VIDEO: Janel Parrish Honors Mentor in Emotional Rumba Performance on DWTS

By: Oct. 07, 2014
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During the fourth week of competition on ABC's DANCING WITH THE STARS, the stars turned back the clock to their most memorable year. The episode also introduced a new element as the viewers become the fourth judge. Viewers could vote on ABC.com live during the routines for what score they thought the dancers deserved.

For their performance, Broadway's Janel Parrish and her partner partner Val Chmerkovskiy chose to dance the Jive in honor of her special mentor who encouraged her to leave her native state of Hawaii and travel to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. Below, check out the dance, performed to Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" The couple received a score of 36 out of 40.

About Janel Parrish:

At the age of 6 Janel entered and won a statewide singing CONTEST and soon followed that with being cast in the National Touring Company and Broadway Company of Les Miserables as Little Cosette. It wasn't long before Janel's Broadway experience and recognition led to acting auditions in Hollywood. While studying acting, Janel continued to train vocally, eventually adding piano to her repertoire. She also began writing her own music, which led to becoming the lead singer in a 3 girl pop group called "Impulse" as well as a recording deal with Geffen Records.

In 2012, Parrish returned to her theater roots in Over the Moon Productions' intimate presentation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening as Anna. In 2014, she hit the stage in For the Record: Baz Luhrmann as well as For the Record: Tarantino.

Currently, Janel can be seen as "Mona" in the top-rated ABC Family TV series, Pretty Little Liars. For her role she won the "Choice TV Villain" award at the 2012 and 2013TEEN CHOICE AWARDS as well as a TV Guide Award nomination. Her love of musical theater also remains.

Other television credits includeDrop Dead Diva, Hawaii Five-O, Heroes, Gepetto, Baywatch, The O'Keefe's, The Bernie Mac Show, Zoey 101, True Jackson, VP, and The O.C. She has also graced the big screen starring in feature films such as Bratz: The Movie, One Kine Day andKnots.



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