Hawaii-born Janel Parrish has been doing double duty while performing on ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars," but few weeks have been as challenging as the one that just passed, when she prepared for her most formidable challenge yet: the finals.
The 26-year-old actress and singer is one of the stars of the teen mystery drama "Pretty Little Liars," now in its fifth season on ABC Family.
"The last three days we have not been able to rehearse at all because I’ve been on set for 16 hours each day," said Parrish in a phone interview from Los Angeles on Friday. "We just wrapped for the season yesterday, so this weekend we’re just going to hit it really hard and make up for lost time, and just be ready for Monday."
Dance partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy has been sending her photos and videos of their dance, a freestyle routine that will bring "a bunch of different styles" to the dance floor. She’ll also be dancing a "judges’ choice" in the finals, which pit her and Chmerkovskiy against actor Alfonso Ribeiro ("The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") and dance pro Whitney Carson, reality TV star Sadie Robertson ("Duck Dynasty") and Mark Ballas, and YouTube celebrity Bethany Mota and Derek Hough.
‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’
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The multitalented Parrish, who also sings, composes and plays piano, has overcome a number of challenges already this season. She and Chmerkovskiy had to revise their "West Side Story" dance at the last minute because of objections from the creators of the stage production. She also danced a tribute to her first voice instructor and mentor, B.J. Greathouse, in which the emotion of the moment nearly overwhelmed her.
But those have been matched by breakthrough moments. Parrish remembers the perfect "10s" from the judges in Week 8. "Until then, I think Val and I thought that we weren’t getting great scores, but we started working harder for that, and then we got great scores and then we hit our stride."
That Week 8 routine was a contemporary dance inspired by "Romeo and Juliet," which prompted a question that has swirled around the pair all season: whether their relationship extends outside the spotlight. Parrish tap-danced around the issue.
"He’s my partner, and we’re trying to win the show," Parrish said. "We have an amazing chemistry and an amazing friendship. We’re grateful that people love to watch us dance together, because we love to dance together."
"DWTS" judges Carrie Ann Inaba (a Punahou School graduate), Len Goodman, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli, as well as guest judges. have had high praise for Parrish, suggesting her performances could springboard her career to greater heights.
"It’s one of the reasons I wanted to do the show," she said. "I love the performance aspect of it. I’ve always been involved in music, but I’ve never really gotten involved in dance. … This show has really helped me fall in love with dance, and I’m happy to keep it in my life and incorporate it into my work."
Parrish grew up in Kaneohe and attended elementary and middle school in Moanalua, near her grandparents’ home. Her talent surfaced early as a young child, with impromptu singing recitals and success at local talent contests. By the time she was a teenager, Parrish had performed as Little Cosette in the Broadway and touring companies of "Les Miserables" as well as several local theater productions.
Since moving to Los Angeles at age 14 to pursue her career, she has starred in the 2007 film "Bratz" and appeared on "The Bernie Mac Show," "The O.C.," "Heroes" and many other TV shows.
At heart, Parrish said she remains true to Hawaii. She visits every year and misses the people here.
"Tell them I love them and miss them. There’s no other people in the world like people of Hawaii."
