Brooke Burke | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS 16: What Was it Like to Be At the Cast Announcement?

…thankfully, we have someone to tell us! Kristina (our reader who was able to confirm there was a 12th couple – thanks again!) was fortunate enough to nab tickets to the announcement, and was gracious enough to share her experience with us. Here’s some tidbits she gave us about what’s it’s really like to be there live…

Courtney: First off, you have to get up REALLY early, don’t you?

Kristina: There was a 2:30 AM call time for the studio audience, and I got there at 2. It was held at a nice ABC studio, and they fed us breakfast.

C: And here I was bitching about getting up at 7 AM EST to live blog the announcement! What can you tell us about the crowd, Kristina?

K: The audience was pretty small, and about half of it was press people. There were no phones allowed, because they didn’t want anyone taking pictures. Everyone seemed kind of quiet, and it wasn’t really the same party atmosphere that the show has. (Kristina has actually attended quite a few DWTS tapings in the past!)

C: Can’t say I blame everyone for being a bit quiet – I would be too if I had to get up that early! What were Tom & Brooke like?

K: Tom was quick-witted as always and we got the chance to chat with him briefly. Also managed to exchange a quick “Hello, how are you?” with Brooke. Tom’s coattails were all crumpled in the back – some sort of wardrobe malfunction. He actually did a funny walk to make fun of it once he noticed!

C: Ok, now I’m jealous that you got to interact with the Berge Did you interact at all with Sam & Lara?

K: Gal sitting next to me was a huge GMA fan, and she got to chat with Sam a bit. Sam kept getting caught in between Sasha & Emma as they were dancing! I was also surprised to see the anchors whipping out their own makeup to touch-up in between takes – while Brooke had her makeup girl come out to reapply her lipstick and Tom was hollering for powder for someone else, Lara was touching her own makeup up. Poor Lara actually had to have her dress fixed right before the live broadcast, because they found out during the pre-broadcast screen test that the bottom of it was see-through.

C: Nice to know that anchors, like us, are human too Anything else funny happen before the announcement?

K: One of the chairs they had on stage for the celebs kept coming unlatched, and we audience members were yelling tips to the people on-stage to try and help them to fix it. Sasha & Emma kept having to start their dance over, because the music was coming on at random times. It would be like “1, 2, 3, GO!” and there would be no music…and then it would start a few seconds later.

C: So tell us about the celebs.

K: Jacoby was hilarious! Gave us quite a nice little preview of what to expect this season. LOTS of cheering for Wynnona from quite a few fans in the audience. Andy was funny too, and tried to get everyone to start cheering “DICK! DICK!” in response to Wynonna’s fans cheering “Wy! Wy!” Audience seemed to be pleasantly surprised when Dorothy’s name was announced, too. I actually brought my Kellie Pickler CD along with me in hopes that I could get her to sign it when I read about Kellie being rumored for this season at Pure We got to watch as they took their group photo – it was funny, they wanted the DWTS logo in the background, but the projector guy had already left for the day! They managed to get it back, though, and it was cool to see the whole cast standing together for the first time.

C: Really??? We love hearing that So in your opinion, who are the big contenders this season?

K: Dorothy for sure! Probably Jacoby too – he showed us some nice moves. And probably Kellie too, since she has Derek. I actually shouted out “We love you Derek Hough!” at my daughter’s request before we left the show…not sure people appreciated it, hehe.

C: I bet Heidi would have appreciated it

Thanks once again to Kristina for giving us a peek behind the scenes of the annoucement, and being patient with me as I got bogged down with my 9-5 this week and didn’t get this posted immediately after the announcement Kristina has actually been fortunate enough to attend quite a few tapings of the show itself (one of the advantages of living in CA), and in the future, we may get more behind-the-scenes POV’s from her on tapings she attends. In the meantime, you can follow her on Twitter @KrismissHampton and chat about all things DWTS – she’s good people

kristinagmaaudience

Kristina at the annoucement…she’s the lovely lady in red

Dancing with the Stars Season 16: Cast Announcement Live Blog!!!

Woohoooooo! After weeks of few casting rumors and a hectic week of pro watching, the big day is finally here: today we find out who’s going to be dancing on season 16, and who they’ll be dancing with (I presume). I’m assuming this cast announcement is going to pretty closely mirror the season 14 cast announcement, which was also on GMA: they kill time and tantalize us with periodic clues and whatnot for the first hour or so, then they announce all of the celebs, take a commercial break, announce which pro each celeb is paired with, take another commercial break, have a brief Q&A session with the couples, and then they’re done. A lot less painless than sitting through the fauxmance and schlock of The Bachelor, if you ask moi

First, a few ground rules: please, please, PLEASE do NOT keep hitting refresh repeatedly on this page! We keep upgrading our server, but during high-traffic times (such as the cast announcement), things tend to get a bit…wonky. If you keep hitting refresh, I cannot get in the dash to update the page, and thus nobody gets any updates. Try to keep the refreshing limited to every 15 minutes, k? You can also feel free to follow @puredwts on Twitter – Heidi will be tweeting the names as they’re announced as well. Also, if you’re watching the announcement yourself (or are carefully monitoring Twitter/the interwebs) and hear the names, PLEASE – do not post them in the comments if you don’t see them posted in the body of the post (looking at YOU, Grant). Not only does this also clog up the server and prevent me from updating the post, it also irritates the hell out of me, as I am not a) Amish, b) broke, or c) living in a van down by the river, and I, like you, have television, internet, and Twitter. If you don’t see it posted, it’s because I’m still trying to get into the dash – not because I don’t see it.

UPDATE: Moving the list of couples up to the top of the page for those who don’t want to hear all my play-by-plays I went ahead and put Sean & Peta on the list, but they are by no means a sure thing…

ETA2: We’ve confirmed there is, indeed, a 12th couple…but no official source stating that it’s Sean & Peta. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t them, though.

Celebrity	Height	Pro Height	Pro
Wynonna Judd	5’5″	6’1″	Tony
D.L. Hughley	5’7″	5’4″	Cheryl
Jacoby Jones	6’2″	5’5″	Karina
Lisa Vanderpump	5’6″	6’1″(?)	Gleb
Andy Dick	5’10″	5’5″	Sharna
Victor Ortiz	5’9″		Lindsay
Zendaya	5’10″	5’11″	Val
Aly Raisman	5’2″	5’8″	Mark
Ingo Rademacher	6’2″	5’7″	Kym
Kellie Pickler	5’1″	5’10″	Derek
Dorothy Hamill	5’3″	5’11″	Tristan
Sean Lowe (?)	6’2″	5’7″	Peta (?)

Ok, now that that’s settled, on with the show!!! Read more..

DWTS Brooke Burke-Charvet Talks Of Her Cancer Journey And Co-Hosting Miss America (Photo, Videos)

Brooke Burke on WhoSay

Today, Dancing With The Stars co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet shared her “cancer” journey on Good Morning America from the diagnosis to her recovery. She’s “back to work” now and “feeling great”.

Brooke also talks of her future plans and co-hosting Miss America this weekend which airs Saturday on ABC. Brooke will be co-hosting the pageant with Bachelor host Chris Harrison. On the Miss America contestants Brooke said, “They’re so smart, so charitable. It’s really about scholarships. They’re all beautiful.”

You can watch Brooke’s appearance on Good Morning America here and don’t forget to watch her on Miss America this weekend too if interested.

Pic above courtesy of Brooke’s twitter. It was taken early this morning before she did GMA! It’s good to see her again and in such high spirits. I’m so glad she’s ok.

ADDING: Here she is on Today as well….

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Karina Smirnoff And Apolo Ohno Hope To Make Brooke Burke Smile Tonight On DWTS (Video)

Celebuzz interviewed Karina Smirnoff and Apolo Ohno about Brooke Burke’s announcement of her Thyroid Cancer. They lend their support for her and explain how she’s doing now. They hope to make her smile tonight.

ETA1: And blow is a snippet from Aoplo’s new blog at People.com. He talks of how challenging he and Karina’s new dances have been to learn. Get ready for a special entrance to their individual dance tonight. Here is more….

I take every single week as if it’s our last week ever on the show. I think that allows me to really perform and entertain at the best level I possibly can. It’s fun, but it’s tough. I’m not sleeping much, but it’s good.

If we were to get eliminated, I absolutely would not regret the experience. The show and the journey and the things you go through are really amazing. But I’m not even thinking about that. If Tom [Bergeron] calls my name on Tuesday and tells me to come to the bottom of the stairs, I will tell him I am fine where I am and I think I’ll stay up there for a little while. I’m not going to move.

I’m hurting this week. This week is hard. We have two full dances. Karina [Smirnoff] and I have the tango, which is our individual dance. We’re dancing to a great song by Bonnie Tyler called “I Need a Hero.”

I’m trying out this entrance to the dance, and I’ve never really done it on the show before. I’m coming in from the corner of the skybox. It’s a little crazy. I’m told to come in like a superhero or action figure. I’m not really the best with heights. That’s why I’ve always stayed low to the ground.

The other dance we have is our trio dance, and we have Sasha Farber, who is one of the professionals on the show. We’re doing a jive to “Grease Lightning,” which I love. The number is sick, but I have two Russian dancers who forget that I’m not a pro. So they’re putting in this crazy, fast routine that normally a pro would have. My hip flexors feel like guitar strings right now. They are gone.

You can read the full blog at People.com.

Kirstie Alley Wants Maksim Chmerkovskiy To Guest Star On Her New Show

Co-host Brooke Burke tells Life & Style Magazine that Kirstie Alley is the “one of the funnest contestants ever” on Dancing With The Stars. She says Kirstie “has such a good attitude” and “she’s entertaining.” Kirstie also chatted with Life & Style Magazine about her Dancing With The Stars partner Maks Chmerkovskiy and how she wants him to guest on her new show. Here is more…

The 61-year-old actress has a tumultuous past with pro dancer Maks, whom she also danced with in season 12.

But they get along just fine now! “He is a special guy,” Kirstie says. “What’s not known is that Russians and Kansans always bond. That’s the link that no one knows about.”

And as Kirstie has told Life & Style, she wants him to guest star on her new show.

“I think he has to play my date,” she recently shared.

You can read more at Life & Style Magazine.

Maks and Kirstie have the “it” factor when it comes to comedy and entertaining. I hope it happens!

DWTS 15, Week 2 – The Cheesecake Awards!!!!

Heidi: I’m on a roll…or a tear, depending on your POV, this week. I’m feeling mean. You’ve been warned. Don’t come crying to me later for my sense of humor having a mean streak this week.

Courtney: But everyone out to be thankful that Heidi’s on a streak, because I myself am feeling a bit…sedate. Apparently I am allergic to either Cajun seasoning or lump crabmeat, as I broke out into hives about 15 minutes after sampling a hot seafood dip Mama Spence made for the Colts game. A few hours, a trip to the urgent care, and a shot of dexamethasone later, I’m feeling less itchy…but a little blaaaahhhh. But hey, at least the Colts beat the Packers!

The C U Next Tuesday Award, Redux: Carrie Ann Inaba, for rather heavy-handedly chastising Bristol Palin for breaking hold in her quickstep

Courtney: Let’s get one thing straight: I fully acknowledge that Bristol & Mark broke hold in their dance (if you haven’t yet, see my post about it) and I agree that the judges were right in pointing it out. HOWEVER – I don’t endorse CAI for going all Regina George on Bristol for it, claiming she was going to “slam back” because Bristol “slammed them in the face” by breaking the staying in hold rule. First of all, I have to laugh at how egocentric CA must be to think that all the couples break rules with the intention of somehow dissing the judges – I’ve heard her make the same ridiculous assumption about couples doing lifts, as if every single choreographic decision the couples make that doesn’t fit into her her specific (and ever-changing) rule book is a personal insult to her. My god, woman, IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!!! Second of all, at least direct your unwarranted indignance at the real guilty party – Mark. Have you somehow forgotten that the pros ultimately make the choreographic decisions??? I don’t care how much influence you may think a celeb has over their pro partner - the pro gets the final say in the choreography, and if it really was Bristol insisting they break hold (and I’m not sure it was), then Mark should have had the cojones to put his foot down and tell her no. But that’s neither here nor there – CA is a grown woman, not a teenage girl slamming another girl against a locker for stealing her boyfriend/copying her outfit/whatever. Grow up, ya diva…before they have to pull an extra chair up to the judges’ table for your ever-growing ego.

Heidi: She’s just a nutbar. As you said she’s done this before – taken it as a personal insult to her that someone broke the rules. Like Derek or Mark or Maks sit in a room with their partner saying, “What can we do to REALLY get CAI’s goat and piss her off?” But see, that’s the difference between CAI and the pros on this show. The pros are actual choreographers…it’s an art form, and sometimes they make creative decisions to put together the most exciting, memorable dance and that means a rule gets broken. I doubt CAI was considered until they looked at the final routine and figured that they better warn their partner they might get in trouble because CAI is a self centered biotch who thinks it’s all about HER.

The “Making out is the new black!” Award: Helio & Chelsie and Apolo & Karina, for finding ways to smooch in their routine; honorable mention – Val Chmerkovskiy, for finding any excuse he could to kiss Kelly on the head/hand/arm/etc.

Courtney: This seemed to be one week where the makeup department was discouraged from using the long-wearing lipsticks that we’re used to seeing – as both Helio & Apolo proudly sported lipstick kisses on their faces from their female partners. Love certainly seemed to be in the air this week…maybe they were inspired by Kirstie’s enthusiastic congratulatory smooch to Tom last week?

Heidi: Well, I think Val and Karina have crushes. Don’t know what the hell the deal is with Chelsie.

The “STFU Already” Award for Beating of a Dead Horse…AGAIN: Len Goodman for YET AGAIN reminding us of how shocking Sabrina’s elimination was in Season 6

Heidi: OMFG…how many times do we have to hear about this!!! Are they going to give her top of the leaderboard every week just to get the story they want at the end of the season?? “The most shocking elimination EVER finally wins!!! All is right with the fucking world.” :::rolls eyes::: I think I actually freaking screamed when he said it yet again.

Courtney: Wait…Sabrina’s elimination was shocking? Hold the phone. MIND…BLOWN. Read more..

Dancing With The Stars Brooke Burke In October’s Shape Magazine 2012 (Videos, Photo)

Dancing With The Stars co-host Brooke Burke is gracing the cover of October’s Shape Magazine. Enews and Access Hollywood give us a sneak peek and Brooke tells viewers how she’s able to keep her amazing figure. Below is the Access Hollywood video. You can view the E News video here. Shape Magazine is currently available on news stands everywhere. Be sure to pick up a copy. The pic above is stunning, isn’t it? I hope we get to see Brooke dance in all star exhibition dance. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Is The Judging For The DWTS All Star Season Going To Be Different? (Video)

Today People.com posted a video of Dancing With The Stars Hosts Brooke Burke and Tom Bergeron dishing on ” the insane level of competition on Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” this season. Even more interesting is that they also talk about how the judges might have to “tweek their standard of judging” since they can’t start giving 9′s or 10′s the first week, etc. You can watch the new video at People here. Thanks to Lori for the heads up!

Wow, I’m not sure what to think? Does this mean they might get really picky straight off. If so, that’s fine with me as long as they are FAIR!! Let us know what you think. I’m so glad I started stocking up on Pinot Noir in July and I don’t drink?

Brooke Burke on DWTS Season 15 “The Competition Level Is Going To Be Insane”

Dancing With The Stars co-host Brooke Burke called into the Ryan Seacrest Radio show today. She’s excited about this season’s all star cast being it’s “all over the place” with returning champions, some who got close to winning, and some people who went home too soon. She’s says the competition level is going to be insane. More below as well as her thoughts on her new IntiMint line and a Ladies Night Out event that she’s co-hosting next week with Ellen K.

Special thanks to Lori For sending!