Very interesting interview with Derek – don’t let the title mislead you, he actually doesn’t back away AT ALL from Nicole’s previous dance experience.  In fact, I think even Derek detractors will have a tough time finding fault with what he has to say. But maybe I’m overly optimistic on that front.  Anyway, from the Seattle Post – TV Guide, a few excerpts:

TVGuide.com: Anna Trebunskaya says you’ve been busting in on her rehearsals with Evan Lysacek. Are you scoping out the competition?

Derek Hough: Totally! We’re constantly walking in, like, “So what’s going on, guys?” [Laughs] It’s funny because Nicole does this certain move in our Viennese waltz that kind of looks like ice skating, like gliding, so every time she does it, she goes, “It’s the Lysacek!” Everyone’s having a good time. She gets along with everybody and she’s enjoying herself. Nicole’s a really hard worker, but we’ve been playing hard as well too. She’s a huge goofball. I thought I was crazy and goofy, but she’s definitely outmatched me.

TVGuide.com: There seems to be at least one person every season with a performing or dance background that people label a “ringer.” Some say it’s Nicole this season. Does that bother you?
Hough: For me, I don’t think it’s Nicole. I think it could be Evan. He performs choreography on ice. He’s like Baryshnikov on ice! Nicole is like, “Wait a minute. I’m a singer who just happens to do a few chest bumps and a few head rolls.” That’s what she compares her dancing to. But what’s so great about this season is that I don’t think there is a definite ringer. You’ve got lots of people who can be very good. Evan will be tough for so many different reasons. Chad [Ochocinco]’s got a great personality. We’ve learned in the past that people who’ve danced before don’t necessarily do well, let alone win. The show is so much more than just dancing. It’s about personality, it’s about story, it’s about charisma. Just look at Ty Murray.

TVGuide.com: How much has Nicole’s dance background helped?
Hough: I hate when people say, “No, it’s a totally different monster. It doesn’t help at all.” That’s ridiculous. Of course it helps! I think what helps the most is her musicality. But it is very true that this is hard. People make it look easy, but that’s what’s so hard about it — making it look easy. It’s definitely a struggle, but I think her dance experience has allowed us to up the ante as far as choreography.

TVGuide.com: Who are you excited to see dance?
Hough: I think Pamela Anderson is going to bring something good. She’s with Damian [Whitewood], the new guy, who’s going to bring new energy. Erin Andrews and Maks [Chmerkovskiy] should be something as well. I can’t wait to see Buzz [Aldrin]. Buzz is a little party animal. I went out twice last week and he was at both parties. He was kicking it right until the end. … This guy is a party animal and he’s 80 years old! He’s awesome. When he practices, he wears this shirt with this guy walking on the moon, and I said, “Is that you?” He said, “Yeah, it is, actually.” “Oh, wow!” [Laughs] People say that he’s a moonwalker, and he doesn’t like that. “No, I walked on the moon. I’ve actually walked on it.” It’s pretty funny because it’s true! You’re like, “Right, sorry. Duh. You’re a legend.”

As I was getting ready for the premiere of Dancing with the Stars season 10, I decided to upload all of the DWTS season 10 cast pictures so we could use them in our blogging throughout the season. There’s some really amazing pictures even if they did photoshop some of them a bit much.

Here they all are (click on the picture to see the full size picture):

I previously posted a DWTS 2010 poll to predict the winner of Dancing with the Stars 2010. We’ve had quite a few votes and it’s pretty clear who the 2 most popular stars are on this season of Dancing with the Stars. Looks like right now it’s Evan Lysacek and Nicole Scherzinger’s competition to lose. Here’s the full results to illustrate this fact:

I actually think the battle between Evan and Nicole is going to be epic. I predict that those 2 will reach the highest level of dancing that we’ve seen on any season of Dancing with the Stars. Plus, one or two other dancers are going to just surprise us with their superior dancing ability. My prediction is on Aiden Turner’s dancing keeping him in longer than expected. Will be nice for Edyta to have someone who can dance. At least that’s my prediction.

Entertainment Tonight had DWTS nearly every day last week. Or maybe it was EVERY day.

Got a bunch of media from various shows last week. But first, rehearsal videos from ABC on YouTube. I’ve only included a couple here, visit their page to see all of them.

Maks and Erin

Shannen and Mark, lol

Louis and Niecy

Extra from 3-14-10

Extra from 3-12-10

From ABC:

The 10th season of DWTS is upon us. As I started thinking about the new season of DWTS I started getting really excited that it’s back. This break seemed far too long for my liking. On that note, I thought I’d list the things I’m most excited anout the upcoming season and make some predictions.

The first is actually both. I predict that Chad Ochocinco is going to be way out there in what he says and does. This is going to make a lot of fans of the show absolutely hate him. I on the other hand will enjoy every minute of it. Every time Chad opens his mouth it’s pure entertainment.

I predict that the first Baywatch/and or huge chest joke about Pam will happen in the first episode. Honestly, I want my old baywatch babe back.

Edyta. Yummy!! Nuff said.

I predict we’ll have at least 3 male dancers with their shirts off in the first episode.

I’m excited to see Brooke host the show with Tom. Not because I think Brooke will be amazing (like Tom). She just better not let me down and be worse than Samantha. I’ve always known that change isn’t always better, but I think this one will be.

11 couples. We all know that there were far too many last season.

New dancers. I’ve hears people talk about these 2 new [to me] pros and I’m looking forward to see if they can live up to what people have said.

This one’s a no brainer. We’re going to have another Olympian in the finals and a pop star. Despite the ringer status, I’m fine with both of them making it.

Great dancing. Seems like forever since there’s been great dancing on TV. I need DWTS and SYTYCD to coordinate their schedules so that one of them is always on. Will never happen, but I can hope. Oh yeah, the pro dances. I can’t wait for that too.

Ok, so what are your predictions and what’s getting you excited for DWTS 2010?

When I moved Pure DWTS to the new server, I decided I’d try out a new commenting system for the site as well. I think that people will like the new comments because they have cool things like replies to other people’s comments, avatar’s, and lots of other little features that I’m sure you’ll figure out over time.

There are still a lot of tweaks I can make to the comment system. So, if something really annoys you about it, I can try and improve it. Overall, I think it will provide a better platform for discussion of topics. It should also help the site to load faster. This should be especially true in threads with a TON of comments.

Let me know what you think of the changes. We’re all ready for the premiere of Dancing with the Stars 2010.

UPDATE: If you see this message, then you are seeing Pure DWTS on the new server. Please let us know if you see any problems.

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that tonight I’ll be moving Pure DWTS over to a new server. I’m not sure exactly how long it will take. I’ll be starting the move at about 9 PST. Then, it is possible that it will take up to 6 hours to propagate the changes to your computer. Have no fear. We aren’t going anywhere and it will come back. We’re just making the move so that we’re ready for the explosion of traffic when DWTS 2010 premieres.

No need to change anything on your end. Just hoping to let you know what’s happening if you see the site down tonight.

For everyone asking about twitter accounts, John and I have been updating the Twitter Page! From the “stuff I found funny/bizarre/interesting today category…

Okay, I can’t tell if this guy is going to go all the way, or if he’s going to so annoy the regular DWTS audience that he leaves early. From MSNBC:

LOS ANGELES – Outspoken Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is the latest NFL star to join the “Dancing with the Stars” fray, but while the competition doesn’t start for two more weeks, he’s already got a message for the judges.

“From what I’ve learned in watching these shows, those judges can be a little harsh,” Ochocinco told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson when she stopped by his rehearsal with professional partner Cheryl Burke on Tuesday in Los Angeles. “They have to remember, I am out of my element. Don’t judge me like I’m a professional.”

“Len Goodman, I’m gonna say this to you and I’m gonna say it to you early before the show even starts: ‘Please do not step on my toes, because I will fight back. Thank you,’ ” Ochocinco noted.

Ya know, Len may have blind spots from time to time and be overly critical (Mya, Lil’ Kim spring immediately to mind), but HE is the expert here and we ain’t playin’ football. Doofus. I give him props for not whining about the shoes like past male contestants. This is a pretty long article, of which I took only tiny bits.

He has the potential to be (as good as Smith), if he works hard,” Burke said. “It’s only the first week, but he’s made a lot of progress.”

Included is that progress is getting used to ballroom shoes.

“You know what? I love ‘em,” he told Robinson. “I had to get used to it because I’m a man. … When I got the shoes, it had the little heel on the bottom, but what I’ve been able to do is … to magnify my sway.”

Can you believe that people are doing whole articles on Kate Gosselin’s hair? Dear lord.

Hair’s News! Kate Gosselin is getting ready for her debut on Dancing With the Stars and RadarOnline.com has learned that her stylist Ted Gibson is giving her a slightly new look, starting with taking her extensions out on Wednesday. The $7,000 hair-do Kate has been sporting is coming out, kids.

Kate will be hitting up the Ted Gibson salon on Wednesday and she’ll be back to her famous short-do.

But not for long.

“She’ll have a new hairdo tomorrow because we’re taking them out and we’re not putting them back in until Thursday. So she’ll have short hair for a day,” Ted told RadarOnline.com exclusively.

And Kate will have multiple shades in her new hairdo. “We’re actually doing three different shades of blonde, a caramel, a beige blond and a little bit of a lighter blonde,” Ted exclusively revealed to RadarOnline.com

Nicey and Louis on The Insider!

Lots of the couples on Access Hollywood. Look on the righthand side for other videos.

Wanna make a bet? Of course there are odds on Season 10!! I’m finding that I don’t much care for frontrunner status. The fall is harder.

There are two favorites this season among the 11 contestants with very close betting odds. Newly minted Olympic gold medalist Evan Lycasek with 2 to 1 odds and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger with 3 to 1 odds . Several factors play into their choices. First, Gold medalist have a very strong track record of winning DWTS. Especially since Evan’s fame has skyrocketed since the Olympics recently aired. Nicole on the other hand, CAN DANCE! Bottom line, she’s a Pussycat Doll. With heavy touring and show stopping moves, Nicole is definitely one to watch.

Aiden Turner: 18/1
Buzz Aldrin: 50/1
Chad Ochocinco: 9/2
Erin Andrews: 7/2
Evan Lysacek: 2/1
Jake Pavelka: 16/1
Kate Gosselin: 16/1
Niecy Nash: 25/1
Nicole Scherzinger: 3/1
Pamela Anderson: 12/1
Shannen Doherty: 16/1