--- 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 > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9eaabcf1-b691-43b5-aa25-6ddff1b45a51&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  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"}}]}] ```