Dmitry Chaplin | Pure Dancing with the Stars

Our Dancing With The Stars Pros Celebrate The New Year (Photos)

Twitter is alive with some cool photos of our pros celebrating the new year! First of all, check out Julianne and Derek Hough celebrating at Times Square in New York last night. Be sure to see more pics at Pure Derek Hough. Derek is all smiles and looking happy! I love when he wears these cool leather bombers! So cute!

Below is Maks and Val sexy and crazy as usual bringing in the New Year where ever they are located (somewhere in the Caribbean?);

Karina and company look like they were all in fine form and happy at her Joonbug Party in New York City. Below is one pic. More at Zimbio including some with Season 12 partner Ralph Macchio. Isn’t her dress gorgeous? Be sure to tweet her a Happy Birthday tomorrow.

We can’t forget about Kym and Cheryl beautiful as always as well. They are bringing in the new year in Australia.

Dancing With The Stars Pros To Perform In Cabo San Lucas, Mexico On New Year’s Eve

Casa Dorada Los Cabos Resort & Spa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, near one of the “best swimmable beaches” in Cabu if not the world, will be holding their 2nd Annual Barefoot Formal on New Year’s Eve!! Dancing for the event are Louis Van Amstel, Anna Trebunskaya, Jonathan Roberts, Dmitry Chaplin and Chelsie Hightower!! Some American Idol’s will be singing as well Here are a few more details….

Hosted by Mary Murphy, the Queen of Scream from “So You Think You Can Dance”, the festivities will be held on the sand at Casa Dorada. The evening’s stage show will be presented by Jay D. Schwartz and Louis Van Amstel, with Van Amstel choreographing and performing with fellow “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancers Anna Trebunskaya, Jonathan Roberts, Dmitry Chaplin and Chelsie Hightower, as well as returning “American Idol” standouts Michael Johns, Melinda Doolittle and Rickey Smith, along with first-time Casa Dorada visitor LaToya London. “Idol’s” Michael Orland returns as the show’s musical director. The evening will conclude with an explosion of fireworks over the Sea of Cortez.

Casa Dorada’s GM Enrique Turcott offers, “Last year’s Barefoot Formal was the first time stars from “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol” had ever performed together in a stage show. This year we’ve added even more talent, bringing stars from “So You Think You Can Dance” as well.” Our guests are going to be blown away by all the talent on display!”

If you are interested in attending and for more information on this fun stage show, visit PR Web.

Dancing And Entertainment Details For Dancing With The Stars 13 Finale Week

ABC released some official details for Dancing With The Stars next week. Note how Monday night’s show will only be a “one hour” show. The remaining three finalist will perform 2 dances; a “new dance” they haven’t done and the famous “Freestyle” dance. Then on Tuesday, the couples will perform their “favorite dance” of the season and an “Instant Samba”. More below as well as details on how all 12 couples will return to the dance floor. The troupe and pros Kym Johnson, Dmitry Chaplin, Peta Murgatroyd, and Val Chmerkovskiy will be performing to Lady Antebellum’s debut single, “Dancing Away with My Heart”. Be sure to read the full press release at the link. Note how fans will only get to vote on Monday night’s performances.

In the final one-hour performance show on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), all three couples will compete against one another with two dances. The first number is a style the couples have not yet done. Then, all three contenders will perform the always popular and fan favorite Freestyle dances.

The anticipation builds and the competition continues for the two-hour Season Finale on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET), as the three finalists perform their favorite dance of the season. The two couples with the highest combined fan votes and judges’ scores will then go on to perform the Instant Samba to determine who will reign as champions of “Dancing with the Stars” and take home the coveted mirror ball trophy. Also on Tuesday, each of this season’s 12 couples returns to the dance floor for a special performance.

On Tuesday’s spectacular Season Finale, Lady Antebellum comes to the ballroom for the television debut of “Dancing Away with My Heart” off their new album, “Own the Night,” accompanied by Troupe members Sasha, Teddy, Kiki, Sharna, Dasha and Oksana on the dance floor. They’ll then perform their megahit “Need You Now,” accompanied by “DWTS” pros Kym, Dmitry, Peta and Val. Platinum certified album “Own the Night” debuted at the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart in the U.S. and in Canada this September, becoming the biggest first week debut by a Country artist this year. Its current Top 5 hit, “We Owned the Night,” follows the album’s chart topping lead single, “Just a Kiss.” The trio’s three studio albums have sold over seven million copies across the globe, spawned five No. 1 hits, scored six Grammys and over a dozen other award show trophies. They are currently out on the road headlining the first leg of their Own the Night 2011 Tour, which was recently extended into 2012.

ABC Dancing With The Stars Finale Teaser Released (Video)

….and it’s a good one! Getting excited much yet?

I have a feeling we’re in for some surprises too? For one, Ralph Macchio and Dmitry Chaplin have been seen going into the rehearsal studios this week as well. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s not?

ADDING: I’m loving this news as well….

I’m gonna see Y’all in the audience of DWTS on Monday Night…I’ll try to keep my shoes on and not fall off my chair!!!..no promises

November 17, 2011 11:22 am via Twitter for iPhone ReplyRetweetFavorite

@kirstiealley

Kirstie Alley

DWTS13 Freestyle Retrospective: The Top 10 Worst Freestyles in DWTS History

So every season, as we draw nearer & nearer to the finale, it seems like the question on everyone’s lips is “What are they gonna do for their freestyle?” We debate which pros are the stronger freestyle choreographers, which celebs can handle the lifts, who’s got the most dance skills, who is going to struggle, etc. So Heidi & I decided to tackle the big question: what makes a good DWTS freestyle?

While everyone may argue over what works and what doesn’t, with 12 seasons under our belts, we have enough historical data to see some patterns – and there are definitely some things that all good freestyles seem to have in common, and some things that the bad freestyles have in common. Today we’re starting with the worst – these are examples of what this season’s finalists should likely avoid, and of which they should probably try to do the opposite

A little insight into how we arrived at this list: I made a list of my own, and then bumped it against a list Heidi made and we looked for similarities. I also asked for suggestions on Twitter, to see if my finger was on the pulse of the more dedicated viewing audience; I polled my co-workers (likely more representative of the average viewer than most of us lurking on the Net ) as well to get their thoughts. Turns out, most of you guys came up with the same examples of good & bad – which is good, since it shows that opinions on freestyles seem to be pretty universal. But without further ado, I give you the top 10 WORST freestyles in DWTS history:

10.) Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas, season 12

Courtney: This was one that a lot of you seemed divided on – some of you loved it, some of you hated it. I ultimately decided to include it in the “worst” list because it seemed to have something in common with a lot of the other freestyles on this list: it wasn’t reflective of the celeb it was meant to showcase. Yes, it was high-energy, it was well-executed (for the most part), and it was entertaining – but what did it really have to do with Chelsea? While she managed to keep up with Mark fairly well and got through the choreography, I never really got the feeling that it was a routine she really felt connected to, or that she even would have picked for herself. It was as if she had given Mark carte blanche with the routine and he chose everything – the music, the costumes, the theme, etc., and Chelsea was just along for the ride. I think choosing an obscure song didn’t help, and the choreo seemed to showcase Mark more than Chelsea – the poor girl just seemed to be trying to keep her head above water. Add to that some bland costumes and a wardrobe malfunction, and you’ve got a freestyle that’s overall just “Meh.” Definitely not 30-worthy, IMO.

Heidi: Well, this one I would have put in “dishonorable mentions” but it’s almost in that pile anyway, at slot #10. The problem here, like you say, was Chelsea wasn’t connected to it (and similar ideas appear throughout this post). Not only that, but the music didn’t really match the costumes and none of it matched the choreo. It seemed all mixed up to me. It had a latin flavor, yet they were doing a light hip hop type choreo (I don’t really know how else to explain that) and their costumes matched neither. Then – why the lights and the bike?? I feel like I missed something on this one. There was also a section where it seemed like they just went from one cool trick to the next. The best freestyles (including some of Mark’s) had a good bit of actual ballroom dancing thrown in in places. This one is just a bit weird for me.

9.) Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya, season 10

Heidi: PEOPLE, unless your pro is Dmitry – do NOT argue with them about choreography. At all. Geez. That said, this is another freestyle that was good on paper, but in execution just didn’t work for some reason. Clearly it worked in person, since the studio crowd loved it…but the dance didn’t seem to fit either Evan OR Footloose. When Derek did Grease with Brooke, there was a clear, but brief, homage to the movie. The dance went with the song and it worked perfectly for Brooke. When he did a song from Dirty Dancing with Jennifer – again, a subtle, brief homage to the movie and it worked for Jennifer because, of course – she was in the movie. I think by the time they get to the freestyle the pros are just drained and they forget to really tie it altogether – and if you pick an iconic song, you have to really tie it altogether so that the dancing fits the iconic song but also works for your partner. It seems like this dance doesn’t fit either. He didn’t dance it badly by any stretch, but neither did Gilles in their Flashdance freestyle. That doesn’t make it good.

Courtney: I was always a bit puzzled as to why they picked Footloose – did one of them really, really like the movie? Or was it just another easy, dance movie theme to go with? I think that’s the one big difference between a freestyle like Jennifer’s and a freestyle like Evan’s (or Mya’s, or Gilles’, or Stacy’s – see below) – relevance. Dirty Dancing was relevant to Jennifer; but was Footloose really relevant to Evan? I want a freestyle to basically sum up a partnership for me – I want it to feel like both the celeb & the pro connect to both the dance and each other, and for the routine to feel like a nice closure to their season together. For me, going with Footloose as their theme left more questions than answers. Ooh, and can I just say that I think bringing in an outside choreographer is the absolute kiss of death? It doesn’t see to mesh well with the chemistry the couple has forged over the course of the season, and usually leads to coupled being led dangerously out of their comfort zone. And both Evan & Anna seemed uncomfortable with this one – almost pained, at times. Read more..

Dancing With The Stars Past GROUP DANCE Review!

This is going to be quick, not much commentary, just the facts. Or rather, the videos. I’ve found myself much busier than I plan to be… But, to get us ready for the fun Group Dance, I’m searching for the videos of the group dances from past seasons. When possible, I’ll post the practice sessions, also.

Season 1, Viennese Waltz. Rachel Hunter and Jonathan Roberts, John O’Hurley and Charlotte Jorgensen, Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo, Joey McIntyre and Ashly DelGrosso.

Season 2, Salsa. Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke, Jerry Rice and Anna Trebunskaya, Lisa Rinna and Louis Van Amstel, Stacy Keibler and Tony Dovolani, George Hamilton and Edyta Sliwinska, Tia Carrere and Maks Chmerkovskiy.

Season 3 Disco. Monique Coleman and Louis Van Amstel, Joey Lawrence and Edyta Sliwinska, Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff, Jerry Springer and Kym Johnson, Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke

Season 4 Swing. Laila Ali and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough, Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson, Billy Ray Cyrus and Karina Smirnoff, Heather Mills and Jonathan Roberts,John Ratzenberger and Edyta Sliwinska, Ian Ziering and Cheryl Burke

Season 5 Rock and Roll Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough, Jennie Garth and Derek Hough, Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas, Marie Osmond and Jonathan Roberts, Jane Seymour and Tony Dovolani, Cameron Mathison and Edyta Sliwinska, Mel B and Maks Chmerkovskiy

Season 6 Country Western. Sorry, my brain has melted, and I don’t remember the names of the people I’m seeing in the video….. I know them all, but their names are no longer connected. In my brain.

Season 7 Old School Hip Hop Thanks to Gitte and Elara for helping to find this one….

Season 8 1960′s.Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska, Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower, Lil Kim and Derek Hough, Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke

Season 9 Hustle. Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower, Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas, Kelly Osbourne & Louis Van Amstel, Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer, Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff, Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson, Joanna
Krupa & Maksim Chmerkovskiy (in the place of Derek Hough who was out with the flu), Mya & Dmitry Chaplin, Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova and Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo

I think that’s all…

DWTS13 Search Engine Round-Up – Week of 9-2-11

Yes kids, the SERU is back after about a 2 month absence Why, you ask? Because there simply wasn’t enough traffic to the site prior to now to generate enough truly interesting search terms…but now I’ve got search terms aplenty to entertain you with ONWARD!!!

Melissa Gilbert divorce

She may not have actually been cast on DWTS this season, but you guys are still curious about her Anywho! Melissa officially filed for divorce from her husband Bruce Boxleitner (the guy who played Tron in the original Tron), on August 22, after 16 years of marriage. They had been separated since March of this year. What’s funny to me is the story of how they met – apparently they were introduced by Bruce’s ex-wife, only weeks after Melissa’s divorce from her first husband was finalized. Allegedly Melissa had met Bruce when she was a teenager and confessed to having a picture of him in her locker, but he ignored her at the time, since she was much younger than he was; after being reintroduced, they started dating on and off, got engaged twice (but he broke it off both times – red flag, maybe?) before finally marrying in 1995. Their son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner, is named after Michael Landon, who played Melissa’s father on Little House on the Prairie.

How tall is Chaz Bono?/Peta Murgatroyd height

Chaz is not only the shortest male celeb this season, but the shortest of all the celebs & pros this season – he’s 5’1″. As for Peta, someone tweeted her and asked how tall she was, and Peta responded with 5’7″. Straight from the horse’s mouth, kids And if you want to know any of the other celebs’ or pros’ heights, check out Heidi’s “Who’s Dancing with Whom?” post.

Lacey Schwimmer boob job/plastic surgery

So apparently Lacey got her boobs done, and possibly her lips too. Big whoop. As I’ve said in the past, I’m not the type to hate on anyone for wanting to improve their physical appearance and/or self-confidence – in moderation. I know plenty of ladies in the dance world that have gotten some help in the bosom department, either to make their costumes fit a bit better or to combat some fat loss in that area from being such an athlete. If it puts a bit more spring in Lacey’s step to have some bigger tatas – good for her, IMO And although I thought she had some pretty full lips to begin with, if she got those done too – fine by me, as long as it makes her happy. I’m probably more apt to bitch about that OTT blonde hair of hers than any sort of surgical enhancements she’s had done – I just thought she was stunning as a brunette! Only one word of caution to her, though – take it easy on the push-up bras. I find that when one has both implants and one of those puppies on, the effect can be a bit…alien. And torture chamber-ish.

Derek Hough girlfriend

Ugh…this is one can of worms I do not feel like opening up. Go over to PureDerekHough and discuss this one with the regulars. Long story short: he may or may not have rekindled things with Cheryl Cole (“She of the Nasty Weave” for those who follow me on Twitter ).

Why isn’t Chelsie Hightower on DWTS?

Well, since I am not privy to the complex inner workings of the minds of TPTB, I can’t give you an official answer on this one – but my best guess is that they simply didn’t have a suitable partner for her this season. No underhanded dealings, no discrimination or conspiracy to get rid of her permanently – they just ended up with a crop of male celebs this season that were either too tall (pretty much all of the men, with the exception of Chaz) or were better matched with other pros (Chaz – I can’t imagine a more perfect partner for him than Lacey). C’est la vie – same thing has happened to Anna, Louis, & Dmitry in past seasons, and they’ve all come back after sitting out a season or 2. In the meantime, it seems like Chelsie is keeping busy with other projects, so she’s certainly not sitting around weeping and sulking about not being on the show this season – and who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and catch a glimpse of her in one of the pro dances this season. Still suffering from Chelsie withdrawal? Check out our ode to her in the most recent edition of Who Wore it Better?

Dirty picture

Of what? This is a rather broad term Or, are you looking for the Taio Cruz song featuring Ke$ha?

“Behind Derek’s Car”

This one made me LOL a bit, because the searched term was actually in quotes as if it were the title of a scary movie or something. Sounds so ominous Now while the logical side of my brain says that the people searching this were likely trying to figure out which celeb parked behind Derek’s car at the rehearsal studio (because the couples tend to do that), the smartass side of my brain says “Behind Derek’s car…there is likely exhaust.”

Nicole Volynets rumors

I’m assuming this refers to the fact that Nicole will not be returning to the troupe this season – and just like the rumors about Chelsie’s absence this season, there’s been all sorts of speculation as to why. Again, I cannot give you an official answer, but I have 2 theories. One, they’re looking to keep the troupe “younger” – which makes sense to me, if they’re planning on pulling future pros from it. Ted is only 21, Oksana is 22, and Kiki is only 19 or 20 – they still have a few years to cultivate their talent before possibly being promoted to a full-time pro. Peta & Tristan are both a bit older – I think they’re both in their mid-to-late 20′s, and I believe Nicole is 23 or 24. I guess if I were TPTB and I wasn’t planning on promoting someone to full-time pro anytime soon, I think it would be kinder to cut them loose now than to keep them hanging on in vain for a few more seasons in the troupe. It may seem cruel, but it’s just the nature of the business. Another theory that seems to be getting kicked around on Twitter is that Nicole & Ted didn’t like having to do romantic dances together since they’re siblings – which I can understand, it’s definitely awkward. But at the same time, sometimes you just have to be willing to bite the bullet and do things you don’t necessarily want to in order to please your employer – Derek always mentions that he’s had to rumba with Julianne in the past *squirm*. I guess if Ted & Nicole gave the higher-ups the ultimatum that they would only come back if they didn’t have to dance together, I can’t blame TPTB for saying “Well, we can’t guarantee that you won’t have to…unless one of you doesn’t come back.” Regardless of the reason why, I am not worried about Nicole’s future – she seems like she’s already got some great opportunities in the works.

максим чмерковский

Erm…I can’t read Cyrillic, and right now I can’t be bothered to try and feed this one through Google Translate. But I’m guessing it reads “Maksim Chmerkovskiy”…and, uh, yep…he’s on the show this season. That’s all I got.

DWTS Who Wore it Better? Part XIII – The Chelsie Appreciation Edition

Well she may not be on the show this season, but “out of sight” is certainly not “out of mind” for us here at PureDWTS! What better time to show Chelsie she’s loved than now?

I must confess, due to my own pessimistic tendencies, this was originally supposed to be the Anna Apprecation Edition, because I was so certain she wouldn’t be back this season. But thankfully, she is, and now I have inspiration to create subsequent editions of WWIB featuring all of the female pros – eventually. ;-) Finding costume dittos is hard sometimes, even for someone with a freakishly near-photographic memory like mine…

Battle of the peach jeweled ballgown: Brooke’s Viennese waltz with Derek in season 7 vs. Chelsie’s pro dance with Dmitry to Jewel in season 8

Heidi: I think the look worked on Brooke simply so that the dress didn’t detract from the emotion of the dance, which was a Viennese Waltz to Daughters, by John Mayer. It’s kind of plain on her, otherwise. I prefer it on Chelsie, and I like her softer hairstyle with this dress. Of course, it could just be the lighting.

Courtney: I noticed several patterns with Chelsie’s costume choices while compiling this post. The first is that she has an affinity for doing very lifty, contemporary choreo while wearing shortened ballgowns. You can’t see in this picture, but this dress has actually been shortened substantially – check it out on the Randall website. May not be of any consequence to you guys, but I do find it kind of interesting how the costume department, when pressed for time & unable to create new costumes, just takes what they have on hand & changes it to work for them – very resourceful. Anywho! I always thought the dress was very pretty on Brooke, but I’m not sure it’s a color she would pick for herself – seems too demure, and better suited to someone more wholesome and youthful, like Chelsie. And I’m not wild about Brooke’s hair – looks too…plastered down? Idk.

The winner: Chelsie, for better coloring…or maybe lighting.

Battle of the black, fringed, jewel-trimmed Latin dress: Chelsie in the season 11 finale opening dance vs. Anna’s opening credits shoot with Sugar Ray in season 12

Courtney: Another pattern I noticed with Chelsie: she is so freaking hard to get a decent screen cap of!!!!! Seriously – she never stops moving, and her technique is so good that she moves with such a range of motion that she’s seldom in a position where she’s facing the camera, in a neutral position. I got so many bad screenshots of her moving her body in crazy ways that made it impossible to see her costume well. She also seems fond of black-fringed costumes – this one is pretty similar to the one she wore for her cha-cha with Romeo, and she wore gloves for both. In truth – I’m not wild about this version of the black-fringed costume. Since there’s very little sparkle, it just seems to look a little blah on both ladies for me. At least with the Romeo version, there was quite a bit of sparkle to give the costume some depth. I prefer colored versions of this particular style, such as the hot pink & multicolored versions featured in WWIB Part XI.

Heidi: I don’t care for the long black gloves with the short, fringed latin dresses – I don’t get that wardrobe choice at all. Other than that, there isn’t much to say about it really – it’s hard to see but I really prefer the dress on Anna – and again, it could just be the background and the lighting influencing me. I’m so easy.

The winner: Anna by a hair…with an assist from the background & lighting

Battle of the sheer, white, feather-trimmed ballgown: Cheryl’s Viennese waltz with Chad in season 10 vs. Chelsie’s dance with Mark in the “America’s Favorite Dancers” show

Heidi: They all have their “tics” don’t they?? Mark’s is high water pants and polka dots, Cheryl’s is the sheer ballgown skirt. I much prefer Cheryl’s tic in this case, although I do find it a rather strange choice. As for who wore it better?? Well, I think Chelsie is wearing it like it’s a dress made for CHERYL, if that makes sense. It doesn’t really seem like it belongs on her, and I also prefer Cheryl’s hairstyle, as it is fancy, fancy, fancy…just like the dress.

Courtney: Ahhh yes – another representative of Cheryl’s ongoing infatuation with sheer-skirted ballgowns This one is odd for me: I think the bodice is gorgeous, with all of the beading & delicate details, but the skirt…looks totally silly to me. Like they let a class of preschoolers decorate it with a bunch of feathers & pom-poms. All that’s missing is the uncooked macaroni and you’ve got yourself a craft project! I don’t know…they both look good from the waist up, and bizarre from the waist down. I’m apathetic.

The winner: Cheryl loves her some sheer skirts…and rocks them well.

Battle of the red, jeweled midriff Latin costume: Chelsie in the pro dance with the Mwano family in season 11 vs. Edyta’s salsa relay with Ashley in season 9

Courtney: Chelsie costuming pattern #3: she will never show her stomach completely. Seriously…find me an example of her midriff being completely exposed and I will gladly admit I’m wrong. She’ll wear cut-out dresses, or ones that show a teeny-tiny bit of belly, but then you’ve got 2-piece costumes like this where they slap a piece of mesh down the front. This costume definitely had to go through some un-Edytafication before Chelsie would wear it…the mesh, the extra layer of fabric on the skirt to cover the sides, the increased chest coverage. Normally I would give this one to Edyta, no contest, but the open sides of the skirt look weird to me. Gotta go with Chelsie this time.

Heidi: Edyta, by a mile. It was originally designed for her and by adding back material it just makes an already unfortunate dress worse. When you add the mesh on the front it make the whole dress look heavy, what with the double patterned belts around the hips and under the bra line. I think Edyta is just playing the part here better than Chelsie is – and damn that woman has a body. :-)

The winner: Edyta, for playing the part.

Battle of the lavender, jewel-trimmed, one-shoulder ballgown: Kym’s Viennese waltz with Donny in season 9 vs. Chelsie’s Viennese waltz with Jake in the season 10 finale

Heidi: I think Chelsie is a bit too short for this dress – maybe if it was straight to the floor instead of layered it would work better for me. Both women look very pretty, but I’m gonna have to go with Kym, I believe.

Courtney: This is another thing I hate about screen-capping – it always makes colors look too warm. The dress is closer to the color on the left than the color on the right – but it’s a pretty color, regardless. I think it’s a good example of the “less is more” concept of costuming – very simple silhouette, flattering color, minimal trim. Lovely Looks great on both ladies, but I have to give this one to Kym – love her romantic wavy hair. Looks like Chelsie may have been the victim of the dreaded quick-change, which usually necessitates un-fussy, generically-styled hair to fit multiple costumes.

The winner: She of the Awesome Boobage dominates once again.

Battle of the gold, fringed, halter-top Latin dress: Chelsie in the season 8 intros vs. Ashly in the 150th episode pro dance to “Hard to Handle” in season 6

Heidi: Hmmm….tough call. Both ladies wear this dress well. It compliments both Chelsie’s sunny, California girl look, and Ashly’s darker hair and complexion. This one is a tough call!! I think I’m leaning toward Chelsie, but I have to idea why.

Courtney: Maybe because we have a hard time believing a wholesome Mormon mommy like Ashly would pick out an outfit like this for herself? I dunno, at least that’s what I think – both ladies are on the wholesome side, but Chelsie is able to pull off sexier, flashier outfits a bit better, IMO. The impression I get from Ashly in this dress is that “I had to wear a gold dress to match the other dancers, so I bit the bullet and picked out the most conservative one I could.” Plus I love the way a gold outfit looks paired with blonde hair

The winner: Chelsie, for looking more comfortable being sexy.

Battle of the pale blue, jeweled high-neck ballgown: Nicole’s waltz with Derek in season 10 vs. Chelsie’s pro dance with Dmitry to Goo Goo Dolls in season 11

Courtney: I had completely forgotten about this one – and now that I’m looking at it, I’m realizing that it is really a beautiful dress. Simple silhouette with delicate details. Again, looks great on both ladies, but I’m gonna go with Nicole on this one – I think this dress is better balanced as a long dress, and the high neck looks a bit odd on Chelsie.

Heidi: I think the high collar on this dress rather begs for an upswept, formal hairstyle. It draws the eye to a nice neck and you don’t want your hair ruining the effect. So, I have to go with Nicole also. The bodice of the dress with the shorter length (and lack of shoes) on Chelsie just doesn’t look quite right.

The winner: Nicole, by a length…of dress.

DWTS 13 Cast Rumors – Twitter Coincidences!! (Or Not)

Ok, so I was digging around a little tonight (yes, I have Dancing With The Stars on the brain! lol ) and noticed Chaz Bono has recently added Karina Smirnoff & Mark Ballas to his “followers” at twitter. I also noticed he never replied back to Lisa Stanley of K-Earth radio when she said, “YAY! Can’t wait to c u on DWTS.” Wouldn’t he correct it or deny it if it weren’t true (like he has on a recent wedding rumor to his girlfriend)?

Chaz has also recently added Kirstie Alley and Mackenzie Phillips (sister to Chynna Phillips, another rumored celebrity to dance as well this season) to his twitter followers.

So, could this all mean something or not….or is it just coincidental and Chaz just likes Dancing With The Stars and the celebrites and dancers above?

Note: Karina is not following Chaz….yet. Neither is Mark!!

Here is a twitter screen shot from Heidi: Read more..

DWTS Season 13 – Pro Watch!!

ETA: Updates are in red.

Note: John taught us a new trick – we can now “stickie” a post to the top of the page and add new posts below it. Which is what I’m going to do with this post, so don’t miss anything down below. ETA: You can tell a stickied post by the lovely blue color.

Okay, so the pros supposedly find out if they are competing on Monday, but in seasons past they actually start getting confirmed this weekend. If you believe @DWTSGossip on Twitter, 8 have been confirmed and 4 are waiting to find out. She also says there will be three “new faces” on the dance floor with partners. Which means only ONE of the currently unconfirmed pros will be getting a partner, according to what she wrote about it. I’m still wondering if it just means 3 new Troupe members, but she implies three new faces competing with celebs (which means they don’t necessarily have to be Troupe, since those aren’t technically “new”). Wow. I just made my own brain ache. I hope you all followed that.

I’ve noted all those called “confirmed” by @DWTSGossip, below. All that said, a word of caution: I do think that @DWTSGossip has a source that is reliable. I say that’s likely because I’ve had them before and @DWTSGossip has been on target in the past. HOWEVER, as with anything you read on the net, it is not “for sure” until it comes from the Pros themselves, Tom Bergeron or DWTS producers via GMA. We’ve seen a previously reliable source (TMZ) go down in flames this season and they were right the last two seasons. Just be cautious before you start throwing parties…or go into mourning. I think she’s (?) probably right…but that’s what I said about TMZ as well. ETA: Please note that nothing is certain until we hear it from the Pros or the show. Don’t yell at me if something turns out to be incorrect. Read more..