Great Interviews With Martina Navratilova And Tony Dovolani Leading Up To DWTS Premiere
What a cool interview with Martina Navratilova. After Ellen asks her how she’s dealing with the sudden attention of her new gig on Dancing With The Stars. Martina says it’s kind of weird as she is not a self promoter. They also ask her about rehearsals, her past dance experience, the competition and much more. Here’s is just a small take of it. I love how she surprised herself with having great legs. So cute. Thanks to PureDWTS reader Jennifer for bringing this fun interview to our attention.
AfterEllen.com: My first question is, how are you dealing with all this sudden attention due to the show?
Martina Navratilova: You know, I don’t hoard attention, so it’s just kind of weird. All the press and everything that I’ve done was always for a tournament, an endorsement, a charity event, or whatever I was doing. I’ve never tried to find attention [for myself]. My manager wants me to blog and Twitter and all this dancing stuff. I just started to Twitter now! I haven’t even tweeted until now. He said “You need to do more!”I was like, “Ahhh! I’m not a self-promoter!” I just want to dance and have a good time.
AE: Did the show come to you or did you put your name in a hat? How did it all come about?
MN: They’ve been asking me for years but I kept saying “No way! I can’t see myself in those high heels.” But then I found out the heels are not that high and once I kind of got over that I thought “Okay, I can do the dress.” And when I put the dress on, I was like, “Oh my God! I’ve got great legs!”It was a revelation to me. My girlfriend has been trying to get me to wear dresses and I’m like, “That’s not me.” She’d say, “But you have great legs!” So I put on the dress and was like, “I do have good legs!”
ArcaMax has a new interview up wtih Tony as well where he dishes about the similarities of he and Martina’s careers and how much he deeply respects her.
“We completely relate on every level,” Tony declares. “We’re both living the American dream. After coming here from other countries, we both love the American way. We’ve both competed for the U.S. in international competitions.”
Dovolani came here from his native Kosovo at age 15 and is certainly at home here. “Put it this way: My kids are totally American,” he says. His many achievements outside “DWTS” include 2005 and 2006 World Rhythm Championships. Of course, 59-time Grand Slam titles winner Navratilova also came here as a teen. She famously asked the U.S. for political asylum at age 18 and was subsequently stripped of her Czechoslovakian citizenship.
Beyond the shared Eastern European roots and elite competitions, Dovolani deeply admires Navratilova on a personal level. Asked how she compares to past partners such as Chynna Phillips, Wendy Williams, Jane Seymour, Kate Gosselin and Melissa Rycroft, he points out, “None of the others has gone through what she’s gone through. She has a different soul, a different way,” he adds of Navratilova, who is also a breast cancer survivor. “It’s not just that she’s a gay activist, but she came out at a young age at a time very few people came out, and she said, ‘Accept me for me.'”
You can read the full story at ArcaMax.
Picture above courtesy of Martina and her twitter.
ADDING: AARP has a great new interview up with Martina. You can read it here.
ADDING 2: Below are some new interviews with Access Hollywood as well;
Thanks Vogue! I hope she does well. I know she will give it her all.
GREAT interview! “I do have good legs!” LOL! This is a woman who wore short tennis dresses for decades, and she never thought about what her legs look like! So many people don’t realize that Martina has always had that sense of humor that’s so evident in the interview. She is a living legend, so she does have that pride of accomplishment, but she can take a step back and poke fun at herself too. She is obviously looking and feeling great. I hope she and Tony go far and have a blast!
Another interview has been added to the first post. It’s great too!! Thanks for your thoughts, Guys, and I agree. She’s a living legend!
Haven’t gotten to the Access video yet, but I love the articles. So impressed with her direct answers. She states her opinion known without sounding confrontational or complaining. For example, her comment that she’s sure there are a couple ringers in the cast. 😉 Her definition of ringer probably is not as nuanced as ours, but still, she made her point without calling anyone out. I also got a kick out of the fact that she’s following the odds-makers, knows she’s a long-shot, and it doesn’t bother her. Go Martina!!!
Did she say she had Foxtrot Lessons at age 14? LOL She’s a ringer. Just Joking.
I hope these two stick around for a while, watching Martina transform into a lady and a dancer could be quite a remarkable journey to watch.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/martina-navratilova-says-shes-underdog-dancing-stars-195944976.html
That picture in the article is AMAZING.
Gawsh, You sure can’t say Martina isn’t getting any press unlike some of Tony’s other partners, and shes tweeting alot too. Can’t wait to see ALL the couples Monday. 🙂
Martina got to do to Billy what i’ve wanted to do for tears. Abuse him with a ping pong ball! 😛 Also, a nice little homage to her Tennis legendary-ness. Love her 🙂
Vin, thanks for the link. I love how they captured the light from her earring. Too cool!!
Zach, at the beginning of the week, it seemed we weren’t hearing anything from this camp. I’m so glad they are ending the week on high note with promotion. Yes!!!
Cidra and Sally, well said and I so agree!
That ping-pong game was my most enjoyable experience ever with Billy and Kit 🙂
Love Martina and Tony! Hoping their one of the biggest surprises for season 14!
Guess I”ll have to quit knocking Billy and Kit – they let Tony and Martina talk and ended up with a great interview, with interesting input from both Martina and Tony – who seem very comfortable together and appear to be having a blast, at the same time working hard and very focused. Amazingly, M says she’s almost painfree – and these 2 go skiing or play tennis for dancing warmup!!!! Geeesh.
Many posters have commented eloquently on Martina’s admirable attitude, her groundedness, sense of humor, and the fact that she’s been battled tested in so many ways and in so many different areas throughout her life.
As someone who remembers her when she was a troubled (tho obviously talented) teen – so volatile, so easily hurt, emotional, trying to deal with many challenges at once- I just shake my head in admiration every time I hear her talk. Of course Chris Evert was more accessible to many American tennis fans in those days – Martina sometimes came across as a hot mess, except of course on the tennis court.
But look at her now! SMH A woman of impressive accomplishments, both on and off the courts. I hope whatever happens in her DWTS journey that Martina is pleased with herself and has a whole lot of fun.
One of Billy and Kit’s better interviews, for sure! I really enjoy the easy camaraderie and respect that exists between Martina and Tony.
Faby, I second your wish for Martina to be satisfied with what she accomplishes on the show and to have a great time. I hope Tony has prepared her for how incredibly callous the illustrious judges can be with their comments. She’s a strong, confident person now, but still it could ruin her experience if she pays too much attention to the 3 Stooges.
Yep, Cidra, I think about how the judges might affect Martina,too. In years past many of the athletes seem to have had more difficulty adjusting to the judging and the judges’ comments than, say, performers, as athletes are used to having victory measured in scoring more points, amassing more yardage, running or swimming faster, etc. – all very clear cut.
It’s up to Tony to prepare her, as you say. And we can always hope that the judges will minimize the malarkey and give us consistency, fairness, constructive comments, respect for the incredible effort it is to compete in this show. In my book that doesn’t seem too much to ask for, but then, we know better by now.
Amen Faby and Cidra! Couldn’t agree MORE! Well said!!!
Millie, I hope they are the surprise of the season as well! *crossing fingers*
Wouldn’t it be nice if DWTS didn’t have the judges for one show and let the viewers decide how the couples danced?
Indeed Winter!!
You actually trust the viewing audience???? I sure as hell don’t. They’re no better than the judges, when you get right down to it. Actually, 9 times out of 10, the judges do better. It was voters that sent Chynna, Kristen, Sabrina and other really good dancers home early, not the judges.
So true too! Good point!!
I will be rooting for them.
Chris Evert tweeted the the 16th: “Flying to LA to support Martina on DWTS.. So excited.. Go Martina!”
SO happy to see Martina getting support from the tennis world!
tennischannel.com, where Martina is an analyst, has a couple of good clips on her:
with Tony- http://www.tennischannel.com/video/#ooid=t0bXYyNDqEUv9NjR5_qvHx4-sKiGq5-7
Billie Jean King on Martina – http://www.tennischannel.com/video/#ooid=czYTE2NDr_k3M1m285_c3RzI4fiV3iOk
a few ladies on the WTA wishing Martina good luck – http://www.tennischannel.com/video/#ooid=w1dmw1NDoZf-1SDFsnWvEYhjlZBdMUCQ
some tennis fans wishing Martina luck – http://www.tennischannel.com/video/#ooid=t2bXYyNDpENwQb7-YDOjQ9slaVjgiY2e
Sorry if these have already been posted!
Awesome May! Thank you!!
So exciting to hear Chris Evert will be there to support her! I’d love to see her on the show someday too!
I’m loving that too Meggie. Can’t wait to see Chris in the audience!!
I always thought Chris might do the show, so it’s so exciting to see that she will be there on premiere night.
Many probably don’t remember (or weren’t born yet, unlike Moi)!!, but these two were BIG newsmakers and legends in their time. Stiff competitors, who actually were not bitter enemies (as the world may have thought) but very good friends.
Is it Monday night yet? I can’t remember when I was so excited for a cast on DWTS…
So many good comments on the Martina threads! I can’t keep up with all the clips and interviews about Martina these days, but I’m thankful to see such a buzz about her. And Chrissie will be in the audience to cheer her on! Yay!
#26 Sandy – I agree that many younger people don’t even know who Martina and Chris are, so they have no idea how legendary those two are in terms of women’s sports. The term “legend” is overused these days, but they and Billie Jean King helped to put women’s sports on the map — not just tennis, but WOMEN’S SPORTS. And yes, although Martina and Chris were the ultimate rivals on the court, they were always very good friends behind the scenes. Can’t wait to see Chris in the ballroom! 🙂
According to Tony they are dancing 9th probably here’s their number 1-800-868-3409