Julianne Hough: Why Prepping for 'Burlesque' Was Harder Than 'Dancing With the Stars'

9:28 AM PST 11/27/2010 by Kimberly Nordyke

Comments

Singer-dancer stars opposite Christina Aguilera and Cher in the movie musical, which marks her feature film debut.

Julianne Hough, a two-time Dancing With the Stars champ who makes her film debut in Burlesque, says preparing for her role in the movie musical wasn't as easy as some might think.

•Dancing With the Stars

The professional dancer said the training schedule for the film, which opened Wednesday, was a lot more grueling than for ABC's reality competition.

"On Dancing with the Stars, you learn the dance, you dance the dance on TV, and then you're done," she told Reuters. "Burlesque was months of preparation, and each number was shot over and over again, over 16-hour days."

Burlesque stars Christina Aguilera as a small-town girl who moves to Hollywood and becomes famous working in a nightclub owned by Cher. Hough plays one of the club's dancers. [Read THR's review of the movie here.]

Hough, who is working on her second country music album, also sings in the movie. One number actually left her in pain afterward.

"When I sang 'Diamonds Are a Girls' Best Friend,' sliding down those beads was probably the coolest thing I've ever done," Hough said. "And the most painful. I had welts on my sides, my legs, my arms and my neck for weeks."