In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« All Things Dancing with the Stars
Backstage Buzz: How Cheryl Gave Cristian a Needed Lift
Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
It's one thing to sustain a serious injury while you're performing and then let the adrenaline pumping through your body allow you to carry on. It's quite another to be alone and in pain, away from the spotlights, and scared that the decision you made to keep going was the wrong decision.
That's what happened over the past few days to Cristian de la Fuente, who ruptured a tendon in his left arm doing the samba on April 28th edition of Dancing with the Stars, then announced the next day that he had the approval of his doctor to delay the surgery needed to repair it and stay on the show. That decision felt good on Tuesday. But by Wednesday? "My arm started hurting and I was like, 'Oh my god. I can't drop out,'" says de la Fuente. "I told the producers that I wanted to stay. They changed the show for us to stay so we can't quit. What have I done?"
Part of the problem is that de la Fuente can't take powerful painkillers because he doesn't know if they'll make him feel disoriented and dizzy. "I don't know what reaction my body's going to have to them," he says. "And I have to dance, I have to hold Cheryl [Burke, his pro partner], lift Cheryl."
But he kept going and it was Burke who made it all work (though she stopped short of attending doctor appointments with him. "I can't handle that stuff," she says). But she came up with a plan not only to dance around his bad arm but to do the one lift per dance that was suddenly approved for the first time this season, two weeks before the finals. "She did it one way and it didn't work," shares de la Fuente. "And then she fixed it. And then it didn't work again and she fixed it again. She's not only a great dancer, she's a great choreographer and a great friend."
"I didn't really tell him, but I was nervous [Monday night]," says Cheryl. "I was nervous that I was going to push him too hard in the tango because there was adrenaline running through my body, too."
De la Fuente took 10 Advils over the course of Monday before the show. On a pain scale of one to 10, he says his arm when the injury occurred "was close to a 10. Now it's a two. But the doctor explained that it's going to start hurting in other places on the arm because the other parts are trying to compensate."
De la Fuente's doctor, by the way, is Dr. Neal Ellatrache, a pioneer in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery and the team doctor for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was in the Dancing audience on Monday night. And he saw what we all saw, which was two remarkable performances and the highest scores of the night.
And when it was all over, de la Fuente was out in the hallway and greeted his 3-year-old daughter, Laura, whom he picked up with his good right arm. Fittingly, the little girl was holding a paddle with the number "10." — Deborah Starr Seibel
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
May 6, 2008 10:07 AM
|
He was spectacular. I was truly surprised and IMO Cheryl & Jonathan are the two best choreographers on DWTS.
But Cristian was WOW last night. And I have to say I didn't know who he was before DWTS, but I'll never forget him now. I've developed a lot of respect for that man. So much more to him than that pretty face he has.
|
|
May 6, 2008 11:34 AM
|
|
What would have happened if he dropped out? Would Shannon and Derek have been given a repreive? I didn't watch the season that Sarah Evans had to drop out b/c of her family crisis - how far into the season were they and how did they change up the show?
|
|
May 6, 2008 12:13 PM
|
They danced very well Monday night. I was so happy for the both of them. Cheryl is a pro and Monday night proved what pro she really is. If he can keep dancing I say, go for it. I love you both. God Bless you all.
-Faye
|
|
May 6, 2008 12:35 PM
|
ctheslayer, they were about midway through the season when Sara Evans dropped out. As it was, she had stayed longer than she should have already, based on her dance ability - SE was not a good ballroom dancer. - but she apparently had a big enough fanbase to compensate. At the time, there was speculation she might be able to go all the way with her fanbase being as big as it seemingly was.
They did not do an additional elimination that week, and in the case of this season with Christian, if he had dropped out, I suspect they would not have done an elimination based on scores/votes on top of that. That would decrease the season's run by one ep, and they're not going to do that with the ratings' bonanza that is DwtS. Can't lose those advertisers' dollars!
--
Edited by ezrawey at 05/06/2008 10:42 AM
|
|
May 6, 2008 1:35 PM
|
|
My first thought after Christian decided to stay last week was that I was sorry for Shannon and thought it wasn't fair. But then he danced this week. OMG! You could not even tell that he had an injury. Cheryl Burke is a true professional. She did an amazing job working around that injury. She keep working to make the choreography perfect for the injury and the result was spectacular! Good job Christian and great job Cheryl!
|
|
May 6, 2008 1:39 PM
|
|
My first thought after Christian decided to stay last week was that I was sorry for Shannon and thought it wasn't fair. But then he danced this week. OMG! You could not even tell that he had an injury. Cheryl Burke is a true professional. She did an amazing job working around that injury. She keep working to make the choreography perfect for the injury and the result was spectacular! Good job Christian and great job Cheryl!
|
|
May 6, 2008 1:41 PM
|
"says de la Fuente. "I told the producers that I wanted to stay. They changed the show for us to stay so we can't quit. What have I done?"
What does that mean? How did they change the show in order for them to stay? The judges say that they judge on what they see regardless of the injury [or any other disability] and they were presumably not voted out by America's vote, So what was necessary to be changed to accommodate his staying to dance???
|
|
May 6, 2008 2:42 PM
|
I think some of the pros are better than others but I like Mark Ballas. He is proving that he, too is a good choreographer. I think he and Sabrina might have won or at least gone a lot further last season had it not been that she got voted off. Look at the great job he is doing with Kristi this season. Julianne and Karina are doing a great job, too! I, too, also like Jonathan.
Laura
|
|
May 6, 2008 2:45 PM
|
splotchie, from re-reading the article, it looks like this is what was changed: one lift per dance that was suddenly approved for the first time this season, two weeks before the finals.
That must be what they changed in order for Christian & Cheryl to stay....and it might end benefiting other/future dancers on the show.
|
|
May 6, 2008 3:07 PM
|
How did they change the show in order for them to stay? The judges say that they judge on what they see regardless of the injury [or any other disability] and they were presumably not voted out by America's vote, So what was necessary to be changed to accommodate his staying to dance???
Last week, following the performance show, no one, including Cristian, knew if he could continue with the show. Apparently, that decision changed several times right up until moments before the Results show. I believe what Cristian referred to was the original question of whether or not he could return, and how the producers kept making last-minute adjustments to the show as they determine Cristian's status.
When he said, "They changed the show", he meant that they would go back to the original elimination format. Again, though, that's just what I'm guessing.
|
|
May 6, 2008 3:28 PM
|
splotchie - I took it to mean that they were operating on the assumption that Cristian was leaving - and then changed it and went ahead with the elimination when he decided to stay. It would have been unfair to Shannon and Derek to decide not to dance this week after they were cut.
However - would someone please explain why adding one lift would help CHeryl and Cristian? I never remember the actual rules from season to season...
|
|
May 6, 2008 3:33 PM
|
ctheslayer, I think they went from two lifts per dance down to one.... ">
|
|
May 6, 2008 3:44 PM
|
But they started the lifts early, correct? That's kind of what I thought, but wasnt sure.
I was told there would be no math....
|
|
May 6, 2008 3:54 PM
|
moviestarbrat and ctheslayer, the lifts aren't the change that Christian is talking about - he means that they went ahead with the elimination instead of giving the rest of the teams a pass if Christian had gone home.
As for the lifts - there were ZERO lifts permitted during ANY of the dances (except the freestyle at the finale) during all previous shows/seasons. The teams would get penalized points if they did lifts, now they are permitted one lift per dance IF it fits with the theme of the dance, and that was changed b/c so many of the teams were doing lifts, unintentionally (a foot coming off the floor etc.). This change was not due to Christian's injury.
|
|
May 6, 2008 4:42 PM
|
|
|
