Daniella Karagach is setting the record straight on rumors that she doesn’t choreograph her Dancing With the Stars routines.
“Just got this sent to me,” Karagach, 31, captioned a screenshot of a Facebook post featuring pics of her and man together in a dance studio via her Instagram Story on Sunday, September 22. She proceeded to clarify her “process of choreography” in a follow-up Instagram Story videos.
“For me, I always choreograph in my brain. And then, because I’m fortunate to have my husband [Pasha Pashkov], who is a dancer, on the show as well, we do it in our living room [and] see if it works.”
Noting that she and Pashkov, 38, were on “different schedules” the day prior, she turned to a friend to help map out her latest routine. “I asked one of my really good friends Ronald to come be a body for me and just listen to my choreography and have him learn what I wanted to do so I see that it makes sense. And if it doesn’t make sense, I would change it,” she explained. “I’m very fortunate to have these friends who sacrifice two hours of their day to come in and see if my choreography works out, but that doesn’t mean that I did not choreograph my dance.”
Karagach said she was “upset” that people tried to “discredit my choreography” after seeing photos of her and Ronald in the studio together. “[I] will not talk for everyone because I don’t know if everyone choreographs their own dances. But me, personally, I work really hard to make sure that my dances are unique and adapted to my partners, and I usually don’t have outside help,” she stated. “If I ever do, I will always credit you for it. And in general, usually the only person really helping me with choreography is Pasha if I really need it.”
She went on to praise her friend Ronald for “devoting two hours of the day to come and help me, just be a body for me and just to see if my choreography, my vision, can come to life,” adding, “I just wanted to give him credit because he deserves it, but that doesn’t mean that you have to discredit me as a choreographer because I work my butt off to make sure that I create things that put a smile on your face. So, just wanted to get that out there.”
Karagach made a splash with her partner Dwight Howard on the season 33 premiere of DWTS on September 17, earning the second-highest score of the night for their salsa to “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan. Using their large height difference to their advantage, Karagach incorporated several impressive lifts and spins into their debut routine.
“We started rehearsing late, and I had choreography planned out. And when we came into the studio for the first time to actually start rehearsals, I realized I had to switch up pretty much my whole choreography because I couldn’t make it around [him],” Karagach exclusively told Us Weekly after the season premiere. “He was so tall, I couldn’t get around him. … So, I had to change up pretty much everything. It was crazy.”
She and Howard, 38, are set to perform a routine set to “City of Stars” from the film La La Land on the show’s Oscars night episode on Tuesday, September 24.
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day.
