Carrie Ann Inaba Dancing with the Stars Judge
Carrie Ann Inaba, one of the judges from the summer smash hit "Dancing with the Stars," folds a multitude of interests into her busy life. She's an actor, choreographer, dancer, Cum Laude graduate of UCLA in World Arts and Cultures, martial artist, yoga devotee, piano player, cat-rescuer, and even a pop recording star in Japan. She directs, writes and edits documentaries and films through her own company, EnterMediArts Inc., and this much is for sure: she knows her mind, she knows dance and she has no problem expressing an opinion. Just ask finalists John O'Hurley and Kelly Monaco.
Carrie Ann's own dance background is extensive. Featured in Mike Myers' Austin Powers movies, she was first a Felicity Dancer in the company of Heather Graham and then Fook Mi's twin, Fook Yu in "Austin Powers 3: Goldmember." She was a Fly Girl on "In Living Color," one of Madonna's dancers in the Girlie Show World Tour and a featured dancer in Ricky Martin's video, "Shake Your Bon Bon." She's choreographed for such television shows as "American Idol," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Swan," "Starting Over" and "He's a Lady." She worked on the "Miss America Pageant" for four years and the "World Super Model Pageant" in Dubai.
She is not, however, a ballroom dancer. "I had a hard time with that initially, so I talked to the producers a lot ahead of time." She took her role quite seriously and wanted her judging to be accurate and fair. The producers of "Dancing with the Stars" gave each judge a lengthy list of criteria that defined each specific dance. Carrie Ann bought a little black notebook and faithfully recorded the elements of each style. She consulted the list immediately prior to the performances and then included elements of her own: "charisma, tempo, carriage and the articulation of the style's movements." Most of all, she wanted the dancers to "feel free within the dance. It's not about obtaining perfection. It's about allowing your soul to be free. I'm more interested in the overall performance, because I come from the school of art as a creative endeavor."
Carrie Ann specializes in working with non-dancers. She teaches them how to move their bodies and then works with them on staging and posture. She is accustomed to critiquing and correcting. Even so, she said, "It's a challenging role to speak so openly about mistakes." Dubbed the "harsh judge" in the press, Carrie Ann liked the fact that the judges were required to post scores to back up their critiques, to make them accountable. And, she added, "When you speak the truth, people react well to it."
People also react well to a program that's not about infighting over money. The goal was a personal best, a sense of achievement and that means putting one's ego on the line. Who doesn't understand the delicacy involved with that? Carrie Ann said the allure of "Dancing With the Stars" is that it's "good, old fashioned entertainment. It's how MGM looked back in its heyday."
There's also the "live" element that attracts people. Lest you think the judges knew ahead of time who they would vote for, Carrie Ann said they had no inkling of the strengths or weaknesses of any of the couples' routines because there was absolutely no interaction between judges and dancers prior to performance. If a dance team was rehearsing on the set, the judges were not allowed out of their dressing rooms. No hint of impropriety.
Carrie Ann likes it that way. She's worked too hard to get where she is as a performer and as a businesswoman to have her efforts sullied. "I have an amazing work ethic." And that work ethic involves ambitious plans. One is a dance/education center "where students can learn to mix self-expression with education" - entertainment with business. "The entertainment industry is sometimes difficult on your soul because it's a business. It uses talent to make money. It's a business. It's hard to mix the two...Business mind-set people do better as a career. The artist-minded have the hardest time... Feel the joy but if you're making business, know the rules of the game. Don't be naïve. Don't be squooshed by the business world."
Carrie Ann has taken the rules of the business world and gracefully, precisely folded them origami-like into her entertainment career to achieve success, both here and abroad. But, she said, "I would use the word 'fortunate' - not 'success'" because "I don't like the black and white connotation with that word." Okay - "fortunate" it is. Carrie Ann is fortunate enough to combine an astute business sensibility with an entertainer's abandonment, impetuosity. "I still dance down the aisles in the grocery store to the elevator music." Really? Wonder how that would be judged.