--- title: Watch Laurie Hernandez Prep Expertly for her 'Dancing' Debut description: See the Olympic gymnast and her 'Dancing with the Stars' partner practice their ballroom moves, including a very cool secret handshake. canonical: https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-01T17:57:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:36:08.965Z og:title: Watch Laurie Hernandez Prep Expertly for her 'Dancing' Debut og:description: The Olympic gymnast and her DWTS partner have a very cool secret handshake, too. og:url: https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Laurie Hernandez Prep Expertly for her 'Dancing' Debut twitter:description: The Olympic gymnast and her DWTS partner have a very cool secret handshake, too. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Laurie Hernandez and Her _Dancing with the Stars_ Partner Have the Sickest Secret Handshake  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 1, 2016 5:57 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 1, 2016 5:57 PM UTC Olympic [gold-medal gymnast](http://time.com/4444296/rio-2016-olympics-gymnastics-us-women-worlds-best/) Laurie Hernandez already took Rio [(and social media)](http://time.com/4470578/mtv-vmas-2016-simone-biles-beyonce/?iid=sr-link1) by storm. Now, she’s proving that her gymnastics background will make her a champion on the dance floor as well. The newly anointed [cast member of _Dancing with the Stars_](http://time.com/4472287/dancing-with-the-stars-cast-ryan-lochte/?iid=sr-link1) is partnering with pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy this year — and he’s already started sharing their preparations. First up: establish a secret handshake to intimidate the competition. In the short Instagram video posted by Chmerkovskiy, we get a sneak peek of the duo’s prep for their _Dancing_ debut. Naturally, 16-year-old [cool teen Hernandez](http://time.com/4450378/rio-2016-olympics-laurie-hernandez-frank-ocean/?iid=sr-link2) is doing quite well with her traditional ballroom moves — her attitude-filled floor routine in Rio gave us a heads up that the girl has plenty of rhythm — although her partner notes that they “still need a lot of work on the frame.” But the best bit comes right after completing the choreography, when Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy launch into a super cool secret handshake routine that would give _The Parent Trap’s_ Lindsay Lohan a run for her money. Chmerkovskiy also announced the pair’s official team name on his Instagram: “Team Valaur,” which he defines as “individuals coming together to have the best time dancing their butts off and bringing joy to others.” _Dancing with the Stars_ premieres on September 12 on ABC. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/"},"headline":"Laurie Hernandez and Her Dancing with the Stars Partner Have the Sickest Secret Handshake","datePublished":"2016-09-01T17:57:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:36:08.965Z","description":"They're already going for gold","url":"https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Television","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/","name":"Laurie Hernandez and Her Dancing with the Stars Partner Have the Sickest Secret Handshake"}}]}] ```