Jenna Dewan may not have gone home with a Mirrorball Trophy, but she still got something priceless out of her Dancing With The Stars stint: she rediscovered her childhood passion for dancing.
The Step Up actress, 45, and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy, went home on week nine of DWTS, i.e., Grammy Night. A few days after the fan-favourite pair’s shocking elimination, Dewan took to her Instagram to reflect on what this journey has meant for her.
“I came into this with one intention. To be in my joy, challenge myself and dance again,” she wrote. “To give a little gift to my younger self. Dance was my first love.”
READ MORE: Jenna Dewan, Val Chmerkovskiy react to shocking ‘DWTS’ elimination
Dewan grew up with a single mom, and they moved around often for her work. “No matter where we landed, the first thing we would do is find my new dance studio,” Dewan recalled. “Dance became my constant through every move, every new beginning, every version of myself.”
Before going into acting, Dewan started her career as a backup dancer, working with Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Missy Elliot.
“And at 45,” Dewan continued, “after three babies, a whole lot of life and a full beautiful acting career that i am beyond grateful for… it became pretty simple- i really missed dancing! So it’s only fitting that I found myself going back to my roots. Only this time, with so much more of myself to bring to it.”
Dewan — who shares daughter Everly with ex-husband Channing Tatum and two children with her fiance Steve Kazee — said seeing her kids and Kazee in the DWTS audience is “a moment I’ll hold onto forever.”
“There’s something beautiful about returning to what you love, not as the person you once were, but as everything you’ve become,” Dewan added as she thanked fans as well as her dance partner.
“I am so proud of that little girl who never stopped dreaming. Some parts of us never leave. They’re just waiting for us to find our way back,” she concluded.
READ MORE: Jenna Dewan credits her and Channing Tatum’s daughter for ‘DWTS’ stint
