‘Real Housewives’ star dances to own beat

COMMENTARY when the brassy dance diva plays the Plaza Live on Monday, Dec. 10. Jayne has been described as the breakout star on the Bravo reality series, and she speaks with gratitude about the show.

“I love being in the cast, and ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ has afforded me a lot of opportunities,” said Jayne, who is also known as Erika Girardi, her married name. “I’m just happy to be there.”

She previewed season nine of the reality soap opera, which airs next year.

“It’s pretty explosive. I think we’re going to have a very good year,” Jayne said. “There’s some good drama and there a lot of changes in friendships, and shifting.” A trip to the French countryside was “just gorgeous,” she added.

Jayne said she couldn’t comment about co-star Lisa Vanderpump, who has acknowledged it was a difficult season. “I kind of floundered this season,” Vanderpump told “The Talk” on CBS. “I’m in most of the season, but it got a bit complicated.”

Beyond the tour and show, Jayne released the memoir “Pretty Mess” this year.

“This is the best time of my life. It’s probably the busiest time of my life as well,” she said. “‘Real Housewives’ has given me — Erika Girardi and Erika Jayne — a huge platform to perform and show what’s going on in my life.”

In the book, she writes about her humble beginnings in Atlanta, her life as a single mom and her friendship with attorney Tom Girardi, who became her husband and who is 33 years older.

“The book was a chance to just explain my story, where I’m from, what I’m thinking about, where all these ideas come from,” she said. “If I’ve inspired one person to go back to dance class or to school or whatever, then I’ve done my job.”

Jayne describes her career strategy as saying yes to everything. “When you say yes, great things come through the door,” she said. “You can’t say no when opportunity knocks, no matter how big or small. You can always do something better.”

She competed on “Dancing With the Stars” in Spring 2017 and said it was challenging. “I’m glad I did the show. I think it made me a better dancer,” Jayne said. She was eliminated fourth in a field of 12 (former NFL star Rashad Jennings won).

In a TV interview, Wendy Williams praised Jayne’s “unapologetic way of being so rich.”

“When you work hard, why should you apologize for anything in your life?” Jayne told me.

On the tour, fans can expect to hear such hits as “Painkillr,” “Stars” and “Pretty Mess.”

“I think the greatest thing about performing is the relationship between you as the performer onstage and the members of the audience — the exchange of energy,” she said. “All I’m there to do is to make people have a good time.”

Jayne performed on “The View” to help celebrate pal Meghan McCain’s birthday. “Meghan has gone through a lot this year with her father’s passing,” she said. “It was nice, on a friend’s level, to make her smile. That’s all I wanted to do. It was nice to see her smile.”