GREAT ARTICLE- Q & A with Shawn Johnson!

After two weeks of performing on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” 2008 Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Shawn Johnson, the first gymnast to appear on the show, quickly earned a spot among the top contenders for the mirrored globe trophy. Johnson and partner, Mark Ballas, a professional dancer who won the show’s sixth season with 1992 Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi, have danced the Viennese waltz and the salsa, and they are now practicing the foxtrot for week three. She admits that her elite gymnastics skills, which earned her four medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, haven’t helped her in dancing.

Johnson spoke with USA Gymnastics on Wednesday, March 18, during a busy morning of media interviews following the first results show. Read below to see what she had to say about competing on “Dancing with the Stars.”

What is the best thing about being on “Dancing with the Stars”?

Just the whole atmosphere of it. It’s the experience of a lifetime. Everyone here is so nice. It’s not really a competition, but it’s something that’s really fun and a reward for the Olympics.

Take us through your daily schedule.

Well, every day is pretty different. A few days out of the week, I’ll wake up and do media in the morning. Every day we have practice from 11 (a.m.) to 5 or 6 (p.m.). I’ll go to dinner and then come back and get rested up.

How do you like Los Angeles?

I love it. It’s so much fun here. It’s so nice and I love where I’m staying.

What have you been able to do in your free time?

Not too much yet. We’ve gone shopping a little bit and gone out to dinner. But other than that, not much because there just hasn’t been time.

What is your relationship like with Mark?

It’s great. We’re like brother and sister. He’s the perfect partner for me. We have a lot of fun in the studio, but we also get down to work, too.

You said that not much of your gymnastics training helps in dancing. What has been the hardest thing to learn?

Pretty much just putting the gymnastics habits aside. Gymnastics is second nature to me, so I’m used to doing that stuff and it just comes naturally. But it’s wrong for the dancing world; you can’t really use it. That’s been pretty hard for me.

What of your gymnastics training do you think has helped you?

The discipline, probably, and the hard work. None of the technical parts of it transfer over at all.

How does receiving the judges’ scores compare to getting scores at a gymnastics meet?

In gymnastics, you’re used to being scored on something that you’ve tried to perfect completely over years. This is something brand new, so you haven’t had time to get it perfect and work on it. The judges’ critiques are a little more…I wouldn’t say lenient, but they can’t expect you to be absolutely professionally perfect.

How were you feeling during the first show?

I was really nervous. I’ve never danced in front of millions of people before. It was really nerve-wracking. I just wanted to go out there and do what I did in practice. I wanted to make Mark proud by doing the dance he taught me and how he taught me. I wanted to prove to people that I could also dance.

Was it easier during the second show?

A tiny bit, but not really. I still felt the same. If I were doing the waltz again, probably, but since I was doing a completely different dance, no.

How many dances do you work on at once?

It’s one dance each week until you get further into the competition when it’s two dances each week. Then a little bit further, it’s two dances plus a group dance.

Are the other contestants friendly?

Very. Everybody here is like a big family and just wants the best for each other. All of us are in the same boat; we’ve never done this before. We all know what the others are going through and try to help each other as much as we can.

Do all the competitors train at the same studios?

Yes, but at all different times. There are a bunch of different studios that we use, so we never really cross paths during practice.

Who picks out/designs your costumes?

Mark does. He designs all of them.


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Source: http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/