Jana Kramer revealed on Friday’s episode of her Whine Down podcast that she almost quit “Dancing With The Stars” during season 23 due to Gleb Savchenko’s teaching style. Thankfully, the actress and singer stuck through it all to deliver memorable dances week after week.
The “One Tree Hill” star said she had a crash course in the intensity of Russian dance culture when she appeared on the reality show in 2016. Despite coming fourth, she didn’t entirely enjoy her journey in the ballroom thanks to her partner’s tough teaching style- although she knows it all came from a good place.
Jana Kramer Challenged By ‘DWTS’ Pros Teaching Style
ABCSinger and actress Jana Kramer was paired with ballroom pro Gleb Savchenko on season 28 of the reality competition series. Despite their on-screen chemistry, the singer found herself overwhelmed by the Russians’ teaching style.
“I struggled with the Russian…” the 42-year-old started on her podcast. Then her guest, season 28 winner Hannah Brown, interjected, “culture and the way that they teach.”
“Yes. It was really hard. I was like, ‘Do not speak to me that way. Period,” the actress recalled. “They didn’t show this on the show, but I was like, ‘I’m done. I quit.’ I was like, ‘At that point, you can push me so far… we’re done here.'”
Hannah Brown could relate to this harsh teaching style. While “The Bachlorette” took home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she also was challenged by the behavior of her pro partner, Alan Bersten, who is of Russian descent.
“It was really. I had a lot of blowups of saying things because I was so frustrated with being talked to the way that I was talked to,” she said, before learning the way they spoke to their partner was due to their upbringing and experience as professional ballroom dancers.
“But then you have to realize — that’s how they were talked to. That’s how they were coached, so that’s all they know. It’s really hard when you’re not used to that and you’re not a professional dancer and this is not your career. It definitely caused a lot of conflicts.”
Jana admitted that she knew his tough attitude wasn’t malicious but was due to his competitve nature. “I knew Gleb’s intentions [weren’t] that he was trying to be mean. He wanted to win too,” she said.
Gleb appeared on her podcast in 2021, and Jana thanked him for his support during her split from Mike Caussin. “Throughout the years, we haven’t stayed in touch a lot, but I will say, I greatly appreciated [when] you reached out to me when you heard about my breakup,” she told Savehcnko. “You’ve been so sweet and kind through it because, you know, you’ve walked the same path.”
This Isn’t Gleb’s First Criticism Of His Teaching Style
GettyGleb has started to earn a reputation for his teaching style. Before “Dancing With the Stars”, Gleb was a pro on “Strictly Come Dancing” in the UK, and some of his past partners have also called out his brand of tough love.
“We work really, really hard and Gleb trains me,” former partner and TV host Anita Rani said on the spin-off show “Strictly: It Takes Two”. “His choreography is incredible. I don’t know, I just try and basically pay attention. We have our ups and downs. We have quite an intense relationship.”
In a 2015 interview with OnlineCasino.ca, the Russian-American dancer admitted that he found himself “stressed out every single week” during his time on the BBC dance show. “This is the hardest thing, you know when you’ve been given the music and you try to come up with a creative and an idea,” he explained.
