DWTS OGs Ready a 'Love Letter' to Len Goodman as They Remember the 'Glint' in Late Head Judge's Eye (Exclusive)

Former ‘DWTS’ pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani and Karina Smirnoff tell PEOPLE Tuesday’s performance honoring Goodman will be a “really touching moment”

Maks Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani and Karina Smirnoff return to Dancing with the stars ballroom on Tuesday in honor of the late Chief Justice Len Goodman.

Former DWTS pros exclusively tell PEOPLE about their memories of Goodman — who died at age 78 in April 2022, four months after announcing his retirement from the ABC dance competition — and what fans can expect from the “touching” tribute performance, which also includes current professionals and alumni Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Śliwińska, Louis van Amstel and Mark Ballas.

Johnson-Herjavec remembers Goodman as “so wonderful” during his time on the show from 2006 to 2015, adding: “He could have grumpy days, like Len would be grumpy, but he’d always do it with a little twinkle in his eye and that cheeky spirit he had.”

“You knew you were going to hear the exact truth from Len, whether you liked it or not, but he did it in such an honest way with his humor that he had,” continues Johnson-Herjavec, 47. “And then when you got that 10 from Len, it was the best feeling ever.”

‘Dancing with the Stars’ pays tribute to late judge Len Goodman during the season 32 premiere

Maksim Chmerkovsky and Kym Johnson-Herjavec.

Smirnoff, 45, recalls Goodman’s influence on her and other professional dancers over the years.

“For me, from the competitive years when I was still an amateur, and before that a professional Dancing with the stars originated in England and the United States, Len was a big part of our world. He judged, trained, always had the most lively personality,” she shares.

The 18-season pro adds, “So, of course, when the show started and he became a judge on the show, it was easy because he had this charisma and this personality that just stood out. So that we can remember, respect, let people know what Len means to all of us dancers, because he is the father of dance — but with Dancing with the stars and Strictly Come Dancing he became the father of world dance.”

Alfonso Ribeiro promises ‘DWTS’ season 32 will honor Len Goodman’s legacy: ‘There won’t be a dry eye’

Tony Dovolani and Karina Smirnoff.

Gabe Ginsberg/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty

Chmerkovskiy, 43, also remembers Goodman’s “specific presence” in the ballroom, sharing, “He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He was an anchored entity [the] the real dance world. And in terms of where it came from, it almost represented the establishment. The foundation of everything.”

During his 17 seasons of competition at DWTS, the pro recalls getting advice from Goodman outside the judge’s table. When asked what was the best advice he got from the late TV personality, he says, “It wasn’t really dance advice. It was just life advice. And I think he was able to rethink that and not be so into giving people advice on the cha cha.”

Dovolani, 50, also recalls having “inside jokes” with Goodman: “We’d poke and prod without anyone really realizing what we were doing to each other, which was fun. So we had our own little secret language between Len me too.”

“Family was very, very important to him, and so was it to me, and we shared that respect for each other, that knowledge that our values ​​were very right, very well set. He was very funny,” he continues. “He said, ‘Don’t listen to my criticisms, but really don’t listen to my compliments either.’

“He was an elder statesman who held the balance in his hand,” he adds. “He never let the show go too left or too right. He kept it in the center, and whenever things went a little wrong, he brought it back to what it was all about. And that’s what I love about Len, is that he had that aura around him, that when you saw him, you knew you were in something special.”

Len Goodman looked back on his most memorable ‘DWTS’ moments in a final interview with PEOPLE before his death

Len Goodman. Eric McCandless via Getty Images

As for the tribute – choreographed by Jenna Johnson and husband Val Chmerkovskiy – Smirnoff promises it will be a “love letter” to the late head judge.

“So to go back and read that love letter or dance that love letter to him saying thank you for his contribution to our world, I think that’s easy,” she says of her decision to return to performing. “We are all excited and grateful to have this opportunity and that the show was able to give us that.”

Maks Chmerkovskiy, who is Vala’s older brother, says it’s an honor to be back in the ballroom because “there’s no me without Leno,” adding: “And that’s the reality. So whenever there’s an opportunity to pay tribute, I think I’d like to be a part of it.”

Johnson-Herjavec says the tribute will be “a more traditional dance.”

“I think it’s probably a waltz, because that would be what Len would have liked,” she notes. “That’s what he was known for. He didn’t like tricks. He loved live dancing and I’m pretty sure it will be very beautiful, very classical – like Len, really.”

Dovolani said: “It’s a classical dance that really requires a lot of, as Len would say, the right amount of zazz so he liked classical dances, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do for him.”

Johnson-Herjavec sums it up: “He loved the ballroom, he loved the standard. So I think it will be really nice to see the current pros and then some of the old pros coming back to pay his respects. I think it will be a really touching moment.”

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Dancing with the stars airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET/5pm PT on ABC and Disney+.

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