Kym JohnsonHerjavec will never forget the first time she watched Dirty Dancing – in a local cinema with her best friend (and their mums).
“It was the best thing ever! And then when it came out on video, we’d goto the local video shop and rent it every weekend and recreate all the numbers and know all the lines. I was a massive fan.”
Seems like JohnsonHerjavec was fated to take on her latest role: teaming upwith fellow choreographer Todd McKenney to teach eight celebrities the routines made famous in the 1987 box-office hit, forThe Real Dirty Dancing,filmed – where else? – at the picturesque US location depicted in the beloved movie.
“You rock up and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, it actually is the Kellerman Lodge,’” JohnsonHerjavec, 43, tells WHOof Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia, the remote holiday resort which doubled for the fictional Kellerman’s.
“I felt like such a fan girl!”
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Reuniting with McKenney – her one-time fellow judge on Dancing with the Stars – was a bonus.
“I love Todd.It was just so great to work with him. Before we were just behind the judges’ desk, we’d never actually danced together. This time, we got to actually dust off the dance shoes,” JohnsonHerjavecsays, though this led to some “awkward” moments.
“It’s dirty dancing. I’m like, ‘this seems so wrong’,” she laughs, and while the pair “had an absolute ball”, it was also physically challenging.
“There’s one lift that [film character] Penny does when she jumps up on Patrick Swayze’s chest.We tried to do that but Todd has a bad hip, at the end of filming he was struggling. So was I.”
The other struggle for JohnsonHerjavec was being away from her family. “It was the first time I’d actually been away from my babies,” saysthe mum to twins Haven and Hudson, 18 months, with her husband, businessman Robert Herjavec.
“I was hysterical when I left the house … it’s really hard to balance everything. I don’t know how mums do it with a full-time job, it’s so difficult.”
Todd and Kym are loving their DWTS reunion!
Channel 7
After more than 11 years in the US, the Los Angeles-based star is consideringa move back to Australia with her family.
“We’re always saying it’d be great for them to experience school in Australia.It’sdefinitely an option.”
What’s certain is that JohnsonHerjavec is relishing family life with her husband and their babies, who are now walking and talking.
“It’s changed me,” she reflects.
“I always wanted to be a mum and when I met Robert, it was just amazing. We really hoped to be able to have the kids.It was just a miracle we could have them.It’s the best thing ever. I feel like they’ve been with me forever, now they’re here.”
The Real Dirty Dancing airs Mon. and Tues. at 7.30pm on Channel Seven.
Channel Seven.
Fittingly, the little ones are already polishing their dance moves, says their proud mum. “Imay end up being a stage mum.I’ve bought Haven so many tutus!”
In the meantime, JohnsonHerjavec can’t stop ravingaboutThe Real Dirty Dancing.
“It’s all about recreating the chemistry between Johnny and Baby. It was kind of magical being there,” she says. “We were having the time of our lives.”
The Real Dirty Dancing airs Mon. and Tues. at 7.30pm on Channel Seven.
may end up being a stage mum. I’ve bought Haven so many tutus!” 