DWTS11 Pro Casting Rumors – Jackie Josephs?
While the casting rumors for next season are still slow going this early in the summer hiatus, I did stumble across something interesting the other day while wasting time on facebook…there’s a group gunning hard to get Chicago-based ballroom dancer Jackie Josephs signed on next season as one of the pros.
Now normally I don’t put much stock in pro casting rumors (as we’ve witnessed through the show’s 10-season run, it’s really a crap shoot who makes it on a certain season and who doesn’t), but I think this one might actually have some merit to it for a few reasons. First off, her former professional partner (and current business partner in the highly successful studio they own) is Jesse DeSoto, one of the pros from season 3 (paired with Shanna Moakler…they were the second couple eliminated.) Secondly, she’s been coached by 3 of the pros on the show: Corky, Tony, & Maks. Third, her costume sponsor is Designs by Randall, the same company that makes all of the costumes for the show, and Randall Christensen himself has already vocalized his support for Jackie getting on the show on her facebook page. On top of that, she’s good friends with Mark – I’ve seen more than a few TMZ videos of Mark out at restaurants/clubs after hours with Jackie in his entourage. Seems to me like she’s already got several “ins” with the show, and may actually have a decent chance of getting hired on this coming season.
What do you guys think? Wishful thinking on the part of her fans, or a legit possibility?
my craziest DWTS fan confession.. hm.. well most of the...
Jackie was considered once… but they felt that she was to much like Cheryl and was passed. She’s always seen with Mark and Tony during DWTS season. She doesn’t need a petition to be considered… They would have considered her already.
BTW, she’s Jesse Desoto’s partner.
Jennifer – I actually did mention that she & Jesse competed together. As for being considered – clearly there must be some glimmer of hope, or else the 1,215 people in her facebook group (Randall included) wouldn’t be wasting their time. And with the way the pros have been shuffling around the past few seasons, who knows – maybe there’s room for another Cheryl look-alike.
What I think is that you and I need to have a little discussion about the difference between a rumor and a campaign.
This isn’t really a rumor, IMO. It’s like the one chick from two seasons ago – we were seeing people come on this site and campaign for her to be on the show but she was never actually rumored to be considered. Right now there are several campaigns for stars – one is for Martha Byrne of…Days of Our Lives?? Formerly of As the World Turns, I think. Another campaign is for, of course, Johnny Weir. Interestingly, it seems that every season more and more campaigns appear – which makes it MUCH harder to weed out the actual possibilities. There were several people last season that I mentioned, but had to note the possibility that it was ONLY an internet campaign and not an actual rumor.
Mark has an entourage? LOL.
Jackie is also friends with Derek, Tony…all of the DWTS pros. Wouldn’t it all depend on how many celebs they have next year? I could do without Lacey again and Edyta can take time off. I want to see Kym and Karina back.
Once upon a time… (more like three years ago) I took dance lessons from the Fred Astaire studio run by Jackie and Jesse… they have mentioned time again that they had submitted their resumes in the first few seasons and Jesse went and Jackie didn’t… when I asked back then why Jesse hasn’t been on since… it was implied that they wanted to focus on the studio rather than the show.
Since then they have grown and now have a separate supervisor running the studio… so I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if things have changed enough that considering it is more realistic now than then…
That’s just a thought.
I’d say wishful thinking on the fans part.
I’m sure that Chelsie, Cheryl and Anna T will return and hopefully Karina and Kym too. I doubt that Julianna is actually going to come back.
Edyta is a fixture, so unless she leaves of her own free will I expect to see her again. Then there is Lacy..who is very popular. So I doubt that there will even be an open slot for Ashley unless they cast another senior gent.
DWTS is a short term commitment for the Pros, but one that gives the dancers MAJOR PR buzz.
I might be wrong but saying that they didn’t want to do the show because they wanted to concentrate on their studios rings false to me. The exposure/publicity they’d get by being on the show even for just a couple weeks is worth way more than they could even begin to generate on their own.
Good example is when Maks quit DWTS after losing with Mel B. He came back the very next season. I’d bet that he saw a big decline in enrollment at his studios without the DWTS exposure.
Cori – You could be right to an extent… however, not all dancers look at it that way… I remember there were several other professional and well known ballroom dancers that did not desire to put their names in for consideration or turned down an opportunity for that same reason.
In the case of Jackie and Jesse their studio’s student population exploded after Jesse’s involvement in Season 3… which would coincide with Jackie’s being considered but eventually passed over… what I was implying is that after Season 3 neither pursued that course again b/c their studio has such a high attendance rating because of it.
So in the end because their management structure has altered to the point that neither Jackie nor Jesse are needed for the day to day ongoings of their two/three studios I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it turns out that Jackie would participate this time around if she was to be asked…
I could be wrong, but that was how it was explained to me a few years back.
@John – it would definitely depend on how many couples they decide to have next season, and which current pros they want to bring back. I know there was some talk prior to last season that some of the pros’ contracts were about to expire, and it was unclear as to whether an agreement would be reached with each of them to renew their contracts. Don’t know if this is true or not, but I read somewhere that Kym was holding out for a bigger salary after her win w/Donny – a raise that she allegedly did not get, and so she’s contemplating returning to DWTS Austrailia where she can command a bigger fee. It also seems like the producers have been making a pre-emptive strike in gradually bringing some new pros (Anna D., Damian) as well as conducting interviews (two pros from my studio interviewed back in October at Shirley’s recommendation) in the event that they lose a few of current pros. I think there’s certainly a possibility that there could be room for a new pro or two, depending on how these negotiations turn out.
@Cori – I’m going to both agree and disagree with you: being on the show does create a lot of good PR for the pros that are on it (and their studios), but it’s actually a relatively long-term commitment for them in terms of them being away from their studios – even if they’re the first couple voted off, that’s 7 weeks they’re not teaching at their home studios, and in the interim their regular students often seek other instruction. When the pros return (and this has happened with more than a few of them), a lot of their regular client base has either moved on to other teachers or stopped dancing altogether. These pros literally return to their studios having no students to teach…and no students to teach = no money. This was a major caveat that my bf and his partner considered when they went out to interview – they didn’t want to lose their regular students if they decided to commit to the show for at least 7 weeks.
Now this is where what Marianya was saying comes into play: Jackie & Jesse are now co-owners of their studio (and it’s an extremely well-run one at that), so they don’t necessarily teach everyday, and don’t even have to be in-house to manage day-to-day operations. Jackie is now in a really good position to leave for 7+ weeks and her business won’t suffer because of it. The same principle applies to Maks (and Cheryl, and Tony, and Anna & Jonathan) and why he’s able to be on the show: he’s a studio owner with a very capable staff to take care of the daily goings-on at his studios, so he’s perfectly fine to be absent for the duration of his stint on the show.
It’s a really funny concept of who is able to do the show without any detriment to their professional career: the studio owners at the very top who are established enough to leave daily operations to their staff, and the just-starting-out pros without much of a client base, so they really have nothing to lose to begin with.
Courtney, you read that about Kym here – I posted it. Now check your email.
I think the contract expiration of the pros is a whole lot of speculation based on the typical TV contracts, which I *think* are five years OR five seasons – which is an important distinction in DWTS. I am under the impression that Julianne WILL be back both from things she has said (on camera) and things that Derek has implied more than once. That said, I also kinda get the feeling that perhaps Derek is no longer under a long term contract, but is taking it season by season. I have NO proof of this, just a hunch based on some things he says and does, and little whispers I’ve heard. Which would likely mean that Mark is in the same position. I could certainly be wrong, but I think the likely explanation for Damian and Dmitry both is that they are preparing for the day when they no longer have any Houghs. I’ve always thought that Dmitry and then Damian were in response to some eventuality that the producers could see. I would also imagine that Cheryl and Maks, and maybe Tony, are all up for negotiation – since they started the show earlier, their contracts might be up.
Brian Fortuna quit SCD in protest of being relegated to showdance status, so maybe he will show up this season – although, I doubt it when I think about it because it’s the same company that owns both shows.
@ Heidi – Do you think Derek & Mark are running on a season to season contract by choice….or the show’s producers don’t want to offer them long-term contracts? (I figured it could be by choice since it gives them the freedom to be flexible & opt to do something else if they want.)
I think by choice. If they aren’t locked in I think the producers would want to, badly. Derek at the very least is going to be huge someday – if he wants to be, that is, and I’m not entirely sure that’s the case. I could be completely wrong about the contracts thing, so don’t put too much stock in it – it’s just that Derek, from time to time, makes it sound as if it’s up to him if he continues on or not. Just recently he said that at the end of a season he is always not sure if he wants to continue and then he rests for a month and is ready to do it again. Then earlier this year someone asked him if he was going to be in movies like Julianne and he nodded, before being very vague about “tv and film projects” coming up that would make this an interesting year.
Although I like Derek Hough, he’s been winning too much!I would like to see Edyta win for once or Lacy, Cheryl thinks she’s God’s Gift to women. And Maxx is obnocious!!! Natalie