By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Expect even more flash and dazzle when the live touring production of Dancing with the Stars makes its Amarillo debut Tuesday.
"If you're a fan of the show, you're going to see things you've seen on the TV show ... but we'll also do new dances, dances people haven't seen before," said pro Lindsay Arnold, who won Season 25 with partner Jordan Fisher in November.
Dancing with the Stars Live: Light Up the Night hits town for a 7:30 p.m. Tuesday performance in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium, 401 S. Buchanan St. A limited number of tickets remain for $49.75, $59.75 and $89.75, plus fees.
"There's a lot of pros dancing with the other pros," Arnold said, unlike the TV version, where the pros — outside of occasional special numbers — generally focus on training their celebrity partners. "We get to show our full talents and our full potential. ... That's something that's really, really fun."
It's her fourth tour, joining her castmates on buses and "riding around the country and dancing," she said.
"We were in (Florida) last night," she said in a Feb. 15 phone interview. "We've been in freezing tundra basically the whole tour (including when the bus was involved in an icy crash in Iowa, which the publicist wouldn't allow Arnold to discuss), so it's been really nice."
Arnold joined the show as a pro in Season 16 in 2013 after finishing in the Top 4 on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. After four seasons in the dancing ensemble, she was chosen again as a pro dancer and partnered with National Guard member Alek Skarlatos, placing third. Over the next four seasons, she placed fourth (with Wanya Morris), third (Calvin Johnson Jr.) and second (with David Ross) before winning with Fisher, a singer and actor.
"I had so much fun with my partner, Jordan," Arnold said. "He was the first partner I had with any performance background. ... He could really move and knew how to entertain. I was really excited to see what I could do with him throughout the season, and he worked so hard.
"He pushed me as a choreographer to do things I've never done before, and I think people were really excited about what we were able to do."
She and Fisher will encore some of their most popular dances in the live show, as will third-place celebrity Frankie Muniz. Pro dancers on the tour include Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, plus Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Hayley Erbert and Brandon Armstrong.
They'll showcase all the styles of dances seen on the ABC show and perform original pieces choreographed by Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mandy Moore.
"It's a full theatrical production, nonstop from start to finish," Arnold said. "We're dancing without the pressure of being judged or eliminated — just having fun and enjoying ourselves."
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
