Cheryl's Dancing with the Stars Blog

I can't believe there are only two more weeks left in the season. Two more competition shows and two more results shows. Two more weeks of waiting anxiously to hear what the judges and the viewers think of the 40 hours of rehearsals we've done each week. Two more weeks to hear the crowds cheer at the choreography. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that yet another season of Dancing with the Stars is coming to an end.

For us dancers, it's like preparing for our summer break from college. Right now we're studying hard for our finals and we're hoping we pass our classes and get to graduate. We're starting to think about what we're going to do on our summer vacation, but mostly we're chattering to take our minds off of our stresses. We're getting sad because our semester is coming to an end and we know that some of us might not see each other for a very long time. These last few weeks are the most emotional and it gets harder and harder to remember to have fun. We all want to be in the finals so badly but yet we also know that we're going to have to say goodbye to someone. I've been told by a lot of people that I looked shocked when Joey and Kym where in the bottom two and I have to say that at this point it's shocking when anyone of us is in or will be in the bottom two. And Kymmie is like a sister to me so when she was under that red light, it felt like it was me!

This week Ian and I have really stepped up our "wow" factor. We're doing Tango and Jive and we have some fun themes planned! I think the audience is really going to enjoy it.

Sorry for such a short blog this week, but I have to head back to rehearsal! See you on Monday and don't forget to vote!

Hi, everyone! Another week, another two dances. This week you'll get to see Ian and I dance the tango and the mambo, sort of opposite ends of the spectrum in the dance world. Lately we've been working twice as hard as normal. Learning two dances this week has been tough, especially since we just got into the pace of nailing one dance per week. Two dances each week is what's going to separate the pack a little bit more. We're going to start to see a few couples gently ease their way away from the pack, and I hope that Ian and I are one of them.

I had a moment the other day when I reflected on the last 12 months. Twelve months in which I've had 14 days off, I might add. But it's been a 12-month period that I wouldn't change for the world. I've met wonderful people, I've gotten to visit so many wonderful cities across the country when we did the tour, and I've gotten to experience so many memorable moments that will forever stay ingrained in my mind, including championships on Dancing with the Stars with Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith. As much as I treasure all of these special memories, there's still one more that I selfishly want to be able to have.

There has been a lot of talk this season on Dancing with the Stars about a possible three-peat championship for me, and to be honest, I don't think about those chances at all. I don't think about what it would feel like to win a third time in a row. I think about how much I want Ian to win that mirror-ball trophy — that's one more memory I want to be able to look back on fondly. I think about how much I want Ian to be able to lift that trophy and feel a sense of pride, of doing what 10 other contestants weren't able to do. I think about how I'd feel watching Ian feel proud of his own accomplishments. And mostly I think about how I'm going to help him get there — how I'm going to design the dances so that they showcase his strongest attributes and so that no one notices that his feet are killing him or that his onesie is uncomfortable. I keep myself up at night worrying that as strong as our dances may be, is it enough to overcome Billy Ray's fan base, John's endearing sensibilities, Apolo's footwork, Joey's dynamic personality and Laila's natural rhythm? Time and hard work will tell.

Ian has been working so hard learning each and every step and really dedicating himself to be the best possible dancer he can be at this stage of the game. He puts in as much time and effort as those of us that have been dancing our whole lives do for a competition, even more in some respects. That's why it's so hard to hear the comments from the judges. The past two weeks have been filled with harsh criticism for Ian. The judges don't feel that he's been "meeting his full potential" on the dance floor. I have to say that I have full faith in Ian and his potential; I know that one week he's going to have his moment and wow the crowd with his footwork, his impeccable posture, his devil-may-care attitude and most importantly his love of the moment. And this week just might be that week. So tune in and, most importantly, don't forget to vote!

Last week we bid a fond farewell to another couple — Leeza Gibbons and Tony Dovolani, or rather Team Gibbolani. You'll never meet a classier, more upbeat person than Leeza. She has one of the kindest souls of anyone I've ever met. And Tony — what can you say about Tony? Fun, driven, passionate and a bit of a jokester. Two wonderful people who we're definitely going to miss at Dancing with the Stars.

Another week, another dance — this week we have the samba. The samba is a get-up-off-your-feet and "shake what your mama gave you" kind of dance. It's another Latin dance and one of my favorites. It encourages you to let your hair down and really feel the music. Ian loves the fast dances, and this dance is fast. He has the perfect personality for the rhythm of the music, and I believe the audience is going to love what they see. Our music is pretty awesome this week, too. I can't tell you what it is because we like to keep that top-secret until the show, but it's a real crowd-pleaser.

On the topic of music, so many people ask me who picks the music. I'm happy to tell you that the producers do. That's what makes each dance extra challenging. I'm not always familiar with the songs and I'm not always sure what I'm going to choreograph. I want the dance to be fresh and I want Ian's fancy feet to shine. Sometimes the music is a bigger challenge than teaching the celebrity how to dance!

We have such intense schedules while we are in production on DWTS, it's a wonder we ever find time to do other things. But tonight, Friday the 13th, I get the chance to do something fun for charity. Edyta Sliwinska, Tony Dovolani, Louis Van Amstel and I will dance the opening number at the annual Race to Erase MS charity event in Los Angeles. It's a great, big star-studded affair with special musical guests Earth Wind & Fire — talk about great dance music! Doing these events is always so much fun. I get to dress up in something other than sweats and workout wear, in this case a beautiful Kenneth Cole dress (on loan), and gorgeous shoes that don't smell funky like my dance shoes do! In fact, I think I just might start using those dance shoes to torture Ian into doing what I want him to in each dance. A few whiffs of those and he'll be at my mercy.

On Saturday the 14th Ian and I also get to do something a little out of the norm. We're heading up to my hometown to throw the first pitch at the Oakland As baseball game versus the New York Yankees. My palms are already starting to get damp just thinking about having to throw a baseball 60 feet. This is one thing that Ian is going to have to teach me how to do. I've never pitched a baseball that far in my life. I consider myself fairly athletic, but I'm still nervous about only being able to throw the ball halfway to home. Maybe I can bribe one of the players with dance lessons if he'll let me cheat and stand a little closer.

So tune in on Monday and see if my pitching arm is any good and to see us dance our samba. And as always, don't forget to vote!

You really never get used to that feeling of having to see someone get eliminated. On Tuesday we had to say goodbye to Paulina and Alec — two really great people. Not only is Paulina one of the most beautiful women in the world, but she’s also one of the nicest and funniest. Her sense of humor is certainly going to be missed — she was always quick with the wit. And Alec, well I think there are a lot of women in America who were very sad to see him and his hips go!

Some of you asked a couple of show questions that I’d like to answer for you. You wanted to know how we get paired up with our celebrity partner. First off, we have absolutely no say in who we get. The producers match us up based on personality and how we look together. It’s pretty simple. I’m sure there are a few other things they consider, but to the best of my knowledge, those are the major factors. That first meeting is as genuine as it looks on camera. We get the call from production telling us where and when to be at the meeting location and then all of a sudden they walk in. It’s a surprise to both the celebrities and the pros. It’s a really exciting moment and really nerve-racking. This year I kept praying over and over in my head, "Please let it be someone fun and easy to get along with and someone who is going to really be into being on the show." And in walked Ian and I knew that we’d have a great partnership. He’s such a wonderful guy. To all those girls who have crushes on him, you couldn’t have chosen a better guy to set your hopes on. He’s as wonderful in real life as you’d imagine him to be.

You also wanted to know about costumes. We have the most amazing wardrobe department on the planet! The pieces they create are works of art and should be in a museum. On Tuesday nights after the show we find out what our next dance and song is. Then we head to wardrobe to discuss what we want to wear and what colors might best suit the song. Each dance has a clear energy to it and we want our costumes to reflect the mood of the dance and the music. And then, like magic, our visions are realized. I like to compare it to those mice in the movie Cinderella when they are getting her ready for the ball. I swear Kirsten and Randall in wardrobe could turn three pebbles, a banana peel and a paper clip into something majestic!

We began work Wednesday on our new dance, the jive — some couples have jive this week, and some couples have tango. I really think this is going to be a strong dance for Ian — we have a crowd-pleasing song and amazing energy, so I hope we get that ballroom up on its feet! And most importantly, he’s going to get those hips moving, so don’t forget to vote!

Here we go again! It feels like just yesterday when I was anxiously standing by Emmitt's side waiting to hear our names called and be announced the winners of Season 3 of Dancing with the Stars.

It's been such a blur since last season's finale way back in November. I had about a week off, which I spent in Hawaii with my family, and then I immediately started rehearsal for the first-ever Dancing with the Stars tour. Thirty-eight cities in something like 10 weeks — maybe it was more, maybe it was less, I honestly can't remember at this point. We got to see so many places and faces around the country and performing four to five nights a week. We were traveling like rock stars — what a life!

Then in mid-February we started training for this current season of DWTS. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to get Ian as a partner. This is the first season of the show that I've actually been familiar with who my partner (Ian Ziering) was and didn't need to use the Internet to figure out why they were famous. I was such a huge Beverly Hills, 90210 devotee that I cried as a young girl if my mother wouldn't let me stay up late to watch it! Ian's feeding my fanaticism, too: He's given me a couple of vintage 90210 T-shirts that I now wear to rehearsals, and I've already told him that he has to have every original cast member sign the shirts for me before the end of DWTS!

On last week's show you got to see Ian and I perform our cha-cha. Four weeks of rehearsal, first out of the gates, and we got sevens. I was pleased with our scores. I'm convinced that the judges are always hardest on the first dancers so I had prepared myself for some harsh criticism, but I think their remarks were fair.

This week we're dancing the quickstep and I really think people are going to be impressed by Ian's moves. He's really working it this week. I'd tell you what our song is, but I'm going to let that be a big surprise. So tune in on Monday night, and don't forget to vote!

Check out my personal website at www.strictlycheryl.com.