Janel Parrish has hinted what viewers can expect from her dances with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy tonight, and one thing is certain, she'll be pouring her heart out on the dance floor.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This week we have a paso doble and an Argentine tango. The paso doble is going to be very powerful and passionate, and the Argentine tango is going to be softer and more romantic. It's going to be fun and I'm really excited," Parrish wrote in her People blog.
"It's been a crazy week because I'm back to work on Pretty Little Liars filming my Mona flashbacks for the finale. It's been a little bit hectic, but Val's been great about being flexible about my schedule, and we fit in rehearsal times whenever we could."
Monday night's semifinals performance show will feature the remaining couples performing two routines for the theme "plugged/unplugged." Each pair will dance to two different versions of the same song, one of which is the regular version and the other of which is a stripped-down acoustic rendition.
Parrish said she'll be performing to Calvin Harris's "Blame" and she's "looking forward to showing two completely different sides."
ADVERTISEMENT
Last week, Parrish and Chmerkovskiy performed the quickstep for "America's Choice," and the actress admitted they shared a kiss at the end only because it was at the request of home viewers.
"Even though Val had a little bit of a stumble during the dance, it didn't throw us off at all. The poor thing, his patent leather shoes got stuck together, but we both just kept going and we were able to get back on track. I know Val felt really bad because of the slip, but I was like, 'You're human! Sometimes humans slip. It's all good!'" she wrote in her People blog.
Parrish and Chmerkovskiy also took the stage with previously-eliminated pro Keo Motsepe for a trio routine and they had danced the salsa. Parrish explained she had struggled with one of the stunts in the dance.
"During rehearsals for last week's trio dance I was terrified, as you could see in the package. Every time they threw me I felt like they threw me higher and higher. Keo Motsepe's very tall and they're both very powerful men, so when they would throw me I would fly. I actually wasn't terrified of being upside down and having the men grab my legs and pull my body apart, but being thrown up in the air was the scariest part," Parrish said.
"I actually didn't stop screaming while doing that throw until show time. Once it was show time, Val was like, 'Please, please don't scream during the show!' And so when show time came I kind of just got into performance mode and I didn't notice. It didn't faze me that they threw me, which I'm glad about because when I watched it back it looked good and I didn't scream, so I was really proud of myself."
ADVERTISEMENT
The couple had topped the leaderboard in first place last week, however, they tied with Alfonso Ribeiro and his partner Witney Carson.
"Getting positive feedback from the judges was very rewarding. You work really, really hard each week, hoping you're going to impress the judges and impress America with your dances, and you pour your heart out when you go out on that dance floor," the actress wrote.
"There were a few weeks in the middle of the run of the show where I felt like I wasn't getting good feedback from the judges, and it really bummed me out because I wanted them to like the dances that we were doing. To finally get good feedback at this point in the competition, it makes me feel like I've been doing my job and improving and working hard, and that's a very rewarding feeling."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski