Dancing with the Stars Season 13 | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS Season 14, Week 2 – Dancing by the Numbers

Ai Ai Ai!!! If you are an overly sensitive fan of any of the couples, this post isn’t for you. What a crap ass night of scoring – the dancing was just fine and many couples excelled…but the judges made a secret trip to Columbia before the season started. And dropped a good bit of coin.

And really, you can’t get Derek and Maria’s phone number right?? Jesus – then you fix it (or try to) during Martina and Tony’s skybox chat..and, if I’m not mistaken, never show their number?? I try REALLY REALLY hard not to buy into conspiracy theories – the simplest explanation always being the best and all that (the simplest explanation is that some of the people working on this show are MUPPETS) – but when you so obviously overscore Sherri and (to a lesser extent) Roshon and then just totally screw over Melissa and Jack what do you expect me to do?? I can’t even describe my thoughts on William and Cheryl without using language that John doesn’t approve of. 🙂 I’ll just say…so William sticks his ass out and looks uncertain most of the time and he gets one of the higher scores of the night?? At least good old Len doesn’t have a vagina. I’m counting on him to keep it real where William is concerned. Now, if he would throw away the memo from the ABC brass that says “Score the family HIGH”, I would be so proud of him. Seriously, Martina would need well more than 22K votes more than William – they are VERY invested in protecting this guy.

Anyway, I could go on all day. Remember, the scores from last week and this week are added together for the couples total. The total number of points awarded is then divided into the couples total for their percentage of the judges scores. That counts for half of the couples total score. The other half is treated the same way – the total number of votes divided into the votes for a given couple. When you add the two percentages together, the couple with the lowest combined total goes home.

Let’s look at the couples and their percentages of the total:

The Judges Scores and Percentages

Place	Celebrity	Score	Percentage
1.	Katherine	52	9.65
2.	William	49	9.09
2.	Roshon	49	9.09
4.	Jaleel	48	8.91
5.	Maria	46	8.53
5.	Sherri	46	8.53
7.	Donald	45	8.35
8.	Jack	44	8.16
9.	Gladys	42	7.79
10.	Gavin	41	7.61
11.	Melissa	40	7.42
12.	Martina	37	6.86

:::sigh::: It’s a great season and even the worst dancers are doing better than the best dancers in many other seasons…so why do the judges insist on playing crazy games?? Katherine did a great job, but in what universe does William get only one point less than her?? They weren’t even close. I don’t think William was even close to Maria. Roshon got the same score tonight as William – he is also not worthy of a point less than Katherine, but he was better than William by a good bit..and he’s such a little cutie. I didn’t think I would like him, but I really do! But he and Sherri’s status with ABC was really showing tonight. Melissa still has issues…but no way was she that much worse than Sherri who missed an entire pass. Who was appropriately scored, IMO?? Well, Gavin, Jaleel, Jack, Donald, Maria and Katherine – but when compared to how other couples were overscored (or in some cases underscored), I’m not so sure any more. Read more..

DWTS Season 14, Week 1 – Dancing by the Numbers

Curious as to where your favorite stands after one week of dancing?? You’ve come to the right place. That said – this could all be crap by the time the couples do their next dance. I fully expect the judges to level the playing field (cuz they’re stupid like that) with the exception of their designated favorite. I have a feeling that will be Jaleel and William, if CAI and Bruno have anything to say about it. The Vagina vote wins every time. At least Jaleel is a kick ass dancer. William? Not so much. He’s alright. But starting out with overscoring so many people? Likely means they will do some leveling next week.

Anyway, let’s look at the couples and their percentages of the total:

The Judges Scores and Percentages

Place	Celebrity	Score	Percentage
1.	Jaleel	26	9.63
1.	Katherine	26	9.63
3.	William	24	8.89
4.	Gladys	23	8.52
4.	Roshon	23	8.52
4.	Sherri	23	8.52
4.	Jack	23	8.52
8.	Maria	21	7.78
8.	Donald	21	7.78
10.	Melissa	20	7.41
10.	Martina	20	7.41
10.	Gavin	20	7.41

To give you some perspective, last season there was a much more realistic 3.5% spread between the top and the bottom. This season? Not so much.

Anyway, there is a lot of danger for a lot of people with the scoring so close. The only people truly safe are Jaleel and Katherine; even as little known (ringer) as she is, I don’t think that EVERY other dancer is going to get more votes than she did. Because that is what would have to happen. Jaleel will easily get the one vote that he needs, but the people below her would each need the following for Katherine to go home.

Gavin, Martina and Melissa would EACH need to get 22,225 more votes than Katherine per million votes cast;

Maria and Donald would each need to get 18,520 more votes per million votes cast;

Sherri/Jack/Roshon/Gladys would each need 11,120 more votes than Katherine per million votes cast, and;

William would need 7,410 more votes per million votes cast than Katherine

That’s what it would take for Katherine to go home. Now, I think that Katherine has “shocking elimination” written all over her BUT, if she keeps the point spread like it is, she’ll be safe for a long while. I doubt very much that Gavin is getting the votes to beat her right now, and I doubt Roshon is yet either. I don’t really think that Maria and Donald are generating that many more votes than her yet, but that could easily change. Her dance was pretty and very well executed, but as we’ve said ad nauseum around here – you have to have the whole package. She strikes me as Audrina did – except Katherine (like Maria) has a much better partner. Plus Katherine has a lot more dance experience than Audrina did (but she had none, if I recall). Read more..

The Top 10 Worst First Week Cha-Cha’s in DWTS History

Ahhhh, yes – the cha-cha. The only first week dance that has remained the same in all 14 seasons of the show – they’ve often vacillated between the waltz, foxtrot, and Viennese waltz as the first week ballroom dance from season to season, but they’ve always had the cha-cha as a week 1 Latin dance. That’s 75 regular week 1 cha-cha’s (I’m not counting the cha-cha relay from season 9 – the scoring is too funky) for me to run the stats on, to give us an idea of what we might expect in the coming week 🙂 So before I run down the list of the biggest “Oh god, that was baaaaaad!” week 1 cha-cha moments, here are a few interesting cha-cha stats:

*The lowest cha-cha score in DWTS history is 12 – and it’s a 3-way tie between Master P & Ashly, Tucker & Elena, and Jeff & Edyta. Two of the couples were eliminated the first week of their respective seasons – and all 3 female pros are no longer on the show 🙂 (ok, that last one was probably not a direct cause of a bad cha-cha, but just an interesting coincidence ;-))

*Five former DWTS champions did cha-cha as their week 1 dance (Drew, Emmitt, Apolo, Brooke, & Hines).

*The pro who’s done the most week 1 cha-cha’s is Cheryl – she’s started 9 of her 12 seasons on the show with a cha-cha.

*A female celeb didn’t dance the cha-cha as a week 1 dance until season 5 – up until that point, the ladies had always done a ballroom dance the first week, and the men had always done cha-cha.

Now…without further ado…I give you the worst week 1 cha-cha’s in DWTS history 🙂 Season 14 celebs, pay attention! This is for your own good…do not try to emulate these routines!

10.) Clyde & Elena, season 4

I never got the feeling that Clyde was actually making a genuine effort during his season, really. I think his handlers probably signed him up for the show just to get him some exposure, and it was never something Clyde really wanted to do – he just seemed to do the bare minimum each week and probably hoped to get voted off quickly. His whole “outrage” over Len pointing out that some couples weren’t practicing enough just really made me think that Clyde the Glide doth protest too much – he wasn’t putting in the hours and he knew it. On top of the apathy, there was a huge height difference between he & Elena, and at 6’7″, he was generally just kinda ungainly…add that altogether and you’ve got a cha-cha that’s just kind of an awkward non-event.

9.) Billy Ray & Karina, season 4

I’m not sure who I feel worse for here – Billy Ray or Karina. Billy Ray really was kind of “a left-footed hillbilly from Kentucky” (his own words), and this cha-cha was a pretty hot mess. I like to call this “drunk uncle at a wedding” dancing – some random grooving & flailing & forgotten footwork from Billy Ray while Karina did some cha-cha around him. But I will say this – unlike Clyde, who had probably phoned it in before the season even started, I do think Billy Ray was giving it his all the entire season. This poor guy REALLY wanted to do well for Karina, and he did put in the effort – but some people are just not natural dancers, and Billy Ray is unfortunately in that camp. Read more..

DWTS Who Wore it Better? Part XV – The Pre-Season 14 Edition!

Yep, we’re back to talk fashion for yet another season’s promo pix 🙂 And kids, this batch was a bit of a challenge for even me – at least 3 brand-spanking new dresses that weren’t dittoed, some wacky alterations, weird lighting, and the fact that we don’t have pix of Cheryl & Katherine yet made this edition a little less fun and a little more frustrating. But alas, it’s here now, so enjoy! And a very special thanks to our reader Manny, who graciously helped us out with the screen cap of Niecy, since Hulu only has season 13 available to stream and the DWTS website has taken down all of the photos from old seasons…grrrrr. *shakes fist at sky*

Battle of the gold, silver, super-sparkly jive dress: Kym’s pre-season 14 photo shoot vs. Kym’s jive with David in season 13

Heidi: I know I’m going to disagree with Court on this one – by choosing the photo shoot version. 🙂 I like the more asymmetrical hem and I like her hair better in that pic. But damn, Kym always looks amazing and she does stick to the similar color pallette much of the time.

Court: Kym has always known what looks good on her (everything) and what doesn’t (not much), but I love how she seems to stick to a lot of nude colors and just lets all the embellishments do the talking. I remember thinking “Wowwwww…that’s soooo sparrrrrkllllllyyyy!” as she walked down the stairs last season in this number. But alas, the magic is a bit lost in the whitewash of the photo shoot – so I’m gonna go with jive Kym on this one 🙂

The winner: We love Kym in the nude (colors) 🙂

Battle of the black lace turtleneck tango dress: Bristol’s Argentine tango with Mark in season 11 vs. Martina’s pre-season 14 photo shoot

Court: I think this may actually be the very first ditto of a Bristol costume we’ve ever seen! Although if you’ve seen one Bristol ditto, I think you’ve pretty much seen them all, as this girl wore A LOT of black lace in season 11 – a fact that made my searching though her costumes all the more confusing 😛 But anyway…I gotta say, I’m not really wild about this costume on either woman. It just seems kinda…dowdy. But I guess if I had to pick, I’d actually pick Bristol – because I can at least tell it’s a tango costume with the way she’s styled & made up. Martina…just kinda looks like she’s gesturing for no apparent reason. But she looks damn good for her age! 🙂

Heidi: I can’t pick…too distracted by Marky’s face in that picture. 🙂 The hell? Okay, all kidding :::cough::: aside, I have to agree with Courtney. Martina looks fabulous, but Bristol is fully made up for this dress and she wears it pretty well. I will say, very proud of Martina for going with a dress that is probably more daring on the bottom half than I would have expected.

The winner: Bristol takes this one because we can actually tell what she’s doing. Read more..

Ricki Lake’s Message to the New Cast of DWTS

I thought this was cute, so I decided to share. 🙂 If you want to say HI to Ricki, her facebook page is The Ricki Lake Show.

DWTS Season 14 – Who’s Dancing With Who?? The CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!!

It’s that time again! Time for Heidi to guess who’s dancing with who, based on nothing more than heights and imagination. 🙂 We are putting up posts so fast and furious that I can’t leave anything stuck to the front page for very long, so if you’re looking for Rumor Round Up and/or Pro Watch, just click the links to go back to those posts. 🙂

This season it’s much harder, because we don’t know who’s dancing yet in terms of celebs and we’ll find out all at one time (celebs and partners) on Tuesday. They are trying to rob me of my usual guessing game. 🙂 So, I’m going to guess based on the celebs we’re reasonably sure about and then if we get more info, I’ll fill it in.

~~THIS IS THE POST WHERE I’LL PUT THE CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!!!~~ Watch this space!! I updated the title, so you have to update your bookmarks, so be aware. 🙂

Court’s Notes, part I: Lots of stalling (surprise, surprise). So far I’ve seen Cheryl, Derek, Peta, & Tristan lurking around the theater. Tristan just found out who his partner was about 20 minutes ago. The list of celebs is in a ridiculous sparkly purple envelope 😛

Court’s Notes, part II: I must really love you guys, because I just switched over from the HD channel to the regular one to minimize any delays in my feed. You’re welcome. 😛

Court’s Notes, part III: Even GMA is hopping on the “Will Maks be back???” bandwagon…ugh. Annoying. They’re promising the announcement is coming right after this commercial break, though…stand by…

Court’s Notes, part IV: This season’s celebs are: Jack Wagner, Melissa Gilbert, Donald Driver, William Levy, Sherri Shepherd, Katherine Jenkins, Gavin DeGraw, Martina Navratilova, Roshon Fagen, Maria Menounos, Jaleel White, & GLADYS KNIGHT!!!! And no, they haven’t announced who their partners are, yet. Patience 🙂

Court’s Notes, part V: Banter with the celebs…Melissa was apparently petrified at first, but is a little better now; Robin thinks Jaleel will be a force to be reckoned with (I agree); and Sherri says she’s “scared to death” and “needs Barbara Walters!”

Court’s Notes, part VI: All partners posted. Looks like Gladys was the last-minute addition. Tristan thinks they’re “gonna have a blast”.

Court’s Notes, part VII: Sherri’s biggest fear “besides being old” (lol), is having a bad memory – she’s afraid of forgetting her choreography. Donald deliberately didn’t tell any of his teammates about the show “because some of them have big mouths”. Everyone seems very intimidated by Jaleel & think he’s gonna be a staunch competitor…I agree. Even the way he walked out on the stage was charismatic! 😎

Who’s Dancing With Who?? (The Reality)

Celebrity	Celeb Height	Pro Height	Pro Dancer
Melissa Gilbert	5’3″	6ft. 2in.	Maksim
Maria Menounos	5’8″	5ft. 10in.	Derek
Katherine Jenkins	5’5″	5ft. 8in.	Mark
Martina Navratilova	5’8″	6ft. 1in.	Tony
Sherri Shepherd	5’1″	5ft. 10in.	Val
Gladys Knight	5’3.5″	5ft. 11in.	Tristan
Jaleel White	5’10.5″	5ft. 7in.	Kym
William Levy	6’1″	5ft. 4in.	Cheryl
Gavin DeGraw	5’11”	5ft. 5in.	Karina
Jack Wagner	5’11.5″	5ft. 4in.	Anna
Roshon Fagen	5’8″	5ft. 2in.	Chelsie
Donald Driver	6’0″	5ft. 7in.	Peta

Who’s Dancing With Who?? (Heidi’s Guesses)

Celebrity	Celeb Height	Pro Height	Pro Dancer
		6ft. 2in.	Maksim
Melissa Gilbert	5ft. 3in.	5ft. 10in.	Derek
		5ft. 8in.	Mark
Annika Sorenstam	5ft. 6in.	6ft. 1in.	Tony
Sherri Shepherd	5ft. 1in.	5ft. 10in.	Val
Maria Menounos	5ft. 8in.	5ft. 11in.	Tristan
Jack Wagner	5ft. 11.5in	5ft. 7in.	Kym
		5ft. 4in.	Cheryl
Gavin Degraw	5ft. 11in.	5ft. 5in.	Karina
		5ft. 4in.	Anna
Darnell Robinson	??	5ft. 2in.	Chelsie
Vince Young (?)	6ft. 5in.	5ft. 7in.	Peta

DWTS14 Casting Rumors – The Typecasting of Season 14, Part II

So we’re less than 24 hours away from finding out who is and isn’t part of this season’s cast. Who’s pumped??? I know I am…but we’ve still got a few hours left to speculate, so let’s see what other cast types we’ve to fill this season, shall we? 😉 For those of you that may have missed it, check out part I as well.

The Teen Idol

Previous examples: Joey McIntyre, Aaron Carter, Donny Osmond, Lance Bass, Mel B., Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey, Joey Lawrence, Ian Ziering, Cody Linley, Sabrina Bryan, Mario Lopez, Kyle Massey, Chelsea Kane, Romeo

Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.

Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting. They’ve also got to contend with the large middle-aged female contingent of viewers/voters – they far outnumber the young viewers likely to vote for them.

Possible candidates this season: There’s that random Nicole Anderson chick that’s a friend of Chelsea Kane’s, and Heidi found some compelling evidence that rapper Darnell Robinson may be participating this season.

The Host

Previous examples: Jerry Springer, Brooke Burke, Leeza Gibbons, Mario Lopez, Kenny Mayne, Lisa Rinna, Tucker Carlson, Mark Dacascos, Rocco DiSpirito, Erin Andrews, Wendy Williams, Mike Catherwood, Carson Kressley, Nancy Grace, Ricki Lake

Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).

Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.

Possible candidates this season: This category seems to have EXPLODED with possibilities this season – the most solid of which being Sherri Shepherd, who was caught leaving the DWTS studio the other day. I’m still wondering if someone fr0m GMA is part of the cast this season, since they all seemed to act so coy when announcing they’d be revealing the cast. And then we have the Maria Menounos rumor as well.

The Actor

Previous examples: John O’Hurley, Melissa Joan Hart, Steve Guttenburg, John Ratzenberger, Debi Mazar, Denise Richards, Ted McGinley, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennie Garth, Vivica Fox, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Shannen Doherty, Jennifer Grey, David Hasselhoff, Ralph Macchio, Kirstie Alley, David Arquette

Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.

Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.

Possible candidates this season: We’ve got Melissa Gilbert & Ryan O’Neal, of course, but nothing really beyond that.

The Reality Star

Previous examples: Kim Kardashian, Kelly Osbourne, Melissa Rycroft, Steve-O, Holly Madison, Trista Sutter, Shanna Moakler, Kate Gosselin, Jake Pavelka, Audrina Patridge, The Situation, Rob Kardashian, Kristin Cavallari

Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.

Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show when she was on DWTS, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless(*cough*JakePavelka*cough*) – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.

Possible candidates this season: Lots of talk about Ali Fedotowsky, who suspiciously moved to LA last week.

The Singer:

Previous examples: Mya, Billy Ray Cyrus, Mario, Belinda Carlisle, Master P, Chuck Wicks, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman, Toni Braxton, Macy Gray, Nicole Scherzinger, Chynna Phillips

Advantages: As with the teen idols, many have had dance experience concurrent with their music careers.

Disadvantages: Most seem to be committed solely to one genre of music (often R&B or country), making it hard to appeal to a wide fanbase.

Possible candidates this season: Lots of loose lips at the Grammys about Gavin DeGraw, but it seems like less of a possibility now, considering that he is about to go on tour.

The Wild Card

Previous examples: Heather Mills, Tom DeLay, Mark Cuban, Steve Wozniak, Priscilla Presley, Buzz Aldrin, Bristol Palin, Chaz Bono

Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing…as we saw with Bristol in season 11!

Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name. There’s also the risk of backlash from some viewers who don’t think they’re “stars” per se, and shouldn’t even be on the show in the first place.

Possible candidates this season: Surprisingly, not too many outlandish rumors…especially since Herman Cain & Michelle Bachman have denied they’re doing the show. Phew!

So we’re getting down to the wire, kids…any last-minute predictions before the big reveal? 😉

DWTS14 Casting Rumors – The Typecasting of Season 14, Part I

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m just ready for the cast announcement so we can get all of this speculating over & done with! But to help us get a handle on who might be in and out, let’s take a look at what combination of “casting types” we might get this season.

The Olympian

Previous examples: Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Apolo Ohno, Natalie Coughlin, Misty May-Treanor, Maurice Greene, Louie Vito, Evan Lysacek, Hope Solo

Advantages: The winningest of the 12 types, their obvious advantage is their athleticism – you won’t see these guys struggling with strength or endurance moves. In addition, the same tireless work ethic that helped them medal in the Olympics will likely carry them through the toils of the competition. They also seem to be adored by the masses, as many are seen as “hero” figures – which translates into a formidable voting fanbase.

Disadvantages: For those specializing in sports that are less “artistic” (i.e. swimming, running, volleyball), it might be a bit hard to really get into the character of the dance and truly perform to the crowd. Previously incurred injuries (or the fear of incurring an injury that might hinder their participation in subsequent competitions in their sport, a la Misty May-Treanor) may also slow them down & limit their mobility.

Possible candidates this season: The only semi-legitmate Olympian prospect I think we’ve heard is Bruce Jenner – and I would like to think that TPTB would have mercy and not subject us to back-to-back seasons of Kardashians in the audience 😀

The Athlete

Previous examples: Chuck Liddell, Warren Sapp, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Helio Castroneves, Laila Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Ty Murray, Evander Holyfield, Jerry Rice, Clyde Drexler, Monica Seles, Jason Taylor, Lawrence Taylor, Chad Ochocinco, Kurt Warner, Rick Fox, Sugar Ray Leonard, Chris Jericho, Hines Ward, Ron Artest

Advantages: As with the Olympians, their athleticism & work ethic make them well-suited to the competition. An edge they might have over their Olympic counterparts: sports like football, auto racing, & mixed martial arts tend to have a larger, more mainstream following than some of the Olympic sports.

Disadvantages: Again, a lack of “artistic” experience & previous injury (especially with the football players, who have really taken a beating over the years). Some of the more muscular athletes in hard-hitting sports may also have difficulty with the refined, precise moves of some of the dances.

Possible candidates this season: Vince Young tweeted that he had been asked to the do the show, then suspiciously deleted the tweet. Guilty much? 😉 We’ve also heard Annika Sorenstam’s name in the mix.

Read more..

PureDWTS Ask Courtney: Why Do Ladies Have to Wear Heels For Ballroom/Latin?

I confess: no one specifically asked this question, but some of you may have noticed that tend to get bit irritated whenever a female celeb or pro on the show opts to forgo the traditional heels in favor of boots, sneakers, or going barefoot. I thought I’d explain just why I get my knickers in such a twist over it 🙂

There are two primary reasons why heels are worn in both the Latin & ballroom dances: the first is aesthetic, and the other is technical. Aesthetically, the shoes are worn to give the the women’s legs a long, lean appearance – the neutral flesh tone of the fabric blends nicely with the skin, giving a nice, long, unbroken line; the heels themselves of course make the women look taller, which in turn enhances the illusion of long legs. You may have noticed that the women on the show don’t often wear colored dance shoes – that’s because a color that contrasts with the skin tends to “chop off” those nice long lines, and make the women’s legs look shorter. Why is it so important to have long legs? Because the longer your legs are, the nicer your lines are going to look, and the better technique you’re going to show – and the happier the judges are. 🙂

From a technical aspect, the shoes actually help to ensure that the ladies are using the proper technique in their dances. Remember my post about heel & toe leads? Well the shoes that the ladies wear for Latin are specially balanced so that the ladies’ body weight is shifted over her toes – and remember, all the Latin dances move forward (and backward) with a toe lead. The ballroom shoes tend to keep the ladies’ body weight balanced evenly on her heels & toes, much like normal shoes, as all the steps in the ballroom dances move forward on the heel and backward on the toe – just like normal walking. The shoes alone can’t guarantee that a dancer will always have the right technique – but they certainly do help!

So let’s say a woman *cough*Lacey*cough* decides to forgo wearing the proper shoes while dancing, and instead wears something more flat-footed, like boots. In the Latin dances, it’s probably going to result in her legs looking very short & stubby, and her lines not as impressive. Case in point: Lance & Lacey’s cha-cha in season 7:

Or, in Hope’s case this past season, those boots just gave her a complete lack of hip action, and resulted in a very flat, boring rumba:

The effect is a bit less noticeable in the ballroom dances, since they move so similarly to natural walking movement, and I can’t really think of a time on the show that someone has danced a ballroom dance barefoot. However, I do remember Twitch & Kherington’s Viennese waltz routine from season 4 of SYTYCD, and I remember not being wild about them doing it barefoot, as it just looked somewhat “unfinished” and more like contemporary than real ballroom:

So there you have it – you be the judge. I personally think that all ballroom & Latin dances should be done in the proper footwear, and it’s only (semi)acceptable to go barefoot if you’re a pro doing a contemporary-ish pro dance. But what do you guys think? 🙂

DWTS Maksim Chmerkovskiy In Propel Zero “Behind The Scenes” Teaser, Preview Commercial

Maks helped to choreograph a new commercial for Propel Zero’s “Drops of Life” as you might remember reading on in a previous posting where we posted a link for some stills and a ‘behind the scenes’ teaser. Well, this weekend Propel Zero released the “behind the scenes” teaser which you can view HERE (a facebook account and a “like” is required to see it). A preview of the finished commercial can also be viewed. There isn’t much dancing for what we see so far, but, there are some great jumping and dance pose moves in it.

DWTS Season 14, Week 2 – Dancing by the Numbers

The Judges Scores and Percentages

DWTS Season 14, Week 1 – Dancing by the Numbers

The Judges Scores and Percentages

The Top 10 Worst First Week Cha-Cha’s in DWTS History

DWTS Who Wore it Better? Part XV – The Pre-Season 14 Edition!

Ricki Lake’s Message to the New Cast of DWTS

DWTS Season 14 – Who’s Dancing With Who?? The CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!!

DWTS14 Casting Rumors – The Typecasting of Season 14, Part II

DWTS14 Casting Rumors – The Typecasting of Season 14, Part I

PureDWTS Ask Courtney: Why Do Ladies Have to Wear Heels For Ballroom/Latin?

DWTS Maksim Chmerkovskiy In Propel Zero “Behind The Scenes” Teaser, Preview Commercial

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