Behind the scenes with all-athlete cast of 'Dancing with the Stars' ahead of tonight's premiere
The all-star athletes in the cast of "Dancing with the Stars" have trained long and hard for their first ballroom performance, and "GMA" got a behind-the-scenes look at some of their preparation before they step into the ballroom tonight.
Olympic luger Chris Mazder and his pro partner Witney Carson are dancing the salsa, while Sharna Burgess is working with former Washington Redskins player Josh Norman on the cha cha cha, finessing his football footwork.
"[In] my sport I have spikes taped on my hand and I'm paddling into the ice so naturally my hand makes a claw-like structure," Mazder said. "And in dance, this looks terrible when it's stiff and off to the side," he said.
"Unless we're doing a Gaga structure, then maybe," his partner, Carson, said joking of Lady Gaga's signature monster-dance move.
Mirai Nagasu is hot off her historic figure-skating performance when she became the first American woman to land a triple axel in an Olympic Winter Games, and she's going to make a small nod to her lucky color in pursuit of the mirror-ball trophy.
"I do like having one red bead because red is a really lucky color," Nagasu said. "So I'm going to ask the wardrobe department to put one red bead on my costume." Her professional partner, Alan Bersten, joked, "Just one. If you can find it, you get a prize."
Nagasu's fellow Olympic figure-skating teammate, Adam Rippon, who has been performing on tour with her for "Stars on Ice", said that he might have a leg up on the competition, thanks to some inside knowledge from last season's winner.
"On the 'Stars on Ice' tour that I'm on right now, we have a former mirror-ball champion, Meryl Davis, so I've had some really great advice," Rippon said.
But, as Rippon said, "Let the best man or woman win."
A few of the other competitors said they have already picked up on some crucial components for their own performances.
"The posture," is one among those, according to Tonya Harding, who will dance with veteran Sasha Farber.
"First you have got to come up here, but then you have to smile too," former Red-Sox-turned-Yankees slugger Johnny Damon said.
Norman echoed both the figure-skating star and two-time World Series champ, "I think Johnny hit it on the head, it's the posture."
Check out the full list of celebrities, and their professional dance partners, who will compete on season 26 of "DWTS."
The sportsmen and sportswomen will take the stage for the first time of the competition tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
