season nineteen. He has been partnered in the pastwithOlympianLoloJones,modelCharlotte McKinney, music diva Chaka Khan, and former childactressJodieSweetin. Keo Motsepe talks to Mike Halterman about the live show coming to Central Florida, and what performing on the weekly TV show is like, in thisexclusiveinterviewforHotspotsCentral.
Welcome back to Florida! How excited are you to spend the last week in December in the Sunshine State? I'm very excited because I've worked and stayed before in Tampa on another show. I love Florida, I lovethepeoplethere,andIcan'twaittobeback.
Hotspots Exclusive Interview by Mike Halterman
“...I knew that soccer wasn't something I was passionate about. Going home, after soccer practice, I saw people dancing in someone's house, and I thought, "That looks fun!�
Tell us about Dancing with the Stars Live. What exactly will audiences get to see in this show that they haven't had the chance to see on TV? Theliveaspectofthetouringproductionisalotlike my role on the TV show this season. After being partneredwithanumberofcelebrities,thisseason I'm dancing with the other troupe members. It's so differentintermsofhowyoucreateyournumbers. With the celebrity, you want to craft a number that youcandobutalsoonethatshecando. Thereare no limitations on the live performances. Being at homeandwatchingthenumberonTV,andactually beingthereintheballroom,it'stotallydifferent. So showingaudiencesthenumberslivegivesatotally differentfeelingthatwecanletthefansinon.
Are there any numbers in this production that you're really excited to show off to the audience? Lastseason,therewasanumberwedancedonthe show was completely spoken-word, a monologue from all of the dancers, and it let viewers know who we are as people apart from just being "the professionaldancers". Whenwepresenteditlive,it made the audience connect with us closer than ever. There will be similar numbers like that on this tour and I can't wait to unveil what we have. It's goingtoblowyourminds.
How did you first pursue dancing, and when did you realizeyouwantedtobuildacareeraroundit? When I started, dancing in South Africa was very big. It was almost elevated to the status of a sport. When I expressed interest in dancing and not soccer, my mother was enthusiastic. "Oh, yes, you should do it." But my father -- I am the only son -- he just thought to himself, "Oh, no,
what'sgoingonwithmyson?"[laughs] But even from a young age, I knew that soccer wasn't something I was passionate about. Going home, after soccer practice, I saw people dancing in someone's house, and I thought, "That looks fun! I want to try that." I stopped by one day and told them I wanted to start dancing too. The instructor remarked that I had natural rhythm. I didn't even know. I said, "Oh, you think so? Great!" I took to dancing immediately. There wasneveraquestioninmymindafterthat.
Tell us how you became a pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars. I was doing a show calledBurn the Floor,and I was performing in Japan at the time, and my manager
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