DWTS14 Week 6 Melissa Gilbert Dishes On The Viennese Waltz, The Dance Duel, and More

Melissa Gilbert tells TV Guide that even though the Viennese Waltz is a slower dance the learning process hasn’t been any easier. Despite that, Melissa says the dance is going “really well” and she’s having a lot of fun. That’s one major thing I’ve loved about Melissa and her spirit through out the season is that she’s having so much fun on this show no matter what’s thrown at her. She seems to understand and get along with Maks more than many of his partners too. Details below on how rehearsals are going as well her thoughts on the Dance Duel and the judges scorings….

How’s the Viennese waltz going? You finally get to do a slow dance!
Gilbert: [Laughs] We’ve had every fast dance there is! … We get to slow down a little bit here, but it’s not any easier. It’s going really well. I’m really having fun with this. It’s Motown Week. We’re dancing to Smokey Robinson singing “Oh, Baby, Baby” live. I’m so excited! Maks choreographed an amazingly beautiful waltz — even he was smiling! We are in hold more and it’s coming a little more easily than the quickstep. … The quickstep seemed impossible, but it definitely prepped me for this. I have to be reminded sometimes. That’s why the pros are so amazing. They can multitask; they talk to us all during the dances. “Hold, frame, pelvis.” In my case, “step.” The hardest part for me, honestly, with almost every dance is the huge height difference between Maks and me. It’s unusual for a dance couple to have almost a full foot of height between them. For every one stride he takes, I take two.

Does that boost your confidence? Do you think you can avoid the next two Duels?
Gilbert: I don’t know. I still feel like it’s anybody’s game. We never know week to week who’s going to at their best and who’s gonna be at their worst. The only thing that’s been steady is Maks and me getting 7s! [Laughs] The scores are up to the judges. I get what they’re saying to a certain extent. I have been really uncomfortable in the past, but not so much anymore. I had a blast last week.

The past two weeks, they’ve told you it’s your best dance yet and then they give you 7s.
Gilbert: [Laughs] “This is your moment, Melissa!” And then “Seven!” I’m confused. It’s a mixed message, that’s for sure. It’s hard not to find it disheartening. It’s hard to take it gracefully initially, but 24 hours later, I’m over it and you move on. Next dance! I know that there was a lot of concern among the fans, just from reading Twitter, that their votes were essentially being taken away and put back in the hands of the judges. I understand the logic of the Dance Duel. I think it’s experimental. It’s certainly suspenseful. Derek was running back and forth, like, “This is not good. This is not good.”… It’s just nerve-wracking. The looks on everyone’s faces were just awful.

If you’d like to read more of Melissa’s thoughts on Gavin’s elimination, Maks, why she cries so easily, and more, go to TV Guide.

UPDATE: People has posted a last minute blog from Melissa before showtime. In it, Melissa writes of the emotional aspect of doing Dancing With The Stars which she compares to getting “sober”. After you read what she writes, you’ll understand what she means. More below and at the link.

What I was not ready for is the emotional toll this experience is taking. I’ve always believed that we grow the most from the biggest challenges in our lives. The good times are our chance to breathe and appreciate our lives but the hard stuff is, in many ways, more important.

I’m sure I’m growing right now in unimaginable ways. It seems that every day I am stripped down to my most vulnerable and unguarded self. My emotions are raw and unpredictable. The closest thing I can compare this to emotionally is getting sober. I remember those first days, the rush of feelings I was experiencing with no way to shut them off or numb them.

I am still sober, and now I’m in this competition that forces all emotions right to the surface. It’s taken me nearly eight years as a sober person to control the flood of feelings. Now every day is a full-on emotional rollercoaster complete with elation, depression, confusion, self-doubt, rage, accomplishment, failure, bargaining, sorrow, laughter. All of it. The amazing part is that I don’t know moment to moment what will come next.

My poor family. I’m a battered zombie who eats all of the food. My boyfriend has seen me cry more times in past three weeks than in the entire time we’ve known each other. And Maks … Maks gets most of my time and has become the person who has to deal with it all the most. We are together more than most couples. In a very few short weeks we have become very, very close. So close that we trigger each other daily. Poor Maks is having a recurring nightmare about me. His eye is starting to twitch.

And how do I feel about him? Alternately, I want to strangle him or hug him. Every few minutes of every day. He is brilliant, difficult, smart, funny, charming, petulant, generous to a fault, funny and demanding.

I am so hoping for a break through with these two tonight? Come on Melissa! You can do it!