TV Watch

Dancing’s Mark Ballas Ready for Ballroom but Missing Sabrina

03/16/2008 at 12:00 AM EDT

The season premiere of Dancing with the Stars is just a day away and Mark Ballas can't wait. The pro dancer, who teamed up with Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan last year, says he's excited for fans to see him and his new partner, Kristi Yamaguchi, perform.

"She's an amazing athlete," Ballas says of the Olympic gold medal figure skater. "She's very pretty to watch in the ballroom."

Ballas, 21, had undeniable chemistry with his former partner on and off the dance floor. Bryan is currently in India filming The Cheetah Girls: One World movie. Despite being multiple time zones away, Ballas says "Sabrina and I speak every day. We have Skype on our computers … - we both have Macs. We video conference and it's great."



Ballas says that Bryan will soon wrap the film and be back in the ballroom to cheer on him and Yamaguchi. There's no jealousy, he assures.

"Sabrina is nothing but supportive. Every time we talk she's like, 'How's it going with Kristy?' She's so excited," says Ballas, who wants fans to know that his left shoulder -… the one he dislocated on live television during last season's finale … - is better than ever.

"I tore the muscle that holds the shoulder in place," Ballas says of the injury that sent him to the hospital. "The doctors reset it and I had surgery two days later. I have physical therapy exercises, weight training and now it's better than ever."

Dancing with the Stars premieres March 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. --Monica RizzoRoger Wong/INF