Julia Stiles is celebrating herself and reflecting on how much she has grown since starring in Save the Last Dance more than two decades ago.
The 45-year-old actress gave a sweet nod to her iconic ballerina role as Sara Johnson by recreating famous Juilliard audition scene with her dance partner Ezra Sosa during Dancing with the Stars season 35, week 5 premiere event in Los Angeles on Wednesday
They performed on Jennifer Lopez’s hit Jenny from the Block.
As their performance earned them their highest score of the season so far, Julia gushed while speaking to People, “I wasn’t gonna come on this show and recreate that dance and not step it up a notch.”
She even brought her former 2001 teen drama co-star Sean Patrick Thomas onstage.
The Jason Bourne actress also reflected on her younger self, noting, “Little Julia back then, I wish that she could have known that like years later she would be here, making that dance even better.”
“Like, I’m a grown woman now, and I’m so much more comfortable in who I am and how I look and all that, that I wish that she had known that at the time,” she added. “But it feels really nice.”
Her dance partner, Sosa, also praised Julia’s performance, saying, “Right before we went out and danced, I just saw the look in her eyes and her energy and her aura. I was like, ‘Oh, she’s locked in.'”


