A tangy tango tops a double-tough week
Dancing With the Stars pro Mark Ballas is paired with singer Katherine Jenkins; his report on tonight’s (ABC, 8 ET/PT) Latin week performance:
This week has been an epic one. We have had to do two dances — the Argentine tango and the cha cha — in case we are in the bottom two and need to dance for our lives.
That makes for a lot of pressure. It is also Latin week, so there will be a lot of fun, and some spicy Latin dance performances for the guys, which are the salsa, the samba and the Argentine tango.
Since we have had two dances to prepare, it has been challenging but fun. I have to admit I’ve been a little tougher on Katherine in the rehearsal studio. Hopefully we can impress the judges and you all with this dance. Our goal is to pick up those points we lost last week.
As you can gather from past weeks, I like to give Katherine different nicknames. This week I’ve named her the “Panther Snake,” because those two animals describe this tango’s movement the best. I love our costuming for this routine, too.
For each dance, I get to design our costumes and work with the wardrobe department on our look. The dance is set in the late 1800s/ early 1900s, and I kept the choreography as super-traditional to Argentine tango as I could. We have also incorporated a moving story that should really connect with the audience to make this passionate, sexy dance come to life.
I’m so proud of Katherine; she has done extremely well this week. I think my being tougher in rehearsal has paid off, and I’m looking forward to performing this dance. This style suits her well and she looks and feels very comfortable performing it.
This week we are dancing close to the beginning of the show too, so we’ll get to enjoy the other couples’ dances and the rest of the show. It’s much more relaxing that way!
As some of you may know, my mom had two different surgeries this week. Needless to say, it’s been stressful for me both professionally and personally. Both surgeries went well, and we should know more in the next 10 days. I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers — it means so much to our family.
Latin week is promising to be hot, so get ready for a great night! Tweet me @ markballas.