Natia Luikin on "Dancing with the stars"

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This season of Dancing With The Stars is filled with
some huge stars and a wide range of celebrities including our very own Nastia liukin.


Nastia Liukin likes a challenge, but this might be
pushing it.
The gold, silver and bronze medal-winning Olympic gymnast
accepted an invitation to compete this season on
ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, which begins at 7
p.m. Monday, but she is determined not to let it
interfere with her college education.
Liukin, who grew up in Plano, is a junior at New
York University, majoring in sports marketing.
She’s taking a full course load this semester (on
the day of our interview last week, her first class
began at 9 a.m. and the last one ended at 9 p.m.).
She rehearses with dance partner Derek Hough,
who is busy headlining a show at Radio City Music
Hall in New York, whenever they both can clear a
block of time together on their schedules.
And she plans to fly to Los Angeles on show days
to compete, then take a red-eye flight back every
time so she won’t miss a minute of classes.
That’s ambitious, impractical and maybe a little bit
nuts. But those are some of the qualities that
enabled her to win five medals, including the all-
around gold, at the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing.
“I guess that drive in me has helped me all these
years,” Liukin says. “Maybe that will be useful
again. I’m going to need all the help I can get
because, in terms of dancing, it is all new to me.
“I’ve never taken dance class in my life. I don’t
know anything about dance. So it’s going to be a
challenge.”
‘DWTS’ anniversa
This marks the 10th year and the 20th season of
the popular ballroom dance-competition show.
Liukin says she has been a huge fan for a long
time, but her first impulse when invited to
participate was to say no.
“School is really important to me,” says Liukin, 25.
“This has been a big goal of mine, to graduate
from NYU, so I didn’t want to take a semester off.”
If Hough, a five-time Dancing With the Stars
champion, hadn’t already been in town, starring
in New York Spring Spectacular with Laura
Benanti and the Rockettes, and available to be
Liukin’s partner, she would have passed.
“I was so excited when I learned Derek would be
my partner,” she says. “He’s so talented. Amazing
isn’t even the right word for him, because his
choreography is just out of this world. It’s so
creative, so unique.”

For his part, Hough says, “I’m just happy to be
able to be part of this, especially with such an
amazing girl, who I think is going to bring a lot to
this season.”
Athletes in their prime often have an advantage
on this show, but Liukin stresses that she has a
long way to go before she can hope to hoist the
championship Mirror Ball trophy (which is gold
this season, in case you believe in omens).
“There’s a lot for me to learn and it’s actually been
quite a struggle,” Liukin says. “Ballroom dance
moves are completely different from the way I
was used to moving in my floor routines.
“There’s a lot of muscle memory from 20 years of
gymnastics that I have to adjust.”
Traipsing across the floor in high-heeled shoes
won’t be a picnic, either. She is accustomed to
performing in her bare feet.
All these adjustments are happening with a fast-
approaching deadline. At the time of her
interview last Tuesday, Liukin and Hough had had
only four days of rehearsal together.
“Winning would be amazing, but that’s something
I’ve got to keep in the back of my mind,” Liukin
says.
“For now, I’m just excited about this journey. I’m
excited to get to know Derek. I’m excited to get to
learn how to dance.”
DANCING WITH THE STARS
▪ 7 p.m. Monday