Results tagged “Dancing with the Stars” from Access Hollywood

By Melissa Joan Hart

Here 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 Hart

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 Hart

Tonight 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 Hart

The 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.

Well, surgery on my knee is done and over with and it went well!  I am so happy as I am ready to start rehabbing my knee and get it back to normal!

I had the surgery done Friday arthroscopically. The surgeon and anethesiologist gave me the choice of going under or getting a block from the waist down. I chose the block, so I was actually awake for the surgery and got to watch it on the monitor. I didn't think I would like it as I can't even watch blood getting drawn. But because it was on a monitor and I never looked down at my actual knee, it was pretty cool.

The past couple of days have been odd ones to say the least. I feel like I'm having some sort of out of body experience. I am used to covering "Dancing With the Stars," not actually being the one in the story. I am so beyond disappointed that I won't be able to continue on the show. Tony Dovolani, my dance partner, and I have been working our you-know-whats off for the past month. So, even though I am definitely putting the situation into perspective, I cannot deny I am completely bummed out. When you have been practicing non-stop (we averaged 5-6 hours a day for almost four weeks straight), it is tough to throw all that hard work out the window. As many of you have read by now, I tore my meniscus in my knee in two places, and I have to have surgery to fix it.

"Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer Edyta Sliwinska has landed a guest starring role on "CSI: New York" she revealed to me yesterday during rehearsals for the "Dancing with the Stars" tour.

 

"I'm playing a dance teacher and I'm one of the suspects." 

 

This role on the CBS drama will be Edyta's first major acting gig. "I am suspected to be a murderer to kill a guy and chop him into pieces."

 

Both Edyta and her dancer husband, Alec Mazo, have been working on their acting careers during downtime from the show. 

Now it's time to find out why I am a believer in Dennis and Alice Jackson.

 

While we were on stage professional dancer Cheryl Burke came over to say hello and asked Alice and Dennis if she and her dance partner Maurice would be going home.

 

 (pictured left our producer Bryant and mediums Dennis and Alice Jackson)

 

Cheryl:  I'm kind of scared to ask it, because I don't really want to know. Are we getting eliminated tomorrow night? 

 

Dennis:  I don't watch the show so I have nothing invested but I would say... well, you have a grandmother that's a dancer?

 

Cheryl: Yeah.

 

Dennis: She used to dance all the time? She says, "Don't worry.  You worry too much."

 

Cheryl: Oh my god, that's so scary! 

 

Alice: Don't be scared.

 

Dennis: What's your grandmother's name?

 

Cheryl: Sherrie. My mom's mom.

 

Dennis: She's crossed over? 

 

Cheryl: Well, she passed away; I've never met her before.

 

Dennis: How long ago?

 

Cheryl: When my mom was 16 and my mom's 50. ..

 

 

Last night we learned that yet another incident occurred on the "Dancing With The Stars" set. Juliannge Hough was taken to the hospital after complaining of stomach problems. Brooke Burke just hurt her foot while rehearsing on Sunday. We also learned this week that Susan Lucci's injury last week resulted in two broken bones in her foot -not to mention Misty May's injury which ended her run on the show, Derek Hough's neck issues, Jeff Ross's eye injury and Karina's injury during week one. Some would say it's just a physically demanding show where amateurs are taking on dancing challenges they have never done before - so, injuries are bound to happen. Others are saying the stage is "cursed." 
 
Two weeks ago I posted, in my blog, my research about CBS Television City where the show is taped. The lot used to be occupied by a place called Gilmore Stadium, which was used as a football field and a racetrack. Five racecar drivers died on the racetrack in its 18-year history. Prior to that, it was an oil field. This so called "curse" began in season five when Helio Castroneves, the racecar driver, first joined the show. So, I wanted to investigate this and see if maybe there actually was a connection.
 
Yesterday our producer, Bryant, and myself took two psychic mediums to the set, Alice and Dennis Jackson, a married couple from Seattle, Washington; to see what they might be able to pick up.
 
After the entire experience of the day, let me just say that I am a believer. You'll have to read on to see why though...
 

Ever since Marie Osmond fainted last October on "Dancing With the Stars" it seems some type of negative energy has taken over Stage 46 at CBS Television City. Food poisonings, injuries, surgeries, blackouts are all becoming common place on the set. Even the show could not ignore what many people are calling a "Dancing" curse.

 

In a taped segment last night the show pointed out the spot on the floor, near the judges, which pro dancer Derek Hough has dubbed the Bermuda Triangle. It's where he was injured; Misty May-Treanor tore her Achilles tendon leading to her exit from the show and it's also where Susan Lucci twisted her ankle.

 

The curse was the hot topic backstage with Mel B after the show. Lance Bass is absolutely convinced something is wrong with the stage telling Mel, "I know it's cursed. Every major injury that has happened this season has been on this stage. Not in rehearsal. Right here on the stage."

 

Professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, who has had her own injury this season, told Mel she has a solution.

 

"I think they need to bring like a magic person or a priest or someone to bless it."

 

Her dance partner Rocci DiSpirito jokingly added, "We need an exorcism!"

 

So, is the stage really cursed? Common sense tells us 'of course not.' However, just to play a little bit of devil's advocate, I did some research about the history of CBS Television City, where the show is taped.

 

The ghostly details after the jump...

 

 

Well, if that title doesn't tell you what I did last night then I guess you don't watch much TV. After tuning out all TV last week while at Fitness Ridge, it was strange to go back and watch back to back reality shows. One week away and I already lost my prime ticket to the Idol taping and had to watch the show from home on television. The best part about it was being able to get up during the commercials!  I will be there tonight for Dolly Parton though.
 
I won't bore you with a recap of last night's "Idol" performances -- instead I'll just muse on a few things that stuck out to me. 
 
# 1 - Why does Randy Jackson start every single critique with "Yo, so check it out?"

# 2 - # 2 - Who else thinks David Cook could be this year's winner?  His was the only performance that made me stop paying bills, look up and pay attention to the whole performance. It's such a strange season though. In the past I've been able to pick from the night of the Top 12 party who I think will win. Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood were just givens to me. This season it's more difficult to decide. I hope David doesn't fall under the Daughtry curse and get ousted during the top 4 week. Having said that though,  how many albums has Daughtry sold compared to Taylor Hicks?! 

# 3 - Ramiele Malubay is so tiny she makes Ryan Seacrest look like a giant and that's VERY hard to do.

 

So great that “Dancing With The Stars” is back.  As Steve Guttenberg said, "It’s great to be part of something so positive".  I was impressed with Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins whose partner is Edyta.  Edyta is married but clearly enamored with him.  Sorry, my wife agrees. 

 

Steve Guttenberg has infectious warmth. He is a happy, nice guy and he ignites positively in everybody.  Adam Carolla was hysterical...funny and unpredictable in that he wasn't entirely "cool guy", he was vulnerable and real, as well as funny and "male". 

 

Cristian de la Fuente is very sexy.  He awoke a dormant pair of hips and my wife and I agree he will excel.  Privately, I'm sure you could get her to admit that he is gorgeous.

She may not have won "Dancing with the Stars" but Marie Osmond is certainly coming out on top becoming the first of the season five celebs to secure a prime deal for herself.

 

I said to someone, just after the finale, that I bet Marie will take another stab at a talk show - and wouldn't you know it,  I just received a press release that Marie unveiled plans for a new syndicated talk show at NATPE this morning.  This will be Marie's second run as a talk show host. She and her brother Donny hosted the syndicated "Donny and Marie" talk show which lasted two seasons. 

 

I knew something was up when a few weeks ago my producer friend Bryant and I were walking out of the NBC commissary and ran smack into Marie. I almost didn't recognize her. From far away I thought she was the new hot reporter KNBC had just hired! As we approached closer we hear her say, "Bryant, Bryant" and there is Marie looking slim and sexy.  She told us she was "taking meetings" on the lot.  Walking away we both agreed that a talk show was most likely in her future and we were right.

 

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