The Next Pro’s Briar Nolet on Elimination, Samba Slip, and More (Exclusive)

Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro premiered on Monday, July 13, with 12 dancers performing for Shirley Ballas, Mark Ballas, and guest judge Derek Hough for a chance to move forward in the competition. The first episode was a double elimination, with one male and one female contestant sent home at the end of the night. Warning: Spoilers for the Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro premiere ahead!

The focus this week was on technique. The dancers were put into same-sex pairs and had to perform solos, as well as a side-by-side portion of a dance that they were taught by Derek Hough. The guys were tasked with dancing jive, while the ladies performed samba routines.

At the end of the night, the ladies in jeopardy were Briar Nolet (she “didn’t have the technical accents and the fundamentals were really weak,” Shirley said) and Natalie Jolley (she “needs more dynamic, more power, and stronger actions,” per Shirley). For the guys, Jake Monreal (“the leg action was a little underwhelming,” according to Mark) and Tristen Sanders (who didn’t incorporate enough jive in his solo) were on the chopping block. Briar and Jake were the two sent home.

Briar’s elimination came after she had a small slip during her samba solo, which the judges noticed, but praised her for confidently continuing the routine all the way through.

“I think it put fire under me, for sure,” Briar told TV Insider. “I don’t know if frustration’s the right word. I was just like, ‘Oh, heck no, this is not happening. I’m not finishing it out this way.’ So since it was at the beginning and I remember having a back handspring and a flip afterwards, I just remember staring into that camera and being so upset that that just happened just with anger … but I can’t explain it. It wasn’t necessarily anger. It was just frustration of like, ‘Alright, let’s end this thing the right way.’”

She continued, “So I just remember sending it the best that I could with, also in the back of my mind, the fact that everything happens for a reason. It is what it is and all you can do is look forward. So that’s why the rest of the routine, I was like, ‘I can either step it up or I can either step down.’ And for me, there’s no step down.”

Below, Jake and Briar discuss their eliminations, what they’ve been up to since the show, and more.

Where was your confidence level at when you found out what style you’d be dancing this week?

Jake Monreal: When I got told I was doing the jive, my confidence was sky-high. I feel as if that’s one of my best styles. It’s my favorite style to dance. So I was really excited to get hold of it. And then I heard the music and I saw how fast it was and I was like, alright, here we go. This is a rollercoaster that’s about to go off. And I was really excited, honestly, and I felt I had a lot of confidence going into it.

Briar Nolet: At that point, I was pretty confident. Ballroom itself is all quite new to me. I’d only been training in both sides, standard, smooth and Latin for about a year and a half. So I knew that I was up against some incredible Latin ballroom dancers that have been doing it through and through their entire life. But at the same time, I was really confident in what I had to bring. And since we had solos, I knew that I could bring my strengths in with the basics. Obviously, with Shirley as the judge, I was a little bit nervous because she is drilling and looking for those super secure fundamentals shown through samba. And obviously samba is a difficult one, for sure, and it’s very fast. But Stephani was great. We had a really fun song. And at that point I was just excited just to do my best and see what happened.

When you finished the performance, how were you feeling and were you surprised that you were in danger of elimination? Where was your head at at that point?

Briar: We actually got to film the routine twice. And the first time I did it, I obviously did not have a slip. It felt super solid and secure. Second time, I had the slip, I was like, OK, it could go one of two ways. Either they’re going to bring it up and this could be something that does detour me to the bottom two, or not. They started talking and they did bring it up, and then there was some other critiques from Shirley, just technique-based. And then we actually went last when we were filming, but having seen the rest of the competitors and the girls, I was like, OK, I think based on my critiques and what had happened and just my experience, there’s a possibility that a bottom two could be a thing for me. But again, I’m such a believer in whatever’s meant to be will be. And so I know in the moment, I did my best. I know preparing for the show itself, there was nothing more I could have done. And so I was really content with just letting the universe decide what was meant to be. And yeah, I mean, they’re all so deserving. Everyone is so talented that it wasn’t ever like I should have stayed and someone else should have gone home. If that was my time, I was OK with that.

Jake: I thought that I gave it just everything that I possibly could have given. My legs were just numb. I was exhausted in a good way. I felt as if I gave it everything that I possibly could. And then after hearing the judges’ critiques, I was like, OK, there’s a chance that I could be in the bottom two. So once I got to the bottom two and then got eliminated, I wasn’t necessarily surprised based off of the judges’ critiques, but at the same time, I was surprised going into it that this would be the result. If anything, I thought that I would go further and I had higher expectations for myself in a sense, but it’s all in God’s plan, is how I like to view it, in a sense. Everything happens for a reason.

Disney/Vince Valitutti

What do you each wish viewers might have gotten to see a little bit more from you that you weren’t able to put out in just that one dance?

Briar: That’s a good question. I definitely feel like I brought Briar in there in terms of athleticism and the samba as much as I could. I wish I could have found a little bit more control and just been able to show a little bit more of the fundamental training that I really dug deep to work on for the last year and a half. But at the same time, yeah, I don’t know. I feel like I tried to give as much as I could. And in that moment — even though maybe now if you asked me to do it again, there’s so much more that I wish I could show now, but in the moment, I truly think that I kind of gave all that I could and all that I had.

Jake:  I wish that I could have made it a little bit further to show off different styles, some partnering. I’d never got to do some actual boy/girl partnering and stuff. I wanted to showcase that because I’ve been working so hard on it. Yeah, I just wanted to show more, if anything. That’s kind of the tagline there. I wish I could have shown more.

What would you say is the best advice that you specifically got from the judges that you’ll take with you moving forward?

Jake: I feel like there’s always more that I could do. When it comes to choreography, when it comes to performance, there’s always another level. So to try to get to that level and to strive for that level is something that I’ll always take with me from the show.

Briar: For me, from what the judges’ critiques were, it was very much just fundamentals and just leg action and tracking and just little things that I knew I needed to work on. But of course it was a little bit more vivid and shown through the show. So I, as soon as I got back, went back to the drawing board and just altered my training a little bit just to make sure that I’m on the right track with the goal to still be on the show. So, yeah, I just took their advice and I’m working on just getting at least 1% better every day. That’s always been my thing. So, yeah, always something to be better on. I think that’s one of the best things about dance, is you can never be perfect.

What are you both up to now and what are you looking forward to that’s coming up?

Jake: I’m still training pretty much every day. I start back up in film school. I don’t know if that was talked about in the episode, but it was talked about in interviews. I start back up in film school, I continue to teach, I’ll continue to train, and eventually hopefully get a position in Dancing with the Stars as a pro. I mean, that’s the ideal situation. Maybe if I start with troupe and work my way up, or I come back for Season 2 of The Next Pro and win, the end goal will always be to be that pro on Dancing with the Stars.

Disney/Vince Valitutti

Briar: It was actually quite funny. As soon as Jake and I got eliminated, I actually hopped on tour a week after with a different show that I’m on. So, I think I was back in L.A. for two, three days, and then flew to Toronto to learn the tour. And then I actually flew back out to Australia for another month and a half for a tour out there with a broken foot. I broke my foot in the middle of all of it. So, it’s been quite crazy. I’m good now. But yeah, I did a tour for about a month and a bit. And then just with acting in different shows, obviously still continuing my training and went back to the drawing board, like I was saying earlier, just to make sure my training was where it needed to be. Like Jake said as well, my goal has always been the show and to be a pro, and I’m kind of open to whatever direction that takes me. So, yeah, just training, acting, social media. Obviously with my epilepsy, I’ve always been an advocate for that. So, just trying to do as many talks and work with as many foundations as possible. And yeah, just going with the flow, teaching at conventions and just taking it day by day.

Would you compete on a second season if the opportunity presented itself?

Briar: I don’t know. That I’d have to think about, to be completely honest. I did have a really great experience on the show, but I think I’d have to think about it. Yeah, I’ll obviously train and the goal is the show. And I mean, if that’s the only way to get on the show as a pro, then I’d have to consider if that really is my goal, then maybe that is the direction I go. But yeah, I think that’s definitely something I’d have to think about for sure if the opportunity came up.

Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC