"They're not spotlighted like that in any way"- Stephen Nedoroscik's dance partner Rylee Arnold opens up on the decline on men's gymnastics in USA

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold were a fan-favorite pair of season 33 of Dancing With The Stars. The duo constantly amazed viewers with their incredible moves and left audiences particularly stunned when they included gymnastics in their performance in the finals. Recently, Arnold opened up about their decision to include men's gymnastics in their dance, highlighting the sport’s declining popularity as their motivating factor.

Earlier this year, Nedoroscik found fame after his performance at the Paris Olympics. As a result, he became the first male gymnast to make an appearance on Dancing With The Stars. Before this, multiple female Team USA gymnasts had competed on the show, including Simone Biles, Suni Lee, and season eight winner Shawn Johnson.

Throughout his time on the show, Stephen Nedoroscik consistently made efforts to grow the sport of men's gymnastics. In the finals, he and Arnold brought three gymnasts on the stage as part of their freestyle performance to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. Recently, in an appearance on The Squeeze podcast, Arnold explained the pair's decision to include men's gymnastics in their performance, saying (at 39:00),

“They (audiences) have never seen the men's gymnastics team, they're not spotlighted like that in any way. So I was like ‘I think that'd be really special’ and it was kind of hard to get them all together in one. We were supposed to have four male gymnasts and then one backed out literally the day of rehearsal, and so it was actually so crazy, but I was really happy to get the ones that I got. They were so sweet and they worked so hard.”

Stephen Nedoroscik dedicate’s DWTS dance to men's gymnastics

Nedoroscik dedicates a dance to men's gymnastics (Image Source: Getty)

Before bringing in gymnasts in his performance in the finals, Stephen Nedoroscik paid homage to men's gymnastics during week five of Dancing With The Stars. The theme of the week was ‘Dedication Night: with the dancers taking the opportunity to honour influential figures and institutions in their lives.

Nedoroscik, alongside Rylee Arnold, performed an Argentine Tango to ‘Seven Nation Army’ and worked in some moves on the pommel horse. After the performance, the gymnast penned a heartfelt note about his dance, writing on Instagram,

“What an incredible experience! I never would have thought I'd be doing Pommel Horse into an Argentine Tango. This dance was such a challenge and I'm so glad Rylee trusted me to execute every step and trick in this dance! I was surprisingly nervous but hearing the ballroom erupt as I mounted the Horse helped me lock in just like a gymnastics meet!! It was a true honor to dedicate this dance to Men's Gymnastics. I can only hope my efforts can help to grow my amazing sport.”

After their freestyle performance including gymnasts, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold finished fourth on Dancing With The Stars. The duo will now embark on the DWTS Tour, where Nedoroscik will be the co-host, while Arnold is part of the pro dancers team.