By Mark Ballas, Special for USA TODAY
Last season, Dancing With the Stars professional and two-time champion Mark Ballas chronicled the ups and downs of Team Ballin (his nickname for himself and partner Bristol Palin). Ballas, 24, who is also a musician, is back with his USA TODAY journal once more, this time as part of Team KanenBall, which has him teamed with Disney Channel actress Chelsea Kane. You can find his dispatches here on Wednesdays following the Tuesday night results show, and on weekends when he'll let us know how practice for the next performance is going.
Courtesy of Mark Ballas
Producer Adam Raia tapes Mark and Chelsea as they start working on their Samba during Wednesday practice session.
Courtesy of Mark Ballas
Producer Adam Raia tapes Mark and Chelsea as they start working on their Samba during Wednesday practice session.
April 15
It's been a hectic week, and everything is gearing up for Monday again.
This Monday marks the end of the first half of the season. Despite Team Kanenball being the final couple saved on last week's show, I feel confident that we're gearing up for a strong run. Chelsea has been almost flawless on her last three dances, and I think she's establishing herself as the celeb to beat as the competition heats up. Our score of 26, the highest of the season thus far for any couple, just backs that up. But as we've seen on shows that require the fan vote, we deeply rely on our fans to support us.
Just like Chelsea thrived in her other two Latin dances (Cha Cha and Jive), she's done a great job picking up the choreography and principles of Samba. We started choreography on Wednesday, and I finished it on Thursday afternoon. By Thursday night we were on a roll with our routine and we'll use the weekend to put the finishing touches on it so the dance is performance ready. We have a really fun song and a cool theme for America Week. I hope you like it!
As the season progresses, there are more and more requirements for press. This is partly because there are fewer teams to share the commitments, but also because the remaining teams are under more scrutiny. I love doing media, but it's certainly still work. As the pressure rises, we find ourselves trying to squeeze everything in, with our priority being rehearsals. On Thursday we were up at 6:30 a.m. for an interview with Access Hollywood. After that, I went straight to the rehearsal studio to finish our Samba choreography. In the afternoon, it was on to another interview for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, followed by four hours of rehearsal until almost midnight. It was a long day, butI'm certainly not complaining!
My career requires a lot of long days and time management, but I'm grateful to be able to do what I love for a living: entertaining people through the arts. The support from our fans make the exhausting days seem shorter and the chaotic schedule worth it. I am also aware that my career as a dancer allows me to pursue my passion, which is music. My advice to anyone that isn't happy in what you're doing for a living: find a way to do what you love. It's that passion that makes it all worth it.
Speaking of my career, it's been a fun week of promoting my new CD, HurtLoveBox. All the work in releasing an album comes from the recording, re-recording, writing, and touring processes. Once the album comes out it's like a weight off your shoulders. The stress now is in hoping everyone likes the music, which is truly a piece of my heart and so personal to me.
After the long days, short nights, countless interviews, fittings, charity commitments, press, re-fittings, CD promotion, and of course rehearsals, we're really grateful to have the opportunity to beat our top score from last week. Chelsea continues to improve every week, and I can't wait to roll out our new dance for all of you! Go Team Kanenball!
April 13
Encore! After the last 24 hours I've had, it's a perfect ending to have capped it off with an encore performance. Everyone should be so lucky!
I have to admit, I feel a bit vindicated from our low Jive scores after getting the top score last night, especially since they both were so creative. Getting chosen for the encore dance in the Results Show just adds the cherry on top! I haven't had an encore since last season with Bristol and I really appreciated being able to perform our Viennese Waltz for everyone again tonight. I was looking forward to donning that wizard hat again. It's ridiculous, but I love that hat so much I took it home with me!
As always, Chelsea nailed the dance and I'm really proud of her. This season, I've been pouring my heart and soul into coming up with creative and innovative choreography because I know Chelsea can handle it. She trusted the quirks and originality that I added to a very classic dance, and the judges finally rewarded us. We're in Season 12 and at this point, our audience has a high dance IQ. It's all about entertaining the audience and not recycling the same dance. Monday night's score was such sweet redemption for us.
When we were put in the bottom two on the Results show, I was truly surprised and I thought I was going to have a lot more free time to promote my album than I originally had planned. Getting the Encore, but landing in the bottom was crazy and just shows that regardless of the judges, the viewer votes really do matter. But, with the fan support I've received for the album and finishing with the top score on Monday night, I still felt confident.
Sugar Ray is an American icon and I'm sad to see he and Anna go. I've known Anna my whole life, so I really feel for her. Sugar Ray is extremely nice and caring to everyone backstage, and is just an absolutely lovely person. They will definitely be missed.
Speaking of America, next week is America week. I can't think of a more all-American Girl to shine than that adorable, hard-working girl next door; the blond cutie Chelsea Kane. We have a fun dance to choreograph and learn: the Samba. Have you ever been to Carnival in Brazil? Or seen footage of the millions of people dancing in the streets of Rio de Janiero? Samba's the bouncing dance that you'll see everyone dancing. It is very rhythmic and the only Latin dance that permits bent legs, aside from the Jive.
I started my morning on Tuesday at 5 a.m., calling radio stations across the country to spread the good word about HurtLoveBox. Had I known it would have gone down like it did tonight, I would have been thanking all the fans on the air this morning. It's been a long 24 hours with the promotion of the album release, the ups of our scores Monday night and the downs of our nerve-wracking finish on Tuesday. It's time to get some rest before getting back at it Wednesday morning. Thanks for all your support and let's keep this strong streak going. Go Team Kanenball!
April 8
Back to the grind. It's been a good week of rehearsals thus far, and a productive and fun week outside of the studio. This season is really speeding along, as we're approaching the halfway point already. As they say, time flies when you're having fun!
On Monday, we're dancing the Viennese Waltz. This dance is a smooth dance with a lot of turns and is very beautiful and classic when done right. Unlike the Jive and Cha Cha, we had the past two weeks, which were fast paced and energetic, you'll see the graceful and elegant side of Chelsea ? a side she pulls off flawlessly. It's movie theme week and it's been so much fun at rehearsal getting to hear the songs from movies that have been on the soundtrack to many of our lives. I can't tell you what Team Kanenball's movie theme is, but you'll definitely recognize the song and know the movie.
Our rehearsal schedule got changed up a little bit this week. That was done to accommodate two very important personal things on my schedule on Thursday and Friday. My cousin Mary, who's like a little sister to me, is in town from England for two weeks during her spring break from college. On Thursday night, Mary, my mom and I all got tattoos together.
We decided to get the tattoos as a memorial to my late Uncle David (Mary's dad and my mom's only sibling), who we lost to suicide over six years ago. Uncle David was like a father to me when I was growing up, helping to raise me when my mom and dad traveled the world competing professionally in dance competitions. We miss him more and more every day.
On Friday after rehearsal, I'm shooting another music video. I wrote the song All For Nothing for my cousin Mary when she was left without her father at the young age of 11. It is emotional, dark and gut wrenching, but performing it helps shine a light at the end of the tunnel for friends and family members who've been affected by suicide. It's going to be a long, stressful and painful day Friday, but honoring my uncle makes it worth it.
As always, I'm anxious for Monday to get here, so I can show 20 million of my closest friends the dance we've prepared. Tuesdays make me anxious for the exact opposite reason, because I don't want the show to end for my partner and me. But I can't wait for this Tuesday, in that same "Is-Christmas-here-yet?" feeling that kids have.
On Tuesday, April 12th, my debut solo album, HurtLoveBox, is finally being released in stores! My fans have been waiting for this day for months, and I'm so happy to announce that the day is finally here. Professionally, this might just be a blip on the radar in the long run for me, but personally, it's one of my proudest moments as an artist.
A lot goes in to getting a CD released by a label, and so many talented musicians aren't ever blessed with this opportunity. I greatly appreciate all the support I receive from my fans from Dancing With The Stars, fans of my music, and fans of performers in general. It's a clich�, but the fans really do make what I do possible.
Speaking of fans, it's time to put the finishing touches on this Viennese Waltz for our fans on Monday. We look forward to another solid performance and hope you love it! If you want to check out our Cha Cha from last week, you can watch it at Youtube.com/markballasmusic. Go Team Kanenball!
April 6
And we live to dance another week!
Let me explain to you what it's like, having to stand there on stage in front of the world, publicly put on trial for your dancing sins. I spend the whole day feeling confident, through dress rehearsal, then I freak out and become very anxious and nervous about five minutes before we go on stage. My nerves are a lot easier on me if we scored 10s the night before, or dance the encore in the Results show. Otherwise I feel like this every Tuesday night. Oh, and Tom and Brooke making us wait what seems like an eternity before announcing certainly exacerbates the situation, and makes them the meanest people in the world!
I left early a year ago, in Season 10 with Shannen Doherty. It sucks. I feel really badly for Tony and Wendy. Tony's like a brother to me, since I've known him most of my life. Tony's also my next-door neighbor backstage, with our trailers immediately across from one another. It'll be lonely on the block without you, Tony! And Wendy was hilarious backstage, always making everyone laugh. She was the larger-than-life personality on this season, and she's already missed. Great job, Wendy and Tony!
What did you think about our Cha Cha? I was thrilled with how Chelsea performed on Monday. I always feel like we deserve higher scores, but I guess that's why I'm not a judge! I thought she was flawless, and the choreography was fun and exactly what the judges wanted: very traditional Cha Cha, but young and fun at the same time, which is just like Chelsea Kane. Great job, partner!
Dancing with the other Chels (pro Chelsie Hightower), was awesome tonight. I really enjoy dancing with the other pros. While it requires more time away from our celebrity partners to prepare for Monday's dance, it's so much fun to let it fly! Naturally, we professionals dial it back a bit with our celeb partners, as any of them would look bad if we danced all out. I must say though, I'm not holding back much with Miss Kane at this point, and we've only finished Week 3!
What are my thoughts on the other dancers this week? Hines and Kym's dance had a lot of energy, and was worthy of the encore. Petra and Dmitry's dance was beautiful and clearly from her heart, and Kendra and Louis had a great night as well. As for Maks and Kirstie, everybody falls sometime. I thought that they picked it up gracefully and finished strong.
My show at the Mint was great on Monday night. I appreciate the support I got from everyone from the cast who attended. And based on how she was dancing during my set, it appears I have a supermodel as my biggest fan. That's right: Petra doesn't need a ballroom to dance well, and I really had fun watching her have such a good time. You can dance at my shows anytime you want, Petra!
HurtLoveBox comes out on April 12th. That's six days! It's been available through digital download for a few weeks already, and I'm excited for it to hit stores. I'm really proud to finally get to this point, as many of the songs have been in the works for years. I'm so happy that my producer, Rob Chiarelli, saw my vision and brought the songs to life!
All right, Kananballers, time to run. I have to get some rest since I'll be up early to choreograph our dance for next week, the Viennese Waltz. I have two fun things happening this week, but I'll tell you about them on Friday. Thanks for your support and we look forward to wowing you again next week!
April 1
Can you feel that? It's definitely getting hot in here.
Just like the heat wave that hit Los Angeles this week, this season is really starting to heat up. After the first elimination, everyone is reminded that this is a competition. Sure, I have fun bonding with Chelsea while teaching her the new choreography for the week, and I'm sure the other couples are enjoying it, too. But at the end of our week, someone goes home. That takes the fun right out of it. The clock is ticking and we have a dance to learn and make perfect. There are less laughs and more stiff brows in rehearsal as we hunker down and see who can get through Tuesday's elimination.
I say it a lot ? maybe even in every journal so far ? but Chelsea is doing so great. She's pretty quick to pick up the choreography and is excellent at bringing her personality out to shine during the performance. I've re-watched our Jive from last week several times and she really nailed it. I wouldn't expect any celebrity partner to be so exact in Week 2. She delivered a performance worthy of Week 8, and only on five total weeks of training. She blew me away and, because of it, I'm going to drastically raise my expectations of her. Buckle up Chelsea, I think we're going to take this competition to the next level!
This week we have the Cha Cha, which is faster than the Foxtrot (Week 1) and slower than the Jive (Week 2). As I write this we've had only two days of rehearsal so far, but I like our progression at this point. Two more days to get it performance-ready, then it's time to wow everyone on Monday.
This week, I haven't had much free time away from work. My cousin Sal has been in town from Houston, so it's been great spending some time with him. He comes out every Dancing With The Stars season. I dragged him to an event Thursday night that I performed at in Century City, for the opening of the Sony Style store. I was really excited to play at this party because I'm a member of the Sony family, with HurtLoveBox being released by Sony Red. I also got to see a lot of friends, as Melissa Joan Hart, Lisa Rinna, Ali Fedotowsky (The Bachelorette), Chelsie Hightower, Damon Wayans, and Adrian Grenier were all there. It was a good warm up with my drummer, Joel Alpers, since we begin a seven-week residency at the Mint in Los Angeles on Monday nights after Dancing With The Stars.
Speaking of HurtLoveBox, the music video for my song Hotwire was released this week. Did anyone catch it? You'll probably recognize the leading lady in the video if you did. The shoot was a lot of fun, as we were running all around downtown Los Angeles. I'm thrilled to finally get the video out there!
All right, back to the grind. Miss Kane is giving me that look. You know, the one where you're ready to get back to work and your co-worker is holding you back? Yes, that look. By the time Monday gets here, Team Kananball will be dressed to impress and movin' and groovin'!
March 30
Results night is always hard on the nerves, but tonight was stressful, knowing I put Chelsea in a vulnerable position with my choreography choices. It was going to be hard to watch any couple get eliminated and I was sad to see Lacey (Schwimmer) and Mike (Catherwood) be the first to go. The growth in all the couples from the first week 'til this week was probably the most dramatic I have seen during my time on the show. This cast has so much talent and there was not a couple that deserved to go tonight, but that's how the show works!
A lot of people have been asking me if the choices I made were worth the risk. The answer? I struggle over the position it put Chelsea in and the stress it caused her; however, I don't regret utilizing everything Chelsea has to give. Chelsea has unbelievable skills and to not maximize those skills would be unfair to her and our audience. Besides, what our audience has yet to have the chance to see in Chelsea but, watched in Bristol last season, is that unbelievable work ethic and desire to be the best they can be.
As a pro, having that quality in your partner not only makes it easier for you to take risks, you jump at the opportunity to go for it. Last season, I would tell people that if I could take Bristol's heart, passion and dedication, and put them into someone who has the physical ability to be a professional dancer, you would witness the most amazing experience. This season, I got just what I asked for in Chelsea. I can't wait for you all to enjoy watching her talent unfold each week.
Since DWTS and my personal life go hand in hand, I can't reflect upon one without the other. I've been thinking about our Jive a lot since last night and I keep going back to the process of making my album. The album has a little bit of everything in it and we pushed boundaries the same way I did in the Jive.
But it confuses people in the music business when you do that, because they like to put things into categories. For example, what radio format does it fit? It's a lot like how the judges wished our Jive was more textbook for their evaluation process. For my record, I was fortunate to be in the hands of a great producer, Rob Chiarelli, something that I never had the opportunity to do before.
I was able to trust him in getting my vision down without ending up with a record that was all over the map. He took that vision, helped pushed the boundaries I was pushing, and yet stayed within the framework. Rob has the experience, wisdom and creativity to do that. The celebs on DWTS need us to be that person for them and I actually thought I did that with the Jive.
From the audience and fan response to our performance, our mission was accomplished. Not to mention my mom's critique! She is the best in the world at instructing dancers and when we watched the performance again after the show, she saw 75% Jive, 25% entertainment and lots of details. It takes a lot to impress my mom and we blew her away with our creativity. That meant a lot to me.
Right or wrong our Jive was an expression of both of us and it took our energy, our love to dance and infused all of that into something we walked away very proud of. Chelsea worked her butt off in rehearsals last week and it showed in our performance ? she nailed it. Before the show, a very special person in my life reminded me that it's the little things in life that matter. Chelsea and I walked off the dance floor knowing we took a risk, but also knowing killed it! My dear friend is right ? it is the little things.
Thanks for listening to me express and defend my choices. But, after having written it, I really hope it encourages people out there wanting to do their best. Don't be afraid of the boundaries, respect them, but go for it!
Enough of all this deep talk. Week Two is done and I'm off to start on our next dance: the Cha Cha! Have a great week and Go Team Kanenball!
March 25
Is it Monday yet? Most people don't look forward to Mondays at all. That's certainly not the case with me as I never have a "case of the Mondays"! Monday is our day to shine and to put all of our hard work from the week on display for the masses. We focus on training hard during the week so we can give our best performance on the Monday show. That way we're at peace with the decision of the fans on Tuesday's results show. No regrets!
The competition is really heating up now that the first show is behind us. Instead of weeks to get a dance performance-ready, we have only a few days. That's a considerable difference, of course, and it really creates a sink-or-swim scenario for the celebs. The pressure increases, and so does the scrutiny of the judges and fans.
Our in-season rehearsal schedule goes like this: after the Tuesday result show, I choreograph the dance for the next week. Then on Wednesday, I teach the dance to my partner. Thursday we repeatedly go over the dance to learn it forward and backward. On Friday, I put the finishing touches on the choreography, to make it really pop. On Saturday and Sunday, we squeeze in rehearsal time when we can to keep the dance sharp, but we also have interviews, wardrobe fittings, camera blocking, and other requirements. Then on Monday, we have dress rehearsal with the whole cast before going live at 5:00 p.m. That gives us about four days from the conception of choreography to being performance-ready on Monday!
As I mentioned the last time I wrote, we have the Jive this week. That dance typically is difficult for the celebs (and anyone) to pick up, especially quickly. It's considerably faster than the Foxtrot that we had in Week 1. As a dance teacher I try to slow down the choreography into its basic steps, then I compare those steps to what Chelsea has already learned from our Foxtrot training. Chelsea is a really quick study and picks up the choreography after a few passes. Then we have to tweak it, personalize it, coordinate our movement, perfect it, and perform it.
Our jive is going to be really fun ? it's very unconventional. When I think about it, it might be the most detailed Jive I've ever done in eight seasons on Dancing With The Stars. I'm really looking forward to breaking it out this week! I'm thrilled with how well Chelsea has picked up the choreography and really owned it. Our song is a cool number that I've always really liked, which helps to become engaged in the dance.
Despite our rigorous schedule, I do get some time away from dancing. For those new to this journal, I've been a musician for as long as I've danced. I started ballroom at age ten, which is when I started Flamenco guitar lessons. For me, music and dance go hand in hand and you can't have one without the other. On Thursday night, I played an acoustic show at the House of Blues on The Sunset Strip. Derek (Hough) came out to support and it was a really fun show. It?s always great to get out of the office and relax. Performing music does that for me.
Time to rehearse with the other half of Team Kanenball. Is it Monday yet?
March 23
What an exciting night! The first show is always a lot of fun. After three months of wondering whom my partner would be and another three weeks of rehearsals to teach her the Foxtrot, I'm so happy that Season 12 is finally here!
I'm so proud of Chelsea. She did an amazing job on Monday night. Dancing With The Stars is quite daunting, even to a performer with her extensive resume. It's one thing to learn and nail down a routine in rehearsal. It's a completely different animal to perform and execute that choreography in front of 20 million people.
Chelsea didn't miss a step, which was exactly what I was hoping for. I thought her personality really came through as well, and the judges rewarded us with a great score! And to be the first up only adds to the challenge. We learn the order of the lineup the day before, so we had 24 hours to get those butterflies in our stomachs under control. On the flipside, the rest of the show was a blast after we performed and scored well.
During the rehearsal weeks before the season premiere, I'm really focused on my partner and don't see or interact with the other teams much. Some of the couples train out of town, and we're all on different schedules. It was awesome seeing the other couples perform finally. Now that we've got our feet wet, I'll be seeing the other cast members daily and can't wait to spend time with them, and sizing up who my competition is!
It's tough to say which couples will do well overall based on one dance. Some people excel at Latin techniques; others are great with fast choreography; some shine with slower steps. But I will say that Ralph (Macchio) and Kirstie (Alley) really nailed their dances on Monday! I also really liked Romeo (Miller) and Chelsie (Hightower)'s dance and Hines (Ward) and Kym (Johnson) look to make a strong run. Judge Len was hilarious with his comments to Hines!
Those of you that follow me closely know that I'm recently obsessed with the DJ Deadmau5 (pronounced "Dead Mouse"). Well this past Saturday night I went to his secret concert in downtown Los Angeles and had so much fun! Derek (Hough) and Chelsea joined me and it was a night that I'll not forget anytime soon. Just like we all remember our first concert experience, I'll certainly remember my first Deadmau5 show. It's inspiring me to learn how to make music like he does. Maybe I'll name myself DJ Living Rodent? Kidding!
Okay, back to dancing with Miss Kane. This week, we have the Jive. We've been working on this dance for a week or so already, and I'm really looking forward to getting it performance- ready in the next few days. I have all the confidence in the world in Chelsea after she came out and danced her heart out on Monday. So please tune in on Monday and don't forget to vote from your phone, your friend's phone, your parents' phone, your daughter's phone, your neighbor's phone, and even a stranger's phone and vote for your inside man, Team Kanenball!
March 18
Welcome back! I'm so happy to be able to share my thoughts and inside information with you again this season. Last Fall, Season 11, was a blast and I'm really looking forward to Season 12!
It's been nearly four months since I've checked in, so let me catch you up on what I did in between Seasons 11 and 12. Right after the whirlwind of the finals and traveling to New York for Good Morning America and The View, I went straight into the ballroom dance theatrical show Burn The Floor for three weeks. That was an extremely fun production and I can't wait to do another run with them soon.
Starting in January I did a six week music tour to support my new CD HurtLoveBox. We traveled throughout the East Coast and Midwest, enduring many blizzards and extreme weather. I played 33 shows in 35 days, in 16 states and the District of Columbia. It was a grueling trip, but so worth it ... That's rock 'n' roll, baby!
After the tour, I took a relaxing vacation (my first in four years) back to England to see my Nan. I was raised in England, but haven't been back to visit my family and friends since I started Dancing with the Stars. It was a lot of fun and it makes me miss everyone I saw even more, but the trip was exactly what I needed to recharge for another run at the Mirrorball Trophy!
At the end of February, we met our partners and I was thrilled when I found I'd be partnered with Chelsea Kane. She works really hard, is full of energy, has a sense of rhythm and is absolutely lovely. Chelsea's been so much fun to spend time with ? it's impossible to be in a bad mood around her! We get along great, although, I do annoy her by constantly sending her photos of this DJ I've become obsessed with, Deadmau5. He wears gigantic neon mouse heads, which I find hilarious.
When Chelsea found out I was shooting a music video for Hotwire a few weeks ago, she offered to be in it. We had a blast filming, especially since Chels just goes with the flow. The video will be released in a few weeks and I'm super excited about it.
Back to dancing ? I'm looking forward to wowing the judges and the fans this season with her ? I think we make a great team.The Foxtrot is our first dance and we've been working to perfect it these past two weeks.
I haven't spent a lot of time around the other couples yet, but as soon as the show starts, we'll be hanging out a lot. Some of the teams that I think will do well this season are Hines and Kym (the footballers always do well), Chris and Cheryl (the only other multi-champ on the show), Romeo and Chelsie (he can move and has to avenge his father), and Petra and Dmitry (welcome back D!).
Here's what I'm aiming for this season: having fun, entertaining everyone, and making a run at my third Mirrorball Trophy.
Kelly Monaco Jill Wagner Michelle Obama Sarah Mutch Michelle Malkin
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