The very first season of Dancing with the Stars was exciting and yet very nerve wracking. In one respect it was so exciting for all of us dancers to be part of primetime television on one of the biggest networks in the U.S. and at the same time we were nervous and didn’t know if people were going to watch the show. I can still remember that very first episode. We were nervous, the celebs were beyond nervous. They were probably wondering “ What the heck did I get myself into”. The execs from ABC and the BBC were all very much on edge, I guess a lot of money was on the line. You could feel the tension in the air.
When we found out the ratings were the best ABC had had in a long time, week two was a lot less nervous. Unfortunately it wasn’t a fun week for Trista Sutter and I, because we were the first couple eliminated. To be the first couple eliminated on the very first season of DWTS felt quite embarrassing, especially because most of the other pros on the show were my students. In hindsight I realized many things I didn’t like and learned how it ALL worked.
The producers wouldn’t tell us who our partners were, so it would be a total surprise who our celebs would be. All I knew was that I had to travel to Vail, CO. I had no idea. During our stopover in Denver one of the producers was sitting opposite me reading through his notes within his binder. What he didn’t realize is that he had his binder up enough for me to see TRISTA SUTTER big time. I had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to do that, so I asked him ‘hmmm, Is Trista Sutter my partner by any chance’? He gave me a big smirk and dropped his binder as soon as he could, but too late. I knew who my partner was. It didn’t really matter, because I had never seen the Bachelorette and didn’t watch much TV for that matter anyway.
When Trista and I started rehearsing we clicked right away. We had a good time, but had to be careful, because she had serious back issues. What no one knew, because I hate playing a certain card, is that I had gotten a hernia during the title shoot. It felt like a flat tire with the inner tire completely coming through. It felt weird, but wasn’t painful. It needed to be surgically taken care of before the first live show. I only had a month to find a surgeon to make time and exceptions to squeeze me in. Thank God for a doctor friend of mine in Utah who had a surgeon friend who was a specialist in hernia operations. If it weren’t for their generosity I wouldn’t have been able to do DWTS. Within two weeks after the operation I was dancing with Trista in Week One. I’m so happy our first dance was a slow waltz, because I was scared the scar would rip apart. Normally it would take six weeks to recover, I only had ten days.
Both Trista and I have talked about our season many times after and we both agreed we would do things completely differently if we could do it again. Watching back the video packages from season one I thought I came across as an arrogant ass**** and I was so disappointed in myself. You have to realize while doing interviews for the show they often want you to say things that aren’t really your thoughts and if you’re not careful you say them on camera. This happened to me in Season One. After a long interview I ended up saying I like to be worshiped and that it’s great to be called a legend. I have never ever said that or thought that in my life, I don’t even believe in worshiping anyone, but somehow I said it. And once I said it, it now appears that that is what I believe, because it came out of my mouth. That’s the reality. I learned a hard lesson in Season One, even my media training I had before didn’t come to my rescue…lol … And I hated my ponytail on camera! More about that later.