'DWTS' Star Shangela On 'We're Here' Inspiring Final Routine: 'Really Epic'

Shangela has opened up to Newsweek about her final Dancing With the Stars performance and how it has been inspired by We're Here.

The Ru Paul's Drag Race favorite, and We're Here co-host, has been competing in the Disney+ ballroom competition with professional partner Gleb Savchenko and the duo have made it all the way to the last episode.

The Dancing With the Stars grand finale, which will take place on November 21, will see Shangela and Savchenko take on Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy, Wayne Brady and Witney Carson, and Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas in hopes of taking home the Mirrorball Trophy.

The pair have wowed Len Goodman and his fellow judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli with their routines so far but it seems they could be about to switch things up for the finale.

Speaking about what it means to have made it this far in the competition, Shangela, 40, told Newsweek: "I am so excited. I feel so grateful to be in this moment. To be the first drag entertainer on the U.S. version of Dancing With the Stars, to be the first male-on-male partnership here, it's really special for us to now have this visibility and this moment in the finale."

Teasing what their finale performance might look like, Shangela hinted she has had enough of abiding by the ballroom rules.

"Like I told my partner Gleb, I spent 10 weeks moulding myself into y'all's technique," she said. "Now for the finale we get the chance to do a freestyle which I get to bring the world of drag [into]."

Revealing how their role on We're Here has helped influence the performance, Shangela added: "You know we do this so often, creating moments and stage shows through We're Here and now I get to bring all those learnings into the ballroom for a really epic, amazing, showstopping performance!"

During the Disney+ show's semifinal last Monday (November 14) Dancing With the Stars' head judge Len Goodman announced that he is leaving the show after 31 seasons.

Shangela was full of praise for Goodman, who has been a judge on Dancing With the Stars since 2005, after he confirmed he would not be returning next year.

"All of the pro dancers, everyone associated with the show, is going to miss him. There's never going to be anyone like Len Goodman," the star said of the 78-year-old ballroom legend.

Shangela added that, although there will now be a spot free on the panel, they won't be joining the show as a judge, saying: "I know for sure that I am not yet qualified. No ma'am!"

Although Dancing With the Stars is ending, Shangela will be back on screens on Friday for the third season of We're Here with co-stars Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka O'Hara.

In the HBO show the queens, who have all competed on RuPaul's Drag Race in the past, travel across small-town America, "spreading love and connection through the art of drag," each meeting their own drag children and putting on one-night-only drag shows.

Ahead of We're Here's return, Shangela explained to Newsweek that the trio of co-hosts was motivated "now more than ever" to "share and highlight these important stories that deserve to be told across our country."

"Because of everything that's going on in America, the current political climate, [there's a] necessity of greater visibility and representation for us all. Especially in these marginalized places," Shangela said.

The Dancing With the Stars final, co-hosted by Tyra Banks and Alfonso Ribeiro, will air Monday, November 21, at 8 p.m. ET on Disney+. The episode will be available to stream an hour after its original airing.

We're Here Season 3 begins on Friday, November 25, at 10 p.m. ET on HBO. Episodes will debut weekly on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.