Dancing's Mark Dacascos: The Cha-Cha Chairman
Mark Dacascos
Aloha!
I'm Mark Dacascos.
For the "foodies" out there, you may know me as "The Chairman" of the Food Network show, Iron Chef America.
If you're a fan of action movies, perhaps you've seen me in a French film with Monica Belucci titled, Brotherhood of the Wolf, or fighting against Jet Li in Cradle 2 the Grave. I've also starred in the Capoeira film, Only the Strong, the martial arts movie, Drive, and the TV series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.
If none of those shows sound familiar, no worries. Maybe the next one will: Dancing with the Stars.
I am one of the very fortunate people to have been invited to be a contestant on DWTS. I am ecstatic, and grateful. I'm also very, very nervous, because in just two days, I will, for the first time in my life, be dancing the cha-cha and the Viennese waltz in public. And this public will be over 20 million people.
The only thing scarier would be facing off against Ultimate Fighting Champion, Chuck Liddell. Whoa... I am! Except we're both wearing high heels (Latin ballroom shoes) and doing figure-eights with our hips. Now THAT is scary!
I've been rehearsing with my dance partner/teacher, Lacey Schwimmer, for the last month. We all know she's a fantastic dancer and a treat to look at, but what I've learned about the "bad girl of ballroom" is that there is nothing "bad" about Ms. Schwimmer. Lacey is intelligent, humble, patient, kind, witty, quick to laugh, and a dog lover. All good things in my book.
She's been a wonderful teacher.
The question is: Have I been a good student?
We shall see on September 21.
With much aloha,
Mark Dacascos, aka "The Cha-Cha Chairman" :)
