Olympian Ezra Frech has quickly become a fan favorite during season 35 of “Dancing With the Stars.” As the competition heads into “Disney Night,” Frech is opening up about why he finally decided to take the leap and say yes to joining the show, and what it would mean for him to become the first amputee to win.
Saying Yes
Ezra — who is partnered with Daniella Karagach — explained during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he had been a longtime fan of the show before lacing up his dancing shoes.
“I’ve watched ‘Dancing With the Stars’ for a long time,” he shared. “I have had friends who have been on the show. There’s been a lot of amazing disability representation on ‘Dancing With the Stars’. Amy Purdy, Daniel Durant, Noah Galloway: They’ve done a fantastic job of making people with disabilities feel seen through dance. It’s always been something that was in the back of my mind as a dream. Then in more recent years, it looked like it could potentially become a reality, and then it ended up working out really well this year.”
He added that season 35 happened to line up with his off-season for training, making it the perfect opportunity to dive in.
“From a track and field standpoint, my season ends, and I have three months of an off-season, and it happened to fall right in the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ season,” he explained. “It just felt like the perfect timing. It felt like the perfect moment, and sometimes you can’t explain it, but you feel called to things, and I felt very called to do this.”
While Frech doesn’t want to think too far ahead for fear of jinxing himself, he admitted that it “would be really special” to make the finale.
“Of course, getting the opportunity to make the finale, to win the show, to get to represent the disabled community in that way and become the first amputee to win ‘Dancing With the Stars’ would be very, very special, and would mean a lot to myself and hopefully to all people with disabilities and the community as a whole,” he told THR. “That’s the motivating factor; is representing my people well, representing this contingent of the population that I feel hasn’t had proper representation in mainstream media and doesn’t feel maybe properly included in society. That’s the motivation for even being on the show in the first place, is [to] represent them well. And then hopefully in the process, if I can go out there and do some fun dances, maybe people all over America, their perception of disability will change ever so slightly. That’s really important to me.”
Making the Finale
While Frech himself doesn’t feel comfortable predicting the future, one of the judges doesn’t mind. Derek Hough shared his prediction for who might make the finale and Frech was on the list.
“I think Connor [Wood] is incredibly popular. I think people are rooting for him,” Hough told TV Insider. “They want him to do well, so I think he has a fanbase that can push him all the way to win. Then, you obviously have Ezra Frech, who is extraordinary. I’m not even going to mention his prosthetic or anything like that because I don’t even need to. He’s great. He’s a great dancer.”
‘DWTS’ Favorite Ezra Frech Reveals Why He Finally Decided to Step Into the Ballroom