Chandler Kinney quickly became a name to watch on this season of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’

The actor, who appeared in Disney’s “Zombies” film series and “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” wowed with dance pro Brandon Armstrong in the season premiere. Their tango to Chappell Roan’s ‘Hot to Go’ earned the pair a 23/30 from the judges, the highest score of the evening.

While tThe two have remained at the top of the leaderboard all season, still chasing the coveted perfect jury score and falling just one point short on the final episode with their Viennese waltz to the “Pretty Little Liars” theme song.

“I don’t think people realize that ballroom is its own beast,” the actor told HuffPost, adding that learning to dance for the show “couldn’t have been any different” from things she’s done in the past. “The first few weeks for us were breaking the past habits I had as a child.”

Having been in musical projects like “Zombies,” which involve big dance numbers, doesn’t automatically translate into an environment like “DWTS,” she said.

“You know, on set you have a million takes – maybe not a million, but you have some. The live performance aspect of this show was so scary for me because you only get one chance,” she said.

Still, Armstrong acknowledged that there are “huge benefits” to being with a star who has danced before: “knowing how to count music, knowing how to hold yourself, certain things like with your feet and legs.”

But Kinney’s experience, Armstrong said, is “the reason we were able to set the bar so high for her.”

Coming in with a dance background could prove divisive among the show’s fans, some of whom enjoy seeing a total newcomer evolve as the weeks go by.

“I think people love that or hate that or whatever, but you can’t help but appreciate the value and quality that she brings to the floor,” added Armstrong, who is in his seventh season of dancing as a pro. to. . “I think it’s even hard for her to understand how nice it is when you get someone like that.”

Although the pair have put in strong performances each week, the judges’ critiques for them have occasionally fallen flat. During Week 4, judge Carrie Ann asked Inaba Kinney to “dig a little deeper” while commenting on a contemporary dance she dedicated to her mother. Two weeks later, Inaba hesitated to give Kinney a perfect 10 for her Viennese Waltz, saying, “I wouldn’t call this perfection just because of what the dance required,” which drew boos from the audience.

“I realized, especially after Dedication Week, what – this isn’t something that I was necessarily specifically criticized for, it was more my conclusion about the criticism that I received – was that I think that in many ways dance is a kind of representation of something ,” Kinney said. “And that requires, I think, an extra level of externalization of emotions that, as a TV and film actor, I never normally think about. You never think about the perception of the story you’re telling. You just live in the moment.”

“With dance, you want the person sitting there on the floor next to the performance to have the same experience as someone in the rafters,” she added. “That is, I think, one of the most beautiful gems I have picked up in recent weeks.”

“Dancing With the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+