Conrad Green | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS Season 16, Week 1 – Dancing by the Numbers!

Hello folks (Hi Cheryl!!!)! It’s time once again to take a look at the numbers for a week of dancing. Of course, since there was no elimination this week, this is just an exercise to show you where the dancers stand going into week two. Is it possible for D.L. to overcome his extreme deficit? Well, I kinda doubt it, but you never know. Next Tuesday will either reveal that there are some seriously weak fanbases (by someone other than D.L. getting the boot), or it will reveal nothing at all.

Anyway, I think that the judges didn’t screw the pooch too badly this week, but there’s still plenty of time. What did I agree or disagree with? Well, I’m a proponent of a LOT more use of the 3 and 4 paddles in week 1 and they don’t seem to have that in them unless you don’t practice as much as you should. As much as I LOVED Wynonna, I think they were a bit kind to her – which is SOP for them when it comes to older, dance-challenged ladies. I think Kellie got screwed by going first – also typical for these judges. There’s no way that Dorothy and Aly deserve the same score as her. That said, 21 is a good score for both, I’m just thinking that Kellie deserved a point or two higher. Zendaya? Awesome. Loved the dance and I have high hopes for Val. That said, I think 24 was a bit of a stretch – but only by a point, really. The question on these ladies is – can Kellie keep it up (I think so), can Dorothy loosen up (I hope so) and can Aly ever even HOPE to match up to Shawn (doubt it). No, it’s not fair to compare her to All Stars Shawn – but if you think I’m the only person doing that, yer crazy. It’s how the brain works, whether you want it to or not.

LOVE Andy. Love him. I think he did a better dance that Wynonna did, actually. I certainly enjoyed him FAR more than the cheapo Foxtrot put on by Sean and Peta. What the hell was that, anyway?? But, since Sean is a member of the family, I expect him to be overscored right to the semi-finals. The imaginary scenario…

ABC Exec: :::cough::: Ahem. You know, Conrad, if Sean stays around until, oh, I dunno, week 8 or so, that would tie in perfectly with his and Catherine’s wedding, to air right after DWTS at 9 pm, that week. Whaddaya say?

Conrad: :::sigh::: I’ll see what I can do.

Expect nipples. Just sayin’. Read more..

Kelly Monaco Reviews Dancing With The Stars On Good Morning America

Good Morning America reviewed last night’s dances on Dancing With The Stars. Then Kelly Monaco joined in. She thinks her former partner Val and Zendaya will be the couple to watch. The surprises for her were Ingo Rademacher. She also thought Andy Dick was amazing. She loves his back story. Kelly also thought Kellie and Derek were “on fire” and her moves were “insane. They are in her top three. Kelly also talks of Wynonna and how cool it was seeing her family rooting her on which is so important. Lots more at Good Morning America.

PureDWTS 16 Week 1 – Interviews After The First Dance, Learn Dances For Next Week

Wow, what a great first night of dancing and entertainment on Dancing With The Stars Season 16. Let’s get right to the interviews afterwards with George Pennacchio of On The Red Carpet, but, first, if you haven’t given your reviews and rankings of the couples, be sure you do so HERE!! With that said, onto the interviews after the show, but, note that there aren’t any intertiews so far with Jacoby and Karina. Did they go straight to rehearsals? Also, for all the new interviews with Derek and Kellie, visit Pure Derek Hough as Heidi will be gathering up everything on them there. Ok, let’s get started….

First up, Zendaya and Val!! Zendaya had no idea she would get such high scores last night, but, she just wants to push to do better. Val tells George she looks “promising”. They have the Jive next week. It’s not about the scores for Val, but, about “the dance” and doing the best they can.

Ingo and Kym!! George starts off by commending them for such a great first dance. Kym says he’s fearless in his ability and she was so proud of the moves and lifts he did. Ingo is nervous about having only 5 days to learn the Quickstep, but, Kym has total confidence in him. He tells George to ask him about his confidence level next week after he does the Quickstep.

Dorothy is encouraged and warmed by all the love and positive compliments she heard last night, but, she’s nervous and wants to keep improving and giving her best. Shes gracious and humble. Tristan says they are going to stay focused and work hard.

George starts out telling Andy and Sharna that they had the most applause in the press room after their dance. They are both warmed and thankful. Andy said last night was a big high for him. Next they have the Jive (or did Sharna say “Jazz”?). Sharna says they plan to keep working hard and she will let Andy have artistic freedom to do his comedic thing. The dance will also be “darker”. He’s glad the first dance is over and they can’t wait to move forward.

Aly says she’s so excited and she had so much fun last night. Mark says there is a such a good vibe every where which seemed to be missing last season (I agree! I’m feeling that vibe too! Are you?). Read more..

GMA Goes Into DWTS Stage Rehearsals, ABC Releases Season 16 Pre-Party, Parking Lot Coverage

Check out this piece from GMA today!! Melissa Rycroft commentates on the first rehearsals on stage this weekend. You can watch it here or see the video below thanks to Codebear. He tells me that the video below is longer than what was shown on GMA.

Countdown To “Dancing” – Inside The Final Rehearsal from Elena Grinenko on Vimeo.

ABC has also released a 5 part Dancing With The Stars Pre-party video series to get us ready even more for tonight’s premiere. I haven’t watched these all in full yet, but, for what I’ve seen of Part 1, this is fun!!

Executive Producer Speaks Out About Building DWTS Long Time Future, New Themes, And More

Dancing With The Stars Executive Producer Conrad Green spoke to TV Guide about the All Stars last season and how he thinks listeners ended up wanting to see “new” stars and not “old” stars. For Season 16, it’s about bringing in new faces to see new stories happen and bulding Dancing With The Stars long time future. He also talks of the new pros added in this take and why they made some changes…

“New blood is so important,” Green says. “The people who are your favorites now are only your favorites because they were introduced years ago. As always, that doesn’t mean our old pros won’t be considered in the future, but we want to be bring people through and we’ve been looking at Lindsay, Gleb and Sharna for a while. We want them to be your favorites years from now. They all bring something unique to the table.”

I totally support Mr. Green on this idea. I love some of the old pros, but, “change” is also important to keep things refreshing and new.

Mr. Green also talks of the what kind of dances and themes we’ll see this season and those we won’t see. Note how Week 3 will be “Prom Night”. There will also be a “Best Year of Your Life Week”.

“The more outlandish stuff probably won’t be back,” Green says. “The picking [dances] for each other will be. I don’t think there’s an issue with that. … Some of the things we did last season was because it was All-Stars and some of those people had done the whole show, so we had to keep them guessing. I don’t think we’ll be pushing as far and wide with the challenges now because I don’t think we need to. A lot of the joy is seeing if someone can do a paso.”

The Dancing staple, theme weeks, will be back as usual, with some new ones. Week 3 will be Prom Night, inspired by the stars’ own proms and for which fans will be able to vote to crown the Prom King and Queen. “Maybe the celebrities will do some version of their prom outfits,” Green says with a laugh. “There will probably be some campy music. We’re looking at some other special performance nights. One will probably be Latin. We’ll do The Best Year of Your Life Week. It’s small tweaks like that that are vital. Nothing radical.”

I’m not a fan to theme nights unless the music matches the style of dances, but, we’ll see. You can more at TV Guide. After you read it, let us know what you think of everything he says?

Heidi: Yes, let’s take a show that already is seen by cheesy even by it’s fans and see if we can make it the ULTIMATE in cheesy and add a prom theme night. Ya know, I generally think theme nights are CRAP but this one is the ultimate in CRAP. Another excuse for stupid outfits, stupid props and cranky ass Len who will dock someone (either Derek or Mark, is my guess) for having too many balloons at their prom. Oh, and Mark will wear horn rimmed glasses with his short pants. Again. At least he’s admitting up front to tweaks – but nothing radical?? Yeah, we’ll see about that.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Obviously.

Executive Producer Conrad Green Speaks Out About The New Cast Of Dancing With With The Stars Season 16

The Executive Producer of Dancing With The Stars, Conrad Green, wants to make up for lower ratings that the show has had last season. Below is what he tells TV Guide on his thoughts about building the new cast…

“For us to have someone who was a game changer on the Super Bowl is great fun,” says executive producer Conrad Green.

“[Hamill] has got such a place of affection in America’s heart,” he says. “I think everyone will love to see her performing again.” But she’d better watch out: She’s going up against another Olympic gold medalist: Aly Raisman, 18, captain of the 2012 U.S. gymnastics team.

Judd, who has been open about her lifelong struggle with her weight, told Green that she’s looking forward to getting toned by throwing herself into training. “I think every woman in America can relate to Wynonna,” he says. She’ll have to outshine another singer, 26-year-old Kellie Picker, the show’s first American Idol alum.

Adding comic relief, and possibly some great hoofing, will be D.L. Hughley, 49, and Andy Dick, 47. “Andy said that, in high school, he won a dance competition,” Green says.

He’ll still have to slug it out with boxing great Victor Ortiz, 26; former General Hospital heartthrob Ingo Rademacher, 41; Disney star Zendaya Coleman, 16; and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Lisa Vanderpump, 52.

Is Green hoping to get a better table at one of Vanderpump’s tony restaurants? “That’s really all this is about,” he jokes. “To make sure we get good reservations.”

In my opinion, they have scored with this new cast and the changes we’ve seen so far, but, we’ll see. Lots more at TV Guide. Be sure you see all the featured links.

No Indication To Believe Dancing With The Stars Won’t Be On Fall Schedule As Well As Spring

We touched a little on this subject the other day when Executive Producer Conrad Green talked about the dip in TV ratings and changing up Dancing With The Stars. Now the NY Post is reporting that producers are “talking” about only doing one show a year which would take place in the Spring. Though, the key word here is “TALKING”. This is not a done deal yet and I hope it’s not because, no matter what nay sayers and the media keep reporting with sensationalized headlining, etc., remember (as we have stressed to you over and over), Dancing With The Stars is still a Top 10 rated tv show. Also, all tv shows are down in numbers as Heidi has reported for several seasons now. Also note, that according to TV By The Numbers, the Dancing With The Stars All Stars was “Monday’s Most-Watched TV Program for 7 straight weeks in a row”. See,…it’s not all gloomy and doomy as many might think. Though that doesn’t mean there aren’t some changes needed….but, in my opinion, cutting the show to only one season a year isn’t the answer….not yet, anyway. Why not get to the root of the issues instead like crazy storyboarding, axing theme weeks, improving judging, etc.? It might help to get bigger names to sing and perform on the results shows too? Look for Heidi’s thoughts below as well….

ABC may be passing on the paso doble for a while.

“Dancing With the Stars” is talking about airing just once each year, in the spring, a production source tells The Post.

“They have to figure something out,” the insider says. “Maybe change the judges. The show needs a total makeover.”

After 15 editions since 2005, the once-top-rated talent show took a beating in the ratings during its “All-Star” season, which ended last month.

The finale drew 16.7 million viewers — a huge audience by most TV standards, but down almost three million from a year ago.

Total viewership for the past season was off by 20 percent.

Bringing back past champs Shawn Johnson, Emmitt Smith, Drew Lachey and the like seemed like “a great idea,” Disney CFO Jay Rasulo admitted this week at a financial conference in New York.

“Turns out people didn’t want to see people who could dance. They wanted people who couldn’t dance,” Rasulo said.

”We haven’t made a decision about fall yet,” an ABC spokeswoman said last night, “but we have no indication that it won’t be on the schedule.

You can read more at the NY Post.

Heidi: Answer me this…how is it that The Amazing Race and Survivor BOTH have two seasons a year (and are possibly more expensive to produce) and have the same or lower ratings than DWTS?? Both shows do about the same in the key demo as DWTS and they are about ten spots BELOW DWTS in total viewers?? For that matter, there are scripted dramas which are MUCH more expensive to produce that aren’t doing as well in total viewers OR the Key demo (namely Hawaii 5-0) – they’re doing 24 episodes a season; four more than DWTS does in a year. Frankly, I think it’s possible that some media (including other websites) read things around the internet and start to internalize it as fact. Then get hysterical. If DWTS goes to one season a year, it will be because the producers choose to as a means of creating more excitement for the show when it IS on. But I don’t see that happening just yet. I could be wrong. But, by all means – make some changes. Like, in terms of editing and judging. And “stars”.

Dancing With The Stars Executive Producer Conrad Green Discusses TV Ratings And New Season

The season-finale of Dancing With The Stars was down in viewers numbers by 20% from “year to year” according to an article at USA Today. Executive Producer Conrad Green has explained why he thinks this might be. All in all and even though it’s had some tough competition this seaspn, he still feels like the Dancing With The Stars all star season was a successful one. He also comments on the next season of Dancing With The Stars and how they are already in “conversations” on the new cast. More below and at the link. While we’re on the subject of the new season, also note that the premiere date has been set for March 18th, 2013.

“In retrospect, one thing that was lacking was a lot of discovery about the dancers,” says Green. “I think we underestimated how important it was to see people come fresh to the ballroom and see a story start from zero.”

Most seasons, the dancers entertainingly stumble through the beginning phases. This season, viewers watched impressive celebrity dancers — many had won their own seasons — who sometimes rivaled the pros in their own skills.

“People who watched the season really enjoyed it. The level of dancing was amazing, and it was great to see dancers come back,” says Green. “But I have heard from people that they feel like I’ve seen these people dance before. That might have been a reason our ratings took a dip slightly. But the experiment with the All-Star season was a successful one, by and large.”

Green also points to increased competition from NBC’s popular The Voice, which for the first time overlapped both DWTS nights and even shared L.A. taping space.

“It’s very tough direct competition for a show that fights for the same type of audience,” says Green. “Bearing in mind the audience we’re still getting and what they are getting, it speaks volumes about both shows.”

Green hasn’t ruled out doing another All-Star season in the future (“never say never”). But in the spring, it will be a return to new dancers.

“We’re already having conversations,” said Green. “Next season will be a new start and a new cast who haven’t danced before. People will have a chance to get re-engaged.”

Conrad forgot to mention how Dancing With The Stars had competition with Monday night football as well.

Heidi is an expert in this area. Let’s see what she thinks….

Heidi: Heh – in a way, Conrad is right…but all shows are down over all, so it’s not like they’ve fallen completely out of favor. (Don’t pimp me too much, Vogue – I haven’t done an indepth study this season. )Of course, depending on how you read it, he sounds like he’s agreeing with me (again) – you’ve seen these people before, for sure. The natural extension from that comment is “…and some of them have already won.” Of course, over all, your audience might just be on to you, Conrad – why watch a show where the judges are just acting ridiculous. Do you think that those of us on this website are the only ones that don’t understand how Kirstie Alley or a Bristol Palin scores only a point lower than Melissa, Apolo or Shawn in any given week?? Perhaps your ratings would be up if half or most of your audience didn’t scream “WTF???” when the scores are handed out after every dance. They hear how CAI is so sweet and kind to Kirstie, only to turn around and pick on Apolo’s chemistry with Karina and give him a score that is uncomfortable close to Kirstie’s when it is clear to EVERYONE that Apolo is ten times the dancer. Dude….get yo head out yo azzzz. More on this subject in a few days when I have time to write extensively on how he could fix this show. :-)

Producer Conrad Green Previews And Mentions Tweeks For DWTS All Stars, More Goodies

First of all and in case you missed an addition to another post, don’t miss seeing a piece on GMA today with Niecy Nash at stage rehearsals last night here. She interviews the couples and you can see the couples dancing. A great teaser and Niecy is funny!

Also, Conrad Green, the producer of Dancing With The Stars, previews the show and gives his take on the couples at TV Guide as well. Below is a take, but, be sure you read the link for the full article. Take note the tweeks for the show he mentions in the last paragraph….

“To be honest, I didn’t think we’d get that many,” executive producer Conrad Green tells TVGuide.com. “It’s quite incredible, isn’t it? I was hoping we’d get a good response and it was more than any of us could’ve expected. This whole cast is really the cream of the cream of the crop.”

That’s not an overstatement: Of the 13 returning stars, only two of them — Pamela Anderson and Sabrina Bryan, who’s back via fan vote — didn’t make the finals in their original seasons. Two third-place finishers (Bristol Palin and Melissa Rycroft) and three runners-up (Kirstie Alley, Joey Fatone, Gilles Marini) also join the ex-Mirrorball winners (Helio Castroneves, Shawn Johnson, Drew Lachey, Kelly Monaco, Apolo Anton Ohno and Emmitt Smith).

“I think it’s a testament to how much they enjoyed it the first time that so many winners and finalists are back,” Green says. “Looking at it on paper, you can argue one or two people who you wanted to see back who aren’t there, but almost everybody we approached said yes. The problem is this show requires you for three months and a lot of other people had committed to other things already. This has always been a really fun interlude in their careers, so I think a lot of them, if they were able to, made the space for it. And now we have a really crazy, competitive cast.”

Having such a formidable bunch means that there will be some tweaks to the show. Celebrities will be creative directors of a dance for a week, for which they’ll come up with the theme and wardrobe, pick the music and all but choreograph their routine. Gone is the Dance Duel, which was introduced last season to prevent a Sabrina Bryan-like shocking elimination (though Green allows that it may return in a normal season) and in is a temporary scoring system emphasizing technique. “We’re thinking about having Len [Goodman] give a couple of extra points to the celebrity who did the best technical dance of the night,” Green says. “It’s an extra boost; it’s not a punishment for everyone else. We’ll tweak scoring here and there to make sure there’s a bit more discipline and content in there, given that these people have done the show before.”

The ‘creative director’ idea sounds kind of cool, but, hmmm, not sure what to think of the extra points from Len? Thoughts?

Also, Louis Van Amstel wrote a new blog for GMA today. He writes of Sabrina, rehearsals last night, and gives us his take of tonight’s premiere.

Today is show day and we have an early 7 am call time to go through orchestra rehearsal, where all couples get about 10 minutes with the band to hear their song played live for the first time. You have to remember we all rehearse to the original track until the day of the show. Most of the time it sounds amazing live with the band, but sometimes the songs are so different or complicated that it adds so much pressure and nerves. There’s not a lot we can do that last minute, but we have an amazing band leader in Harold Wheeler, who always does everything in his power to accommodate any changes we’d like to make.

After orchestra rehearsal it’s time for dress rehearsal where the entire show is run as if it’s live — minus the commercials. This is necessary to make sure the show runs smoothly and all departments are happy. Sometimes the costumes need some tweaking or lighting need to be changed. This is where the nerves get to an all time high! Thank goodness for all of us you guys don’t get to see dress rehearsal ….things can sometimes get very dramatic.

Tonight Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson will open the show followed by Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough. Sabrina and I will dance third, which I like because we don’t have to go out first and yet we don’t have to wait so long before we perform. I don’t know the entire following order of the show, but I do know Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy dance 12th and Emmett Smith and Cheryl Burke perform last.

Every couple will come out strong and dance their hearts out. I also believe the judges will be extra critical on all the dances, since most celebs have gone through an entire season already and have dance experience.

On a sentimental note, I feel so blessed to part of this amazing cast, having the best celebrity partner in Sabrina Bryan. I’m still so thankful for ABC and the BBC worldwide for giving me the opportunity to do what I love doing so much on such a worldly stage in front of millions.

Thanks to all of you for watching “DWTS” faithfully over the years, I truly hope this season is going to blow your minds and inspire to take on your own desired dreams. Enjoy the show!

You can read more here.

Karina Smiroff Comments On Her New DWTS All Stars Partner Apolo Ohno

People has a nice little spread on the Dancing With The Stars pairings announcement. Be sure you read the full article at the link. They also featured a quote from Dancing With The Stars pro Karina Smirnoff for how she feels about getting Apolo Ohno as her partner.

“When I heard Apolo Ohno was my partner I thought, Apolo – oh yes!” Smirnoff tells PEOPLE. “It’s going to be fun and exciting to see Apolo’s creativity, charm, drive and personality on the dance floor again. We will soon see how much dancing he has been doing and/or practicing in the off seasons.”

She adds: “This is going to be one of the most competitive seasons we will ever have on the show. There are so many different personalities, athletes, talents, past winners and competitors on the show.”

I am super excited about this couple. Sign here if you are excited as well. Love Apolo!!!

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DWTS Season 16, Week 1 – Dancing by the Numbers!

Kelly Monaco Reviews Dancing With The Stars On Good Morning America

PureDWTS 16 Week 1 – Interviews After The First Dance, Learn Dances For Next Week

GMA Goes Into DWTS Stage Rehearsals, ABC Releases Season 16 Pre-Party, Parking Lot Coverage

Executive Producer Speaks Out About Building DWTS Long Time Future, New Themes, And More

Executive Producer Conrad Green Speaks Out About The New Cast Of Dancing With With The Stars Season 16

No Indication To Believe Dancing With The Stars Won’t Be On Fall Schedule As Well As Spring

Dancing With The Stars Executive Producer Conrad Green Discusses TV Ratings And New Season

Producer Conrad Green Previews And Mentions Tweeks For DWTS All Stars, More Goodies

Karina Smiroff Comments On Her New DWTS All Stars Partner Apolo Ohno

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