Trading skates for shoes and experiencing both fear and fun, Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi is ready to compete in ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," starting tomorrow.

"I've been a skater my whole life, but dancing? I'm just an average recreational dancer, swaying back and forth," she said last week in a phone conversation from Los Angeles. "I had to learn."

Yamaguchi, who won Olympic gold on the ice rink in Albertville, France, in 1992, now faces scrutiny from a new set of judges plus the viewing public as she teams up with Mark Ballas to compete in an arena where there's no gold, silver or bronze. The pair is one of a dozen dancing couples eager to waltz, cha-cha and mambo their way to the winner's circle.

"This kind of dancing is completely new to me. My body knows how to skate, how to use the feet and the legs," said Yamaguchi. "But dancing? Learning how has been part of the fun."

Yamaguchi, 36, who left competitive skating four years ago, said she has been a watch-from-home fan of "Dancing With the Stars." That's partly why she agreed to appear and compete, even with initial trepidation.

"I love watching; I get caught up in the nerves," she said. "But skating has been a comfort zone. So it's humbling, to be at the top of your game then starting in another at the bottom."

From a viewer's perspective, Yamaguchi said, "You see the level of dancing from week one, and the improvement toward the end of the competition." She added, "It's so amazing; I've always wanted to ballroom dance, but never took the time to learn. So this is an amazing opportunity for me to learn from the best of the world."

Yamaguchi and Ballas will be part of the Tuesday show, when the second batch of six couples dance.

She credits dancemate Ballas for putting her at ease, guiding her and gliding with her in workouts in Raleigh, N.C., where Yamaguchi lives with husband Bret Hedican, an NHL hockey player with the Carolina Hurricanes, and their two young daughters. "Mark has made dancing fun and comfortable for me; his technique is amazing. Very professional; very serious. He did our choreography. And he has a great work ethic, making sure it's fun for me. I think we're a good combination."

Yamaguchi said daughters, Keara, 4, and Emma, 2, watch the show with her, and the older one loves to dance.

"That's one of the things about the show — the whole family can watch," said Yamaguchi. "You get a good mix of persona, too. Like sports people thrown in there, too — like Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins."

Husband Hedican is excited about her participation, said Yamaguchi, but the family had to strategize and plan how to cope with the careers of both parents.

"I'll basically be in California the next couple of weeks, and Bret's in the middle of his hockey season, so it's kind of been an undertaking to make sure the girls are looked after. But he's been very supportive."

Practicing has toned her body a bit, she said, something she's neglected when she put a brake on her career to start and raise a family. "I really haven't lost weight, but I feel fit. And toned up," Yamaguchi said.

Dancing aside, her focus is on being mom.

"I like focusing on the kids, the quiet life; they're my world now," Yamaguchi said. "I'm really happy. The girls have been on ice, and the older one loves it; the younger one can stand and scoot around."

Yamaguchi and her husband have purchased a condominium under construction in the Ka'anapali area of Maui. "It'll be great to spend some time there in the summer," she said. The couple got married in Hawai'i on July 8, 2001. In addition, Yamaguchi is maintaining an Island presence of sorts in that she appears in Aloha Shoyu Gold advertisements.

For the past few weeks, Yamaguchi has been mostly foxtrotting, getting into the slow-quick-quick-slow maneuvers, to acquire grace and ease on the dance floor.

She's a bit worried about the more demanding and complicated tango, but that's still down the line. "So far, there have been no nightmares," she said.

Yamaguchi sees her participation as a chance for her fans to see her having fun in a different type of spotlight. The intent of "DWTS" is to pair celebs with professional dancers to wow the judges and the folks at home, with one pair getting the boot each week. Viewers' votes factor in the competition.

"It's really an opportunity for people to see a different side of me," Yamaguchi said. "They'll understand that this is something new — kind of similar (to skating) but not. It's not like a (skating) competition where it's life-changing, if you win or not. Here, it's mostly for entertainment; the joy of watching."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.