‘Dancing With the Stars’: Rylee Arnold Reveals Connor Wood’s Turning Point as a Dancer

Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood didn’t break out of scoring in the teens until the third week of Dancing With the Stars, but now, he and pro partner Rylee Arnold are headed to the Semifinals.

In addition to earning 9s from all three judges on the most recent episode, where he danced an Argentine Tango to “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland, the comedian had a lucky charm in the audience – comedienne Nikki Glaser, who was the first contestant eliminated on Season 27 of DWTS.

“I chatted with Nikki a little bit,” Wood told TV Insider. “We got to do some fun projects together last year at the Golden Globes. We followed each other kind of quietly [on social media] for a while. I’m her biggest fan. I love her and her being here [telling me] that I’m killing it? That is so cool to me, as someone who is a comedian.”

Wood’s growth has been impressive over the season. He hasn’t lost his comedic edge in his dances, but he’s also shown that he has leading man moves, too.

“It’s just so amazing,” Arnold said of going to the Semifinals, adding that “Connor always comes in to rehearsal every single day with the best attitude and he wants this just as much as I do. He’s never given me any grief, any ego, nothing [negative]. He’s just humble and he wants to work hard, and he wants to get better. That is literally the most perfect partner.”

In turn, Wood raved that Rylee is the perfect pro instructor, as she has created an environment in which he can – and has – grown as a dancer. “I’ll say, ‘Well, I’m simply not going to be able to do that,’” Wood shared. “And Rylee goes, ‘You will. It’s just OK to be really bad at it right now.’”

Receiving positive feedback from Arnold has played no small role in Wood’s growth. “Validation is so key in feeling comfortable and growing,” he said. “Getting out of your comfort zone and being uncomfortable is good, especially in dance.”

Wood added that Arnold will gently remind him that he hasn’t danced like this before. He said that Arnold has told him that “the fact that you can’t do this [now] is OK. Then, we’ll do it again. We do it again. We do it again. I don’t want to do it again, but we do it again. And then I get it. It’s just about trusting that freaking process that I hate. It’s a freaking shifty little process,” he admitted, “but it always works out.”

Arnold revealed that she saw a change in Wood in Week 4, which was Mariah Carey night. The couple scored a 19/30 for their rumba to “Touch My Body”, but Arnold pointed out that “the rumba is a very hard dance. It’s very technical. It’s slow. [Then] it’s fast. It’s intense. It was a hard dance, but [Connor] pulled through and he did amazing.”

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Whether or not Wood helps Arnold win her first coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy or not remains to be seen.  However, he is hoping that added exposure from being on DWTS will lead to more career opportunities. Where would he like to go after being on this show? “Disneyland,” he deadpanned, adding on a more serious note, “We have some stuff we’re working on that I’m really excited about. These [things] have been in the works for a long time, and [DWTS] will only help those projects. It’s all really good.”

Wood said that his journey on DWTS is similar to his travels in show business. Success doesn’t come overnight. “I was talking about trusting the process,” he noted. “I didn’t see Dancing With the Stars as part of the process, but going into this has been the coolest left-fielder. It’s been a switch-up, and it’s been such a blessing. I’m stoked!”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+