Danica McKellar Reveals How DWTS Prepared Her for New GAF Movie
By Moveiguide® Contributor
Danica McKellar and co-star David Haydn-Jones sat down to discuss the complex dances in their upcoming Great American Family movie, SWING INTO ROMANCE.
Both McKellar and Haydn-Jones were grateful they filmed the big dance scene first “to get it out of the way.”
“There’s this huge dance number at the end, like serious fast swing jive dance that is no joke,” McKellar shared, adding that her time on DANCING WITH THE STARS helped her prepare.
“DANCING WITH THE STARS prepped me for [this], and it was nine years ago. But psychologically knowing how much that takes and how much of an athlete you have to be. Ballroom dancing is a sport. It’s athletic and very demanding,” she explained.
“But I really only had three weeks to rehearse this,” Haydn-Jones added.
“…he took it upon himself to get coaching and was really proactive. He said ‘Give me tools.’ And I’m like ‘Okay, I’ll give you tools,’” McKellar continued. “So, I sent him a video of the dance but also a breakdown in an Excel document of all the moves according to the count of eight. And this guy just took it and ran with it and did a great job.”
Haydn-Jones responded, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as an actor. I had some dance training, but I was just basically a choral, singer, dancer and musical theater guy. I had never done partner dancing. And that energy and the lead and the touch and the signaling, it is such a specific skill set. But I think I got there.”
They shared that the filming is wrapping up and SWING INTO ROMANCE will premiere this fall.
A brief synopsis of the movie reads, “In SWING INTO ROMANCE, when former dancer Christine Sims (McKellar) temporarily returns to her hometown in time for the town’s Fall Festival, she discovers her family’s General Store is in trouble. In her efforts to save the business, Christine will need to dust off those dancing shoes one more time, face her ex-fiancé and maybe even find love.”
Movieguide® previously reported on McKellar’s involvement in the movie:
“I’ve been wanting to dance in a movie since I was on DANCING WITH THE STARS in 2014, but I’ve always loved dancing,” McKellar shared. “My mom was a professional dancer before I was born, so the love of dance is in my genes…”
SWINGING INTO ROMANCE hasn’t cast McKellar’s co-star or added a choreographer yet, but the actress is already preparing for her role
“I have been training anyway,” she laughed. “Not specific dance moves, but in general, with a coach. Because, let’s face it, it’s nine years after DANCING WITH THE STARS — so I’m nine years older — and it’s not something I do every day. But I love it so much and I want to do a good job. So, like anything else, I’m doing my best to prepare.”
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