Dancing with the Stars Live!

Waltzes Into Interlochen

ABC-TV’s "Dancing with the Stars (DWTS)" is a true reality TV phenomenon, and that phenomenon is making a live stop in northern Michigan Aug. 10. Pairing professional dancers with celebrities, each couple performs specific dances within a weekly theme, ranging from the jive to the tango. A panel of judges awards points; the audience votes; and a pair of dancers is eliminated each week until only the champion couple remains.

A wide range of celebrities has signed up for this competition, some with dance experience, some with little to none – 223 total so far. Among them: pro boxers Evander Holyfield and Sugar Ray Leonard; country singers Wynonna Judd and Kellie Pickler; former boy band members Joey Fatone, Joey McIntyre and Lance Bass; and such diverse celebrities as David Hasselhoff, Kim Kardashian, 90210’s Ian Ziering and lounge singer Wayne Newton.

It’s a dance floor of uncertainty with some spectacularly surprising performances from those you least expect, often a spill or two, and always a whole lot of hard work.

BOY POWER

Former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader Melissa Rycroft is hosting this year’s "Dancing with the Stars Live!" tour, which will feature season 20 champion celebrity dancer Rumer Willis (Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter), plus 10 DWTS professional dancers.

Sasha Farber has been with the pro team since 2011 and is right in the middle of the current "DWTS" jaunt. We talked with him by phone from Bakersfield, California, where he was preparing for a show at the Rabobank Arena. His voice still holds his half Russian half Australian accent, although he's currently living in Los Angeles.

Farber got an early start in dance. Born in Belarus, his family moved to Australia when he was around six years old and he started dancing after discovering various popular sporting activities weren’t for him.

"I left Russia very young and tried a lot of things when we got to Australia: swimming, basketball, soccer," Farber explained. "But then I saw some girls outside my elementary school dancing, and I thought that would be a good way to meet girls," he said cheekily.

BALLROOM BLITZ

Farber didn't take dancing too seriously at first, but once he found it was something he was actually quite good at, he gave it a lot more focus, especially once he hit his teen years.

By the age of 21, Farber was recruited for the Australian version of "DWTS." From there, it was only a short jump to the U.S. version, where he's best known for dancing with celebrity cast member Snooki LaValle (née Polizzi, of the TV show "Jersey Shore") and dating fellow pro cast member Emma Slater. He considers being on the U.S. show a true accomplishment.

"The Australian and American shows are very different," he said, "but it’s the American dancing style that's the benchmark of all the dancing styles around the world. When the U.S. changes something in a dance style, everyone else changes, too. "˜Dancing with the Stars’ really is the pinnacle of ballroom dancing these days."

HIGH ENERGY

The TV show tapes in three-month sessions, but Farber explained they don't sit idle between tapings. The tour is just one of the things that keeps the pro dancers busy, and one of the things he enjoys doing the most.

"I like being on the TV show and on the stage equally," he explained. "They both have aspects I enjoy, but with the live show, we finally get to see how the fans really react, with them right there in front of us," he said.

"Plus, the tour is a little more forgiving. With the TV show, anything that goes wrong, there it is, on tape for the rest of your life!" he laughed.

Farber has several solos in the "DWTS Live!" tour and he participates in many of the group numbers.

"This is a really high-energy show and it's designed for the fans," he said. "We’re not dancing with celebrities this time ’round, so we’re really able to show off what we can do."

CURTAIN CALL

Striving to make the performance reach every corner of the venue is one of the challenges of the tour, Farber explained.

"We’re doing a lot of 5,000 to 6,000-seat places, so we try to make sure when we're performing that even the back seats get a show," he said. "We're recreating some of the dances, the fan favorites, from the TV series, but we’re making them better and bigger, since there are no TV cameras to zoom in."

Performing every night, many nights in a row, when you’re used to taping a TV show just once a week, is pretty different, he added.

"Your body does get really tired," he said, "but as soon as that curtain lifts on the stage, you’re back at 100 percent. This show in Traverse City is going to be right at the end of our tour and I think we’ll all be sad that the tour is ending, but as for the show itself, well, I'm excited."

"Dancing with the Stars Live!" will hit the stage at Interlochen Aug. 10 at 8pm in Kresge Auditorium. The DWTS TV show will kick off its 21st season on Monday, Sept. 14 at 8pm on ABC-TV. For more information, visit dwtstour.com and abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars.

FUN FACTS

About Dancing with the Stars:

- Athletes, including figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and ex-football player Emmitt Smith, are among the top winners of the show.

- Yet another athlete, Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, received a pretty amazing 25th birthday gift: DWTS’ famed Mirror Ball Trophy, for winning Season 4.

- Speaking of those trophies, they’re made by a company called Society Awards that also makes the statuettes for the Emmys and the Golden Globes.

- Each of the elaborate dance costumes seen on the TV show is only worn one time.

- DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba once went on tour as a backup dancer with Detroit superstar singer Madonna.

- Fans wait in line for hours each week whenever the show is taping in Hollywood.

- Before every episode of the show, the dancers get prepped with four hours of hair and makeup.

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