Mel B. getting spicy again with “Dance Your Ass Off”

Mel B. may have left Dancing With the Stars a while ago, but she’s coming back with a vengeance.
She’ll return to the dance floor – sort of – as the host of Dance Your Ass Off when it premiers on Monday, June 7 (11:00 p.m./10:00 Central) on the Oxygen Network. It will move to its regular time slot on Monday, June 14 (at 10:00 p.m.).

Dance Your Ass Off will feature 12 talented, full-figured contestants who struggle with their weight and dance to unleash their inner “thin.” They will battle each other on the dance floor – as well as on the scale — for a shot at a $100,000 grand prize. Frustrated by a lifetime of failed diets and workout fads, the contestants will leave their friends and family behind and live together for 10 weeks, determined to change their lives forever.

The series pairs each contestant with a professional dance partner who trains the competitor for the weekly stage performances. Then they burn up the dance floor and the calories in front of a live studio audience and a panel of expert judges that include Lisa Ann Walter, Danny Teeson and a weekly guest judge. The judges score the dance routines, and then tensions mount as the contestants weigh in to reveal their weekly weight loss. The dance score and the weight loss percentage are combined for an overall tally, which determines who is sent home each week.
With $100,000 and a healthier life on the line, the series ultimately will answer the question: who will have the last dance?

As for our lady Mel B. (her last name is Brown), who had a child with comedian Eddie Murphy (he acknowledged the child after a paternity test was ordered), she is well known for her quick wit, a body to die-for, and a hard-as-nails attitude. Besides these traits, it is perhaps her role as a Spice Girl that we know her best for.

She is also an author, fashion leader, television personality, stage star, philanthropist and mom. The British native quickly became a fan favorite on the 2007 Dancing With the Stars, with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy but lost to Brazilian racing driver Helio Castroneves.

She’s coming fresh off the Peep Show, a sensual, sophisticated and sly spectacle redefining Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. To put it mildly, the show was “a wild journey of sexual awakening told through fables and fantasy with an all-female cast of dancers, singers and rock musicians.”

Mel B. has also appeared on Broadway, starring as Mimi in a major production of “Rent” and she appeared in a presentation of “The Vagina Monologues.”

On TV she’s hosted the 2008 “Miss Universe Pageant” and served as a special correspondent for “Access Hollywood.”

Mel B. also has a charitable side; she’s been involved in various charities and humanitarian causes. For example, partnering with Kraft Foods® and Jell-O® for three endorsement deals, she has helped raise $250,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s “Pose for the Cure” breast cancer campaign. In addition, she’s worked with Will.I.Am in leading a fight against world poverty with Oxfam’s “In My Name” effort.

Mel B’s career has been based on inspiring people to leave behind their inhibitions and tackle anything that comes their way. She says, “It’s all about feeling confident, listening to yourself, trusting yourself and being in your own power. And that’s what I’m all about.”

Photo ‘Graeme Bird’ via Flickr