Access Blogs
By Melissa Joan Hart
Every Monday gets better and better!
I'm feeling so much more at home on this big stage, with this big band and with these fancy costumes.
This week I am a lucky girl and get to dance the good old-fashioned Charleston for all to see! I have always dreamt of being a flapper in the Roaring '20s and today I get to play that part. Our dance is fast and furious but so fun and silly that it totally suits my personality.
As for a little behind the scenes dirt, I have made an interesting observation about all the cast members involved in the show. Most often when you get a group of celebs, people that have had great success in a certain area of the arts, you have huge talent mixed with huge egos. But when people come together in an unfamiliar setting such as dancing (or even when I have done celebrity car races) they drop the ego and look for support and friendships. Celebrities are accustomed to being babied and spoiled but that's not the case here on "DWTS." Even though everyone here is competitive, I feel it is friendly and fun competition, not aggressive and hateful...
Every Monday gets better and better!
I'm feeling so much more at home on this big stage, with this big band and with these fancy costumes.
This week I am a lucky girl and get to dance the good old-fashioned Charleston for all to see! I have always dreamt of being a flapper in the Roaring '20s and today I get to play that part. Our dance is fast and furious but so fun and silly that it totally suits my personality.
As for a little behind the scenes dirt, I have made an interesting observation about all the cast members involved in the show. Most often when you get a group of celebs, people that have had great success in a certain area of the arts, you have huge talent mixed with huge egos. But when people come together in an unfamiliar setting such as dancing (or even when I have done celebrity car races) they drop the ego and look for support and friendships. Celebrities are accustomed to being babied and spoiled but that's not the case here on "DWTS." Even though everyone here is competitive, I feel it is friendly and fun competition, not aggressive and hateful...
By Melissa Joan HartHere we are again, in the glam trailer getting beautified. Today being Latin day at DWTS, the spray tans and big hair are intense. The atmosphere here seems more playful and I think there are numerous reasons for that. We are forming friendships, which makes it nicer to be here, especially since we are all away from family and friends for long hours at a time, and it has given us a common ground to form a bond.
The nerves have turned to excitement, as we grow more comfy on the dance floor and with our abilities. I can't help but think that with all the fatigue we are all experiencing, it helps you relax and be a bit more carefree.
Don't get me wrong, I am still terrified to stand in my opening pose and hear the scary announcer call out my name! My heart pounds like crazy when I even just imagine walking out on that stage. It's a fine balance of feeling strong and respecting the dance floor all while relaxing and enjoying every moment.
Tonight I dance the Samba and will shake my hips in ways no camera has ever caught before! Acting sexy is not something I'm comfortable showing so it's going to be more of an acting lesson for me tonight than dancing. My hips will move if I can relax and for once take myself seriously and channel my inner sex goddess!
By Melissa Joan HartSore is the best way to describe this week so far.
The week started out great with what I thought was a great jive, but after the judges deflated my bubble with low scores I felt defeated. The only time in my life that I've ever been under pressure and had to be scored immediately afterward was probably on state exams and I used to ace those. So this is all new and alien to me.
It's so exciting to take the floor and deliver what feels like a flawless performance and then have to take that long walk to the judges' table only to be criticized. But that's what I signed on for, right?
This next week is going to be interesting in a whole new way. While the jive was fast and furious and the audience got to see the all-American girl in me, this week I have to become a sultry, sexy Brazilian with hips that can turn on a dime. That is a side I haven't often shared with the public; a few sassy magazine photos aside. But still shots are a far cry from moving ones!
By Melissa Joan Hart
Here we are again in Week 2! This week feels different in a number of ways. Everyone around is a bit more relaxed after getting the first week out of the way. It's going to be tough to go out and try to remember every move after only four days.
Last week our dances were ingrained in our heads after five weeks of practice and now we only have days to learn and polish. But despite that, the atmosphere here backstage is definitely a lot more laid back and fun than last week. Especially as we are all creating bonds and friendships behind the scenes.
Here we are again in Week 2! This week feels different in a number of ways. Everyone around is a bit more relaxed after getting the first week out of the way. It's going to be tough to go out and try to remember every move after only four days.
Last week our dances were ingrained in our heads after five weeks of practice and now we only have days to learn and polish. But despite that, the atmosphere here backstage is definitely a lot more laid back and fun than last week. Especially as we are all creating bonds and friendships behind the scenes.
1 week down, 9 to go!What a crazy week it was. The nerves backstage were out of control.
It's so funny how every different human handles high-pressure situations. Debi and Kelly and I like to have nervous chatter while Kathy and Natalie really like to focus and stay calm it seems. Even the pros each handle it a little different. Derek gets silly while Mark gets very internal and serious.
It was such a thrill to survive week one. I feel so proud of myself for going out there and getting through both routines without missing a step. There is such a huge level of expectation from the audience but also from you. In all my rehearsals on stage or in front of people I could not stop the uncontrollable shaking from the adrenaline my body was over producing.
But as the scary announcer man said my name and I knew it was show time, my body became relaxed and I was able to dance like never before. As we got into our hold for the middle of the dance and did our natural waltz steps all around the floor I could feel my costume whipping around from our movement and it felt like I was floating on air. INCREDIBLE FEELING!
By Melissa Joan HartTonight is THE night! Nerves are flying all around as tension mounts. I'm sitting in the trailer having my hair done with Kathy, Kelly and Karina in the chairs around me. Everyone seems very excited but also a little like "Deer in Headlights." Now that the Emmys are over, all focus here is on tonight and tomorrow for the beginning of our amazing adventure. Tonight the men will dance and the ladies will chill but then Tuesday we switch. All I want is to be able to be calm and enjoy this time while it lasts.
Surprisingly for me, I'm calmer than I thought but I truly think the human body can only handle a high level of adrenaline for a small amount of time. Every time I think about stepping foot on that stage my belly flutters and my hands shake.
I am taking comfort in all the love that has been passed on to mefrom every angle; not only friends and family but from all of the Twitterverse as well! It's amazing the support I have felt and the excitement I see and hear in people around me. I'm also taking comfort in the sheer joy of the moment and the amazingly talented people in this competition. We are all starting to bond over the experience.
By Melissa Joan HartThe countdown has begun!! Nervous is one way to describe this final week of practice before we head into the ring to see what we are made of. It's really going to be a spectacular event when you think about the diversity of the competitors this season. The athletes are used to rigorous training and body conditioning while the singers and musicians have rhythm on their side.
We have a martial arts expert as well as a bada*s republican. We have some competitors that are used to performing well live; some under intense pressure; and some that aren't afraid of a camera. But none of us are natural at all of the above. Not one person in this competition has ever had to be completely out of their comfort zone on such an intense level.
While all of us are great at what we do, this ballroom is uncharted territory. But we are all in it together. And while each one of us wants to take home that mirror ball trophy, and we will fight tooth and nail to do it, we all have to take that first step on the dance floor next week and shake a tail feather to see who is the best.
Next week is going to be riddled with emotion, conflict, nerves and excitement as we begin this adventure together as a team and get knocked off one by one each week. I can only imagine the terror that will fill my heart next week as I take the floor. So for now my goal in this challenge has changed, instead of making it far enough to dance a Paso Doble, today my wish is not to get thrown out of the game first.
To keep up with "What's Happening" find me at twitter.com/MellyJHart... This is Melissa Joan Hart and I approve this message.
By Melissa Joan Hart
Some of you may have heard about this little show called "Dancing With the Stars." As a cast member of the ninth season, I have to admit I didn't realize what a huge phenom this show had become.
The excitement I see on peoples' faces can only mimic those of kids walking into Disneyworld for the first time. I feel that I have two very big tasks ahead of me during this time.
First is to soak up all the dancing time possible and build myself an arsenal of moves to pull out during competition. The second is to become a politician and secure votes since my fate lies in the hands of the public fifty percent of the time.
By Marlee Matlin
It's week two and all I can say is that I feel amazing! I really had no intention of losing a great deal of weight; just get rid of that stubborn 10 pounds or so that never seem to come off.
And guess what? I've lost 2 1/2 pounds! Woo Hoo!
By Marlee Matlin
Let me say, right off the bat, dancing is a blast, particularly when you have Lisa Rinna and Louis van Amstel taking you through the steps. I arrived (sneaky Lisa, she surprised me!) thinking I'd be learning a few steps here and there and that I might break a small sweat. Was I wrong! Dancing is a total work out. Louis got us started right away, stepping and dancing with the beat and soon I could feel my feet, legs, arms, and that ever important "core" - stomach muscles, working just as hard as any traditional work out that I've had. But unlike the grunting and huffing and puffing that comes along with a traditional workout, Louis (and with Lisa beside me to get my behind in gear) made working out through dancing FUN. And though I was a bit sore at the end of class (more so the next day and more so the day after that!), it felt great to know I was doing something good for my body. Let me say this deaf lady likes to dance and I plan to come back!