What It’s Like to Attend a Live Taping of Dancing with the Stars! #DWTS #ABCTVEvent

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Disclosure- I have been provided an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for the Big Hero 6 movie premiere and ABC TV Event in exchange for coverage of these events. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you so much Disney and ABC TV!DWTS GFXPhoto credit: ABC
I’ve been a fan of Dancing with the Stars for years so getting the chance to attend a live taping was a dream come true.  24 other bloggers and I got all dolled up and attended the live November 3rd taping.  (Lots of photos coming up!)  dressed up for DWTSGetting All Dolled Up For Dancing With The Stars
We arrived at the studio and the excitement started as soon as we saw the trailers and parking spots for the dancers and the stars.
parking dwtsWe had a chance to take a few photos like the group photo below before we were ushered to our assigned seats.
DWTS Group photoPhoto credit: ABC
mommy bloggerThis is what was on our seats!me on DWTSIt was surreal to look around and see the area where the band sits, the judges’ table, and the dance floor.  Our seats were on the second level right across from the judges’ table where we had a bird’s eye view of everything that was going on below us.

views from DWTSWhile we waiting for the show to start we got to watch some of the dancers warm up and shoot an upcoming promo for the 10 year anniversary.  Here’s what our view looked like and a clip of the dancers practicing for the promo.  I wish my hips worked like this!

DWTS 10 year promoIt was so exciting to be at the show live as it was airing.  The energy was palpable.  My tip for you- if you ever get the chance to attend a live DWTS taping make sure to wear comfortable shoes.  There is A LOT of standing up when the show is live and sitting down on commercial breaks.  And your hands might hurt from all the clapping.  But I wouldn’t change a second of my amazing experience.  The music, the dancing, the excitement of waiting to hear the judges’ scores.  It was all incredibly exciting!  Here are some pictures of the dances from that night.

WITNEY CARSON, ALFONSO RIBEIROAlfonso & Witney
Photo credit: ABC

 

JANEL PARRISH, VAL CHMERKOVSKIYJanel & Val
Photo credit: ABC

BETHANY MOTA, DEREK HOUGHBethany & Derek
Photo credit: ABC

LEA THOMPSON, ARTEM CHIGVINTSEVLea & Artem
Photo credit: ABC

PETA MURGATROYD, TOMMY CHONGTommy & Peta
Photo credit: ABC

MARK BALLAS, SADIE ROBERTSON

Sadie & Mark
Photo credit: ABC

TOM BERGERON, ERIN ANDREWS, MICHAEL WALTRIP, EMMA SLATER

Michael & Emma farewell photo from 11/3 show. Photo credit: ABC
It’s always sad to see a star eliminated from the competition.  Michael Waltrip may not have been a great dancer but he had such heart and such a good attitude every week on the show.  I knew he wouldn’t win but it was sad to see such a positive man get eliminated but the competition is just getting fiercer!

My friends and family were home watching the show and grabbed some shots where you can see me in the audience.
Look, here I am:
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Of course Dancing with the Stars wouldn’t be the same without the judges:

CARRIE ANN INABA, LEN GOODMAN, JULIANNE HOUGH, BRUNO TONIOLICARRIE ANN INABA, LEN GOODMAN, JULIANNE HOUGH, BRUNO TONIOLI
Photo credit (ABC/Adam Taylor)
On our way back to our shuttle we ran into Bruno Tonioli who was even sexier in person!  Did you see him in my video above?  He certainly brings lots of personality to the show!
bruno dwtsOur exciting night didn’t end there.  We went to a local restaurant/bar, Mixology 101, and had the privilege of  a meet and greet with several of the stars and dancers from the show.  We weren’t sure who the special guests would be.  Then we looked up and in walked Lea Thompson and her partner Artem Chigvintsev.  lea and artemLea looked even more beautiful and YOUNG in person.  I swear she must have taken a trip in the DeLorean time machine because she looked AMAZING.  She was so sweet and down to Earth.  A small group of us took a picture with her and when we went to get up to let the next group have time with her, she said,”Wait, aren’t you going to sit and talk to me!”.  She sat with us like we were old friends.  She told us all about life working on her ABC Family show, Switched at Birth, being on Dancing with the Stars with all the practice that it requires, and being a mom, doing laundry, keeping her house clean, and all her other duties.  My husband’s favorite movies are the Back to the Future Trilogy so he was so jealous when he saw my picture:
Me and Lea ThompsonOur fun and excitement was just starting.  In walked Dancing with the Stars contestant and Duck Dynasty reality personality Sadie Robertson and her parents, Willie and Korie Robertson who go to all the DWTS shows to watch their daughter dance.  I just had to take a picture with another Cori (she spells it Korie) but it’s not every day that you get photobombed by Willie Robertson.  Actually he was supposed to be smiling in the picture and I didn’t know that he was puckering up until after I looked through my camera pictures.
Ducky Dynasty and MeAnd here I am with Sadie’s dance partner, Mark Ballas.
me and markOne of my favorite parts of the night was watching Mark, watching his performance with Sadie from that night on the big tv over our heads and seeing his reactions as they danced.  Dancing with the Stars is filmed live from 5-7 p.m. PST because it airs live from 8-10 p.m. EST.  It then airs at 8 p.m. PST so we were able to watch the show as it aired locally.
mark watching DWTSAnother of my favorite couples is Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy.  They are just so adorable together.
janel and valVal was almost unrecognizable with his clean shaven face.  It’s funny because I get on my husband all the time to shave but part of me wished that Val had his stubble when I met him.  Who am I kidding, he’s a hottie stubble or no stubble.  And as a Pretty Little Liar fan, I was so excited to meet Janel who looked exactly like she does on television.  She was so sweet and pretty.  I could have sat and chatted with them all night.

Janel and Val and MeDancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC!  I can’t wait to watch tonight!

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