Rylee Arnold Opens Up About Fave Routines, Celeb Choreo and Being the Youngest Pro in ‘DWTS’ History

The 20-year-old dance sensation has taken the ballroom by storm for three consecutive seasons, all thanks to her high-energy routines and positive attitude.

Rylee Arnold / JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images

For Dancing With the Stars pro Rylee Arnold, ballroom is basically in her blood.

Last week, we had the chance to catch up with the DWTS pro as she prepared for this past Tuesday’s live “Disney Night” show, and—while chatting about everything from her health and fitness routines to her work with celebrities to her favorite choreography—one thing became abundantly clear: Arnold’s passion and dedication to dance drives absolutely everything she does, both inside and outside the ballroom.

The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Rylee Arnold / Disney/Andrew Eccles

From Dancing With the Stars: Juniors to the main ballroom

Arnold—who is now 20 years old—became the youngest pro to hit the hardwood in DWTS history after her stint on the spin-off program Dancing With the Stars: Juniors. There, she was mentored by her older sister, former DWTS pro Lindsay Arnold. After the show’s end, Arnold joined the main cast for season 32 in 2023 at just 18 years old.

Still, Arnold credits her work on DWTS: Juniors, especially the mentorship of her older sister, with helping to prepare her for the bright lights and high stakes of the main ballroom. “[DWTS: Juniors] gave a little intro into what the [main] show is like, what the workload is,” she tells SI Swimsuit. “And I got to see Lindsay work firsthand and see how she solves things with choreography, and I learned so much from her.”

As she made her way onto DWTS, Arnold also found mentorship in her new castmates and fellow pros, who—thanks to her older sister’s work on the program—already felt like family. “My coworkers are, like, my oldest sister’s age, and I kind of grew up having them as, like, brothers and sisters and looking up to them,” she says. “But now they’re my coworkers, which is so cool, and they’ve been so supportive and awesome. I’m just lucky that I have them.”

The cast of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ / Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images

Working with the stars

During her first season on the show, Arnold was partnered with reality TV personality Harry Jowsey, and the dancing duo came in 6th place. Then, for season 33, she was partnered with fan-favorite Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik, proudly taking the 4th place spot.

This season, she’s been absolutely dominating the dance floor alongside Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying. While Arnold works hard to make the overall experience as fun and memorable as possible for her celebrity partners, working with non-dancers on such high-intensity, high-emotion routines does not come without challenges.

“I think the most challenging [part] is how quickly the process goes. For somebody who’s never danced before, it can get overwhelming for sure,” Arnold says.
“You go from the live show on Tuesday, then Wednesday, you basically hit the restart button, and you learn a whole new style that they’ve maybe never even seen before. So you’re really just starting from square one every single week.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dancing With The Stars #DWTS (@dancingwiththestars)

When it comes to planning her weekly choreography, the pro’s focus is always on her celebrity’s experience, adding, “At its core, I really just want to make a dance that suits the celebrity, because it’s their dance [...] It’s not about anything else. It’s their journey, it’s their story, so I want to make sure that they feel comfortable and confident out there.”

Her approach has paid off—especially this season, as her and Hoying’s scores from the judges only continue to reflect Hoying’s growing confidence on the dance floor. But above all, Arnold most appreciates the genuine bond she’s formed with her latest partner, which is very much reflected in their effortless flow and fun energy every time they step out into the spotlight.

“Scott has become one of my best friends in this whole process, and that has been so cool. And I don’t know if I would have met him [...] outside of the show, so I’m super grateful,” Arnold shares. “He’s always down for everything, and he’s such a sponge when it comes to learning, and I feel like everything I teach him sticks, and he’s just happy to be there and happy to learn. So it’s been a really fun process with him.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dancing With The Stars #DWTS (@dancingwiththestars)

Staying on top of health and fitness

Keeping up with all the choreography creation and dance practice is no easy feat. Arnold has long been open about her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in the past, often sharing the ways it affects her day-to-day life on her TikTok account. As a result, the pro says that her health and fitness routine during the show’s active season has some noticeable differences from her off-season routine.

“As somebody with Type 1 diabetes, it is so important that I am super, super careful with my health on the show because, with this show, it comes with stress and a lot of time commitment. [Managing] Type 1 diabetes is basically a full-time job, so it’s something that you have to be aware of constantly. You have to make sure that your blood sugar is always under control,“ Arnold says.
“During the show, I [...] make my meals as high in protein as I can so that I can avoid the carbs, and I can avoid the sugar spikes, as well, just so that I can remain healthy and my A1C can stay low. [...] The last thing I want is to not be able to do the show because of my diabetes.“

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rylee Arnold (@ryleearnold1)

During the off-season, she’s able to rest while taking a break from the demanding DWTS schedule. During those days, she says she can instead focus on monitoring her diabetes, all while still staying in tune with what her body needs.

“During the off-season, I have more time to manage my diabetes and to think about that. And so I’ll often just live my life however I want to, because I’ll be able to have the time to always be looking at my Dexcom to make sure that my blood sugar’s good, [and I’ll] always be giving myself insulin.“

Arnold’s favorite routines (so far)

And of course, we couldn’t chat with a DWTS pro without asking her about her favorite choreography!

For those who may be unaware, being a pro on DWTS means working as a ballroom instructor, a dance partner and a choreographer all rolled into one. Arnold clearly puts an incredible amount of thought, time and effort into each dance she designs, working with her celebrity partner to craft a final routine that both embodies their spirit while still shining in whichever style they have to work with. Still, everyone has to have a favorite—or in Arnold’s case, two.

“I think I have two favorites, actually," she shares. “My freestyle with Stephen to ‘Viva la Vida’ by Coldplay. I will forever love that dance so much.”

“And then second would have to be my ‘TikTok Night’ dance that I did with Scott. I love the song, so when I knew that we were doing that for ‘TikTok Night,’ I was so happy, and Jazz in itself is super fun for me to do.”

And we’d be hard-pressed to disagree with the talented dancer, as both of her choices display exactly what Arnold is all about: staying true to yourself—an ethos that expertly echoes a piece of advice her older sister gave her when she first started on the show.

“Lindsay said, ‘Before you go out there, Rylee, remember to be yourself—and always be yourself, because that’s what matters most. You don’t have to be anyone else but yourself. 
And if people don’t like you for who you are, then you don’t need them anyway, so go out there and stay true to yourself, because you’ll look back on the experience and be so glad that you did,’“ she concludes. “That changed my trajectory in life. I feel like it’s a reminder—still to this day, three years later—that I can just be myself fully, and know that being myself is my greatest superpower.“

Sign Up. Swim Edit newsletter. Get SI Swimsuit’s Free Newsletter. light

---

More SI Swimsuit:

feed