Dancing With The Stars 2011 – Mark Ballas And Chelsea Kane Putting The Finishing Touches On Their Samba

Mark has penned a new writing in his blog at USA Today. He says he and Chelsea are gearing up for a “strong run”. Chelsea has been flawless and he thinks she’s the one to beat. Their last score was the highest of the season so far which backs that up (but, what about them being in the hot seat this past week? Has he forgotten that?). More below. If you’d like to read on his music adventures, you can do so at the link.

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!