Dancing Pros To Dazzle At Honeywell
“A lot of traveling dancing shows don’t give people the reality competition,” says Karina Smirnoff. “Normally it’s just people dancing for the audience.”
Whether you known who she is or not, you’ve probably seen Smirnoff dancing with the likes of Mario Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus and Steve Wozniak on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The Ukranian-born dancer has won championships all over the world, not to mention winning season 13 of Dancing With the Stars with J.R. Martinez.
However, this month, Smirnoff will take her talents off-stage as a judge for Dancing Pros Live at the Honeywell Center in Wabash. “I get to do both,” she says. “I get to dance a little bit and I get to judge.”
Smirnoff will be joined at the judges table by fellow DWTS alums Edyta Sliwinska, a co-creator of the show, and Chelsie Hightower. And another aspect of the show found it’s way into Dancing Pros Live: the audience will get to vote for their favorite dancers.
“We had the idea to marry two things: the art of dance, which we love, and audience interaction, which we experienced while on Dancing With the Stars,” says Sliwinska. “What better way to engage the audience than to give everyone in the theater electronic devices and have them vote for their favorite couple.”
“You get the judges perspective, but ultimately the audience gets to vote,” adds Smirnoff. “At the end of the number, they get to choose a champion.
“A lot of traveling dancing shows don’t give people the reality competition. Normally it’s just people dancing for the audience,” continues Smirnoff. “That’s what makes Dancing With the Stars so exciting.”
“I think because of Dancing With the Stars, and the shows like that, dancing is being put up as its own skill,” Smirnoff says. “It’s becoming a skill that’s appreciated that much more.
In the case of Dancing Pros: Live, all of the performers are top-notch professional dancer – no inexperienced celebrities. “On this tour, people get to see couples who are on the same level,” Smirnoff says.
To round out the experience famed TV personality and star of Growing Pains, Alan Thicke, will host the competition and The Voice finalist Holly Tucker is set to sing during the dance numbers.
“You’ll have plenty of appreciation for the music, the costumes and the artistry,” says Smirnoff. “I think people will truly enjoy it.”
Dancing Pros: Live will play at the Honeywell Center at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Jan. 16. Tickets are $30, $45 and $75 and may be purchased at the Honeywell Center box office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling (260) 563-1102 or visiting honeywellcenter.org.