Reality star recalls troubled cheerleader past as she prepares for this week’s dance

Oct 8, 2013 09:02 GMT  ·  By

I am probably just one of the many people who find Snooki more lovable now that she’s on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. On last night’s episode, the pint-sized reality star got to return to her cheerleading roots with the Jive.

You can see her and partner Sasha Farber’s entire routine, including the rehearsals footage and the judges’ scores, in the video above.

In the dance studio, Snooki explained why making this particular dance count was important and got all teary-eyed as she recalled her cheerleading past and the eating disorder it pushed her to, in her desperate desire to stay on the squad.

It seems that reliving the experience was enough to motivate her, because she really gave it her best on the dancefloor. Her final score was 24 out of 30: not the best, but definitely not the worst either.

Carrie Ann Inaba’s description that she’s like a little pocket rocket seems fitting, wouldn’t you say?