Big Girls Do Dance!

Here's a frivolous post for a change - I'll save my "pissed-off post" for later.

Dancing with the Stars. This is fun to watch! Granted, the format is exactly the same week after week after week, but that handsome Tom Bergeron, coupled with Len Goodman's ballroom knowledge and British wit, well..... we can excuse the sameness.

There's a cyclone celebrity contestant - Marissa Janet Winokur - who played Tracey Turnblad in the Broadway production of "Hairspray." Marissa is a plus-sized petite dynamo with a smile that lights up the stage. You also need to know that she survived cancer 7 years ago and that she and her hubby are expecting their first child - via a surrogate. Nothing stops this lady!

She's not the best dancer on the show, but each week her hunky pro partner (Tony Davolano) puts her through choreography that would have most of us in traction or hitting the barf bag. She spins, flips, gets lifted (yup - LIFTED), girates, and keeps going. Last night, she did a beautiful rhumba and proved that big girls do dance and dip and girate and look fabulous doing it. This was preceded by a quick-step, one of the most difficult dances in ballroom - and except for missing one jump, she completely nailed the routine and looked lovely doing it! About two weeks ago, she did a Vienese waltz - again very difficult because of its shading (see - I'm learning the lingo). At the end, one of the judges called her a princess. A teary-eyed but smiling Marissa thanked the judge and said that she'd always wanted to be a princess. Moments like that just can't be bought. Every so-called "pudgy" little girl needed to be watching that show to find out that there's a princess hiding inside, and no one can change that fact.

While she may not make it to the finals next week, she is a winner already: cancer survivor, mom-to-be, and a role model for a girl of any age - be yourself! Wear a bright smile and carry yourself with pride - and dance from the heart.

And Marissa - please write a book!