Laurie Hernandez’s cha-cha shows why she’s a ‘Dancing With the Stars’ frontrunner

“I was so excited to see Val”, the 16-year-old gold medalist said of the two-time World Dance Champion.

The 16-year-old was working on her moves on the balance beam when Val entered and the look of pure excitement on her face is wonderful. But the savvy rising star knows all about those comparisons people have made between her expressions and their emoji counterparts – and she agrees that her expressions are telling.

The newest season of Dancing With the Stars is upon us, and fans are already picking favorites, with very early frontrunners being Olympic gymnast and fan favorite pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy. “So if I’m happy you’ll know I’m happy, and if I’m mad you’ll know I’m mad, just by looking at me”.

Hernandez definitely proved she’s a natural as she pranced around the ballroom.

She also commented on her longstanding desire to be on the show.

Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy earned a 31 out of 40 for the routine, tying them with race vehicle driver James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess atop the leaderboard going into Week 2.