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Oxygen star Marissa Jaret Winokur talks 'Dance Your Ass Off'

By April MacIntyre Jul 6, 2009, 2:25 GMT

Oxygen’s "Dance Your Ass Off" is a hug hit for the network on Mondays @ 10/9C. 06/29/2009 - Marissa Jaret Winokur - Marissa Jaret Winokur Promotes

06/29/2009 - Marissa Jaret Winokur - Marissa Jaret Winokur Promotes "Dance Your Ass Off" with a Handprint Ceremony at Planet Hollywood in New York City on June29, 2009 - Planet Hollywood - New York City, NY, USA © Donna Ward / PR Photos“Dance Your Ass Off” has assembled a world-class team of weight loss specialists, including Dr. Robert Huizenga (NBC’s “Biggest Loser”), nutrition specialist Meg Werner Moreta, R.D. and Crunch trainer Lee Wall. This team will give the contestants a chance to reach their maximum weight loss potential and undergo the ultimate lifestyle transformation. But even with all this support, it won’t be easy. In a nod to real-life temptations, the contestants’ kitchen contains a “Cheat Pantry” loaded with the very snacks and goodies that helped land the contestants on the show. With $100,000 and a healthier life on the line, who will have the last dance?

It's back to disco on an all new "Dance Your Ass Off." The contestants are starting to feel the heat to drop pounds, and Alicia in particular is cracking under the pressure. Tune in to find out who gets kicked off this week.

Dance Your Ass Off features twelve finalists, nearly 3,000 lbs, one goal -- to go from an eating machine to a dancing machine in Oxygen's new dance/weight loss competition series.Monsters and Critics spoke to "Dance Your Ass Off" host, TONY Award-winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, producer Sally Ann Salsano, EP Lisa Ann Walter, and choreographer Danny Teeson and Mayte Garcia.

Marissa, when you were on "Dancing With the Stars" and you would do certain moves that the judges didn't appreciate, does this show level the playing field?MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: Oh, absolutely. you have 12 contestants who are overweight, want to lose weight. And kind of how I was on "Dancing with the Stars," they all want to be there. They all love it. They all feel good -- I mean, they want to lose weight, but they definitely love themselves. And they get to know themselves more during the show, and I think they embrace more of their inner beauty during the show. I think they have a lot of what I brought to "Dancing with the Stars." I think it's showing you that other people can dance too. And even at over 200 pounds, they were dancing and doing a great job. I think it does level the playing field with the judging. I do think a lot of times the judges might have been harder on me for different reasons, or the audience wanted to see different things from me that I was trying to give them. But I do think that the show really shows the inner passion of just dance. I think that's what's so great about this show. Watching these dancers was inspiring to me because I'm saying, "Oh, my gosh." You're right, everybody at home can relate to these 12 contestants. Absolutely, everyone at home can relate to these 12 contestants much more than they can to anyone on "Dancing with the Stars." LISA ANN WALTER: The audience in America, myself included, relate more and probably look more like Marissa than they do like Karina Smirnoff or Edyta. We have a real pressure on ourselves to fulfill a norm that people in this business throw on us, And if you want to stay employed as an actress, you feel like you have to starve yourself, is what you people are used to seeing normally, which makes you think all actresses are crazy. They're not. They're hungry.MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: During the show, it's not like saying, you have to be skinny to be able to dance. LISA ANN WALTER: No, not at all. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: That is definitely not what the show is about. It's about -- I like to say when they get on the scale, they're dancing to the scale. There's never the walk of shame to the scale. They're embracing it. SALLY ANN SALSANO: It's also, like, when you think of a diet, you think, "I'm sweating, I'm crying, I'm starving." And that's kind of what this show is about. It's a little bit of like an inspirational kind of movement, not to sound cheesy. Look, I'm an overweight girl myself, and it's like I want to kill myself thinking of getting on a treadmill and doing all that. But at the end of the day, you watch these guys; they're doing the tango; they're pole dancing; they're dancing to hip-hop. And they are having the time of their life, and they're shedding the weight. And that's the difference. It's kind of like you can have fun. This isn't torture. Get out there. Have a good time. And a lot of gyms and a lot of classes that we could all take -- there is a hip-hop aerobics. There is booty ballet, like, all that stuff that you want. But I think people all across the nation don't realize that losing weight can be not torture, can be super fun. LISA ANN WALTER: And that way you keep it up more too. Those of us who have struggled our whole lives with weight, you get to a lot of treadmill situations where you're like, "How many more minutes?" And you want to kill yourself because you hate what you're doing. The whole idea behind this was that I always loved to dance, and it's fun. You're not watching the clock. And when the show period is over or your diet is, like, "I've reached my goal weight," you're going to keep doing it. Nobody has to remind you to get up and have fun and dance. It's just fun. So that's why we all do it. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: And I think that that's why I did so well on "Dancing with the Stars," because I truly loved what I was doing. I love to dance. I love to perform. I loved wearing the costumes. And you will see that in these contestant. They love to perform. They love to dance. And they look beautiful. Like, I mean, they really look gorgeous in their wardrobe. SALLY ANN SALSANO: And they feel gorgeous. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: And they feel gorgeous. I feel like it definitely was my experience if I, at the end of the day, had to get on a scale. It is a beautiful thing. LISA ANN WALTER: But part of the challenge and what changes about you is that -- again, growing up with a weight problem myself, it's why I became funny because you want to make the joke first. You struggle with self-esteem. And when you dance, you stand different. When you're in costumes where you feel gorgeous, you're presenting the most confident version of yourself. And every week this is what we promoted in them. "Be the best version of you, the healthiest version ever you. You don't have to be 120 pounds. Just be the best you, and have some fun." And that's what they did. It was glorious to watch and be a part of. It was so gratifying to hear from the contestants how this show changed their life. It really was a blessing. Sally, can you give us an idea of the range of dances that we're going to see on this show, what type of dances? SALLY ANN SALSANO: Sure. I think that's one of the things that makes this show super fresh and appeals to a younger generation. It's everything from hip-hop to ballroom to pole dancing. Like we flat out did a stripper pole episode, and it was really fun. And that was about getting these contestants out there and actually feeling sexy. It was really good. We did jazz. We did every 5 type of dance you can think of. Samba. hip-hop was great. I thought it was a lot of fun. '80s. We did an '80s week. It was a good time. LISA ANN WALTER: Disco. SALLY ANN SALSANO: Disco. MAYTE GARCIA: Disco. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: Yeah, it's definitely not how "Dancing with the Stars" is all ballroom dancing, I can say for myself I feel like it's very much -- it's like how "So You Think You Can Dance" has, lots of different kinds of dancing.LISA ANN WALTER: Yeah, much more along those lines. Marissa. How much of a go-to person were you on these people's journeys, given that you've gone through this yourself? MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: Well, for me, it was hard because every time there would be a break on set, I would find myself at craft services with them being like, "Oh, my gosh, wait, we can't eat this. We have to all step away from the craft service table right now," I befriended every single one of the contestants. I definitely felt like I inspired them because they all had seen "Dancing with the Stars," they'd all been a part of -- being an overweight person, I think that I inspire people that are overweight at home wanting to be performers. And so I was with the contestants as much as I possibly could be. I became really good friends with them. And I'm not allowed to Facebook with them right now, but I want to. I definitely felt like I was there for advice. And I would say, like with one girl I was like, "Oh, my gosh, I feel the same way as you. Like right now we have to get through that. I know what that's like to hit a plateau." And we would talk about what happens now when you're losing weight, how scary it is to go to the grocery store. So there were definitely things that I had been through and I'm going through that I could absolutely relate to them. I would talk to them about all of it. And then just the dancing. Let alone -- forget about the weight loss. Just being in a dance competition, the stress and how tired you get, and your feet hurt. And I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, wear your sneakers in rehearsal. What are you doing? Take your heels off." I would say to them, "I'm going to tell you this is where people get hurt" because I had gone through it. I know the pressure and the stress of being on a dance competition show. And we see it on "Dancing with the Stars" now. Everybody is getting hurt. LISA ANN WALTER: And there are specific considerations on people who are heavy anyway to protect themselves. I mean, you have more stress on the knees and joints. And so we always wanted to make sure people - first of all, there is all sorts of insuring that they were eating, that nobody was trying to overdo. The doctor was there to make sure that people were not in a state of ketosis, that everybody was actually feeding their body. Because again, the show is not about "You have to be the weight we say. Ten more pushups." We all like to eat. I'm Italian and French. Most ethnic groups like to have food. They like to share it with their family. And many of us are food addicts. But in this case, instead of 12-stepping, we're quick-stepping. We just want to make sure that they are having fun, getting fed, not doing anything in the extreme because at the end of the day, you want them to keep up with it and have it become a lifestyle and not just "I'm doing it for a quick fix right now." So we had to make sure that people were not too hard on themselves because we want them to keep going. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: And as the host, I found it very hard because I was very emotionally involved with all these people. There was a journey everybody was going through, all the contestants went through that I felt like I've been through, I'm going through, I'm going to go through it again. I know that at first I was like, "Oh, this will be fun. I'm hosting this cool show. And I love the idea of it." And then all of a sudden I'm like, "Oh, my God, I hope she loses weight. I hope she loses weight." SALLY ANN SALSANO: It's stress. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: "I hope she does well." Then I'm like, "Who's going home?" I would be so -- I was so emotionally involved with the women and the men of the show because I know it's not just a dance competition. It's not -- it's like they were putting themselves out there. Like I know what that is to perform, and that's what I do as a career. And these are men and women at home who just love to dance. I couldn't imagine being in the pressure I was in on 'Dancing with the Stars' and that not being what I do." And then the added pressure of having to lose weight. It's like all of the combination. So I was very emotionally attached to everyone, and I found myself, week after week, trying to help everybody out. And I'd go to the loft, and I would be as much around as I could with them. As much as I was allowed to be, I would be. How is your Facebook challenge going? MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: I had realized that since my son was born nine months ago, I had gained 20 pounds. So I was, like, "Oh, my gosh, before his first birthday I want to try to lose that 20 pounds." And this show was really -- I mean, I watched everyone do it through dance and through just embracing life in a way that -- I mean, being a new mom is really hard because I'm low man on the totem pole right now. I'm just taking care of my son. So I started a Facebook group that I said, "Lose weight with Marissa Jaret Winokur. Come on, we can lose weight together. Just help each owner out." I have, like, 900 people, like, already just signed on, just giving advice and just helping people out, because I said "Okay, today let's all start dieting. Let's work on figuring out what's healthy." The thing is I'll get people who are, like, 13-year-old girls will come on and will say, like, "I feel this way." And I'm like, "Send me a picture." And then I would literally look at the picture, and I'm like, "Okay, you need to not" -- "don't listen to the crazy adults on this Facebook right now." We need to, like, support the fact that, like, "Okay, if you want to do something, go take a dance class, go play a sport, and be healthy and, like, live and be happy." So I've been finding that -- at first I thought, "Oh, this will be fun. We'll all lose weight together." But now I'm finding that there are -- like it's a younger generation that I'm wanting to help. LISA ANN WALTER: That's the other side of this show that sets it apart, and I think that Oxygen -- and I am so blessed to have unbelievable talents at 495 and at Oxygen that kept the integrity and the intention of this show, which was not to say, "You need to be this weight," again going back to that. We've all heard the rules of what to do to lose weight. Anybody who has watched "Oprah" for 20 years knows what you're supposed to do and what you're not supposed to do and carbs versus protein versus Atkin's versus cabbage 24 hours a day and Master Cleanse. We've heard it all. We know what to do. SALLY ANN SALSANO: Everything was personalized too. Just to go back to how the show kind of worked, it's like as these people came in, they were put under intense medical testing just to make sure they could withstand the competition. And then every single person had one-on-ones with the doctor that we had on call 24/7, physical therapists at the loft. They all got the right amount of calories for themselves. And they were really monitored. And that being said, as much weight as they lost was completely up to them. They all worked out. They all had a professional dance partner, just like "Dancing with the Stars," where they had a true pro who worked with them seven days a week up to three hours a day. Aside from that they had two dance studios available to them in house for two -- for 24 hours a day. And we always recorded their performances so that they can play them back in their own rooms. They all had mirrors and ballet bars this their rooms so they could work out as much as they wanted. For us, it was just important to say, "This is the real world. We're not saying you have to be at the gym from 10:00 to 10:00. How are you going to change your life?" LISA ANN WALTER: And they took those messages -- like one of the pieces that I really loved was when the contestants took recipes that they loved to eat that really fed their soul, that reminded them, like, of food from back home and that they felt good eating, but they did the healthy version of it. And they did it themselves so that when they leave this environment, this very pristine, sort of specialized environment, they're going to take that with them and still be able to enjoy their food and just change up the recipe slightly so that they can have it be a healthy version. And the show supported all of that. Marissa, one of my favorite things about "Dancing with the Stars" is hair, makeup, and wardrobe - the synchronizing of those three departments - and the beautiful work that maleup depsrtment head Melanie Mills and her team does, and the hair department too. So is this show going to have the really standout hair and makeup?MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: Oh, absolutely. It's a dance 10 show. I know they had -- theyhired an amazing professional -- I mean, costuming,the wardrobe it's up to "Dancing with the Stars," and "So You Think You Can Dance" standards, as is the hair and makeup. SALLY ANN SALSANO: And even kudos to our staff too because all of our stuff was custom. A lot of that stuff you can rent from a costume shop and everything like that, but because everyone, we wanted them to look and feel good about what they were doing, it was the same type of costumes, but everything was custom made to their bodies because, obviously, there's not potentially a size 22 tango dress with a backless whatever. LISA ANN WALTER: But they looked beautiful. SALLY ANN SALSANO: But we made it, and it was beautiful, and everyone felt good. LISA ANN WALTER: And it helped their performance energy too because when they saw themselves -- and actually, that was another really beautiful thing to watch was how they came in sort of being "This is how I get by in my life. I'm the funny girl," "I oversexualize to compensate," and the journey that they made throughout in just looking at themselves as being beautiful people. And it was just awesome to watch. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: But that was definitely through the hair and makeup and wardrobe. I know for a fact that, everybody feels a hundred times better when they get their hair, makeup, and get a dress put on. That just ups the ante to being, like, "Wait, I feel like a star right now." So I think that's what helped me through "Dancing with the Stars." I would never have been able to do it in my sweats. I put on a waltz dress and felt like I was now a ballerina. And I feel that this is exactly the opportunity that they are giving these contestants, to actually feel like a princess, to feel like a prince, and they shine, and they meet all your expectations and then some. I mean, there were so many weeks that I was so blown away by it all, by the whole picture. The picture was perfect. And it was two sizes bigger, but it was a perfect picture. Exactly how are the contestants getting judged, and how will they be eliminated? Is it by dancing or the percentage of weight loss?SALLY ANN SALSANO: It's actually both. LISA ANN WALTER: Both. SALLY ANN SALSANO: It's both. All three judges -- But basically the judges all judge them, and they all got a score, and then they combine that with the percentage of weight loss, and then that was their overall score. So it was basically your dance and your weight loss combined. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: And sometimes the weight loss will save them, and sometimes the dance will save them. MAYTE GARCIA: Yeah. LISA ANN WALTER: We were just talking about it this morning. Certainly if you're in there really working 12 it and doing -- some of our contestants took those dance videos and studied on their own, worked with their partner because -- I don't know about you guys, but I love to dance. I'll dance around my living room. I don't need to go clubbing. I can't anymore. Too many kids. But these people that really worked, their weight loss was informed by how much they had rehearsed during the week, and it would also improve their performance. Sometimes possibly there was a little something going on in their diet. Maybe the weight loss wasn't there, but they came out and they -- MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: And their dance -- LISA ANN WALTER: They took that stage by storm, and then they scored so high that maybe even if they didn't have the highest weight loss, they did very well. So it was truly a combination because it's about overall changing your -- how you feel about yourself, your attitude, your confidence, and improving your health to be the best version of yourself. SALLY ANN SALSANO: When you guys were judging them, did you guys feel like it was -- did you judge them just like you judged anyone else?MAYTE GARCIA: Yeah, we judged them on technicality, on performance. I mean, it was full-on like if it was a dance competition. DANNY TEESON: Yeah, I mean, obviously, we've heard about the positive thread that does run through the show. But ultimately us three are here to judge a dance competition, that aspect. And there are ten contestants that each one is saying they deserve a hundred thousand dollars in prize money more than the next person. So we're not -- I'm certainly, speaking for myself -- there to stroke anyone's ego and kind of humor them through this. We're there to be honest, to help them get better and do better, because as they lose weight, they will dance better and achieve higher scores, which you will see throughout the season. The scores went from one end to another if they were good. So we're definitely honest dance judges that are basing our judgment on our expertise. LISA ANN WALTER: There might be some little tweak specialized to people who are carrying some extra weight. Danny was pretty -- really great a couple of times in pointing out to some of the people something that -- this idea actually came out of when I did "Shall We Dance" and was asked to put on a lot of weight and then lost it afterwards just by dance class. And I remember when I was doing that, my balance was off because I was carrying weight I wasn't used to carrying. Danny was really great in pointing out to people, "You know, you're throwing yourself into a move, and your weight is carrying you past. You need to really be careful about your balance and your posture, keeping yourself in line so that that doesn't happen." And then people would take that note, and the next week it would improve. So there were little things that were specialized to people carrying a few more pounds, but the dance judgment was the dance judgment. DANNY TEESON: I mean, you definitely see a transformation in the dance aspect as well. MAYTE GARCIA: Oh, yeah. DANNY TEESON: This isn't going to be ten weeks of, you know, a weight-loss show and they put on a different costume each week. Each week is a makeover. You wonder how they're going to come out looking each week, and it's shocking at times. And then the dance performance is a different dance performance from the week before. So essentially you're watching these people transform in front of your eyes, but it's a totally different show every week. SALLY ANN SALSANO: And it's also emotional. Like to Danny, like you see the physical makeover, like he's saying. You see the dances get better. But you're also on the emotional ride. I think that's something that's important. Because just like we connected to these people, the people at home are going to connect because you kind of are rooting for them. Like all 12 contestants are the underdogs. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: Yeah. SALLY ANN SALSANO: No matter what states they come from, in their states, they're the underdogs. Normally you go on a show, and you're like, "Ah, that's the underdog." No way. They all showed up as the underdogs, and they all left on top, you know. MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: As I said before, it's a variety show in the sense that you're watching performers perform. LISA ANN WALTER: Everybody is Susan Boyle. MAYTE GARCIA: I know. LISA ANN WALTER: Everybody is somebody you want to go, "Wow!" MARISSA JARET WINOKUR: In a really, really pretty dress and really good makeup and great hair and dancing their asses off literally. That's what I found, like, my -- coming into the show, I was like, "Oh, I hope they can dance." You know what I mean? Because you don't want 12 weeks or 10 weeks of people not being able to dance. I can assure you they dance. And that, to me, was very important. And I was very excited, which makes it such a roller coaster ride because, oh, my gosh, they're dancing great. Their dances are getting better and better and better, and they're losing weight. You are rooting for everyone because of the fact that they've never been able to do this in their hometown. They wouldn't go to a club and be asked to dance with a man. Like oh, my gosh, and they are on national TV now, dancing. And it's just amazing. And they do a really good job, and I was really proud to be a part of it.