Former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Judge Julianne Hough Shares Trusty Advice for Cast of Season 28

Julianne Hough may be sitting behind the America’s Got Talent judging table now, but the former Dancing With the Stars pro and judge was more than willing to offer advice to the new cast of celebs taking to the ABC dance floor for DWTS Season 28. Ahead of Wednesday’s big reveal on Good Morning America, Hough told HollywoodLife.com her best advice for those looking to take home the Mirrorball Trophy.

“Authenticity, dedication, commitment, and trust. I think trust in your partner,” Hough said of the vital traits needed in a competitor. “Let them guide you. I always say it is the biggest lesson to surrender to someone who is going to guide you — this is becoming so spiritual — into the light!”

“But surrender, drop your barriers, and let go of the survival tactics that you put up,” she continued. “Let somebody guide you. It’s all about trust!”

The Dancing With the Stars line-up for Season 28 is seriously stacked — Queer Eye‘s Karamo Brown, country star Lauren Alaina, Dawson Creek‘s James Van Der Beek, NFL legend Ray Lewis, The Office‘s Kate Flannery, The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown, pop star Ally Brooke, NBA alum Lamar Odom, Nickelodeon actor Kel Mitchell, former White House staffer Sean Spicer, The Supremes’ Mary Wilson and model Christie Brinkley will all be taking to the ballroom floor.

The pros that will be guiding this year will be Peta Murgatroyd, Cheryl Burke, Gleb Savchenko, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson, Lindsay Arnold, Sasha Farber, Alan Bersten, Witney Carson, Emma Slater, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Pasha Pashkov and Brandon Armstrong, although the pairings will only be revealed on the night of the premiere.

They’ll really have to step it up this year as well, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba telling PopCulture.com ahead of the premiere, “I have to say, the truth is my expectations are going way up this year. As we head into Season 28, and because we’ve had a year off, I want to see greatness. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I want to be a little tougher,” Inaba explained. “I’m a very compassionate judge, but I want to be even stricter.”

Dancing With the Stars Season 28 premieres Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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