Melissa Joan Hart’s ‘Dancing’ Blog (10/26/09): ‘7 Down, 8 To Go’

7 down, 8 to go.

Last week’s loss of Natalie was truly shocking to the entire cast. She had grace and elegance as well as abs of steel. I thought she was going to make it into the finale. I guess that goes to show that this is so much more than a dance competition. As the weeks pass, I am growing more mindful of the fact that the audience has the ultimate say in who stays and who goes, no matter what scores grumpy judges throw out. It’s pretty obvious that the folks at home would much rather see a big, genuine smile than a perfect developed dance.

This week there are a lot more of us fighting the Ballas/Hough sickness and it’s not making this game any easier- especially at this halfway point we have reached. The rehearsals are getting tougher and longer as we are adding new dances and routines every week. This past week we had to learn 3 new dances and it was a bit smoother than I anticipated, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.

First up is our slow but gorgeous Waltz. It’s going to be tough to compete with the five Jitterbugs on the dance floor tonight but hopefully the audience will appreciate the grace and beauty in the simplicity of the dance. All nine couples will take the floor at the same time tonight for a Mambo competition and the final couple standing will have been on the floor dancing for a full four minutes by the end of it. That will truly be a test of endurance for everyone on the floor. We also have a dance off routine prepared in case we end up in the bottom 3 on Tuesday. It should be a fun and exciting few days here as we all fight for our dancing lives.

With my stuffed sinuses and an achy body, I’m just praying that I have the strength to show the judges that I am continuing to improve. But in reality, what I am really fighting for is to stay in the competition at least another week so that my husband, Mark, can make it out here for the show next week and I can show him some of my moves in person!

He was only able to be here for my Week 2 Jive and I am dying to see his handsome face in that audience smiling just for me!