Christine Chiu is dedicating her appearance on Dancing With The Stars to her late mother, who adored the show. Though Christine hasn't offered too many details about her family's tragedy in the press, she had acknowledged that when her mother passed away during the pandemic, the heartbreak opened doors for the reality star to reconnect with her father. Christine revealed that she recently FaceTimed with her dad and virtually introduced him to her son, Baby G, for the first time. She hopes that the touching moment achieved the overwhelming pressure to make him proud.
Continuing down that journey, Christine is excited to appear on a show that her mother loved. Amongst the many other reality stars cast in season 30 of the hit ABC dancing franchise are The Bachelor's Matt James, WWE superstar and reality TV personality Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore. ABC leveled up this year's talent pool with a few more A-list castings, including Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa, Olympian Suni Lee, 21-year-old beauty influencer Olivia Jade, and Beverly Hills 90210 alum Brian Austin Green who is currently dating pro dancer Sharna Burgess. Others include Spice Girls' Mel C, country music star Jimmie Allen, beloved Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby, The Bold Type's Melora Hardin, NBA athlete Iman Shumpert, The Karate Kid's Martin Kove, and The Talk's Amanda Kloots, who used to dance on Broadway and even worked her way to becoming one of the Radio City Rockettes.
In a new interview with Screen Rant, Christine exclusively revealed that she's dedicating her upcoming performances to her late mother. "I know my mom is in heaven watching and feeling proud," she said. "Even from my courage to get back out there despite some of the troubles I experienced last year and to be free and express myself in a very vulnerable way, I know my mom will be very, very, very proud." While Christine's mom watches her shine on the dance floor from up above, the Netflix star admits that she has more motivation driving her to win the coveted Mirror Ball trophy later this year. "Dance is my love language," she said, adding that she grew up taking ballet, like every little girl, and that desire to dance turned into a form of "happy therapy" where she feels free to become vulnerable and express herself.
Christine realized just how powerful dance can be when she turned on some music days after her mom passed away and suddenly began to feel fulfilled. That effective transformation, in addition to her love for Dancing With The Stars, made her upcoming debut seem like a fantasy. "What little girl didn't dream of waking up every morning and having glam and having beautiful costumes designed for you and then not tripping on the dance floor, but dancing with a very handsome, good-looking partner and getting twirled around to fun music? I think it's a dream come true for me," Christine said, adding that she feels blessed and fortunate in the days leading up to the live shows. All in all, Christine admits that dance is now most definitely her love language, and she can't wait to express it to her fans through the TV screens this season.
Christine's excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars are infectious. The reality star may not have the extensive dance training that other contestants have, but she has the heart and soul to bring home the win. Christine has studied this show for 29 seasons now and knows what to expect when she hits the dance floor this Monday on ABC.
Dancing With The Stars premieres Monday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.