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By Bret Federigan
MSN TV
As the youngest competitor ever on "Dancing With the Stars," teen sensation Cody Linley has been responsible for injecting considerable vitality to the venerable dance competition series. Known mostly from his recurring role as Jake Ryan on "Hannah Montana," Linley has won over a whole new legion of fans with his showmanship both on and off the "DWTS" dance floor. He and partner Julianne Hough wowed judges and viewers with a jaw-dropping jitterbug during Week 5 that earned the couple the second 10 of the season. Recently, Hough announced that she'd be taking some time off to recover from surgery. Linley will partner with dance pro Edyta Sliwinska during her absence. In a wide-ranging interview, MSN TV chatted with Linley during some rare downtime in his busy schedule.
MSN TV: You must be tired as a dog from all the rehearsals.
Cody Linley: Yes, I am. It's been a crazy competition. The physical demands are super intense.
Do you have any days to relax?
Tuesdays are interesting. They're the most relaxed days. When we come in, everyone is just hanging around, lying on one another in the red room. We'll goof around because we're like, "We don't have to dance; it's out of our hands now." And then 5 or 6 o' clock rolls around, we get back up on the stage, and then the reality really sets in that Tuesday is Elimination Night. That's when the nerves come in.
You have got to know at this point, however, that you're one of the judges' favorites and a hit with viewers.
I hope that's true. I've been getting a lot of support from fans. It's cool to see that. I'm excited for this competition, and I want to stay in it as long as I can. Literally every day that I'm in this competition, I'm learning something new and I'm growing as a person. Julianne is so amazing. I'm bummed that I won't be dancing with her for a while, but I'm pretty lucky that I get to dance with her and Edyta.
Cody Linley and partner Julianne Hough
received a 10 from the judges for this entertaining jitterbug routine in
Week 5. |
Let's talk about Julianne's bad luck for a moment. Is there something in the water over there? People are dropping week after week. Is there some sort of curse going on?
I know. This season is definitely the craziest ever for "Dancing With the Stars." There's been so many injuries and crazy things that have happened. I'm kind of nervous walking around the stage.
So, there's no sabotage?
It's all completely by chance. It's scary, but it's definitely made for an interesting season. I wish these things didn't have to happen. It all started with Jeffrey Ross. Then Misty May-Treanor tore her Achilles tendon. Brooke Burke hurt her foot. Man, I just gotta be careful!
Well, one other story this season is that you're the youngest contestant ever on the show. For a teenager, you definitely show a lot of chutzpah on that dance floor.
That's awesome to hear that. I honestly haven't gotten any type of dance experience in the past at all. The only dancing I've done is dancing around my room, I guess. I took, like, one or two hip-hop classes a couple of years ago. Literally, it was one or two crash courses. And I was like, "Oh, I'm not very good at this." But this transformation now has been crazy. Julianne has transformed me into a dancer. It's so exciting because she's bringing it out of me. I love music, and I love performing. I'm always bouncing around and stuff. I just didn't realize that I had the potential. But when you work with someone as amazing as Julianne, you can bring it out. It's been really awesome to do as well as I've been doing. It's a blessing to dance live in front of millions of people. It's a cool opportunity that I've having a blast with.
When you and Julianne prepare routines, how much input do you provide in coming up with the choreography?
Julianne designs all the wardrobe, comes up with all the ideas, choreographs stuff; she's amazing.
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