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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 9, 2009

'Dancing' raises profile of ex-Islander


BY MAUREEN O'CONNELL
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Mark Dacascos

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'DANCING WITH THE STARS'

Mondays, dance show, 7-9 p.m.

Tuesdays, results show, 8-9 p.m.

ABC

For more information about the show and voting for contestants, visit

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

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Mark Dacascos has worked as an actor for decades, with roles ranging from high-kicking martial arts expert to host for a popular cooking competition show. But it took the jitterbug and cha-cha to put him on a first-name basis with passers-by on the street.

"Three months ago, people kind of knew me from action movies," Dacascos said. "Or they'd recognize my face and say 'Oh, that's the "Iron Chef America" guy.' Now they just call out my name: 'Hey, Mark! We saw you on 'Dancing With the Stars.' "

After seven weeks on the reality TV show, Dacascos and retired Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin were eliminated Tuesday night. Dacascos, who spent some of his keiki years in the Honolulu area, spoke with the The Advertiser about his dancing, acting, working in Hollywood and Hawaii ties.

Q. As you made your exit from "Dancing With the Stars," you described the experience as one of the best of your professional life. How so?

A. "Very rarely do you get a chance to perform before 17 million to 20 million people live. It was an intense experience, just because of that," Dacascos said. "There's something about knowing you have one take at doing your best."

At the time of his elimination, Dacascos had been dancing for 52 days without a day off. And before that, he and the other 15 celebrity contestants spent four weeks — six days each week — prepping for the competition.

"Everything just becomes magnified. It feels like my heart has been pumping a mile a minute for the last 11 weeks or so," he said.

Q. Your regular dance partner was sick with the flu last week. And the judges put you at the bottom of the leader board after your performance on Monday with a substitute pro dancer. What happened?

A. "It was very nerve-wracking," Dacascos said of the partner switch, which left him with no dance routine 48 hours before the show time. "Even with five days of prep, I would think, 'Oh, my gosh, I don't know if I can do this." But Dacascos said he also felt a sense of calm resolution in knowing that he would perform regardless.

Consequently, he was puzzled by judge (and Punahou grad) Carrie Ann Inaba's comment: "You had a lot of nervous energy tonight." Of that remark, Dacascos said: "I can honestly say, from my point of view, I didn't feel that, because there was resolution. There was nothing I could do about it. I danced from my heart."

Q. One of your lauded performances was a fast-paced jitterbug, which tied the highest score on an October evening. Were you on top of the world?

A. "It was a fantastic feeling," Dacascos said. Before that performance, in which the 45-year-old nailed tricky acrobatic skills usually reserved for the show's pro dancers, he and his partner were near the middle of the pack. "Fortunately for us, not only did the fans like it, the judges gave us good scores. I was ecstatic."

Q. You have fans here in Hawaii who say at least a few of the remaining contestants should have been eliminated before you. Is celebrity name recognition keeping lesser performers on the show too long?

A. Dacascos conceded the possibility but shrugged it off with, "I think it is show business." Regardless of any celebrity factor, he said: "To take a local boy, whose family is from Kaimukí and Kalihi, and to give me the opportunity to be on one of the No. 1 shows of the networks, I am totally grateful and honored."

Among the fans here are his father, martial arts instructor Al Dacascos, and his stepmother, singer Melveen Leed. "She was e-mailing, calling and texting messages to all of her friends to get behind her stepson" through the show's fan voting opportunities.

Dacascos added that his biological mother, Mariko McVey, and Malia Bernal, the stepmother who helped teach him martial arts, also cheered him on.

Q. What about learning dance did you find most challenging?

A. "The hardest part was being paired up with somebody you don't know for seven days a week, five to eight hours a day," Dacascos said, pointing out that even during stressful prep sessions, contestants wore microphones and their moves were recorded on camera.

Before signing on as a contestant, Dacascos had last dabbled in dance about a decade ago when he completed a total of less than four hours of ballroom dancing lessons with his wife. Thanks to his ongoing training in martial arts, yoga, gymnastics and surfing sessions, he never pulled a muscle on the dance floor.

Q. What's up next for you?

A. "I'm going back to my roots to do a hard-core martial arts action film," which will get under way in January, Dacascos said. He is also getting ready to head to Thailand to appear in a film that offers a strong narrative in addition to "kick-and-punch" action.

Regarding "Iron Chef," the "Chairman" said: "We have a big White House special coming up," and would neither confirm nor deny that Michelle Obama will be featured in the kitchen.

Q. So, you spent some keiki years here?

A. Born in Honolulu, Dacascos spent a lot of time at his grandparents' homes in Kalihi, Makíkí and Kaimukí areas until he was about 6. He then moved to the Mainland — and would also live in Germany and Taiwan — before returning here, briefly, as a teenager. He hasn't lived here since, but Dacascos and his wife, Julie, arranged for their three children, all of whom have Hawaiian names, to be born at Wahiawa General Hospital.

"I think where you're born has a lot to do with essence of you, and I love Hawaii," he said.

Q. And what's at the top of your must-do list when you visit the Islands?

A. "The No. 1 is to surf," Dacascos said. "Before I surf, I go to Diamond Head cemetery, and I visit both grandmothers and my great-grandparents there." Of the open, breezy grounds, he said, "It really grounds me because Hollywood is a crazy place and show business is just insane." Dacascos laughed, adding, "It's wonderful at times, but insane."

What he enjoys most about surfing is: "You only get what you've earned. If you can't paddle in and out, you won't get the waves you want. I love that. It's a metaphor for life."