Blisters and aches but newbies ready to show they know their cha cha slide from their sashay

The "longest" month of the year is over‚ but "Janu-worry" took on new meaning for some of Mzansi's celebs. Former Miss SA Liesl Laurie‚ actress Thembisa Mdoda and singer Connell Cruise‚ have the blisters‚ aches and pains as evidence they know their cha cha slide from their sashay.

To prove it‚ they are among the celebrities participating in the reality competition Dancing With The Stars‚ which launches on Sunday. In the show‚ 12 untrained celebs are paired with professional dancers and are tasked with performing for a panel of judges and the country each week in a live show.

Joining them are actors‚ presenters‚ sports personalities and a comedian who will aim to impress the judges and South Africa with their best moves.

The other celebrities making their dance debut with the cha-cha-cha‚ tango‚ waltz and samba are actor Frank Opperman‚ actress Juanita De Villiers‚ Wayde van Niekerk’s mother‚ Odessa Swarts‚ film and TV starlet Zola Nombona‚ former Bafana Bafana soccer star Delron Buckley‚ former rugby Springbok Thando Manana‚ actor and model Eden Classens‚ comedian Ebenhaezer Dibakwane and netball star Vanes-Mari du Toit.

Since starting their preparations in January‚ they’ve had to juggle their day jobs and fit in hours of rehearsal time with their partners.

Laurie‚ who hosts a radio breakfast show‚ said her day starts before 4am and her first thought when she heard she’d be part of the show was “there goes my sleep”. “I rehearse every day approximately five hours a day and that means I have no time for anything else. I haven’t seen my boyfriend in days‚” Laurie said.

Cruise started preparing his body even before he started dance rehearsals. He doubled up on gym sessions‚ starting eating well and made sure he was getting enough sleep. He also began “pouring over YouTube videos of epic Ballroom and Latin dances”‚ all to get his mind right.

In the build up to the live show they’ve lost sleep‚ gone through multiple pairs of shoes and sustained the occasional dance injury.

“The challenge isn't in the blisters‚ or the bruises or even the long hours spent rehearsing. It's the mental game that's the most brutal‚ finding the emotion‚ intention and thought-process behind every move and then believing in it and bringing it out so that's it's as much a part of the performance as the point of your foot. This really is like learning a totally different language and figuring out how to translate that into your body‚” Cruise said.

From fighting the flu‚ neck sprains and torn muscles‚ it hasn’t been all bad for the newbies. With their coffee breaks and laughs between rehearsals‚ there’s also a competitive spirit that lingers.

Mdoda is determined to win the competition even though she has vowed to not take herself too seriously and enjoy the competition.

“My first thought was‚ can I really dance? I then asked my partner what he thought and he said no with this facial expression. My next thought was‚ I am going to kick some serious butt‚ and show that I can actually move.”

Their minds and bodies might be ready for Sunday's first episode‚ but what Mdoda‚ Laurie and Cruise are most nervous about is the pressure that a live show adds. Mdoda hopes she won’t “buckle under pressure”‚ Cruise is most nervous about tripping and Laurie is aware that there are no do-overs and she hopes to remember her sashay from her glide to her cha cha slide. “Everything has been difficult. The thing that gets me the most is the timing and the counts. One would think that that it goes 1‚ 2‚ 3‚ 4 but you’d be surprised‚” Laurie said.

Dancing with the Stars SA will be broadcast live at 5pm on Sunday on M-Net channel 101. The 12 untrained celebrities‚ together with their professional Latin and ballroom dance partners‚ will compete for the favour of the three judges and the voting public.

Judging the show is international dance champion and creative director of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing Jason Gilkinson. Joining him on the panel are local dance legends Tebogo Kgobokoe and Debbie Turner‚ who will bring their years of experience‚ unique style and sharp comments to the show.