30th September 2007
Last weeks, relatively solid first-night performance by the women on "Dancing With the Stars," the men were no doubt feeling the pressure tonight (Tuesday).As the man had a very hard act to follow the determined women, Could this years champion be a woman? Well have to watch and see.
Indy Car champ Helio Castroneves was hands down the smoothest, smiley-est operator, dancing the foxtrot with defending DWTS champ Julianne Hough. They scored 25 out of 30. At first glance, this couple could . . . go . . . all . . . the . . . way!
On Monday Oct 1, we will get to see how Helio does in the Latin Dance, will Helio deliver?
Last weeks, relatively solid first-night performance by the women on "Dancing With the Stars," the men were no doubt feeling the pressure tonight (Tuesday).As the man had a very hard act to follow the determined women, Could this years champion be a woman? Well have to watch and see.
Indy Car champ Helio Castroneves was hands down the smoothest, smiley-est operator, dancing the foxtrot with defending DWTS champ Julianne Hough. They scored 25 out of 30. At first glance, this couple could . . . go . . . all . . . the . . . way!
On Monday Oct 1, we will get to see how Helio does in the Latin Dance, will Helio deliver?
Article from World Champion
Corky Ballas
Dancing with the Stars final was an exciting event that led me to write this article. As a former World Champion Latin American dancer I believe there is no other intensity like the intensity of being in the FINALS of a DANCE COMPETITION. The competitor is filled with so many mixed emotions; anger, sadness, happiness, nervousness, stress, silence, it is a collage of feelings racing and pacing through your mind, body and soul. The adrenaline is released countlessly throughout the entire event provoking an extreme anxiety. On top of this you have to perform in front of millions of people, judges, your competitors and past DWS Champions, such as Drew Lachey, Kelly Monaco and Emmitt Smith. Other big names were also in attendance; Mario Lopez, Karina Smirnoff, Heather Mills, Jerry Springer, Harry Hamlin. The audience and the competitors all know that anyone can win, there is no way to predict the outcome.
So what do you do? Hmmmmm,….. Do you cave in, let the stress take over your being? Do you ignore the facts and just let whatever happens happen? What you do? You do exactly as Julianne Hough and Apolo Anton Ohno did. As an Olympian gold medalist Apolo has trained his mind to handle this intense pressure, giving him the ability to stay focused. Julianne Hough the Junior World Champion Latin American dancer had also learned how to manage this stressful situation. For five years I was her guardian in London, coach and trainer, this young lady did exactly what Apolo has already been trained to do under pressure. This is why this couple won. What you do under pressure and how you handle the threshold determines how it is all going to pan out. Of course Apolo has become a pretty good dancer too, so combined with the great mental focus and the OUTSTANDING training from Julianne Hough, the combination from these two on the dance floor was a TOTAL DANCING NUCLEAR WEAPON!
Julianne and Apolo have taken the world by storm with a young, fresh, intelligent, responsible approach to the institution of DanceSport. They have presented themselves with respect and class for one another which attributed to the beautiful artwork they created in all of their performances over the past ten weeks. Show after show their innovation, sophistication and perspiration came through like a Symphony, “It’s not only the skill, but the will to press on”.
The last show of the season brought sadness for the competitors because it was ending, but also happiness because it was ending, a true double edged sword. "For me, this show coming to an end is a good thing," says Ali. Fatone said, he “was hurting after spending a week carrying his partner, Kym Johnson, on his left shoulder”. Apolo said on TV, "The last two weeks have been insane. We had three times the commitment with the show, and three times the media. Less time to rehearse and more dances. So everything is just crammed. There's been a lot of frustration."
Apolo and his partner, Julianne Hough, had more stress as before the show nothing seemed to work. This is totally normal before a major performance, and Old Murhpy’s Law was in play with Julianne and Apolo, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Wardrobe malfunctions during Monday afternoon's dress rehearsal: they got the costumes 20 minutes before they had to perform on national television, they were freaking out. "We couldn't get the bandanas to come out of the pockets,” says Hough. "I was in the makeup trailer, almost about to cry, you just want to go out there and perform, you don't want to have to think about your clothes."
The press has been all over Julianne Hough since she postponed her wedding to fiancé, Zach Wilson. He has been around the dance business a long time, and he knows how it works. He in no way feels threatened by Apolo and Julianne on stage, as Wilson, used to dance himself. If you didn’t know Julianne and Apolo personally and watched them perform you would automatically assume they are in love. But that is what a dance competition is all about, it’s about connecting with your partner, becoming one, and most of all looking like you’re enjoying each other’s company. If you are really into the art of it, the music takes over and you become bigger than life itself. Julianne says she and Wilson still plan to be married, but at a time when there's a little less happening in their lives. Julianne will be doing the tour, and is coming out with two record singles on May 29th to be released in all Wal-Mart’s and on I tunes. Julianne is not just a dancer she is a born performer,
Congratulations to Julianne and Apolo, you clearly deserved to win, you filled the shoes of a true champion, you both presented yourself with dignity, flare, excitement, and wonderful representation of the Ballroom Dance Business, I am proud of you both for an OUTSTANDING JOB.
Check out the bio section on http://www.juliannehough.net if you want to see how Julianne was shaped, molded and pruned for this environment, it’s amazing how she grew up at such a young age pursuing her dreams. I am very proud of her.
Corky Ballas
Former 8 Times United States Champion
Former World Champion
Author of Dance Books
Producer of Ballroom Music CDs Passion Series
Fellow and Examiner with I.S.T.D.
Owner of Learning2dance.com the only online website that teaches you how to dance
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