Reflecting on Let's Dance
Throughout my dance career, I had always heard about "Dancing with the Stars" and its intriguing concept. Yet, the idea of being a part of it seemed like a distant dream. That was until one day when my childhood friend, Peter, with whom I had grown up dancing in the same dance studio in my hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia, reached out to me asking if I want to be featured in the show. He had not only won the show twice before but also now held the position of an assistant casting director, for "Dancing With The Stars" Slovakia.
At first, I had my doubts. The prospect of leaving behind my studio, students, and my work in New York for several months was daunting. But I decided to take the plunge, not knowing exactly what to expect. All I wanted was to dance well and bring to bear all the knowledge I had gained from teaching students and dancing in Pro-Am competitions in New York, and throughout the whole US for the past 13 years.
So where do I begin? What would be an interesting inside for the readers to know about what is it like to be on Dancing With The Stars from my own experience? You start with the audition, just like any other major TV show or dance production.You worry, do I have what it takes to be chosen for the show, you need to be approved by the director and producers, who are usually not a professional dancers, while you worry how good you dance, they are considering whether you are a good fit for the show or not, what does your performance look like in front of the cameras and how well you will perform in the numerous TV interviews you’ll be required to do. It is just not enough to be a great and accomplished dancer. I remember my first audition in New York, in my dance studio over zoom. It was great. I was asked to dance one quick dance of my choice and one slow one. And the rest is history....I guess they could see that I “can dance.”
Once they saw me dancing, the second question from the director was “do you have any experience in teaching non dancers how to dance?” Luckily for me, I was confident enough to say “yes I have, teaching and dancing Pro-Am competitions with my students is actually one of my favorite things to do, besides of dancing and performing myself.” I remember being super excited once they told me, I was hired for the show.
Upon my arrival in Bratislava, my hometown, I didn't immediately feel like I was back home. It took some time to acclimatize to the surroundings with my at this point very American mindset. However, as the show kicked into gear, even during the preparation phase, things started to feel real. Meeting now my celebrity partner for the first time, getting to know the new people behind the scenes, and diving into the world of TV business, it all began to take shape, aligning with what I had anticipated from a major TV project like "Dancing with the Stars” is, and relying on my experience as a teacher and Pro-Am dancer.
I was paired with one of the most known, accomplished and beloved actor in Slovakia and Czech Republic -Jan Kolenik. From the first moment I met him, not only was he incredibly handsome, but also very kind, funny, with great sense of humor, full of energy and strong charisma. I felt very comfortable and confident around him, almost as if he is matching my personality just right. I was very lucky, I got the best partner.
The point of the show, as everyone already knows, is to be able to teach a celebrity (who has had very little or no previous dance experience) how to dance and perform on a live TV show on a very compressed time schedule. I think everyone who is a dancer, professional or amateur, can agree that learning how to dance is not only pleasure and fun all the time, it also takes a lot of hard work, time, discipline, commitment, dedication, practice, and patience, especially if you are dancing at the competitive level. Now in the show you have to squeeze all of that into the span of a week. Before the show starts you have more time to introduce your celebrity to all the different dances and dance moves to get them prepared as much as possible. Those are usually the most energetic and exciting times you’re experiencing, at least it was for me, as you preparing for the opening of the show and the first round.
Once the show starts you have one week to choreograph a dance, teach it to your celebrity, and practice with the song chosen for you by the production. You begin to spend a lot of time with your celebrity working hard, putting as many hours in the day on the dance floor as you can possibly manage, and in many cases for the Slovakian celebrities in the show, they had to still perform their day jobs or take care of their families after the rehearsals. Safe to say, being in the show was another full time job for most of them. And it wasn’t any different for many of the professional dancers in the show either. In my case, I had the opportunity to focus all my energy and time to the show, having had full support of my family and friends.
It was lot of fun at the beginning. We all got to know each other, the dancers and celebrities: from hanging out at the welcome party and being introduced to all the details and information we would need to know before the start of the show. We all supported each other, living from week to week for the show, becoming friends with one another despite the days of stress and hard work. And then each week one couple got eliminated by the audience and judges and you felt sad for them knowing you’d miss them in the next week in the next round. We all became friends and wanted each other to succeed even if it’s a competition. At the end of the day, you know it’s also just a show and it will all end and you can still stay best friends afterwards.
It’s fascinating to me the level of skills you have to have or learn during the show; to be able not only choreograph, teach, and perform the dance with your celebrity, but also to engage them, motivate them, encourage them, teach them, handle the additional stress while staying humbled and positive in the process. Being able to handle individual personalities and work ethics of each other, in a very limited time frame. I remember the hardship and frustration Jan and I would sometimes have on Mondays, because it was the first day right after Sunday’s live performance when you are super exhausted, after the show which often wrapped after 1 AM, full of emotions, and now it’s a new week, new day, new music, new dance and you can’t stop. You need to put yourself together to get ready to start practicing and creating a new, interesting choreography again for the next round, and you know you have to stay physically and mentally strong to be able to succeed. The hardest part, and the key to making each routine interesting, was to come up with a concept or story for each routine. It wasn’t always easy, but somehow we always made it work.
Not all the celebrities are natural born or professional performers. The dancers had to teach some of them everything from how to smile, breathe, ignore or handle the pain of their bodies they going through, all of that in a week! And did I mentioned that the performance is LIVE?! You have one chance to perform your dance in front of camera, the judges and live audience. The pace got even more intense in the semifinal and final; we had to have two routines in one week to make up the time freed up from the dancers that were eliminated in previous rounds.
While we dancers may be used to that, not all the celebrities were used to it, especially if they were not actors or singers. I think it’s definitely challenging for both sides, but also a lot of fun and a new experience as well. I was lucky and happy to know that Jan was very well acquainted with the live performances and being in front of the cameras. It’s a project where everyone comes together and works together and creates something new, magical almost impossible at first, and get’s to show themselves in a different light. Showing the skill they’ve learned during the show and having an experience for the rest of their life.
I enjoyed every minute of it! Every aspect of the show, every new experience good and bad, feeling that I was born to do this. Reflecting on it now, I consider myself lucky and fortunate enough to have received this incredible opportunity. Not only did I get the chance to dance on a platform as grand as DWTS, but my celebrity partner was and still is one of the most renowned actor in Slovakia and the Czech Republic loved by so many. Beyond his fame, he proved to be a wonderful person with a great personality, big heart and strong work ethics. Also, the entire crew behind the cameras were the most amazing, creative people I got to know. The atmosphere of the show transformed it into an unforgettable experience in every imaginable way. I remember feeling like a princess sitting in the hair and make-up chair when they would be preparing us for the performance. The amount of attention and care I got to experience. It felt good to be taken care of, feeling like a superstar along side of actual celebrities.
Meeting so many new people and getting a glimpse into the world of show business taught me valuable lessons. I learned what truly matters, what is of lesser importance, and how to present myself as a professional dancer in a major dance TV show which “Dancing With The Stars” certainly is.
