Danielle Fishel is rediscovering the thrill of live performance while competing on Dancing with the Stars.
Following her second week on ABC’s dance competition, the 44-year-old actress tells that stepping back in front of a live audience evokes memories of her early career on Boy Meets World.
“I’m good under pressure and I’m a performer,” Fishel says. “I haven’t been in front of the camera performing for a very long time. I didn’t know if I was going to feel rusty or if I was going to know what to do anymore. But literally the minute the audience loads in, I get that feeling like it’s 1994 again, with an audience of 250 people on the set of Boy Meets World.”
The mother of two adds that live show nights ignite a different energy in her. “I just come alive from the inside,” she says.
Her dance partner, Pasha Pashkov, 39, has noticed the transformation. “She often goes full out during our runs, but when the audience is there, she pulls another extra 50%, and I’m like, ‘Who is this?’” Pashkov jokes. “And I mean, it’s amazing.”
Fishel admits that the energy switch from rehearsal to taping can be challenging for Pashkov, but she’s gradually acclimating to the intensity of live television. “I feel like I have the hang of the show a little bit more now,” she says. “I still really need to work on giving a full, really good performance before the live show, but as an actor my entire life, I come alive when I know it counts.”
The Pod Meets World podcaster is also navigating the competition with a recent injury. On the Sept. 23 episode, she revealed that a deep tissue massage led to a hamstring tear, describing it as a tendon snap that “broke every blood vessel” in her leg.
“I had a meeting with a surgeon, and I don’t need surgery, so it’s just a matter of rehabbing it and taking care of it,” she explained. Her partner, Pashkov, has been adjusting choreography to give her leg a break. “I was only going to leave here because of an injury if they brought me out on a stretcher,” she added.
Despite the setback, Fishel and Pashkov earned a 19/30 on their Cha Cha, advancing to the next round: TikTok night.
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams on Disney+.
