They’re still friends after all these years! Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman made headlines earlier this year when it was announced that they would be reuniting on screen for the holiday film A Christmas Dance Reunion, which premiered on Friday, December 3.

The new Lifetime Christmas film marked the first time that the former Disney Channel stars would be in a movie together since the final High School Musical movie premiered 13 years ago. Despite the anticipation surrounding their on-screen reunion, the duo felt no pressure behind the scenes.

“When I think about pressure, I think about that a lot more in a past tense,” Corbin, 32, explained to J-14 exclusively when promoting the film. “When I think about those times, the amount of pressure that was on us and I think that’s one thing that we have — again, I appreciate Mo and I’m proud of her and I’m proud of us, of the people that we become. Because I know that while we were on this set, we did not allow any of that pressure to come through. It really was just about creating a good piece of work that we could be proud of, which also came really easily, which is an amazing thing that does not happen.”

Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman Felt No 'Pressure' Reuniting for New Movie 13 Years After 'HSM3'
Courtesy of Lifetime

He continued, “I feel like the fact that we, kind of, released ourselves of that pressure and we allowed what we know we can do to just happen. I want more of that. I feel, like, when I watched the movie, I felt that ease came through.”

In A Christmas Dance Reunion, Corbin plays Barrett who reunites with his childhood dance partner, Lucy, played by Monique, 41. After returning home, Lucy finds out that the beloved Winterleigh Resort (owned by Barrett’s aunt) is in jeopardy of shutting down, so she recreates the resort’s old Christmas Dance which leads her back to Barrett.

“It really is art imitating life in so many ways. And I think people — the fans will get to feel like they’re getting to have that satisfying ending to one story, but [the] beginning of another, in a sense,” Monique said of the film. “People are going to, I think, get to see a part of Corbin and I that is actually very true and unique. I did go off and become the UN Youth Champion, I started a company and a foundation and did all these very serious things, but at the core, there’s a line in the movie that says, ‘But I always knew that there was something missing.’ And that’s exactly it.”

Of course, the costars also reflected on their High School Musical days and how much they’ve changed over the years. The most notable change was the “ease” they both felt on set.

“I wasn’t thinking about what I looked like, what was happening. I was really able to be conscious of the whole, and that’s very different than back in the day when we were a lot younger working together,” Monique explained. “The very first scene on the very first day that we shot High School Musical, it was this moment where he and I come together and we’re like, ‘It’s not Charlie’s Angels‘ or whatever. I remember afterwards, [director] Kenny [Ortega] moved on and we both were like, ‘What? Are we OK?”

She went on to say that this time around, she “took a selfie” during their first moments on the A Christmas Dance Reunion set.

“When you know that someone has your back, you’re not afraid to fall,” Monique added about her and Corbin’s longtime friendship.

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