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Grace's secret 'DWTS' weapon? Jackson-inspired moves

Nancy Grace has a surprising secret weapon in her armor when she hits the ballroom – some Michael Jackson-inspired moves.
/ Source: Access Hollywood

Nancy Grace has a surprising secret weapon in her armor when she hits the ballroom — some Michael Jackson-inspired moves.

“I grew up watching ‘Soul Train’ and ‘American Bandstand,’ doing everything I thought Michael Jackson was doing, so I’m gonna try to parlay all that knowledge on to the dance floor,” the HLN host told Access Hollywood Live’s Kit Hoover earlier this week.

Fresh off the Casey Anthony murder trial coverage, which she helped shape and lead, the anchor is gearing up for her “Dancing” debut alongside professional Tristan MacManus, who has appeared on “DWTS” as a troupe member, but Season 13 marks his first time with a celebrity partner.

Grace has been enjoying her time with Irish ballroom hunk Tristan, but he isn’t sure her skills are quite ready to go.

“Am I ready? I don’t think my partner would agree at all,” Grace laughed. “No, I’m not ready.”

Grace’s big hair is one of her trademarks, and she has no plans to change up her anchor-perfect locks for a smoother look in the ballroom.

“Midriff? No hair spray? What the hair are you talking about, lady?” Grace laughed, when Hoover asked if she’d change up her look.

The former prosecutor is a feisty television presence, but she is ready to be respectful of judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

“As long as they don’t tell me how to try a murder case, I’m not gonna tell them how to dance,” she said.

The new season of “Dancing with the Stars” will premiere on Monday, Sept. 19, in a two-hour show, from 8-10 p.m.

The following night, ABC will air “Dancing with the Stars: Meet the Cast,” which airs at 8 p.m., followed at 9 p.m. by the first “DWTS” results show.