MIAMI — When Jason Taylor takes the stage to face network TV cameras and dance the fox trot, he figures his jitters will be Super Bowl-size.
“I’ll be shaking,” he says.
Still, the Miami Dolphins defensive end is glad he accepted an invitation to perform on “Dancing With the Stars,” which begins its sixth season tonight.
Taylor, 33, says he’s having “a blast” learning to dance, despite a practice regimen that involves six hours a day in the studio, with sessions likely to become longer as the competition proceeds.
He says his feet hurt — and that’s not all.
“You’re using a different muscle group in dancing. It’s different from football,” Taylor said. “I’m learning there are a few joints and muscles I didn’t realize God gave me.”
The hit ABC show has featured former NFL players before — Emmitt Smith won his competition, and Jerry Rice was a popular contestant.
But Taylor is the first active NFL player to take part.
“Jason was my dream,” said Deena Katz, the show’s senior talent producer. “He’s one of those guys everybody knows who he is. I thought, ‘I’ll ask him,’ but honestly I never thought he was going to say yes.”
Taylor says he has watched the show, but when approached about taking part, he declined. His wife urged him to reconsider, and he wavered for more than two months before deciding to give it a whirl.
“I don’t dance,” he says. “I don’t dance at clubs. I don’t dance at bar mitzvahs. I don’t dance at weddings. I just don’t dance.
“For whatever reason, I decided to give it a shot. I figured I’d put myself out there a little bit and stretch the limits and challenge myself to do something I wouldn’t ordinarily do.”
Taylor is taking instruction from his dancing partner, Edyta Sliwinska. At 5-foot-6, she’s a foot shorter than Taylor, but he looks up to her anyway.
“She’s the best coach I’ve ever had, better than all of them,” he says. “She looks better, she sounds better, she’s more polite and yet she gets the work done.”
So is he now a good dancer?
“No,” he says.
If Taylor and Sliwinska do well, the show could keep him in California until May. Then it will be back to football.
Taylor says dancing will help his football by improving his footwork, agility and balance. And the athleticism that makes him one of the NFL’s best pass rushers helps his dancing.
“A lot of things translate to both playing fields,” he says.
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