Kristi's Blog

Week 5

2008-04-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings! wheew, another "torturous Tuesday" gone by. Everyone thinks, oh you don't have anything to worry about with your scores and all, but Mark knows first hand that that is a BIG misconception. At this point of the competition, it all comes down to the voting so I thank all of you out there who are keeping me and Mark in it! We will continue to bring all we can to the dance floor and hope that you all will have fun and enjoy it as much as we do. It was the Rumba to take on this past week and despite a few shy hesitant moments on the first day of rehearsal, I feel I exposed a more passionate, romantic side of myself to the world. Good thing my hubby, Bret approved of our dance, he even said it was moving for him to watch it. So pumped when we received some positive feedback from the judges!!! Of course Len's "fab-u-lous" was like receiving a 6.0 from the Soviet judge(back in my day) and I loved Bruno's "yamalicious" remark :) Carrie Ann appreciated the risk we took and thought we stepped it up a notch. Very satisfying after a week of sweat, very sore muscles, and some frustration too. Poor Mark had to be on the receiving end of some of my "venting" this past week. I'm lucky he's such an easy going guy and he never stops believing in my abilities...even if I do. Thanks partner!

It was another tough night to say goodbye to Priscilla. What a fantastic woman she is. Such an inspiration in every way and always with class and sophistication, I will miss her and Louis. Well, looking forward to our first group dance this week! We rehearse very early tomorrow morning so I'm off. Thank you and see you soon, TTFN, Kristi

Week 4

2008-04-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hey, having a quiet night on the eve of our Paso Doble. Our girls are having fun with their cousins up in the SF bay area so it's a rare occasion. I'm savoring my favorite dessert mailed in from Marx in Stillwater, MN , thanks to Kelly my sister-in-law. This week was quite the busy one. Got serious right away with the choreography of our dance. Every week I watch in awe as Mark's creative mind starts reeling and he dances it out on his own. It takes several hours to piece it all together and several more for me to get it. Fascinating process though, I love it. It's done and ready so now it's up to me to dance it the way Mark intended. I hope that the intensity and passion I put into the performance is more visible this week. I've really been focusing on that. If it's over the top, that's my goal. We dance early so don't turn on the tv too late! Hope you enjoy it, see you on the telly:)

Oh yeah, if you notice a wrap on my ankle it's because I had a bit of a mishap in rehearsal on Sat. Jumped up and completely rolled my ankle on the landing. I panicked at first, but I'm hoping it will be alright. Cross your fingers and thanks for reading! Kristi

Hello, week 3

2008-04-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Wheeww, another elimination to get through. Last week was a bit hectic with only four days to learn the Tango. It didn't seem my cup of tea, I found it hard to remember the sequences of the steps in the routine. Also the seriousness of it was a challenge. Especially when the song is Duran Duran's RIO. It came together pretty well though and was actually fun to perform. We got some good feedback from the judges, Carrie Ann wanting more levels of emotion, Bruno wanting more "dirty girl"? involved. Ok, something I really want to get into for this weeks dance. Which is Paso Doble. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it. Mark and I feel we need to step it up a notch this week so we're gonna give it our best. Mark says Paso is his favorite dance so I want to bring it on and do him proud. Not to add any more pressure onto this week-ha! I'm off to rehearsal now, gotta stomp, pout, and sneer my way through the next several hours. Ciao for now, Kristi

Hi Again

2008-04-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hey there, another week gone by. And YAYYY! Survived another elimination! It was kind of an anxious week, learning our first dance in the 4 day time frame. And Tango just didn't seem my cup of tea. I kept confusing the sequences of the steps in this dance all the way up through dress rehearsal, but thankfully got it right for the show. I feel that because I was concentrating so hard on the steps, I didn't put enough into the emotion of the dance. And that is exactly what the judges saw. Oh well, something to really focus on for the next dance. Again, the Tuesday night results show was not a pleasant experience. Mark and I were completely relieved to be the first couple "safe" .

Surviving 1st elimination

2008-03-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hello there. Sorry it's been a while, time is just flying by. Well, we danced the Mambo and I think I accomplished my goal of surprising a lot of people with the "shaking". (including my sister!) Monday was a busy day filled with nervous energy and doubt of my readiness. Luckily the dress rehearsal went well and that made me feel a bit better. Despite all of the fun we're having there are moments of stress and pressure. Just gotta get past it. Once again it was a total rush getting out on the dance floor. I had a great cheering section- my mom, dad, cousin Sandy, sister-in-law Kelly, costume designer Jef Billings, assistant Lauren, friends from Raleigh Jen and Anne Marie, Evan Lysecek, Jenni Meno, Todd Sand, and Nicole. Keara and Emma and my niece Karli were watching in the trailer set up for our kids. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as Mark and I enjoyed dancing it for all of you! Next up came the first night of elimination-double. Not a fun night at all. Really, it is torture for an hour waiting to know if you get to dance again or not. Everyone seemed pretty tense that night- for good reason. Now the competition side of it is out on the table. The possibility of not dancing again is heartbreaking and I think we all want to do what we can to come back. It's not just the dancing, but the friendships we've made, especially with our partners. Now, Mark and I are onto Tango. Again, gotta change gears and bring out what Mark says is the aggressive, passionate, seductive, and very serious characteristics of the dance. We'll see...:) The pressure's on with just 4 days to get it down. We'll do our best, thanks for checking in, and see you soon. Don't forget to vote :) Kristi

Week 1

2008-03-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Y'all!

Yaaaaay!!! Week 1 is done! Last night Mark and I danced our foxtrot on DWTS. Wow, talk about an intense day. We heard our music for the first time with the live band in the afternoon and then went through the dress rehearsal. I was so excited to see my costume as well. I loved it! When we weren't doing rehearsal, I was basically in hair and make-up the whole time! I'm talking hours to get that "ballroom" look :) It was a fun evening, watching the girls heat up the dance floor. I enjoyed watching everyone perform. They were all inspiring, especially Marlee and Pricilla! I was a bit worried to have to follow Pricilla's amazing dance. It was a rush out there, we had fun which was our goal. Thank you everyone for all of your support, you make it all worth while. Now it's MAMBO time, I feel quite uncoordinated(and shy) with it so far, but Mark is not letting me off the hook. He's determined to get me to shake it! See you soon! Kristi

One Day to Go!

2008-03-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hello all, Kristi here and doing my official first post for my new adventure. One day to go and the butterflies are kicking in. Mark Ballas (partner) and I have been working hard to give you all a nice performance on Tues. He's on me to transform my sloppy skating legs into precise ballroom steps. About 4-6 hrs. a day in studio rehearsing, glad that showtime is finally here. Everyone looks good, going to be a great show! We did our camera blocking today in the "ballroom", what a rush! Giant mirror ball and all. Oh yeah, and a spray tan :) I'm looking tan for the first time in my life! This is all amazing fun for me and I hope to pass it all on to you on this blog. Thanks for looking in on it and come back to see what's new! Shout out to my hubby Hedi and Keara and Emma...miss you all terribly, you're in my heart. Thank you mom for holding down the fort! Peace out...I'll be back soon.

Kristi