Back to the Future actress Lea Thompson and her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev are doing the Cha Cha on week 3 of Dancing With the Stars, to air September 29, 8pm ET on ABC. Like fellow DWTS celeb contestant Alfonso Ribeiro, Thompson has the advantage of being a former professional dancer. She gave up a ballet career at the age of 21, when Mikhail Baryshnikov told her she wasn’t flexible enough.
Thompson says of her return to dancing via Dancing With the Stars: “It’s really profound, because it’s like revisiting my first love. There’s a lot of joy and emotion that’s coming out of it for me.” Thompson is best known for her role in the blockbuster film Back to the Future but she hopes to wow movie buffs in her new role in Left Behind, co-starring Nicolas Cage and American Idol Jordin Sparks.
