Nearly a decade after she won Dancing With the Stars Season 21, Bindi Irwin is headed back to the ballroom. But this time, she’ll be an audience member, as younger brother Robert Irwin will compete for the Mirrorball Trophy in DWTS Season 34.
In an Instagram video on Saturday, Bindi revealed she had moved from Queensland, Australia — where her family operates the Australia Zoo, a legacy of Bindi’s father, the late Steve Irwin — for a temporary stay in Los Angeles.
“G’day guys, I wanted to pop on here and share a little bit of a life update with you. We have officially moved to Los Angeles,” Bindi said in the August 30 clip. “Not forever. It’s for the next three months. Australia Zoo will always be home. But we are here to support my incredible brother on Dancing With the Stars. Oh my goodness!”
Bindi reminded fans that she and pro dancing partner Derek Hough took the Mirrorball in DWTS Season 21 a decade ago, and she called that victory “a life-changing experience” for which she will always be grateful.
“And now my little brother is going to be on the show — except he’s not so little anymore,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t wait to support him and cheer him on every week in the audience and maybe lend some advice here and there. He is going to shine, though, and I know in my heart that he’s going to make it far because he is such a fantastic human being.”
Bindi also told fans she had to talk quietly since Grace, her 4-year-old daughter with husband Chandler Powell, was napping at the moment. “The time zone [difference] is real when you fly from Brisbane to L.A.,” she said. “But we’re really glad to be here. Be sure to give my brother a follow to be able to see the journey as it unfolds, and I’ll send updates whenever I can here on social media, too. We can’t wait.”
And in her caption, the conservationist wrote, “If you’re wondering who will be cheering the loudest in the audience, it will definitely be me and Grace. She has already chosen all her dresses to wear in the ballroom audience each week. … We’re super proud of you, Robert.”
So far, DWTS has announced four other competitors who will join Robert on the dance floor in Season 34: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast members Jennifer Affleck and Whitney Leavitt, yoga instructor Hilaria Baldwin (wife of Alec), and social media personality Alix Earle. The fancy footwork will begin on Tuesday, September 16, at 8/7c, on ABC and Disney+.
Dancing with the Stars, Season 34 Premiere, Tuesday, September 16, 8/7c, ABC & Disney+