Disney Channel starlet Chelsea Kane has taken ABC’s hit series “Dancing With The Stars” by storm with her great looks, undeniable charm and of course, her excellent dance skills.
Chelsea took time out of her busy 10-hour a day dance rehearsal schedule to speak with GlobalGrind about her initial reservations of doing “DWTS,” her most challenging dance number and all the backstage antics of her celebrity co-stars.
Check out the exclusive interview below!
GlobalGrind: How does it feel to still be in the running for ‘Dancing With The Stars’?
Chelsea Kane: I am stoked. When I first signed on to the show, one of my biggest fears was that I would get sent home early just because nobody would know who I was. Coming from the Disney channel, there’s a very specific demographic. It’s an amazing demographic that is very supportive, but it is a little scary to think that the ‘Dancing With The Stars’ viewers are going to vote me off early and not get a chance to really know me. So I am very grateful that they have invited me in to their homes on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Did you have any dancing experience prior to the doing this show?
No, not like this. The closest that I have ever really come to dancing is doing theater in middle school and high school. I was always doing shows, but I was never the leading lady per se. I was always like chorus girl number 2. My choreography consisted of box steps and really simple things. This was definitely a huge undertaking.
What’s the most challenging part of being on ‘Dancing With The Stars’?
The amount of hours and the recoup time. We’re rehearsing up to 10 hours a day now and we haven’t had a day off since February. We’ve been dancing for three months straight. You definitely have those days where you need rest or you need to sleep in, but at this point in the competition you just can’t afford to have a day off.
Opening image courtesy of Wenn.com
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What can we expect to see from your next performance?
As you know, Mark and I have been very ‘out of the box’ with our performances. We’ve included a lot of moves that speak more to our generation, which have gotten us in trouble with the judges a few times. This week, we have two very traditional dances and songs, so we are definitely trying to keep it more on the conventional side. We are dancing the Rumba and the Argentine Tango, both of which are really sexy. So we’re just going for that vibe of the dances and hopefully it will pay off.
Have you gotten any injuries as a result of being in this competition?
I’ve been pretty lucky to not have gotten any major injuries outside of the sore muscles and bruises. But my partner Mark rolled his ankle during rehearsal. So that was scary. We try to take care of ourselves as much a possible by stretching, keeping the body warm and not taking any major risks during rehearsals.
Can you describe your very first day of practice?
My very first day consisted of me driving to the studio and literally contemplating every sort of injury or family emergency excuse that I could come up with so that I didn’t have to be in the show (laughs). All of a sudden it just hit me like a ton of bricks that I had to learn how to dance on national television and that I had no idea what I was doing. As soon as I met Mark, we hit it off. All of the anxiety I had was pretty much killed. We like the same music; we are close to the same age. We went through some basic steps, by the end of rehearsal, we were going out to lunch together and hanging out as buddies.
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What has been the most difficult number to pull off on the show?
I thought that our Posso was really difficult for many reasons. The Posso is a really technical dance. The position of your hands; your hips are forward in a weird way. It’s challenging enough as it is and when you add the hip-hop element of Deadmouse with some head bops, pop-and-locks and house moves, which are things that I’m not used to doing, inside high boots while wearing a lace jumpsuit with a cape. Also, you had to be very musical when listening to the song; our counts were on drum hits and guitar riffs so I really had to concentrate on a hundred things at once.
Out of all the contestants that were voted off, who were you most sad to see go?
It’s so hard every week to see someone go. This cast hit it off to a degree that I didn’t even think we’d be getting along this well. I was really sad to see Petra leave just because she’s so kind and she and I really hit it off and enjoyed hanging out. Also, Chris Jericho, who was sent home early on in the competition, he was such a good guy. Probably the hardest to see leave was Romeo. Romeo and Chelsea Hightower are fellow youngsters. We were the youngest people on the show, so we definitely had the closest relationship and friendship and hung out the most behind the scenes, so we kind of lost our buddies. Mark and Chelsea are best friends so he was bummed to see her go too. It was a sad Tuesday for us.
Can you share any funny backstage behind-the-scenes moments with us?
We are cracking up all the time! Mark and I are known for getting in trouble on the set, whether it be spinning the Price is Right wheel, which I didn’t realize that you’re not supposed to spin unless you’re on the show. We were on the same lot as that show, so security actually chased me off in my little cha-cha dress (laughs). We got in a water fight, which they actually ended up showing a clip of that on the show. We got in this huge fight for no reason at all. It was just a slow, tired day but then Mark randomly threw a cup of water in my face and it blew up into a huge water fight. We destroyed the studio, ended up getting in a lot of trouble for it. Just yesterday, I actually had a pizza party for our camera crew and some of the other dancers there, just because now everybody is lagging, so we all just hung out and had a little break.
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What has been your favorite moment being on ‘Dancing With The Stars’?
I think some of my favorite moments have been on performance night after you’ve done a good job; hanging out in ‘celebriquarium,’ the red glass room. It’s fun because we all just hanging out and cracking jokes. I know that I would never have crossed paths with Kirstie Alley, Hines Ward, any of these people, if I wasn’t on this show. I feel so honored to have met some of these people, like Ralph Macchio, people that I grew up watching. My dad is over the moon at the fact that I’m hanging out with Hines Ward. I’m not a sports girl at all; I pick teams based on who has the cutest colors. So, the fact that Hines Ward and I are going out for a drink Monday nights after the performances, my dad could not be more thrilled!
Do you have any other projects going on right now?
I’m working simultaneously on my cartoon ‘Fish Hooks.’ I’m one of the voices, so every week I go in there with Kyle Massey. I’m definitely excited to see what’s up next for me. I’ve missed out on a couple of shows because I have been working 24/7 on Dancing With The Stars. Once it’s over, I’m anxious to see what’s next.
Is there anything else you would like to say?
Thank you to everyone who has voted, supported and enjoyed our innovative choreography. Hopefully we will make it to the finals!
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Chelsea Kane arrives to practice for “Dancing With The Stars.”
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Chelsea Kane arrives to practice for “Dancing With The Stars.”
