stars': Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy Tease 'Special' New Dance Ahead of Most Memorable Year Night (Exclusive)

Xochitl Gomez is taking on a new challenge in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom this week as the Marvel actress throws things back to 2021 for Most Memorable Year Night. Prior to Tuesday's live performance, Gomez and her pro partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, opened up to PopCulture.com about the "special" night awaiting fans – from their Viennese waltz to the tribute planned for late judge Len Goodman. 

Performing the Viennese waltz to "Until I Found You" by Stephen Sanchez, Gomez is looking back on 2021, the year she traded a childhood dream for the opportunity of a lifetime and filmed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. "Stephen Sanchez is a friend of mine," she told PopCulture of the song's significance. "That's just one aspect that makes this dance a bit more special."

Taking on the Viennese waltz has Gomez "very excited" as well, especially after she and Chmerkovskiy earned their first nines from the judges for last week's Paso Doble to "Un Poco Loco" from Coco on Disney100 Night. Chmerkovskiy pointed out that it's a "much more elegant dance" than last week, which presents obstacles of its own. 

Gomez's biggest challenge this week is getting out of her head, as she shared with PopCulture that learning the choreography in just a week is a roller coaster of emotions. "The first day I'm learning choreography, I'm like, 'This is so easy. This is so good. I'm going to get this easy-peasy.' Second day is the worst day on the planet. I sit there and I'm like, 'I'm never going to get this,'" she said. By the fifth day, however, Gomez feels confident, and Chmerkovskiy praises his partner for meeting all the challenges he's thrown at her so far. 

"The challenge is consistency and growth and at the same time," the choreographer explained, adding, "I'm very confident. I mean, she just has to do it again and again." The Dancing With the Stars journey may be difficult, but Gomez is having "such a freaking blast." She gushed, "I think I went into this expecting that with everything great, there's always something that takes a little out of you. ... [But] this is the funnest thing ever! I come to set, everyone's so nice. I just want to be friends with everybody."

In addition to the waltz, Chmerkovskiy was also tasked was choreographing this week's tribute to late Dancing With the Stars judge Len Goodman, who passed away in April at age 78 following a private cancer battle. Returning to dance a tribute set to "Moon River" by Henry Mancini alongside the current pros will be judge Derek Hough and co-host Julianne Hough as well as former pros Kym Johnson, Anna Trebunskaya, Karina Smirnoff, Edyta Sliwinska, Tony Dovolani, Louis van Amstel, Maks Chmerkovskiy and Mark Ballas.

Choreographing the tribute alongside wife Jenna Johnson was "really special," Chmerkovskiy shared with PopCulture. "It felt like an incredible responsibility that both Jen and I were honored to be given," he continued. "Thank you to the show for trusting us, Len's family for trusting us, and for all the dancers that made it steel and look so special." Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on both ABC and Disney+ and streams the next day on Hulu.