Free DWTS Newsletter Want to receive the latest news on Dancing with the Stars sent straight to your email? Join hundreds of other DWTS fans who subscribe to Pure DWTS for FREE!
Bermain judi qq online tentunya setiap orang ingin meraih kemenangan besar, sekarang telah hadir situs judi online koinqq agen bandarqq online. Seiring berkembangnya judi online di dunia internet, maniaqq kini telah menyediakan dominoqq yang bisa kalian download melalui android / ios dihandphone kesayangan kalian. Cukup menggunakan 1 ID saja kamu bisa menikmati berbagai macam permainan idn poker seru seperti poker Online, Ceme Keliling, DominoQQ, Ceme Online, Capsa, Super 10, dan Omaha. Total ada 7 jenis permainan terbaik dimana bisa kamu nikmati dengan menjadi member disini.

Dancing with the Stars – History of the Judges Scores, Part 3

Okay, folks, it’s been a while but here is part three in my series about the History of Judges scoring. As you may recall, from Part I and Part II, this series got started in response to the judges over-scoring of Bristol Palin in Season 11. The question was – were the judges always like this? Did they always over score some (young) people while underscoring true condenders? Have they always tried to make it into a horse race? It has also morphed into trying to also answer the question “have they always been extremely nasty (see Michael Bolton) to some, seemingly without reason??” Season 12’s example was Ralph Machio – their displays were often disgusting. But more on that another time. This post is looking back on the judging of Season 7.  I think you might find a couple of very interesting things happened in this season that may have been a harbinger of things to come – but we can’t be sure until we also watch subsequent seasons. 🙂  One thing I can say – I did NOT see as much commentary about “we are going into the semi-finals and this isn’t good enough” as we did in Season 5, but the scoring still seemed reasonable and not over the top.

Here were the scores from Week 5, onward:

Season 7 Weekly Scores (Part I)

Celebrity Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Brooke 29 (Jitterbug) 26 (Rumba) 30 (Foxtrot) 28 (Tango)
29 (Team Tango) 27 (Mambo)
Warren 25 (Hustle) 25 (Rumba) 21 (Foxtrot) 28 (Tango)
29 (Team Tango) 26 (Jive)
Lance 21 (WC Swing) 27 (Jive) 25 (Rumba) 26 (Foxtrot)
20 (Team Cha Cha) 24 (Samba)
Cody 28 (Jitterbug) 23 (Samba) 22 (V. Waltz) 24 (Foxtrot)
20 (Team Cha Cha) 24 (Mambo)
Maurice 27 (Salsa) 21 (V. Waltz) 25 (Cha Cha) 24 (Quickstep)
29 (Team Tango) 24 (Paso Doble)
Susan 22 (Hustle) 23 (Mambo) 24 (Paso Doble)
20 (Team Cha Cha)
Cloris 21 (Salsa) 15 (Cha Cha)
Toni 22 (WC Swing)

Season 7 Weekly Scores (Part II)

Celebrity Week 9 Week 10 Week Finale
Brooke 21 (Jive) 28 (Samba) 30 (V. Waltz)
28 (Salsa) 30 (Freestyle)
Warren 24 (Mambo) 25 (Samba) 27 (Hustle)
25 (Jitterbug) 28 (Freestyle)
Lance 28 (Mambo) 26 (Samba) 28 (Jitterbug)
29 (Jitterbug) 27 (Freestyle)

Week 5 – What is significant this week is that they really took Lacey to the woodshed, with comments similar to “we know you’re a pro at West Coast Swing, you need to feature your partner”. Lacey said she wasn’t upset, but I think she was ready to cry. While the judges were a bit over the top, I didn’t think it was too extreme – mainly it’s hard to watch a pro get raked, even if they deserve it. Really, this week the judges were critical of Toni and Susan in a way that was reasonable, and slightly overscored Cody – but not in a huge way. Mainly because I think Julianne overdanced him a bit and didn’t get called on it. But their Jitterbug was very good, regardless. But then I remember at the time thinking that Brooke was also overscored a bit, maybe by a point. That said – who’s to know, we’re talking Jitterbug here. Also overscored? Maurice – I don’t think Maurice ever did a “27” dance while on the show, but they scored him on improvement.

Week 6 – This is the week of Michael Flatley as guest judge and just about everything was out of wack. Michael seemed to be scoring with the wrong part of his anatomy, and Carrie Ann was having…well, at the risk of being sexist – PMS. So, she raves over Susan (who always dances like a china doll), then she kinda harshes on Cloris saying “We lost Toni for this?” Okay, so Cloris is insane and can’t dance –but take it up with the voters, sweetheart . Not to mention the judges gave her a 21 the previous week!! Then Carrie Ann turns around and is a bit over the top (perhaps to compensate for Michael Flately) on Brooke’s Rumba. No, it wasn’t Brooke’s best dance but she acts like it’s a disaster – then gives her an *8*! Crack is wack. Michael gives her a 10 which even Derek is stunned by. I think the 8 score was actually fine, it’s just CAI’s comments that were really out of line with how she actually scored it. My other gripe was Warren – this was a week where he really didn’t seem to do much dancing, and made some mistakes the judges called him on, but still got a 25 – which would have put him ahead of Brooke if not for Michael’s 10.  It’s weeks like this one (which had been rare up to this point) where you really wonder what is going on in the judges brains.  Can you seriously give a contestant a 21 and then be pissed when they’re still there the following week and do a crappy dance?? Try using the right paddles, sweetie.

Week 7 – Again, the judges rave over Susan for a dance that was weak, not sharp or aggressive and boring. They’re on crack again. All three of them. On the other hand, they pretty much crucify Warren – not sure that I agree with that. Cody also did a better dance than Susan to my eye and they were actually rather harsh on him, saying he was plodding, or like a “fledgling bird that can’t take off”. This is also the week that Len goes insane over Lance being barefoot, although he still ended up with a 25, and Lacey smarts off to the judges. I thought they underscored Cody and overscored Susan. The rest of the scores I rather agreed with, for the most part. This was also the week of the Team Cha Cha and Team Paso – the first season of Team dances – and Team Paso lead by Derek was miles ahead of team Cha Cha to an embarrassing degree. Of course, they learned that it’s not really fair to put a Paso against a Cha Cha and Len acknowledged that. IMO, Team Paso’s team dance is the best team dance to date.

Week 8 – Remember when Len went insane and called Brooke’s Tango not up to a professional level, essentially judging her as a professional because CAI said she was getting that good the week before? That was this week. I have to wonder if this is the start of the purposely underscoring the frontrunner to make it look like a more even contest, because this was crazy. HE was crazy Of course, he gives Brooke an 8, and a few minutes later gives Maurice an 8 and Cody an 8….sure, that’s logical. Not. Not that Maurice and Cody were overscored, but that Brooke was purposely underscored. The rest of the scoring is pretty on target, although you start to notice that Warren is getting great scores but not getting the footwork – and they call him on it then give him great scores anyway.  Charm goes a long way and people loved him – don’t want to lose that!

Week 9 – This is an example of how the last third of a dance being totally screwed up affects the view of an entire performance. I remember Brooke’s Jive being a disaster. But when I watched it for this post, it really didn’t become bad until the last third. The judges comment on technique going down the toilet – but I think she just forgot the steps. Hence, no technique. What really bothered me though, was what appeared to be some very poor sportsmanship in the background while they were talking to Brooke. Gee, who on this show would be a poor sport?? Anyway, CAI gets all hoity toity about a deliberate lift and Derek’s saying something to Brooke about some style, blah blah – watch the background.

Anyway, after that, everyone gets hosed in the first round except Lance, and I pretty much agree, over all, with all of it. Second round everyone does much better and my only complaint, again, is Warren. No technique but pretty decent scores. Round two, Brooke comes roaring back, and Cody gets pretty critical comments again. Warren, on the other hand, gets great comments but only an average score.  Lance gets rave reviews.  I agree with all of this, including Lance ending up in first place at the end of the night.  I mention Cody’s critical comments because this is one of our metrics – do the youngsters get treated easier than their older competition. I would say no, in Cody’s case.

Week 10 – Ah, the finale, when the judges are pretty easy on everyone. 🙂  They pretty much are easy, although they continue to comment on Warren’s lack of technique but infectious joy. He’s the Marissa of Season7. 🙂 They got as close as realistically possible to throwing it to the voters as they could while still maintaining credibility. I mean, Warren did have bad footwork, and Brooke was a step or two above the men in technique…and Lance’s freestyle could have been a lot better.  The only critical comments handed out go to Lance for that freestyle.  So, if you have a chance, watch the Season 7 freestyles on YouTube and we’ll continue to debate the age old question – does a bad freestyle cost you the competition? Think about the 3 points Lance could have gained had he done a better freestyle – it could have been a game changer. Would he have won? Probably not – he couldn’t beat Warren and they were essentially tied. The best it probably would have done is MAYBE handing him second place.

So, is this the season where the judges go all crazy and start getting fame hungry and mean to dancers?? I have to wonder. Could Cloris’ lengthy stay have made them snap, as seen by CAI’s attitude in week 6? And did they realize that if Brooke kept scoring well above everyone else the drama would be done (these observations coincide with the birth of “in jeopardy!), so they under score her and over scored others?? I guess we’ll see when I get around to the next installment.  I think we can safely say that they don’t overscore all young dancers. I thought there were a few occasions where they underscored Cody. I also think that, barring that one week where Len was insane and the week when Michael Flatley too Len’s place, Brooke was fairly scored the whole way. Overall, I didn’t have too much of a gripe with this season – all complaints were relatively minor. On to Season 8!! Can’t guarantee I’ll get to it before the hard work of Season 13 REALLY begins (really, it began a couple weeks ago). 🙂

 
Notes: Week 5 had a real bottom 2. But there was no bottom 2 revealed in week 6. In week 7, we have “jeopardy!”. I think this was a relatively new concept at this point.

Ever notice how Mark always manages to make it back on the results shows with his partners?? I don’t think anyone else has ever managed it to the degree he does. Well, good for him, I guess.

Brooke only went last once (but it was before a team dance) and never had the encore (that wasn’t a team dance). Warren, on the other hand, went last Four times and had the encore 2 times. Lance had one encore. As we’ve often discussed on this site, running order is pretty important, as are encores – that Brooke managed to win with little to no pimpage is pretty amazing.

For those paying attention to me and Courtney griping in recent seasons about random ass dances and no pattern, this is for you.  Back in the day, it WAS reasonable and was easier to compare dancers. TWO dances per week for the first 4 weeks. Four dances in Week 5.  I vote we go back to this very sensible formula. Here’s the dance schedule, from Wikipedia:

 

 

August 16, 2011 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

DWTS Season 13 – Pro Watch!! August 3, 2011

Did someone say Pro Watch?? Why yes, Courtney did. 🙂 Every season we do a post that keeps a running update on which pros appear to be confirmed for Season 13. Keep in mind that we post it how we hear it – unless a Pro says “Yes, I am on DWTS Season 13”, the rest is all conjecture and guessing and hoping and inference and gossip. We try very hard to label guesses and hopes as just that – guesses and hope. 🙂 Ain’t nothing wrong with a good bit of hope – we just try to call it straight up.

I’m not going to continually update this particular post – when it’s time to do a bit of live updating, I will let you know. I think it’s a bit too soon. My boy Tommy B tweeted today that the cast announcement will be August 29th (which Court was “psychic” about), which means we are getting down to the wire and the rumors and pro confirmations will start flying fast and furious. 🙂 But the “for sure” pro cast list (aka “leaks”) is probably still two weeks out. At least. 🙂

The MEN
Derek Hough – YES, per Deena Katz on Ryan Seacrest’s Radio Show
Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Most likely, per Maks’ twitter
Mark Ballas – Unknown
Louis Van Amstel – Unknown
Tony Dovolani – Unknown, but a recent interview could be taken as an affirmative – but just a guess, IMO
Dmitry Chaplin – Unknown
Corky Ballas – Unknown

The WOMEN
Cheryl Burke – I’d be shocked if not
Kym Johnson – unknown
Chelsie Hightower – strong possibility
Lacey Schwimmer – unknown
Karina Smirnoff – unknown
Anna Trebunskaya – unknown

Ballroom Battlers – confirmed by Louis
Lacey Schwimmer
Mark Ballas
Tony Dovolani
Louis Van Amstel
Cheryl Burke
Karina Smirnoff

For the record, I do NOT believe that taking part in the Ballroom Battle is indicative of the pros’ participation in DWTS with a celebrity one way or another. I’ve also heard that BB is NOT going to be that time consuming, to the point that it would preclude those pros from competing.

The Troupe
Oksana Dmyrenko
Tristan MacManus – Yes
Peta Murgatroyd
Kiki Nyemchek
Nicole Volynets
Ted Volynets

I assume all the same troupe members will be back – but I will update them as required. As always, give me the heads up if you hear anything that I’ve missed – I’m not stingey with credit. 🙂

August 3, 2011 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

DWTS12 Week 7 Search Engine Round-Up

So last night, John & Heidi taught me how to check the site stats and see what the top search terms were for the site this week.  And boy – is it interesting just what you kids are wanting to know 🙂 So as a new feature, I’m going to go through top search terms at PureDWTS and answer your burning questions – and also some not-so-burning ones that I just find amusing 😉 So just what did you guys want to know about this week?…

Is Hines Ward married?

This was the top searched term for the site this week – and it only cropped up yesterday, after the story broke about Hines & a lady friend getting handcuffed under suspicion of grand theft auto. Unfortunately, the answer to this question seems murky at best.  First I tried searching for a marriage license or a divorce decree in Fulton county, GA (Hines’ county of residence), and it did show some public records for Hines, but I didn’t feel like shelling out the $19.95 fee to see them in their entirety…sorry guys 😉 So I had to go the gossip route on this one. According to Player Wives (which I would take with a grain of salt), he was allegedly married at some point to Simone Ward, the mother of his son Jaden.  However, rumors started swirling of their separation back in late 2008, after Hines was spotted spending some time with another lady.  That same article references a claim from Gossip Online (which of course I cannot find) that they’ve either been separated or divorced for at least a year now. So due to the lack of mainstream speculation about whether Hines was creeping around on wifey, I would venture a guess that they are probably no longer romantically involved, at the very least.  We all know that the gossip mags would just jump on that one if they thought they had something solid to go on 😉 But I must say – Simone is quite striking.  Very pretty lady.

Mark Ballas hand gesture/obscene gesture/rude gesture

 I don’t know why I find this slightly funny, but I do 🙂 Maybe it’s just funny out of context. Anywho…this one was discussed at length by our readers in the comments section of Vogue’s post about whether Mark & Chelsea’s risk-taking was hurting their chances of winning. Many believed it was obscene; others insisted it was benign.  According to Mark’s mom Shirley’s Facebook, it was meant to be a “rolling the dice” gesture for a risky paso. Tom Bergeron also weighed in on the gesture in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and of course added his own brand of Tom humor to the explanation 🙂 The official word: it was meant to be “rolling the dice”.  The Courtney opinion? Glad it wasn’t obscene after all, but maybe next time don’t pick a gesture that could be so easily misinterpreted within context.

Chantal Sutherland

This one definitely came out of left-field – we first reported that jockey Chantal was a possible contestant for season 11 back in August of last year. Obviously, that has yet to materialize into anything solid.  So I’m wondering if horse racing fans just have Chantal on the brain, with the Kentucky Derby upon us…or maybe you guys know something we don’t? 😉

Dial Idol

I’m hoping & praying that you guys are searching this in order to find my post that explains why Dial Idol doesn’t work for DWTS, because as of last week this has been declared a 4-letter word here at PureDWTS 😉 If so, please – feel free to refer any renegade believers freaking out over so-and-so being in the bottom on that blasted site to my post to show them they probably shouldn’t put too much stock in what it says 😀 Once again, if it just happens to be correct – pure coincidence.  Not a genius prediction. 

DWTS Music List

Glad you guys come to us for the rundown on the tunes you’ve heard on the show 😉 As always, you can find all the music from the show right here, or by clicking on the “DWTS Music” link on the top right-hand side of the page. John usually posts each week’s music on Monday after the show wraps in the Mountain time zone.

How old is Shirley Ballas?

The answer: cougar 🙂 Just kidding! According to Shirley’s facebook page, she was born in 1960…and I know for a fact that she’s a Virgo (long story short – Corky jokingly blames their divorce on her zodiac sign), so she hasn’t had her birthday yet this year…so Shirley is 50.  And looks fabulous! 🙂

Mark Ballas girlfriend

*sigh* Seriously guys? You’re gonna make me utter not one, but TWO forbidden words in one post? 😛 Alright, just this once…for those of you who have either been living under a rock or are fortunate enough to NOT have the ground-breaking Mark & Pia performance on last week’s results show rammed down your throat, Mark has allegedly (and I say allegedly because they both have elected to be uber-coy about the whole thing, despite some pretty incriminating media coverage *eye roll*) been spending some quality time with ousted Idol contestant Pia Toscano. She was in the audience next to Corky on Monday night’s show this week.  Alright, no more P-word. 😉 Man, you guys really had Ballas on the brain this week!

Louis Van Amstel boyfriend

Ooh…this is a tough one.  He publicly admitted having one on the Chelsea Lately show in 2009, and allegedly pointed him out in the audience on the Ellen show, but of course, I can’t find a clip.  But hey, he’s a pretty enthusiastic (and verbose) Tweeter…what’s to say he won’t spill the beans if you ask nicely? 😉

May 6, 2011 I Written By

Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, baker, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble.

DWTS Season 12 – PRO WATCH!!

IT’S ALMOST TIME!!!!!  🙂

Well, it’s about that time again, folks, and even though we are having a Hough-less season I find myself very excited to start this all over again!! Last season was rough there at the end and I’m looking forward to a fresh start – the time off (mostly) did me good. 🙂 So where are we on the pros?? Well, the only thing certain right now is Derek is out. Most of the remaining pros appear to be assembling in LA, including Damian and Peta – although I’m not sure where Maks and Tony are. But do they really need to be in LA to find out?

Check back here often – we will update this post as we go. With my luck stuff will happen when I’m unavailable. But maybe Courtney and John can update if they don’t see me do something rather quickly and can’t get me online. Here’s the list we’re starting with – I’ve intentionally left out Alec and Edyta based on their tweets, but let us know if I’ve neglected anyone.

The Men

Derek – Out for Season 12; filming Cobu 3D
Maks – ??
Mark – Per @BewitchBallas,  his Management says end of next week he finds out.
Louis – IN (see below)
Tony – IN – per Disney News and the tweet shown below
Damian – ??
Dmitry – ??
Jonathan – ??
Corky – ??

The Women

Cheryl –IN (changed from tentative to “fer sure” per Cheryl’s Facebook)
Anna T. – ??
Lacey – IN (?? see below)**
Chelsie – IN (? See Video Posted by Vogue)
Karina – ??
Kym – ??
Anna D. – ??
Ashly – ??
Peta Murgatroyd* – ??
Julianne* – ??

*I included Peta and Julianne with the women mainly due to some internet blather about Jules and lots of clues about a potential Peta appearance as a full time pro (really, will the producers be able to resist a new “couple”??).

Lacey tweeted a comment not too long ago to Derek saying something like “I’m excited to be your dance class buddy”  – people took this several different ways. Some thinking it meant she was out for the season and working her Dad’s studio, and Derek was participating in some way. I took it to mean that Derek was taking lessons related to his movie, and she and/or her dad was somehow involved. It could be both, I suppose, but Lacey has been abnormally quiet on the subject of DWTS and I can usually rely on her to blab. 🙂 Times like this I actually LOVE that about her.   But if I find out she has a part in Derek’s movie, I may go postal. 🙂  You’ve been warned.

Cheryl and Mark fully intend to be on this season and are waiting to find out if they are or not. I think some questioned whether they would be around based on Cheryl’s book tour and Mark’s music related activities.  Louis also wants to be on the show pretty badly, based on his excitement over finding out. The rest, as far as I can tell, have been pretty mum on the subject.  TALK, PEOPLE!! 🙂

ETA:  Think Lacey is in??

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/LaceySchwimmer/status/38770604631015424″]

ETA 2: How about Louis?? I’ve updated the tweet I had with the one below – when someone tweeted asking if that meant he was on DWTS for sure, he responded with only a wink. 🙂

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/LouisVanAmstel/status/39406702977757184″]

ETA 3: Tony doesn’t usually say, as I recall, but I’ll take his smile here as a yes.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/TonyDovolani/status/40499071676465152″]

February 18, 2011 I Written By

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

Pure DWTS – Ballroom Superstars Camp and Ballroom With A Twist Candy

As reported earlier, “Ballroom With A Twist” is currently receiving some fantastic reviews and here’s yet another from LA Weekly.

One of Dancing With The Stars’ professional dancers, Louis Van Amstel, stages his own show after an illustrious 20-year career as a performer and competitive dancer. His fluidly staged, marvelously high-caliber entertainment (with a couple of also-ran American Idol singers (Gina Glocksen and David Hernandez) thrown into the mix, moves seamlessly from fast numbers to slow ballads, from dance to song and back again. Athletic bodies draped with Randall Designs’ gorgeous costumes cavort through Van Amstel’s well-orchestrated spectacle, which also celebrates diversity with its casting of various races and body shapes. Van Amstel hosts the evening, assisted by hilarious comedienne Niecy Nash (his partner from the most recent season of DWTS). She brings welcome humor when not tearing up the dance floor. The costumes are figure-hugging sexy, flowing and dazzling (with rhinestones) as well as casual and relaxed for some of the modern dance numbers. Van Amstel’s exceptional choreography feels liberated from the constraints and repetition of competitive ballroom regulations. Salsa, Paso Doble, Jitterbug, Quickstep, Waltz and Argentine Tango – Van Amstel name-checks every dance style, yet pairs each number with everything from slow ballad duets to clubby dance mixes of classic and contemporary tunes — something for everyone.

Mitsy Gaynor hosted the show on January 20th. She posted some fun photos of the night at her facebook account which you can see one photo below. Be sure to see more at the link.

Anna and Jonathan were interviewed by Ballroom Fantasy on “Ballroom With A Twist” and all of their past, current, and future projects (including personally). This is a great interview. They are so cute! I can’t embed the video. So be sure to see it >>>HERE.
I’m loving the costumes. Randall Christensen has done a good job for this show and I like his work on Dancing With The Stars for the most part too. Rachael Ray has been really critical of his work on her show. So much so, Randall sent her a letter and she apologized which you can see in the video below.

In other Ballroom news, next weekend the first Superstars of Ballroom Dance Camp will take place at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center on Feb. 4-6th. You can take classes with your favorite pros from Dancing With The Stars. Details below with pricing and more information at Dancing and Romancing.

On Friday, the dance scene will be hot and sexy with salsa classes with Paul Barris, cha cha with Dmitry Chaplin or Elena Grinenko and rumba witih Tony Dovolani. That will get you prepared for the salsa part that evening with Angel Lebron y su Sabor Latino.

Saturday, there will be more Latin dances (samba with Dmitry Chaplin, rumba with Corky Ballas, paso doble with Tony Dovolani and tango with Elena Grinenko). Chelsie Hightower will be giving waltz lessons, and Nick Kosovich will be teaching foxtrot and Vienesse waltz. For those who want something daring, there is a lift class and a spin, dip and variation class.

Saturday evening, there will be a dinner show and party with Dovolani, Hightower, Chaplin and Cheryl Burke performing. On Sunday, it’s West Coast swing, Cuban motion, Argentine tango, Lindy hop, jive (with Kym Johnson), Bolero and East Coast swing. As you can imagine, Sunday night is a swing party! As we reported earlier, private dance lessons with Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke have already sold out. Corky Ballas, who trained Derek Hough, Mark Ballas and Julianne Hough has one slot left!

January 29, 2011 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.

Dancing With The Stars – Media Tidbits, Reflecting Back Question, Exploring Same Sex Couple idea

Ok everyone!! So, when you think back on all of the dances this year, which dances were huge standouts for you??

For me, it was Maks and Brandy’s last Argentine Tango, Jennifer and Derek’s first Argentine Tango and both Dirty Dancing numbers. They were so good!

In some media things for you today while you ponder on that question, first we have Louis being interviewed by the paparazzi. They ask some really good questions about the Season, the idea of a “same sex couple” dancing, and more. He doesn’t hold back.

Speaking of the idea of a “Same Sex Couple” dancing, here’s a take from Fox News exploring the idea.

Reports have been running rampant over recent weeks that next year’s “Dancing With the Stars” will be quite a quick-step from tradition and feature a same-sex twosome.

The speculation stemmed from the announcement that the Israeli edition of the hit show would pair two ladies, at the request of a lesbian sportscaster who felt more comfortable foxtrotting with a female in the competition. Numerous names started being thrown around, including Ellen DeGeneres’s wife Portia de Rossi.

“They (the producers) have approached Portia to do it. I don’t think she is going to do it, but she was flattered that they asked her,” DeGeneres confirmed, although it was not clear whether they asked her to dance with a male or female partner.

Insiders close to the show told Pop Tarts that a same-sex couple will “never happen” in the U.S – at least not yet.

“ABC and Disney are afraid of the negative backlash from viewers after watching a same-sex couple
grind on stage,” explained our snitch. “Middle America isn’t there yet – and judging by the conservatives who voted to keep Bristol in the competition, a same-sex rumba won’t happen anytime soon – at least not in the ‘Disney’ funded ballroom.”

A rep for “DWTS” did not respond for comment.

Entertainment industry expert John Ziegler concurred that it would be a bad move on ABC’s part to feature a same-sex dance couple.

“The show just got a huge boost of ‘Middle America’ viewers with the success of Bristol Palin. They are not going to blow that, especially when there is no need,” he said. “The show is on a roll and Margaret Cho’s overt lesbianism did not resonate with viewers. [She was the third contestant to be eliminated this past season.] The gay community is already watching, this would be a stupid ratings move, unless of course the same sex couple involved two hot women!”

Not everyone thinks featuring two male or female partners on “DWTS” is necessarily a bad move — including one of the show’s hosts.

“I fully support that and I think America is ready for that,” the show’s judge Carrie Ann Inaba told People.com. “Our country is much more accepting of same sex couples and it would be great for the show to reflect that.”

So, what do you think? Would you be open to the idea of a Same sex couple dancing on the show? I wouldn’t care one way or the other. I would have more issues if they brought someone in connected to politics again. Though Bill Clinton would be an exception! 😀 (thanks Zach for that idea that I won’t be able to get out of my head now. lol)

Moving on…. On-line WSJ is reporting that because of Jennifer’s reign on DWTS, “Dirty dancing” has gained more followers. Are we surprised? Here’s a take. Note how “Glee” plans to feature a “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” in a future episode.

The year 2010 is beginning to look a lot like 1987, thanks to the return of “Dirty Dancing.” The film’s star, Jennifer Grey, made headlines last week for winning “Dancing with the Stars.” Its anthem, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” will be featured on “Glee” in the coming weeks while a new version called “The Time (Dirty Bit),” recorded by the Black Eyed Peas, is in the iTunes top five.

According to PageData, a company that tracks metrics and trends on Facebook, the film has more than 6.3 million fans on the site, ranking it sixth among movies. That’s just below mega leaders like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter,” but above “Avatar,” which clocks in at 3.9 million fans.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Executive Vice President Anne Parducci said the film gets about 150,000 new Facebook fans each week.

“It’s really just people saying they love the movie, they love Patrick [Swayze], they love, love, love everything,” said Ms. Parducci. “There is an innocence to the movie that is so endearing. My 16-year-old daughter says to me, ‘I wish I could live back then.'”

Corky and Lacey were in the Hollywood Christmas parade this last Sunday. You can see them at the 7:37 mark in the video below.

Ok, that is all for you for now. More soon!! 😉 xxxx

November 30, 2010 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.

DWTS – Media Updates, Season 12 Rumors Begin, Interviews, etc.

Can you relate to this right now like I can?

LOL!

So, how is everyone doing today? I hope well. Just a few media things to share with you. First up, don’t forget Cheryl and Derek will be performing on “Live With Regis and Kelly” this week at the Wynn in Las Vegas on TUESDAY!! Check your local TV affiliates for the exact time of the show. Cheryl posted this on twitter last night. Sounds like they are having fun while waiting.

Here is an interview I missed posting before the show of Kyle and his brother on PopstopTV. I thought it was interesting to note about what they said on Bristol and the media and if they have been too mean to her this season. Is the media mean to everyone or did Bristol have it coming?

When you have politics involved, it’s bound to get dicey at times in my opinion. Hopefully, we won’t have to endure politicals again with the show. But, I’ve ran into several things out there with a mention on Christine O’Donnell being on the show next Season. From the NY Daily.

Thought you saw the last of Christine O’Donnell when she lost in the midterm elections? Think again.

The much-mocked Tea Party darling who was trounced in her bid for the Delaware Senate earlier this month is rumored to be under consideration for a spot on the next season of “Dancing with the Stars,” thanks to some behind-the-scenes help from Sarah Palin.

O’Donnell is a fan of the show, and tweeted her support for Bristol on Monday.

“I just voted for Bristol on DWTS!” she wrote, encouraging others to vote. “She’s enduring a lot & should be proud. It’s shameful the way she is being attacked.”

But even if Mama Palin wants to bring O’Donnell back into the spotlight, does anyone else think it would be a good fit?

ABC does, apparently.

“Christine is not a bad idea at all,” a network executive told Shuter. “After Kate Gosselin and Cloris Leachman, O’Donnell would fit right in. She certainly would be so controversial that the amount of press attention and buzz the show would get would be huge. Plus, you know they would make her dance in a witch’s hat with a broomstick.”

Fox News reports that O’Donnell would get at least $200,000 to appear on the show.

😮 Please I hope they won’t go there! lol

So, who would you like to see for new contestants on the show next Season? I’m still wishing for Johnny Weir. I’d also like to see them approach David Cassidy, Susan Dey, or Shirley Jones.

Corky Ballas also had a few things to say on Bristol and the the results this week. Here is take from Radar On-line.

“Comparing her (Bristol) to Jennifer Grey was like a Volkswagen to Rolls Royce.”

“Everyone expected Jennifer to win,” he added, “Nobody puts baby in the corner; come on! She danced in Dirty Dancing. It would have been a joke if she didn’t win.”

Corky has trained many of Dancing with the Stars’ professionals including Karina Smirnoff, Julianne Hough, Derek Hough and Tony Dovolan.

This season, he partnered with Florence Henderson until she was eliminated in week five of the competition.

“No one was mad that Bristol lost,” Corky told RadarOnline.com. “At the end of the day, this is a TV show. People just had way too much invested in the show.”

While Corky took the dance floor on the season finale, he also found time to speak with Bristol’s mom, the former Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, during a backstage catch-up.

“I spoke with Sara and congratulated her on how well Bristol did,” Corky said.

“I told Sara that Bristol put on a brave face throughout this entire ordeal. Not only does the show kick your butt — with the dancing and training — Bristol had to deal with a lot of other stuff.”

“People called her names, saying she’s fat and calling her mother stupid.

“For that young woman to go out there like that and perform her butt off, that takes tenacity and thick skin. I tip my hat to Bristol.”

Ok, that is all for you for now. Have a great Sunday Everyone!!xx 😉

November 28, 2010 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.

DWTS Season 11, Week 7 – Some Backstage Media After The Show

What an awesome show last night! I can’t say more good things about it. The couples and everyone interviewed seemed very happy in general too for how they performed. Here’s some video coverage backstage.

Here is Brandy and Maks ecstatic as ever! I love Brandy’s reaction over what Maks says on her;

Here is Jennifer and her family being interviewed (including Joel Grey)! I love what she says about being a “Warrior”. Her daugher is so adorable and looks just like her.;

Here are a couple of fun recaps and after party coverage;

Here’s a pic Maks tweeted at the after party.

Lastly, check out Derek as well on the Red Carpet. The photographer caught his amazing energy in just the right form.

Ok, that is all for now. More later and here’s to the Results Show tonight! 😉

November 2, 2010 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.

DWTS, Season 11, Week 7 – Las Vegas Odds, Who Will Win?

Interesting. I think the winner will be between Jennifer and Brandy too despite what happened last week with the Judges trying to railroad and control this competition. What do you think? From USA Players and Online Betting Guide, check out these odds;

Fans are eagerly awaiting week 7 of Dancing With The Stars. Each week we get closer to crowning the next champion of Dancing With The Stars. This week has indubitably been a very competitive one, and things will only heat up in the weeks to come.

Dancing with the Stars – Season 11: Who will win?

Jennifer Grey -120
Brandy +210
Rick Fox +400
Kurt Warner +1000
Bristol Palin +4000
Kyle Massey +5000

Jennifer Grey 1.67

Brandy 3.75

Rick Fox 5.5

Kurt Warner 14

Bristol Palin 67

Kyle Massey 81

November 1, 2010 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.

DWTS 11 – Hallows Eve And One More Day Until Show Time Media!

Just a few things to share with you on the “calm before the storm”. lol

First up, and special thanks to fan Moeynj, we have a new blog from Cheryl writing about last weeks dances and what’s to come this week. Here is a snippet from it from MSN Reality TV.

I was so proud of Rick this week. Our tango was powerful and intense. I also felt that the passion that the judges keep saying is lacking in Rick was really there. You could really feel it in the audience.

The dance marathon was fun to do. We all got the chance to be a little crazier in how we presented on the dance floor, and we also got to do lifts.

As far as the elimination this week, I’ve learned through all of my seasons on the show to expect the unexpected. It was sad to see Audrina leave. She really had so much more to show the audience with her dancing. You have to bring your all every week and let the audience decide your fate. I really don’t think Audrina deserved to go home at all.

Brandy and Max were in the number one spot again this week. They are doing really well. Brandy is improving each week, and that is what this competition is all about.

Next week Rick and I have the quickstep. For the 200th episode we’re all dancing to songs that were already used on the show, and that produced some of the most memorable moments over the last 10 seasons. We’re going to be judged by the contestant who originally danced to that song. It’s a little daunting, but I think Rick knows how to handle all that additional pressure. He has so many NBC Championships that if there’s one thing he knows–it’s pressure. We also have a team dance Cha Cha that we’ll be doing. We’re on Team Yamaguchi.

Mark also wrote more in his journal yesterday on USA Today. Here is a sneak peak into he and Bristol’s dance and the team dance. Be sure to see more at the link.

This week we have the Viennese Waltz! I had a suspicion that the VW would be our dance step this week.

After the group rehearsal Tuesday night, we spent six hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday getting the routine down. And because Bristol is doing well with it, I feel confident we’ll get the intricacies nailed down this weekend. All she needs is some polish on her toe-pointing, arm movements and head position, which is exactly where she was last week. If you pay attention to her feet and steps, she really is fantastic in that area and in fact, I’m willing to say her footwork is the best in the competition. Take that, competitors!

Speaking of group rehearsal, let’s just say that it’s good to see my old pal Kristi (Yamaguchi). I may or may not be on her team for the group routine, so you’ll have to tune in to see. Group routines typically are not difficult; they’re just quite time consuming. They are such a hurdle because it takes time away from our regular dance routine, which really puts a lot of pressure on Bris to get it all down and remember. We had the first high-intensive group rehearsal Tuesday night, as you know, and our next on is on Saturday.

Here is a little interview Maks gave to E On-Line on this last week’s dances. Check out what he says on his leather pants. lol

First of all, what was up with those leather pants? Were they hard to dance in?It was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in my entire life I think, because there’s no breathing. It’s obviously pleather and it was not a pleasant experience. Lets just say that my thighs and above are a little bigger than your average rocker’s so I guess the tight leather pants are just not for me. It’s safe to assume it’s not going to happen again.

Brandy was very emotional this week. Is she going to have a nervous breakdown by the end of the season?She’s not a weak person. She’s a very strong person and she just expresses certain things her own way. It’s a hard show and a lot goes into it, and girls—I guess that’s what they do. Girls cry. It pains me to see her cry, and I try to be supportive, but it’s very, very difficult when I’m the only one trying to make her do stuff.

I saw Melanie Griffith in the audience. Have you met her or know anything about her being on the show?Jamie Lee Curtis a big fan of the show and she’s been coming every week. Yesterday, she calls me over and says, “Hey, I have somebody for you to meet.” I’m not going to lie, I almost crapped myself and had a heart attack at the same time. To introduce me to Melanie Griffith, I know exactly who she is. We had Martha Stewart there yesterday. She wants to be on the show. She’s been talking to Erin [Andrews]. It just feels like everybody wants to be on the show. (FYI: Stewart told E!’s own Ryan Seacrest on his radio show this morning she would need a year to prepare for DWTS)

How tired were you and Brandy doing the rock marathon right after doing your tango?I’m not going to lie to you, [it] cost me probably a liver and a kidney and a lung because this thing was just never ending. They did not make it simple, did they? I’m going to start a petition for next season to do a rumba marathon. Jesus! It was exhausting. We were tired. Where she pulled out the energy to finish, I don’t know.

Speaking of….here is a clip of Maks on “Celebrity Ghost Stories” last night. I’ve been watching You Tube closely and haven’t seen anyone post the full story yet. If anyone sees it posted, be sure to let us know. For those that missed it, it will air again today on the Bio Channel at 1:00pm ET. They will also have it eventually available to watch at Biography.com.

Ok, that wraps this up for now. Have a fun and safe halloween. I leave you with this Halloween vision. Kurt Warner posted this picture on his twitter of he and his wife all dressed up for the occasion. Special thanks to Heidi sending me this. We hope more of the dancers and celebrities will post more pics of themselves in their costumes. We’ll see. 😉

October 31, 2010 I Written By

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.