DWTS Season 14 – The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate, Part I
WARNING: If you came here to seriously bitch & moan about how so-and-so has an unfair advantage due to their previous dance experience and how you’re boycotting the show and yadda yadda yadda – look elsewhere 🙂 We’ve been doing this for a few seasons now, and here’s the gist: many of the celebs on the show have at least SOME dance experience coming into the show – be it good or bad…and often, comically bad. Hence the quotations around the title – this is a very tongue-in-cheek post, kids. 😉
Today we’re gonna take a look at this season’s male celebs, and see just exactly how much hoofin’ they’ve done in the past and discuss what it might mean for them on the show – and we’ll probably point & laugh and generally act like teenage boys in our commentary. 😎
First up, let’s take a look at Jack Wagner, who is perhaps best known as Frisco Jones from the soap opera General Hospital from 1984-95. Jack’s also a musician, and this clip is montage of Frisco & his on-screen (and former off-screen!) love, Felicia, dancing to his song “Dancing in the Moonlight”:
Court: Ahhh, the magic of VHS recordings back in the 80s & 90s…such a crisp picture. 🙂 Overall, a lot of soap opera-y swaying, with a little bit of goofball pseudo-swing dancing and fake tango thrown in…although some of what he was doing looked like it could have almost been west coast swing. Hmmm. Think he could get Anna to recreate that fake tango he did with Felicia, complete with a beret and French mustache? 😛
Heidi: When are they going to start dancing? What?
Vogue: Wow, let Jack wine and dine me anytime. But, seriously, if Jack can turn on the charm and romance as we see in the video above, can you imagine what his Waltz’s (or anything he dances to for that matter) are going to be like? *faints and fans myself*
The verdict: Only soap operas can make non-dancing look so..electrifying.
Now let’s take a look at Gavin DeGraw, who admittedly doesn’t do a whole lot of dancing, but rather “rhythmic swaying” during an impromptu version of Creedance Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” during a live show (skip to the 2:20 mark):
Heidi: Nice pack…um….yeah, he’s aright.
Vogue: Uh oh, watch out for a killer and wicked Samba if nothing else. 😯
Court: I don’t know about you guys, but when I get the uncontollable urge to sing Tina Turner songs, I doff my guitar and start dancing like a drunken gypsy.
The verdict: Just say no to random Tina Turner covers, kids.
Up next we have Donald Driver, who, like many NFL players, seems to have his own brand of “touchdown dance”:
Vogue: Who needs Victor Cruz when we’ve got this guy instead? SERIOUSLY!! The Cruz for the Driver!! 🙂
Court: Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle…he’s sexy & he knows it. That dance looks vaguely peacock-ish – like he’s showing us his fancy feathers.
Heidi: And the feathers are, like, really small cuz we only get a wiggle with a swing of about an inch and a half. 🙂 Or would it be really big feathers and you only have to do a tiny wiggle to get lots of feather shaking?? :::confused:::
Courtney: It’s the latter, dear. Peacocks’ feathers span out so far that it kinda makes them top-heavy – if they shake ’em too hard, they fall over. I’ve witnessed it 😉
The verdict: Is Donald brave enough to let us see his peacock? 😉
Our next contestant is this season’s resident heartthrob, William Levy, who is probably best known for being J. Lo’s man candy in her “I’m Into You” video. But alas, some semi-rhythmic writhing on a beach doesn’t really count as “dancing”, so I found this clip, which appears to be from some telenovela – it’s completely in Spanish and it looks to have Russian or Greek subtitles (WTF?), but the basic gist appears to be that he and another beefcakey guy had their car break down on a dirt road, some other considerably less-beefcakey guy tried to fix it and failed, but thankfully a taxi full of middle-aged female tourists was driving by and stopped to offer assistance (and ogle the shirtless beefcakes)…and whilst fixing the car, the urge to dance hits William and he does a brief bit of salsa with one of the tourist ladies (1:39 mark):
Court: Telenovelas are funny 😛 I have no idea what the hell they’re saying, but the minute I heard one of the tourists yell “Guapo!” and gesture towards the 2 shirtless men – I knew it was on, senor. Gotta say – William doesn’t look totally inept. He’s probably done at least a little salsa & merengue in his day – kinda like JR. But he’s also a model, so he’s probably more used to standing still that moving around. I predict lots of posing and Cheryl dancing around him this season 🙂
Heidi: He’s the one in the hat? Yeah…no fanbase in the US but it might not matter. 🙂 But he better be the second coming of Gilles. He had relatively little competition.
Vogue: I predict right now that William Levy will be one of the sexiest male dancers to have ever graced the Dancing With The Stars stage. What’s more, it will be a “natural” kind of sexy that he can’t help. He just has that “look” to melt hearts. If Cheryl can find a way to capitalize on that and make him into a dancer, watch out.
The verdict: William es un chico muy guapo! Mis pantalones estan en fuego!!!
We’ve saved the 2 strongest contenders for last. First, let’s take a look at Roshon Fagen, who busts some pretty impressive moves at the end of a Radio Disney interview on the set of Shake it Up (2:00 mark):
And then Roshon assures us that he gets “Down on the Dance Flo” in this music video:
Heidi: Dude’s voice hasn’t even changed yet. 🙂 Also not impressed with his dancing here – mainly because someone was saying he’s a trained dancer. Trained in what kind of dancing, I have to ask.
Vogue: He’s young. He has lots of energy to burn. What’s more, he’s refreshing. I think Roshon is going to be a huge contender in this competition.
Court: Maybe formal hip-hop training? Idk…I don’t really know if there is such a thing. Ooh, that’s a hefty promise, Roshon – promising you get down on the dance floor? I hope you’re ready to deliver 🙂 Kid can certainly move, but can he translate that gyrating into a foxtrot? A waltz?
The verdict: Kid’s got potential…but can Chelsie harnass it?
Last but certainly not least, we have Jaleel White, who already seems to be the favorite to win this season for many of us. Since Jaleel is best known from his days as Steve Urkel from Family Matters, I simply have to include a clip of his famous “Urkel dance” – which, surprise surprise, I cannot find an embedabble copy of him doing the original one on YouTube, so here he is doing it as Al’s date to the dance on Step By Step during a crossover episode (if you want to see the original, go here.) :
And more recently, here he is cutting a rug in Cee Lo Green’s “Cry Baby” video:
Vogue: I’m impressed. He’s got it all and a ‘smoothness” to boot. What’s more, I felt an automatic attraction with he and Kym during the cast announcement. This is going to be good. I’m really looking forward to these two.
Heidi: Not bad, not bad. Lose the penis and dance with Derek and he’d be a ringer for sure!!
Courtney: I have to respect any man that played such a dork for so many years…and yet somehow seems uber-slick & smooth now 🙂 I’m actually kinda curious how much Jaleel is going to draw from his Urkel repertoire while on the show…I know he was really touchy about the whole Urkel thing for several years after Family Matters ended, because he was having a hard time finding roles because people couldn’t imagine him as anything other than Urkel. Should be interesting to see if he pays homage to it, or avoids it completely.
The verdict: Do not underestimate the Urkel.
Stay tuned for our assessment of the female competitors later this week 😉
excellent, ladies! fun, informative, well-documented with the videos, and great preparation for my viewing pleasure to come in March. I am already 10 times more knowledgeable about the male celebs than I was 2 days ago, thanks to you.
I think this is the most attractive group of men celebs in a while. Looking forward to seeing them all dance.
This is very interesting, I’ll take each one seperately:
1) Jack: If he can move like that now we have a contender.
2) Gavin: How do I say this nicely……..dude definately isn’t going to be the best dancer but i’m cool w that as long as he sings at least once per episode 🙂
3) donald: This has potential.
4) William: I can see him doing very well on the show.
5) Jaleel: The Urkel dance 🙂 Brings me back to my childhood watching “Family Matters”, “Full House” and “Boy Meets World”.
6) Roshon: He is the most fifted dancewise out of the guys clearly so I can’t wait to see how this all works out 🙂
You mean Jack Wagner is a ringer?! I’m ok with that…No wait, it’s Gavin Degraw that’s the ringer! I’m really ok with that!…What do you mean “Urkel” is the ringer?? That is simply unacceptable!!… 😉 lol
Thank you! Well done as always. Very insightful yet laugh-out-loud funny.
Jaleel looks good. Hope he doesn’t go with “dorking it up”. I’d like to see him all suave and debonair because I think he can do it.
I think both Roshon and Jaleel are going to be pretty good. Jaleel is smooth so he’ll be fine and Roshon is a great hip hop dancer but will that translate into great ballroom dancing. -Cant wait to see.
I think this will be a great season.
Nice videos. Jack Wagner’s was pretty sweet!! Thanks for posting.
Vin…. You think William will do well? He could probably stand with his feet planted, and smile at Carrie Ann (and the camera) and he will stay until almost semi-finals!
@Lori: If there is one thing that I learned from this show is that one should always expect the unexpected. He is fit, charismatic, and looks like he is going to be really good.
Will Gavin wear his codpiece on DWTS as well?
LOL!! Love all of your replies so far!!!
Very true, @Vin, but I also have to remember that Carrie Ann is pretty predictable, and usually picks one or two (or more) guys that she likes, and can do no wrong in her eyes…. And to prove she doesn’t play favorites, she usually has a scapegoat (like Ralph, for example) to make up for it…..
True. i See where you are coming from. Rob was treated with kid gloves in the begining of his season by her too. I think in a sense all the judges end up having a fav when by week 3 though.
Okay, I have to admit it…. My kids loved Family Matters and we would all watch it together…. And I even got up and did the Urkel dance right along with them…. Oh what family memories! 🙂
Love these clips. Thank you!
And as much as I ahte to say it, William will get the femal vote real quick becuase he is the Spanish version of Brad Pitt or whatever they said it was lol. Albert Reed got past week one based on looks alone and when he didn’t show off the muscles in week two he waseliminated. I think that William and Cheryl won’t make that happen again.
does anyone know how good William’s english is? I’m wondering if there’s going to be a language barrier, a la Elisabetta ….
and yes, Carrie Ann will be all dreamy eyed over William even before the first dance LOL
I agree that I think both Jaleel and Rashon are going to be great. I do think Rashon is going to be Jaleel’s biggest competition in both dancing and personality-wise. I watched him on the OTRC video with Chelsie and he immediately made me think of Kyle. Fun, charisma and outgoing.
Linde – no language barrier with William. He speaks English well since he’s been living in the States for nearly 15 years. Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNObAD81RnI&feature=related
I love this season’s cast! I’m so happy they’re aren’t any reality stars! My early favorite is Jaleel White because I grew up watching Family Matters and loved that character!
Another home run from the DWTS dream team! Excellent, creative, informative and hilarious post. Now I’m really psyched to see these guys & have a little better understanding of what they might be able to do. Thanks Court, Vogue & Heidi!
It so exciting watching all these mini-clips! some do look a bit more natural than others.
I guess im one of the rare ones that has never seen Family Matters so i have no idea who urkell is but he does seem a bit more natural. I like him already
I think the only one i know pretty well is William Levy. Coming from a mexican telenovela watching family im pretty familiar with him. He is hot and pretty charming and u guys are soo right about Carrie Ann loving him. But im sure many women will like him too 🙂 I really hope he is another Gilles (my all-time fav!!)
I also really like Jack Wagner’s clip. He seems like a fun personality. Im soo excited to see everyone 🙂
Forgot to thank u guys for putting these clips together! Thanks soo much! Cant wait to see the lady’s clips 🙂
Thanks girls for these videos! I am starting to get more familiar with the cast now 🙂 You are really helping me with your posts, since every season I only know 3-4 members of the cast!
I can see that all of them ‘shaked it’ at some point in their lives 😛 but I think that we won’t know who can really shake it untill we’ll see them in the dancefloor, you know what I mean? But from what I can see so far, I think that the one who has it the most is Jaleel. Just a feeling….
P.S. Heide, your comment on Jaleel really cracked me up 😀 😀 😀
About the others, I can’t really tell but I think Roshon will do well. He has the energy and he is young. In a way, he reminds me of Kyle 🙂
But the one I really looking forward to see is William! I couldn’t understand from the video if he is a good dancer or not, but I hope that as Cuban he will have it! 🙂
The subtitles on the video definitely are not Greek (I could read them then :)) but they don’t look like Russian to me either. They more look like Serbian or something but I am not sure.
@Vin: They call him “The Brad Pitt of Mexico”. But personally, I think William is more sexy and hot than Brad… (I hope you people don’t eat me, it’s just my personal opinion)
At the end…I think this cast is one of the best. It’s the first time I can’t pick 2-3 people and say that these 3 could reach to the finals! It’s going to be an interesting season! Can’t wait!!!
Meant to reply to Miss Boo yesterday…but here it is anyway: LOL…and no, he won’t be wearing his codpiece. He’s just gonna use a rolled-up sock because the codpiece won’t fit under those tight dance pants. 🙂
Glad everyone enjoyed this post! Ladies should be coming up tomorrow 😉
can’t be said enough – ya’ll make the DWTS experience so much more fun and enlightening. Love the show, but love this site more. Thank you, THANK YOU, for all the hard work that goes into feeding our insatiable hunger for anything DWTS. One stop shopping to the max – it ain’t official until i read it here LOL
Not to be a downer, but anyone with pre-existing injuries, etc.? Just wondering.
It’s a relief to be looking forward to a new season – great cast overall…many fan favorites and lookers.
thank you #ten for the u-tube link. Woo Hoo, another sexy accent. This is really turning out to be a wonderful cast.
DEREK DIDN’T GET THE RINGER! WOW, THATS A FIRST!!!
Roshon is on a disney channel show about DANCING, he can move, he’ll be good. Glad he’s with Chelsie, a pro who usually doesn’t get ringers.
I know, CBG!! Maks gets the nearing 50 year old actress with back and neck problems, instead! What a ringer! 😛
@CBG: Joey and Lance also had prvious dance experience (signifincant dance experience in my opinion) but it didn’t result in a win. I wonder if Roshon wil lend up the same way (placing 2nd or 3rd despite previous dance experience)
I used to do the “Urkel dance” in my livingroom with my kiddos. I guess I am a RINGER as well.
You’re either being ironic, CBG, or you’ve never been here before. Either way, you need a good slap up side the head.
Maks wins the ringer race by two ringers at this point, as I will demonstrate this weekend. 🙂
[…] last Wednesday, we took a look at the male contestants’ dancing pasts. Today we’ll take a look at the women, who are arguably less talented (and more comical) […]
Can’t say anyone got a “ringer” but the Latinos are the ones with a more natural sense of rhythm, and you can’t judge a snippet on dirt with a partner with sandals, and I think William will prove to be way more than just eye candy. Dance experience or not, don’t rule out the little Latina either. It’s in their blood and heritage and dancing is just second nature and natural to hot blooded Latinos, and they both have great partners! The Disney boy might smoke everyone and remember how Kyle brought it on and was such a great entertainer and had the personality, so it’s truly anybody’s game at this point and we’ll have to wait and see!