Facing challenges she may not even realize until she hits the dance floor for the first time, Selma Blair nevertheless says she’s “excited” about joining the cast of the upcoming Disney+ season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I’m so happy, so invigorated by this. I’m someone that historically might have a little dread for things,” Blair told E! News. “No dread!”
Instead, she called the upcoming experience a “new chapter” for her story with multiple sclerosis. She said it’s about “growing my stamina and really healing,” as well as “finding strength and support.”
While she’s excited about the opportunity to strut her stuff on the dance floor and vie for that Mirrorball Trophy with her professional partner Sasha Farber, it’s difficult to tell how her MS might react to the experience.
Speaking with Us Weekly this month, Blair revealed that sometimes she actually loses her speech “under hot lights, under sun.” She said. “Like, just getting a coffee, getting out the car will be very different than if I’m in a car seat with my knees up, I can talk clear.”
“There’s just so many interesting things I realize and patterns that I don’t think people know, even when they have friends with MS, like, how this triggers,” she continued. “I’m just a little more dramatic about it.”
While she may not have to deal with sunlight during her time in the studio, television lights can be notoriously hot, not to mention the rigors of training and practice.
But she feels she’s at a point in her journey where she’s ready to take on a physical show like “DWTS.” “There’s no way I could have [done it two years ago],” she told Us, saying that her balance wasn’t where it needed to be and she lacked the confidence. “Now, it does seem possible,” she said.
In the few rehearsals they’ve already done ahead of the season premiere on September 19, Farber says Blair has already come along way, learning to control her body better. “It’s not just a dance show for me,” he told Us. “I want Selma to walk out of this with so much more.”
One of her biggest motivations in taking on this challenge is representation for people with disabilities. “Kindness and visibility is so important, to explore, be curious and expose people to differences of speech or movement,” she said. “It’s for everyone at home that it resonates with.”
In fact, she said that her journey on the show will be for those people watching because she found so much support coming from other people when she needed it most.
“In dark times in my life, there have been people that came forward—strangers on the street or Instagram,” she explained. “I’m doing it for them.”
“Dancing with the Stars” Season 31 premieres live on Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, September 19.
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