Professional dancer Emma Slater admits she didn’t have a “Plan B” career-wise.
From the time that she was 10, the “Dancing With The Stars” performer has always just danced.
“I saw a demonstration by a local dance school that I just fell in love with, and I begged my mom and dad to take me to the school and they did,” said Slater, who performs with the “Dancing with the Stars: Live! Perfect Ten Tour,” which comes to the Charleston Municipal Auditorium Aug. 5.
Speaking over the phone from a noisy, crowded room while on the road with the show, the dancer said, “From there it went from a hobby to a few competitions to a sport that turned into my career, which is fortunate because I have absolutely no idea what I would do if I wasn’t a dancer.”
Slater joined “Dancing With The Stars” as a troupe dancer in 2012. The next year, for Season 17, she was promoted to pro-dancer and gained her first celebrity partner comedian in Bill Engvall. She’s been competing for viewers’ votes with various celebrity partners ever since, but has yet to get the winning title.
She won't be the only dancer appearing. Season 20 champion Rumer Willis, daughter of celebrities Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, will join Slater and fellow dancers Witney Carson, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe and Peta Murgatroyd. Troupe dancers Alan Bersten, Brittany Cherry, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson are also in the show.
The “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” champion, Melissa Rycroft, will host the tour.
Slater said one of the most unique aspects of the tour is that it allows fans to see their favorite dancers perform in person and see the dancers’ personalities come to life.
“Watching the show you don’t get to see what’s behind the camera. The live tour’s different. It’s far more personable. You actually get to know the dancers by name, meet them and ask questions,” Slater said.
She also emphasized a greater level of energy and liveliness with an in-person dance show, compared to viewing performances from a television or computer screen — not to mention that the all-professional lineup of dancers brings a higher level of skill than the show, which pairs professional dancers with beginner, celebrity dancers.
“What the audience doesn’t really think of is, it’s really different when one professional and a beginner dance together, (as opposed to when) two professionals dance together. There’s a lot more energy.”
Slater recommends that fans of the show go see the live tour.
“Fans should go and see the real professionals and hear about the reality of the show and ask questions and see performances they haven’t seen on television.
“It’s such a phenomenal show. It makes so much sense for there to be a tour of ‘Dancing With The Stars.’”