Dancing with the Stars has been a hit on News10 and ABC stations across the country. Now Rotary of Sacramento will hold its first �Dancing with the Sacramento Stars Gala� charity event on Saturday, May 12, at 7 p.m., with benefits going to Sierra Adoption Services. And who better to represent one of the Sacramento �stars� than Monarchs legend and fan favorite, Ruthie Bolton! Bolton, known for her defense, three-point shooting and gospel singing, recently took up ballroom dancing lessons and took a breather from her vigorous preparatory routine to give SacramentoMonarchs.com the scoop on her latest endeavor! Hint, she has a new found respect and admiration for ballroom dancers!

How were you selected to be in Sacramento�s version of �Dancing with the Stars?�
It was actually through the Rotary. As the Monarchs Fan and Team Relations Manager for Maloof Sports & Entertainment, this was a great opportunity to show support for Rotary. It was definitely something where I was interested in participating, but thought, �I don�t know! Well, maybe I�ll give it a try!� When I first went to dance practice I decided, I wanted to be good at everything I did. I can�t go out there looking messed up! My teacher said I was actually making progress and that I was getting better and better every time, so that�s good! I have so much respect for dancers now! Before, when I was watching, I thought, �What�s the big deal?� But they are not just moving with their bodies, they�re moving with their soul. It�s so detailed; how you walk, how your arms are positioned and how your body is aligned. Although it�s tough, it�s also fun!

So you never had any experience with ballroom dancing before?
No. I couldn�t even hip-hop dance! I don�t even have rhythm; it is actually funny! When my friends or teammates would try to get me to dance it was more like a belly dance! I�ve always been enticed with dancing. I love watching it. I love watching gymnastics. I like that kind of stuff. I�ve always wished I could dance. I might have found a new career! No, I�m not even that good yet, but it�s fun. I�m learning something.

Will you be nervous?
You know when I think about it, I do get nervous a little bit and then when I think about participating in the Olympics, that has helped me too. �How am I going to be so nervous if I have two gold medals?� It does help me because I do get kind of nervous even though each dance is only a minute. I�ve been given so much dancing information it�s like a crash course for me. Now, I�m trying to separate the dances. When I think about it, I always say, �Have fun.� I think that�s what�s on the flyer, �Have fun!� I�m just going to go out there and have fun and just do the best I can. When this is over, I�ll probably still do it for fun because it is a good workout. It�s so much work with the core and when I first started taking it I was really sore in my midsection. I�m really trying to stop being nervous and take my mind off that. I think about just going out and having fun and if I make a mistake, oh well. What�s it going to do? I think to myself, �You�ve been in front of a lot of crowds.� I think there are going be a lot of people there. I told the people in charge of our dancing outfits that I want to look so beautiful in my dress that people will not even know it�s me!

When did you start practicing and learning how to ballroom dance?
We had our first lesson at the end of January. I knew I had to start practicing early, otherwise I wouldn�t have a chance to win, and I really needed a year in advance to learn! That wouldn�t have been too early for me. But this amount of time will have to do! For two weeks we practiced three days a week. After that, we slacked off and went about once a week. One week, my teacher went out of the country and then we didn�t practice that week. So on average, we practiced at least once a week. I think some of the other people I am competing against were practicing once a week, but I liked it when we did three times a week, it helped me. What was surprising was that the week that we took off, my teacher thought I had been dancing! I told him I hadn�t, but he said I was looking better than before he left. So I think I had an overload. With him gone, I had time to just rest and refocus. Last week, we went only one day for an hour and a half. One day, he brought in his professional partner and I�m watching her and I thought, �Oh my goodness, I wish my body could do that!� I had ten sessions with him and I was only with her for 30 minutes and I finally understood what he was trying to teach me. I could see the difference in a woman�s body language. She helped me and I was feeling the vibe, the energy. She looked amazing when she danced. Her stretching and her body alignment were perfect. She was making a statement just by her dancing, so I would like to be close to that.

Have any techniques from basketball helped your dancing?
Jeff compared dancing to basketball a lot. He used the analogy of basketball to balance and playing defense. Obviously, when you play defense you stand down low, your feet are wide, and you�re on the balls of your feet. There were just certain moves and certain basketball principles that help you do the next thing. I was so frustrated because I could never understand why I couldn�t get a certain dance move down until the girl taught me. She said, �When you do it, you have to imagine your body is stretched and you have to bring your shoulder blades back and hold your core while stretching your midsection.�

Do you watch the show �Dancing with the Stars�?
You know what? I watched the last season. This season, I�ve only watched it once, which was last night and I told myself I have to sit here and watch this. For the dancers it�s so natural. For me, it�s like teaching somebody basketball and so what do you think about? �Square up, get your elbow in, rise up, follow through, and then defense.� It�s so much stuff, but when you play, it�s instinct, it just happens. Your body is so tuned to it, so I think that�s what they�re doing. We spent a day on how to move our core, just how to walk and going forth. Then we spent one day on how my legs and my feet should go. Sometimes I have a tendency where I have my legs too wide when they should be closed. It�s so technical, but I�ve been watching it and it makes me appreciate what they do even more.

Are you more critical of the show now that you are dancing?
Yeah! They look spectacular. I�m not watching to try and see mistakes, but I think I appreciate it more. I�ve always liked that kind of stuff for some reason. I like dancing and I like gymnastics because it�s so graceful. I really have a huge appreciation for the dancing, but before I started I would watch and I wondered what was so hard about it? I wished I could do it, but I didn�t realize it was really that hard to learn how to move. You know my body just isn�t made to move my core without my legs! It has made me appreciate it more and I can relate more when I see dancing. I say I can see that because they do the spin incredibly. My spin is suspect! I wonder how they could dance so naturally when I know the shoes hurt, because we�ve been practicing a lot without shoes. I�ve had to practice without equipment, so tomorrow we go out with my actual practice stuff, my shoes and my skirt. I�ll be living in the moment and looking like a dancer!

Do you know whom you�re going to dance with?
Jeffery is my professional partner. As a matter of fact, when we found out, he called me first. He is real nice. I like him and I can see why, when I watch the show how pumped up they can be to have that connection and that energy! You really have to feel and get into each other. He�s got a good personality and he really assures me well. Sometimes I�m down on myself and he�ll say, �You�re okay!� Some days I�ll look better than others! Some days I think, �You might have to get a substitute because I don�t know if I�m going to cut it!� But he encourages me and keeps me going. He does a good job with trying to help me. He�s really patient too. I guess that�s why he�s the teacher, because he�s really patient. He�ll tell me when I�m holding onto him that I can�t hold on to him as if I�m holding onto him for dear life! It has to look graceful and not like I�m squeezing him. We have to embrace each other. Our energy has to go together.

Do you ever find yourself dancing by yourself now?
Yeah, it�s funny because when I was a little kid, I actually choreographed a dance. Not like a hip-hop dance or a club dance, but I choreographed belly dances. I�ve always liked doing that. It�s fun. It�s graceful. When they put music on, I�d do my dance. I was teaching a fitness class and this certain song came on and the people I was training said they wanted to dance like me! It was a spiritual song and something about that song got me going. I would be doing exercise stuff, jumping around, kicking my legs, and I�d just feel the energy!

Speaking of music, we just picked the music for our dance, because music is important for me. When I feel the music, I get into the dance. Some of my own music that I brought really wasn�t going to compliment what we were trying to do with our steps. I didn�t really bring my whole collection. But Jeff has some good music that he brought. He picked two songs and I picked one for the actual performance. Music is important for me, especially with dancing.

What would it mean to you if you won the competition?
It would be nice. I love competing. I love trying to be the best and I know where I stand. I�ve seen some of the other dancers and they�re good. One of the guys that I think just joined, I saw him one day and he�s pretty good. His teacher is the girl that I told you I loved watching. I think it�s going to be tough to beat them because you could tell he has a little bit of dancing experience. She�s going to make him even better because she�s so dramatic. I think if the guys lead halfway decent and the girls really bring a lot of energy, it really makes a difference. I think it�s really going to be a close race to try and beat them. I think they will be the top competition, but for me to win, it would be unbelievable. I want to go there and really feel like I did well. I might continue to dance after this is over just because it�s something different. It�s an area that sort of takes me out of my comfort zone, but it�s relaxing at the same time. When I practice there are times I�ve gotten there and I�ve had low energy. It�s when I leave when I feel good because I�ve done something that I�m definitely not really good at. I was just a dummy to dancing, especially ballroom dancing! I think I�ve learned a lot about it and now I�m always trying to show people the moves! People say to me, �You�re into this, huh?� So imagine what it�ll be like when the music�s playing!