Val Chmerkovskiy is a tough teacher, says Janel Parrish

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Janel Parrish appreciates Val Chmerkovskiy's "tough love" on Dancing with the Stars.

The 25-year-old actress dished on her partner in a post Monday on her blog for People. Parrish admitted the 28-year-old professional dancer can be a tough coach, but said their hard work has paid off in competition.

"I was really happy with my performance," Parrish related of their high-scoring dance in week two. "It was a tough week as far as we really drilled things. Val was really tough on me, but it was tough love and that's the only way I was going to improve. I really needed to work on my technique. But hearing those nines and those eights definitely made it all worthwhile!"

"I feel like it's going to be different every single week, depending on what dance we're doing," she continued. "Some dances are harder than others. The hardest part is learning choreography while trying to learn what the dance is."

Parrish and Chmerkovskiy scored a 29/40 with their jive in week one, and a 34/40 with their foxtrot in week two. The actress said the foxtrot was harder to learn than the jive, and anticipated each week will bring fresh challenges. The pair will return to compete in a movie-themed episode Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.