Melissa Rycroft has quickly become America’s sweetheart after being publicly humiliated by Jason Mesnick on The Bachelor. Mesnick proposed to Rycroft on the final episode, only to be dumped on national television for runner-up Molly Malaney during the “After the Final Rose” special. As the country watched her heart break, ABC took note and offered her a place on Dancing with the Stars when original cast member, Nancy O’Dell, could not continue in the competition.

With a mere two days to practice, a stunning Rycroft wowed the audience with her partner Tony Dovolani and their beautiful rendition of the waltz. Her talents have not gone unnoticed by the judges who consistently score her performances quite high, but nor have they gone unnoticed by other cast members. Rycroft has now been on the receiving end of some criticism regarding her dance background in ballet and as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Rycroft is not the first cast member to have had a background in some form of dance. Shawn Johnson is a gymnast, Kristi Yamaguchi is an ice skater and Lance Bass was in the dancing and singing boy band of *NSYNC! There are other examples as well, but none of the cast members had experience as a ballroom dancer, but they perform well because of their backgrounds in other areas of dance. As judge Bruno Tonioli states in People magazine, “Ballet technique is a great tool for any dancer, but ballroom and Latin techniques are different…The skill is using what you have to win.”

As someone with a ballet background in addition to a cheerleading stint, I can agree with Tonioli wholeheartedly that there are vast differences between dancing on your own and dancing with a partner. A partner adds a whole other body to be responsible for and it can be difficult to find that synergy to create the dance. I was a casual participant in salsa dancing some years back and while I really enjoyed it, it was a lot harder than it looked. I thought I would pick it up quite easily because of my dance background, but it took quite a bit of practice with my partner to get the steps just right.

I think Rycroft has what it takes to make it to the finals of DWTS. She looks very happy and grateful to be on the show and while she may not be a “celebrity” by the normal definition, she totally looks the part. With her dazzling smile, killer body and natural dance prowess, I’m sure Jason Mesnick is eating his heart out every Monday and Tuesday night.