​Here’s the Dancing With The Stars Advice Courtney Act Gave Shangela

Halleloo! For the first time in Dancing With The Stars’ 17 years run in the US, a drag queen is competing for the crown. And who better than Shangela to break that sequined ceiling?

The RuPaul’s Drag Race legend sashayed into the competition with an electric salsa routine to Pussycat Dolls’ hit “When I Grow Up” and has been slaying ever since. And in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 40-year-old reveals she’s wanted to be on the show for years.

“I'd say to my agency team, ‘Is there any chance you can get me a meeting?’ That wasn't able to happen. I don't think the idea was on the table until this year, and they were open to having a meeting with me…. it happened so quickly, I was so grateful and excited.”

Shangela and Gleb Savchenko Salsa (Week 1) | Dancing With The Stars on Disney+youtu.be

But DWTS is a quite different market than Shangela’s usual gig, and she has to appeal to middle America in a way that she might not be accustomed to. Not one to back down from a challenge, she says she sees the show as “an opportunity for me to showcase who I am in and out of drag, and who we are as a drag and LGBTQ community to many people who may not be familiar with us. It's what I do on We're Here…. I don't have to make myself any more palatable to mid-America, I just have to show up as who I am. You're going to love me or you're not going to love me, but you're going to experience me. Hopefully we'll open your mind. We're not as scary as an idea that you may have in your head and can be very lovable and entertaining.”

Unfortunately, the hate has already started rolling in. “I'm not going to run into negativity on my page, but folks on the general Dancing With the Stars posts, there are some things like, ‘Why is that man dancing with another man?’ or ‘This show is trash now that drag queens are on it,’ from people who aren't familiar or are homophobic. It stings, but it encourages me and motivates me to think, if I was to cower or run every time someone didn't like me or bullied me for who I am, I wouldn't be here today. I'd never have made it out of Paris, Texas, moved to L.A. to become an entertainer, or kept coming back after I was told no on RuPaul's Drag Race! I wouldn't be here in this moment on Dancing With the Stars. I may not be the best dancer in this group, but I'm the best person in this moment, with this cast…. I'm the best Shangela that Shangela can be.”

While she’s the first drag queen on the American version of the show, she’s following in the footsteps of her fellow Drag Race sister Courtney Act, who was the runner-up on season 16 of Australia’s DWTS. Shangela reveals she reached out to Act for some tips and tricks to the show.

Shangela "Elvis Night" on Dancing With The Stars 💃youtu.be

"I said, ‘Hey, sis, I'm getting ready, I'm doing the salsa, what do you think?’ and we talked. We had great conversations; she gave me good advice about the show. She said, ‘During the camera-blocking run-through the day before the show, put your wig on, do it with your hair,’ because she learned it will feel different with your partner doing it with your ‘boy’ hair and then whipping it around in drag. I've invited her to the show, and I hope she'll make it when she comes to visit the U.S., if I'm still there. I'm grateful that she took that torch for the global franchise, and I can push it forward in the U.S.”

We can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Dancing with the Stars airs Monday on 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.

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