T.O. man dances on TV

FANCY FOOTWORK–Thousand Oaks resident Mark Dacascos, right, competes on the television show “Dancing with the Stars” with Lacey Schwimmer. Dacascos is better known as “The Chairman” and host of Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” Mark Dacascos is known as “The Chairman” and host of Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” Many Thousand Oaks residents know him as their neighbor.

Dacascos and his wife, Julie, have lived in Thousand Oaks for 12 years. They have three children, a Lab-Akita-mix dog and a love for their community.

But lately Dacascos hasn’t spent much time at home. He’s been practicing all day, every day, to compete as one of this year’s stars on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” His partner is champion dancer Lacey Schwimmer.

Schwimmer has been working to turn the trained martial artist and actor into a dancer, but it hasn’t been easy.

“I’m used to making fists and fighting. Lacey tells me I need to have ‘pretty hands,’” Dacascos said.

He’s appeared in several feature films, including French epic “Brotherhood of the Wolf,” cult classic “Only the Strong,” and “Cradle to the Grave” opposite Jet Li. He’s also been in “Only the Brave” and “Nomad.”

“In ‘Cradle to the Grave’ I shot nine days fighting Jet Li. He’s super fast and hits hard, but this is more challenging for me,” Dacascos said of his dancing gig.

He finds it easier to fight sweaty guys than dance delicately with beautiful girls who are making figure eights with their hips, he said.

“Performing Monday and Tuesday is a blast. I love it,” Dacascos said. That’s when the show airs live across most of the nation.

But then it’s back to the rest of the week, when he must learn new dances, which he finds “difficult and challenging and frustrating.”

He wants to do well, so he works nonstop.

“This is one of the greatest adventures of my life,” he said.

Dacascos has never been at the bottom of the show’s judges’ board or at the bottom after the viewers vote, but anything can happen, he said.

This week he performed the jitterbug with his partner as well as a group mambo. He also had to learn a “knockout dance” in case he and his partner are one of the bottom two couples. The bottom two do a dance-off, after which the judges decide who’s going home.

Dacascos is up against singers Mya, Donny Osmond and Aaron Carter. All three have been at the top of the judges’ board. They also have previous dance experience, as their professional performances require them to move with the music.

Dacascos said he focused too much on technique at first, as is required with martial arts. Now he realizes he must also be entertaining and show the TV audience his personality.

On Monday night, Dacascos danced the jitterbug and earned first place from the show’s judges. Viewers’ votes kept him from being eliminated on Tuesday. He will return to compete next week.