Private Members Area – DWTS Season 21 Pre-Season Discussion
It’s almost time for Dancing with the Stars Season 21 and so it’s time to kick the Pure DWTS Insider area into full gear. If you’re not a Pure DWTS Insider yet, you can do so here. If you are, then I look forward to the discussion in the comments.
We know the cast for Dancing with the Stars season 21. What do you think of the cast? What pros are missing from the cast that are making you sad? Which couples have you most excited? Which couples are going to surprise us the most? Which couples are you most excited to see dance? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.
Also, feel free to chime in on more ways we can make the Pure DWTS insider area better. We’re always looking for ways to thank you for your support. Let us know if you have any ideas.
Time to strap it in for another season of Dancing with the Stars!
Woo hoo! I have checking in this area for 2 weeks already…lol. This means nothing but I found it funny. I “reviewed” the list with my aunt who has retired from show business but her husband did stunts for Gary Busey. She about peed in her pants when she heard he was on the show. She sees him regularly at “funerals” for stunt men cause he is getting to that age group. Then when she heard he with dancing with Anna she said “Doesn’t DWTS like Anna anymore. He is going to drive her nuts. His attention span is about six mintues.” Oh well they wanted drama right. This season I think is going to be very interesting and could have some comedic moments…oh dear.
Lynne,
Sorry for the delay. I kept meaning to post something for the members and was distracted by a bunch of work travel.
I thought more or less the same thing for Anna with Gary. I think you might be overstating Gary’s attention span at 6 minutes. Hopefully Anna has been warned. All she’d need to do is watch Gary on Celebrity Apprentice to realize that she’s not going to control him in any way shape or form. Just let him be him and he’ll own it.
So, I agree there could be some drama.
I always look forward to the season, regardless of the cast – but as of right now, I’m most intrigued by Nick and Sharna, Alexa and Mark, Bindi and Derek, Andy and Allison, Victor and Karina – and even surprisingly Tamar and Val – maybe she’ll actually get me to like Val, who needs a drastic sense of humor infusion into his life.
Of course I’m also interested in Gary and Anna – I hope he is okay, really – and that there’s no sense of humiliation but rather just a guy having fun.
I am personally not missing Artem whatsoever – he’s smarmy and gross to me, so no loss there. Of course I would much rather Sasha be there than almost anyone, but I do think of the celebs signed, they have the right pros for them – even Louis with Paula, although it pains me a little to say it. Fingers crossed for you next season, Sasha!
I’m sad that Peta’s out due to injury, as I think she would have been great with Andy – but I think Allison was the right replacement there, and likewise I think Lindsay will do right by Alek.
Thanks for everything guys – looking forward to spending another season with you all here!
No worries John π I took a break myself from all the DWTS craziness. Last season the whole give Val his first MBT was too much for to witness. But the new season is upon us and I’m readly to go.
I’m most excited for Nick and Sharna this season. Sharna has a great partner and paired with her choreography, these two probably are the ones to beat. I hope so.
I have to confess, I’ve dusted off my kids BSB CDs and this OLD mom has been jamming to their music. My daughter and I used to duet together (and share some dance moves (Yikes!)), so Nick’s casting has brought back some great memories and fun times. So I’m all about Team Nick and Sharna.
I’m pleasantly surprised with Alek, he’s funny, and seems to have a sense of humor. If he has some moves, tbat along with his amazing story, he could go quite far. And I’m willing to give Lindsay another shot.
And can we talk about Gary! Oh boy, Anna has her hands full with this one. Not sure how this pairing will go. Anna seemed frustated with Carson in the beginning, but once he became a crowd favorite she seemed to loosen up and have fun. Sadly, Gary may become the judges whipping stick.
I think Andy will do just fine with Allison. These two could surprise everyone this season. Allison may be making the finals again this season.
Off to a great season. Thanks for everything mods. π
Thanks so much for posting, John. Can I just say again how cool it was to meet you this summer?!! I just had to say that again.
As for the cast, I’m loving it so far for the diversity. Every one of them seems different, refreshing, and/or funny. (adding: though I admit, I’m not sure on Tamar yet)
Also, Mark Ballas mentioned in the Parade interview (posted yesterday) that production and creativity is stepping it up this season. So, I’m curious to see how and what they are planning because after watching DWTSRussia last season, this area could use a lot of improvement. I hope they plan to do Macy’s Stars of dance and more pro numbers too to give the show more meat.
Here’s to the new season and this part of the site too! Yay and love to all!!xxx
Sandy,
All this BSB dance moves you’re talking about really would be better with some video footage. Please turn on Periscope and live stream your dance moves for the rest of us next time π
Vogue,
Meeting you was a real pleasure for me too. I’m glad I stayed and drove all day the next day to make it to Cali. Was a bit crazy to plan out, but worth it all. I’ll finally meet Heidi next month and then I’ll just need to meet Court to complete the trifecta!
@John – LOL!! Your too funny!! I’d hate to show off… LOL! But thanks for the offer.
I don’t blame you for taking some time off, John! I hardly gave much thought to DWTS in the off season because I agree with Sandy: Season 20, though predictable, was still a wild ride. And to be honest, it looks like we’re in for more last minute decisions with this season.
I’m most excited for Nick and Alexa, though early favorites also include Bindi, Carlos and Andy. I’m gonna keep an on Alek because I do want Lindsay to have a few weeks to show us what she’s learned during her time on the troupe.
I will say, one thing that pleases me about the entire cast is that there doesn’t seem to be anyone they want to pimp right out of the gate. And unless TPTB are still hot for Val, I don’t see Tamar getting some behind the curtains manipulation. Which, if they still are, then I won’t be surprised.
But I do want to echo something PH said before the cast got announced: I do wish the show would just go back to letting the season run its course. They don’t need to help anyone like they did pre Season 12.
I hope it’ll be a great season though! Already can’t wait for the 14th!
Oh I wasn’t saying anything about you all John…just my excitement. I think this season will be fun. I watched the SCD opening numbers…omg…they were fun. DWTS needs to step it up to that. With the pro’s here being so popular I think people would love it. It sure is a different side of Len. I am checking the site all the time for rehearsal videos etc. I wonder if they are going to live stream rehearsals again.
Sandy,
I’d hate for you not to show off. Please Periscope it π
Sounds like we all enjoyed a bit of time off, but glad to be back. This month is looking good for me. Next month, the angels will hate me again as I travel all over.
Lynne,
I hope they do the live streams again. I bet if they look at the ROI, they probably shouldn’t do them again, but they were fun to see for an addict like me.
Hey All! Do you have questions for Sharna? If so, put your questions at this link. We need them quickly….like by this afternoon if possible. THANKS xx:
https://www.puredwts.com/2015/09/07/private-members-area-need-questions-quickly-for-new-puredwts-interview-with-sharna-burgess/
FINALLY!!! Not complaining – just seriously been ready to go stir crazy for a private thread. What has been going on with all the leaks, the pro adjustments, and now Britt is back? I don’t remember a season that had so many pre-season leaks, changes, troupe questions, injuries. Maybe its just my poor memory – but wow.
What great questions for Sharna – cant wait to hear the answers.
Cheers to the mods, you are awesome and I cant wait for another season of your awesome insight!!
@sarina – From what I’ve been able to glean from speaking to a few sources, the show is basically in chaos behind-the-scenes this season – lots of unhappy people, very poor planning, casting problems, you name it. Literally the perfect storm of problems, and it’s requiring those in charge to rapidly make changes…and they aren’t always the smartest. But as for Brittany specifically – I have a post going up in about 30 min that may shed some light on her situation.
Yay for the inaugural members’ area discussion! Thanks John π
As far as the cast goes, I think this is a pretty good bunch. I’m most excited to see Bindi, Alek, Nick, and Andy. I think I’ll like Alexa and Carlos, and expect them to be good dancers. I’m curious to see what Emma can do with 15-year-old Hayes and what kind of moves Victor has. I think Paula will be entertaining if Louis gives her stuff she can enjoy (sometimes Louis’s choreography isn’t very accessible). Chaka, Kim and Tamar don’t interest me at this point. The only one I absolutely wish was NOT in the cast is Gary, as I have zero interest in watching loose cannons roll around on the DWTS dance floor. I’m praying to all the little dance gods that he’s the first elimination, but my guess is there are enough viewers who like car crashes and they’ll keep him on because they think he’s funny.
Maybe next season a pro spot will finally open up for Sasha! I’m sorry Peta’s injured and hope she makes a full recovery, but I won’t miss her. I won’t miss Artem either, but if I could swap him for Tony or Val, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Right now I don’t think TPTB have a celebrity pimpee in mind although I think they might want to storyboard things to get both Alexa and Carlos into the finals for a husband-wife showdown. I’d much rather they just let the season play out naturally, but I think that’s a completely unrealistic expectation. So instead I’ll just hope they don’t actively sabotage any of the couples.
I’m sure the producers are just salivating at the storyboarding potential of Carlos and Alexa. I do think they’ll both be strong couples, we’ll see how much they’re shoved down our throats.
Wow, not sure who’d I take in that game of pro switcheroo – Artem, Val, or Tony? Ugh, that’s not a game of Fuck, Marry, Kill – that’s Puke, Diarrhea, and Leakage for me.
I never thought about that Cids. I realize the couples haven’t hit the dance floor yet, but as it stands now, Alexa and Carlos don’t interest me at all. I don’t get all the hyped over these two. Meh!
Excited for Nick, Alek, Bindi, and even Paula. Yup I said Paula. She’s a hoot! And Louis is the perfect partner for her.
Tamar was gawd awful and silly on Celebrity Family Feud. She didn’t seem to take the show seriously. I felt bad for her sisters and the charity they were playing for. Not a fan.
Knowing what we do about the main DWTS viewing demographic (female, middle-aged, conservative-leaning), I would expect both Paula & Alek to last a surprisingly long time this season. Paula in particular could be the next Bill Engvall, if she’s as funny as I think she’ll be.
I fear for Victor the most for an early elimination – although I know who he is and really look forward to this partnership, he doesn’t have a real fanbase. Here’s hoping he makes good headway out of the gates (hah!).
Otherwise, thinking Kim and Chaka might be in danger as well. This may all change from the dancing of course, but I do think Gary will have at least a week or two in him if not longer. Also keep forgetting about Hayes, although for Emma’s sake I hope he’s not terrible.
I agree that Paula and Alek will likely stick around, given the demographic – especially Paula. Big fanbase, will probably have a lot of fun on the show – as I said in an earlier post, I expect it’s possible she Nancy Grace’s me and others.
LOL, Fig! Where’s Maks when you need him?
Sandy, If you’d stop fangirl-ing over Nick I bet you’d have picked up on the special possibilities of Alexa and Carlos. π [And you know I’m just kidding, right? I can’t wait to see Nick and Sharna. I just hope they remember to have fun.]
Court, You make me happy every time you say Alek will be around for a while (now I hope he can learn to dance). Paula could be this season’s Bill but she has one disadvantage–namely, Louis. He ain’t no Emma. She tailored Bill’s routines to fit him like a Saville Row suit. I don’t have that kind of confidence in Louis especially when it comes to his idea of what the DWTS viewing audience will find funny.
Fig, you said what I’ve been thinking about Victor. He seems the most likely to be the first one eliminated because even if the average viewer knows that we finally got another Triple Crown winner, very few people pay any attention to the jockey. Unless he completely charms the socks off the audience and can also dance, I’m not sure he’ll have the votes to get past anyone else in this cast unless Hayes can’t dance at all and his Vine fans totally abandon him.
I don’t see any way for Paula and Louis to end up in anything but a train wreck. Although, Paula seems like she’s trying really hard to improve her image. So, we’ll see how they get on.
Can you imagine Gary’s live stream. We might have to start a support group for Anna.
So happy that the Private Members area was back! I went to login yesterday and realized my membership had expired so now I have another year! Happy to have some thoughtful discussions in this area while also supporting my favorite blog. I keep watching this show because of this site (well…and Derek too, but I’ll keep watching when he leaves because of Pure). I have been reading all the posts and comments since last season, but I’ve mainly been lurking instead. So don’t worry John about not getting anything up sooner!
Now lets just hope that this season isn’t as crazy as the preseason was. My question is, do you think that’s it’s always similar as crazy as this season and maybe we just don’t see it since they had announced pros and did the day-by-day cast reveal through every media outlet possible? Or is it just this season that got pretty nuts?
For the cast, thus far my favorites are Bindi, Alek and Nick. I’ve always been a Lindsay fan and I’m glad she got put in troupe for a bit and got some experience there. I hope she has a good showing on this second chance.
Others I kind of like are Kim, Victor and Carlos/Alexa (yes, I really just think of them as one). I know most don’t like Kim as she’s a bit crazy, but I really like her on Don’t Be Tardy as she has a lot of heart for those in her life. I think she’ll do well with Tony (as long as we have the non-egotistical Tony this season). I also think Victor and Karina’s partnership is adorable.
I don’t mind Paula, but I just wish Louis wasn’t back as I’m just not a fan of him at all. Gary should be a trainwreck and I’m also not a big fan of Anna after a lot of her afterbuzz comments in recent seasons, but I’ll certainly enjoy laughing at how nuts he is going to be. I don’t like Tamar thus far, but maybe I’m just biased because she’s with Val and he has the tendency to make me not like really any of his partners as much as I always try hard to like them.
For troupe, I wish Sasha was a pro, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m glad Lindsay got the bump over Jenna because she also doesn’t do it for me. Kristyn’s interesting tidbit regarding Jenna being out of troupe if Emma didn’t have a partner really piqued my curiosity. Her comeback (and then deleted tweet) also made me go “Hmm”. I really love contemporary and Hayley and I’m glad she’s in troupe, but I certainly understand wanting ballroom pros. I hope she ends up picking things up quickly and succeeding.
Sorry, that was longer than I had expected it would be! Cheers to a great season 21! (I’m drinking a beer at my desk at work right now as we’re swamped, I’m here late and I like beer, so yes, I’m drinking to that.)
Thanks everyone in here for your support of the site. It makes what we do just a little bit sweeter.
I was just thinking of one other thing. I’m glad that Karina’s back since she’s not afraid to say what she’s really thinking. I saw some interview with her and she kind of threw her partner under the bus as far as being ready. She didn’t do it in an angry, hateful way. Just an honest response to a question about her partner being ready. Too many of the pros candy coat everything. I forgot how much I liked Karina for always saying what’s on her mind. I don’t think that girl could lie if she tried. You’d see it in her face. Julianne and Edyta both use to have that as well. I guess you could say that Maks and Louis have it too, but there’s comes off as trying to game the system or exposing the unfairness of the show as opposed to just riding the experience.
Your welcome John π
Kaitlyn, Nice work place ya got! Even though you’re swamped and are working late, you can drink a beer at your desk. If I did that, my a$$ could be fired or I’d at least receive an official reprimand which would also end up in my personnel record.
John, I second Sandy. Glad we can help, and we thank you for the quiet hideaway you’ve set up for us. π
Yes, my place of employment is wonderful. In fact they bought the beer for me. I work for a giant company that consists of lots of people in their 20s and 30s so they pay for us to go out and get drunk together once a month with our teams for “bonding”. The work part is good too, but the free beer just makes it better.
And ditto to Cidra. The perfect way to describe this is the quiet hideaway.
Better and better Kaitlyn! Hope your place of worl is a template for more and more businesses in the future.
Ummm, yeah, “worl” isn’t what I had in mind. Let’s try “work”. That’s more like it.
Court – I responded to your tired of questions post, and it probably should be here instead. If you and the other mods feel like spilling some fun stuff – it should prob not be in the general forum. If you haven’t posted my response – feel free to delete!
@sarina – There’s been so much intel from our source over the years, I could probably write novel in the comments section of this post. Two tidbits off the top of my head: Gilles was not well-liked by the cast of all-stars (he was a total diva and played his music so loud that a lot of the other couples stopped rehearsing at McCadden), and got in a fight (verbal) with Mark over a massage table; Derek showed up late (and hungover) to team dance rehearsals in season 19 because he stayed out late partying on Halloween with Nina Dobrev. π
Vogue, you still taking questions for Sharna? I would love to know what her favorite costume has been that she’s worn on the show…and if it makes her sad when she sees her costumes cut up for pro dances, promo shoots, etc.
Court, I had to get her questions in as soon as I could on Monday. I’ll be sure to ask her that question next time. Good one!!
Thanks Court – well I am sure your novel would beat out 50 Shades of Henry!! Giles seemed a little spastic to me sometimes. Would love to know whatever else you are willing to share. Don’t want to get too scandalous – but a little humor always helps, right?
The first bits of intel are trickling in on the week one dances…creating enough spaces so that the spoiler-y part of this comment doesn’t show up on the main page…
*Looks like Nick & Sharna have Flo Rida feat. Robin Thicke “I Don’t Like It, I Love It” as their song. Apparently Nick looking REALLY good.
*Deep Throat says Tamar is “a handful” but “seems to be getting along well with Val”. Make what you will of that π
*Another source saying that Gary, Kim, and Bindi are all really funny and entertaining, and that Bindi is also “super sweet”.
*DT not 100% positive, but thinks Bindi & Derek MIGHT have jive.
Happy Friday everyone! π
*
Thanks Court – have a great weekend! And does that make 2 “handfuls”?
Happy Friday to you too!
And thanks for the tidbits… Thank goodness it’s a baseball filled weekend to pass the time along.
Thanks Mods for all you do! We Love ya!
Ooh! Almost forgot one other interesting little tidbit: they’re doing another one of the “get to know the pros” segments this year, and we’re finally going to hear about Keo’s background – he’s apparently related to Patrice Motsepe, a billionaire mining magnate, philanthropist, and the richest man in South Africa. He’s also got ties to royalty – someone in Keo’s family tree was a chief of one of the Zulu tribes. Will definitely be interesting to hear about it!
Court, Thanks for the tidbits from both the past and present.
Why am I not surprised Tamar is a handful? The spiteful side of me hopes she makes Val’s season miserable.
Keo’s background definitely sounds interesting. I wonder if the billionaire relation and exalted family tree explains why I get an “it’s really about me” vibe from him. I think he’s a handsome guy and enjoy watching him dance, but I don’t think humility is his strong suit.
I can’t believe the premiere is tomorrow. It’s been such a weird build up to the season compared to other seasons. It’s like we know a lot but also know nothing at allβ¦if that makes sense.
Two big egos (Tamar and Val) could result in a shocking display of fireworks and I don’t mean that in a positive way. I hope the producers will not try to stuff anyone down our throats. I got enough of that last season. I just wish they could keep it honest. So what judge do you think the producers will/could go to to “score” the way they want. Hmmm. I love this thread. I do have a question…if you add it to list of dumb questions I apologize in advance…are you going to live blog this season….I loved it.
Yes, we are live blogging.
Lynne, I think the producers can count on CarrieAnn to do their dirty work; Bruno and Julianne are probably harder nuts to crack. I’ve always gotten the impression that Bruno more or less does as he pleases. If he likes the performance, he’s going to give it a good score. He might be willing to go along with “the plan” in general terms by praising the producer’s pimpee, but I don’t think he’d be their puppet. In previous seasons Julianne’s main concern has been to avoid giving the appearance of favoring her brother or Mark, but I think she’s comfortable enough now to score everyone honestly, and I hope she still remembers what it was like as a pro and wouldn’t be willing to sabotage a couple to serve TPTB’s agenda.
Courtney…umm I am middle aged, a female, but definitely not conservative…lol. I don’t want to be grouped with them! lol. PH so glad you all are blogging it live…that is my favorite thing. I guess we better start swearing now…Putting my hand on the virtual mirror ball, while sneaking a loot at Derek’s…oh yeah back to reality…I solemnly swear not to refresh every 30 seconds, but rather wait five minutes. And Cidra I don’t know…the problem with Carrie Ann is she is pretty expressive…I think we could tell if she was intentionally shaving or adding points.