Why the odd title you ask? Well, I finished a big project at work today and I was scanning my usual places for info – and some of it is scary. A lot of it probably just unfounded rumor. And it all caused me to speculate. And I had to put a date on it because I post rumors all the time!

What is frightening me today is the sudden resurrgence of Kate Gosslin as a potential celebrity. I can handle Pam Anderson. But Kate? Please, no. Kate mentioned on Jay Leno quite a while ago that she would be interested and now that is popping back up from a different source - The NY Daily News.  I was really scared at first – until I read the article and realized they are just rehashing rumors/speculation/stars wishing that I wrote up a long, long time ago (in DWTS years).

In other news – Anna D. is out for this season, to no one’s surprise.  That puts the professional dancer roster at:

Cheryl
Chelsie
Anna T
Edyta
*Either Kym or a new female*

Derek
Damian
Mark
Maks*
Louis
Tony*
*not 100% as certain of these two that others are.

As I speculated in my previous post on the pros, I think there might be a new female pro to fill the fifth spot.  So lookie what I see when I study the old Tweetdeck??

Anyone have a scoop on Snow *other* than DWTS?? Fill me in. I also saw that Access Hollywood said that Kym was “most likely not” coming back for Season 10 – no clue on the veracity of that one.

Speaking of the pros (again) Derek, Cheryl and Louis are pimping the heck out of The Bachelor (well, it’s relative for Derek – he’s not much of a tweeter these days) to the point that I think they might be getting paid to tweet. Hey, it happens.

Yo, Lacey fans – I feel your pain, really I do, but spamming Twitter with requests that people sign a petition to keep Lacey on the show not only won’t work, but it’s highly annoying. She needs to have a PARTNER to be on the show and apparently they didn’t find her one. One won’t magically appear because of a petition. I’m sorry you don’t get to see your favorite – but it’s too late now to do anything about it! They know she’s popular – girlfriend was in Design a Dance season before last!

Guess who was on a plane to LA either last night or the night before (I lose track of time when on a big project)? Jason Chambers.  Please, god….

Then there’s Chad Ochocinco.  Did anyone watch The Daily 10 the other night? I didn’t, but there was a sudden buzz on Twitter of people asking Chad if he was going to be on DWTS “for real” – one lovely gentleman gave the explanation for the sudden buzz and mentioned that he “saw it on The Daily 10″.  Like Jason Chambers, I have not had time to do a little investigative work to see if that’s true.  Like I said – a lot of these entertainment shows just report the same rumors that I hear and until you really sit down and watch the show, or look up the article, you don’t know.  So….I don’t know.

Like I said – I haven’t had time to ferret out more info on any of this stuff. But I’m free tonight. And I’m not a big AI fan.

ETA8: Anna Trebunskya confirms that she’s IN.

ETA7: AND sorry Dmitry fans – he’s out for the season.

ETA6: Sorry to anyone who is following this blog – I’m having a hard time keeping up. Having a real job with real responsibilities sucks sometimes. Anyway, I believe Karina has said she’s out for the season.  Dmitry still doesn’t know. And Louis just did his seasonal HUGEMONGEOUS  hint that they meet their partners on Friday.  :::sigh:::  Tired.  Really tired of hearing about Cheryl Cole.

Now, if you consider what Chelsie said about only four female pros back this season and consider that they AREN’T adding a new pro, then here is the possibility. I think.

Women Professionals
-Cheryl
-Chelsie
-Edyta
-Anna T.

Lacey, Karina are out for sure, Kym and Anna D have been silent. If Chelsie is right, then Dmitry still has hope. But Kym and Anna don’t.

Male Professionals
Derek
Damian
Tony
Maks (still not sure if he REALLY confirmed)
Mark
Louis

If Chelsie’s wrong and they have 5 women – not good for Dmitry. If Chelsie’s right – Dmitry should have a spot. I can’t see Alec getting it over him. Shame they haven’t told him yet. Sucks.

ETA5: And now Derek and Cheryl are pimping the Bachelor Finale. Suddenly, everything looks more like a coordinated effort.  Sorry to Melissa fans, but Brooke is still on for her screen test today. Me thinks Katrina was right and her announcing with Tom is more of a Bachelor connection.

ETA4: Edyta says she’s in. Maks takes a page from Derek’s book and plays coy.  See below.

ETA3: Of course right when I leave, Mark Ballas announces he will be on “the next” season of DWTS. I’m assuming he means this coming one. And he tweets while ice skating with his mom and Derek? Oookay. Boys.  It’s looking sketchy for Maks  - could go either way. We have five confirmed men and either the men or women are only going to have five spots.

ETA2: As of 11 minutes ago Louis is in and very, very excited about it. I’m very happy for him too.  No word from anyone else, but interestingly enough, Access Hollywood has also become interesting in the on-going professional dancer saga.

ETA: Well, it’s six hours after I orignally wrote this and only Karina has popped up to say she doesn’t know. Sheesh. So much for the live blogging idea. Well, it was good practice for next monday when we’ll live blog the celebrity announcement. No need for everyone to suffer through The Bachelor.

Well, the powers that be have been extremely good in keeping the celebrities on the down low. I would say that this makes us focus more on the pros than normal, but I don’t think that’s the case. I have a pretty extensive tweet deck setup and the amount of nagging, badgering and begging of the pro dancers for information has really been illuminating. It’s leading to Derek playing games, Mark losing his mind and finally breaking with a “I don’t know!!! (that’s how it sounded to me )” Tony just sends people smilies and phrase which could mean anything. Chelsie is deleting tweets…and some are wisely just staying far away from Twitter altogether. I’m finding it all extremely humorous. On with the show.

Here’s how it stacks up so far:

The Potential Men:
Damian – In
Derek – In
Dmitry – doesn’t know
Mark- In
Maks – hasn’t said a word
Tony – Sort of confirmed
Jonathan – definitely out
Alec – hasn’t said a word
Louis – In

As of 9:30 am Central Time…well, if they are only having six male pros, that kinda puts Alec and Maks (and Dmitry) on the hot seat, because the other men have either confirmed their participation, their non-participation or they “don’t know”. I’m taking Louis’s word that “don’t know” means they’re waiting for contracts to be signed. I’ve put Maks and Alec on the bubble due to a complete LACK of any comment whatsoever. Since I really like Maks a lot, I hope I’m wrong. (Feb 23, 2010 – One spot left and three possible men??)

The Potential Women:
Lacey – definitely out
Cheryl – definitely in
Chelsie – said she was in but deleted the tweets
Edyta – In
Anna T. – said she wants to wait until it’s set in stone
Anna D. – silence (afaik)
Karina – Out
Kym – silence
Unknown new female ?

I see no reason to assume they aren’t adding a new female in addition to the new male professional – but that’s a GUESS, not anything I actually know. Again, as of right now, I’m guessing five female pros which means three spots taken (Cheryl, Chelsie and new girl Edyta). Lacey is already out. Since Anna T and Karina have both played either the “don’t know” game or have made comments that imply a good possiblity, then I’m calling Kym and Anna D and Edtya as on the bubble. If there is no new female pro, then I think Kym is safe. Again, just guessing. Sure is looking like the lineup is: Cheryl, Chelsie, Edyta, Karina and Anna T (Heidi – 2-23-10)

Check back – I will be updating!

So, Jonathan is out – sad but not entirely unexpectedly – and Louis still hasn’t been told. What the heck is going on here? This makes me think that they aren’t entirely sure of their cast yet – one week away from the announcement. Why would Jonathan be a definite no and Louis still not know? Louis is the shortest male, Mark next, then Derek – I think. I think there is 3 inches or so between Derek and Louis, so I would imagine they have a short girl and are trying to figure between Mark and Louis. But I could be totally full of crap. In any case, this is a blow (kinda) to the “attitude” and “ballroom skill” theories for which pros are making it and which ones aren’t.

The show starts four weeks from Monday – at this rate they are NOT going to have four weeks rehearsal before the show starts.

ETA: Add Dmitry to the “I still don’t know” list.

ETAA: And lovely Louis supplies a perfectly logical reason for the way the pros are finding out (or not finding out) – wish I would have thought of it.

You know, since he hasn’t been told NO, that means he likely does have a partner they’re waiting to sign. I would imagine the same goes for Dmitry. Since Anna T commented she doesn’t want to say until it’s set in stone, I bet she has a partner too. Now – what about Derek’s tweet from last Tuesday?

To recap:
The Men –
Jonathan – the only solid no
Dmitry – doesn’t know
Louis – doesn’t know
Derek – is confusing

The women -
Cheryl – definite yes
Lacey – definite no
Anna T. – doesn’t know
Karina – doesn’t know.

Those that haven’t said a word: Maks, Mark, Tony, Alec, Anna D, Chelsie, Edyta, Kym

I love how everything you can imagine now has odds given to it, including Dancing with the Stars. On online betting site just posted the early odds for Dancing with the Stars season 10. Yes, this is really early since we still don’t know who the professionals will be for Dancing with the Stars season 10. So, the odds are all based around the professionals that could be on DWTS 10. Check them out:
Derek Hough +600
Mark Ballas +700
Julianne Hough +750
Cheryl Burke +800
Maksim Chmerkovskiy +800
Lacey Schwimmer +800
Chelsea Hightower +1000
Dmitry Chaplin +1200
Karina Smirnoff +1400
Kym Johnson +1400
Alec Mazo +1600
Louis van Amstel +1800
Edyta Sliwinska +1800
Anna Demidova +2000
Tony Dovolani +2500
Anna Trebunskaya +2800
Jonathan Roberts +3000
Ashly DelGrosso +3300
Elena Grinenko +4500
Inna Brayer +4500
Corky Ballas +6600

Looks like Heidi’s not the only one that likes Derek Hough. This is a pretty interesting list since it basically compares the “star quality” of the pros I think. Nice to see that it corresponds really well with our list of Top Female DWTS Pros and Top Male DWTS Pros quite well.

John challenged me to do this, despite my clear and obvious Hough bias. But it does say MY favorites, so these choices are all my own. As I said in response to comments on John’s post, being a great DWTS Pro is about more than just dance ability. I think several things are required: choreography skill, teaching ability and PERSONALITY (aka The “IT” Factor). And, of course, you have to be one hell of a dancer. I don’t dislike ANY of the pros, male or female, but I do have my clear favorites. You all can guess my Number one, right? Say it with me:

1. Derek, Derek, Derek – Derek is not only a great dancer and choreographer, but he’s one of the more charismatic people on TV right now.  When he’s on screen in a pro dance, I occasionally read about people who are not fans being annoyed because he’s “distracting” – I have to laugh, because that “distracting” behavior is called charisma and “IT”.  He draws the eye. As a fan of old movies (thanks, Grandma), he reminds me of Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. He has never finished lower than sixth and he was only as low as sixth once, with Shannon. He has a way of taking celebs with either baggage or no fanbase (or both) and turning them into respectable dancers – or at the very least, making them likable. His celebs are always labeled as “disliked or likely to be disliked” (Joanna, Lil’ Kim) or as likely to leave early (everyone else) – yet he never leaves early. As for his choreo – two words: Futuristic Paso Doble.  Wait…three words. (John’s Comment: See the rest of Heidi’s Derek bias on Pure Derek Hough)
2. Louis Van Amstel – yes, this shocks me too.  Louis was one of the faceless male pros who were there and gone most seasons.  But holy cow – his work with Kelly Osbourne, and their relationship, was just a joy to watch. Kelly would never be the best dancer – in fact, I would argue that she was no better than 6th or 7th place – but people LOVED her and I think a lot of that is attributable to Louis.  There is no question the man can dance, and he’s a very good choreographer (although I think my #3 did better on the tour), but I think it was only this season that his personality and teaching ability came to the forefront.  Lovely, lovely guy.
3. Maksim Chmerkovskiy – cranky as hell at times, the man also has IT.  He really won me over with his work on last years tour – brilliantly done.  He also manages to survive what I think is a crappy edit nearly every season – sure he’s blunt, but his partners seem to love him. And he writes a great blog, which I appreciate.  I also love how he treats Derek and Mark as slightly annoying little brothers – very sweet to watch on tour.  The feeling I get from Maks is that he’s all bark and no bite.
4. Mark Ballas – I was tempted to leave Mark off the list, although he’s always been one of my favorites.  Why? Well, maybe it’s just my perception, but I thought he acted badly when dancing with Melissa Joan Hart.  He seemed upset that they weren’t doing that well – whatever the reason for his behavior, it seemed TO ME to be poor sportsmanship.  He’s had two Olympians as partners – surely he can suck it up when dancing with someone who is trying hard, but isn’t an Olympian??  Anyway, despite that, Mark is a hell of a dancer and seems to be a good teacher.  He gets a lot of flack for out dancing his partners (usually in the Jive, which I don’t think he can help), and he occasionally picks hellish costumes with polka dots,  but he is a very talented guy.
5. Tony Dovolani – Tony doesn’t really impress me as a particularly great choreographer, but he’s a hell of a dancer and he’s very, VERY charming.  He’s just NICE.  I like him a lot.  He seems to work well with his partners, is a good teacher and is an all around good egg.

I think that only leaves Jonathan, Dmitry and Alec.  Dmitry and Alec suffer from an apparent lack of personality – notice I didn’t say that they don’t have a personality, just that it isn’t *apparent*. They are too quiet, and I don’t think either of them did a particularly good job in terms of choreography.  Doesn’t *everyone* know how Len feels about gimmicks, Dmitry??  As for Jonathan, he suffers as a result of drawing poor celebrities – how can I tell how good of a choreographer or teacher he is when he never stays on the show for long?  That said – he clearly has the patience of a saint.  And lord, when he’s dancing with his wife it’s a thing of beauty.

Okay, everyone, go ahead and tell me how wrong I am.  :-)  I can take it.

Many thanks to Kristina and Katie for their blogs about the Dizzy Feet Foundation Benefit from the other night. I’ve only put some excerpts that pertain to DWTS here – you can find Katie’s in it’s entirety at PureSYTYCD. Kristina’s can be found at her personal blog.

Kristina -

So, I found out a few days ago that Katie got tickets for the Dizzy Feet Gala (thanks Dona and Dee), and I could barely contain myself mainly because that meant we’d be seeing Derek Hough. Also, it meant that I didn’t have to go to that other concert next week because I can write my paper on this gala.

We arrived at Hollywood & Highland with about 30 minutes to spare. So we hurried on up to the Kodak Theater. They were doing the red carpet on the 1st level so we got a peek at some of the people arriving like Glee’s Matthew Morrison (Mr. Schuester), SYTYCD Judge Mary Murphy, and DWTS’ Anna Trebunskaya and Jonathan Roberts. Sadly enough I couldn’t get my camera out quick enough before the guards made us leave. So we went into the Kodak Theater, and to our seats. Our seats were REALLY good – 4th row, balcony and on the left side. It was definitely a full house at the Kodak Theater, which by the way is ridiculously beautiful.

The show started and Derek Hough and Cheryl Burke were like the second performance. I wasn’t ready for it, no camera or anything (they were really strict about cameras, btw). They were amazing! I found out later that he and Cheryl just came up with it this morning. I never realized how great of a pair those two made till tonight. They definitely do the facials to Latin dances that I love to see. Hands down, a smoking hot performance. It’s a shame that it probably lasted a minute and half, 2 minutes to top.

As for the DWTS people, aside from Cheryl and Derek’s number, Lacey Schwimmer and Lance Bass (LOVE) came out. Anna Trebunskaya and her hubby, Jonathan Roberts did a beautiful dance to Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me”. Cheryl came back out to dance with her partner from Season 8, Gilles Marini. AND Mark Ballas did the “Rip It Up” Jive with Kristi Yamaguchi! She is so cute. It was a breath of fresh air watching them have so much fun.

Katie -

From memorable dances from the So You think You Can Dance seasons, to the all so entertaining routines from Dancing With The Stars, a collective group of people came together today to celebrate its first Dizzy Feet Foundation gala.

My friend and I were privileged enough to see the works of some brilliant choreographers tonight!! And the seats were amazing! I think you couldn’t go wrong with sitting anywhere really. The structure of the place is done so thoughtfully that wherever you were, you would have a great view!

Derek and Cheryl from DWTS danced a great Cha Cha Cha, getting the audience excited with a great opening number, and making the audience want more. Derek and Cheryl definitely seemed like they were enjoying their night; however later we found out that the dance was put together earlier this morning. I say fantastic job for a time crunch. You wouldn’t have even thought for a second otherwise.
Lacey Schwimmer and Lance Bass also graced the dance floor tonight. Being such huge fans of both Dancing With The Stars, as well as So You Think You Can Dance, we were thrilled to bits when a Travis Wall routine was picked for the night. Jason and Jeanine’s Necklace routine had the room applauding, it was an exact replica of the performance piece shown on the show only a billion times better watching it live.

Dizzy Feet Foundation is:

Dizzy Feet Foundation was founded in 2009 by producer Nigel Lythgoe, director Adam Shankman, “Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba and actress Katie Holmes to help underprivileged young people realize their dream of becoming professional dancers and to support, improve, and increase access to dance education in the Unites States.

They had a huge benefit tonight at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. From DWTS, Mark, Derek, Cheryl, Jonathan, Anna T., Lacey, Gilles, Kristi Y., Lance Bass and Ballas Hough Band all performed, along with many people from So You Think You Can Dance. Socialite Life has quite a few pictures, a few of which I’ve posted below. Please visit their site for more pictures – I did NOT post them all here. I’ve posted LOTS of pictures of Derek and Cheryl dancing together on PureDerekHough.

Lots more pictures at the Wall Street Journal.

The Local ABC Affiliate covered the event tonight:

Quite a few of our stars and pros dressed up for Halloween – I though I would share the pictures I saw. Kelly Osbourne gets my vote for most creative. Derek Hough for hottest pro. I could be biased. Heh. Let me know if I missed any!!

My favorite is first, then Derek with Shirley Ballas.

Mark Ballas

Maksim Chermikovskiy Does Vampire really well.

Julianne Hough, and her sister Marabeth from Thursday night.

Kelly Osbourne and her Fiance were “bacon and eggs” in case it isn’t obvious:

Jonathan Roberts and Anna Trebunskay as Donny and Marie Osmond – pretty convincing 70’s version for having been put together kinda quickly.

Chuck Liddell – LOL

Natalie Coughlin and hubby as Pam and Bill from True Blood:

ETA: Silly me – Maks was Henry the 8th, according to Freddy Kruger.

Alright, I’ve debated on whether or not to put my choices for next season out there since this season is still going on, but I’m just going to do it since I’ve been working on my pairing for quite sometime! Who knew it was going to be SO difficult to put a decent cast together to represent multiple cultures (i.e. athletes, singers, actors, etc.)

I read Heidi’s post on things she’s heard/seen around the internet and I would bet that someone from the Jackson family might be on, but I didn’t put them in my pairings because I don’t care to see them next season! So here is what I’d like to see go down

GIRLS:
Miley Cyrus (17, Pop Singer/Actress), she has been getting a lot of heat lately and I don’t think she deserves it! I think she is a genuine teen at heart who is trying to grow up and America won’t let her!

Partner: Mark Ballas…I think he’d have the patience with her and he’d be a great role model for her to have!  And he’s dating someone in her industry which would be a nice balance for her!

Mary-Kate Olsen (23, Actress), It is time for Mary-Kate to put those hideous outfits away and put on a sparkling ballroom gown

Partner: Benji Schwimmer…season 2 SYTYCD contestant and brother of Lacey…I think he’s just what MK needs, spunk!  AND I think it’s time we get some new pro dancers

Nicole Richie (28, Reality TV Star), she was the bad girl and notoriously funny girl from the ‘Simple Life’!  She’s now mellowed down and has two children with Joel Madden.

Partner: Derek Hough…I think these two would be hilarious together!  Both goofballs!

Malia Jones (33, Surfer), I don’t know much about her except that she is a kick ass surfer from Hawaii!

Partner Dmitry Chaplin:  This would be the hottest couple, hands down, on the girls end

Tyra Banks (36, Model/Talk Show Host), she’s done everything else so why not put her on DWTS   I think she’d take the experience to heart and find someway to put it on her show!

Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy…he needs someone to keep him in check and Tyra would do just that!

Nadia Comaneci (48, Olympic Gymnast) To have the first gymnast to ever recieve a perfect 10 on DWTS would be such an honor for ABC!   She’d be AMAZING to watch!

Partner: Louis Van Amstel…I think she’ll need someone to make her laugh and not get stressed over taking the competition to seriously and we’ve seen what he’s done with Kelly this season!

Ellen DeGeneres (52, Talk Show Host) We all know that Ellen loves to dance and she does not qualify for her favorite show So You Think You Can Dance, so why not give her a spot on an equally amazing dancing show   I think she’d be hilarious and jump right into the experience!

Partner: Tony Dovolani…I think these two have very similar personalities and Tony would be able to bring out Ellen’s passion for dance in brilliant choreography!

Anna Wintour (60, Vogue Editor-in-Chief), she is widely famous for being chic and always in style and I would love to get her out of her comfort zone and be equally chic in some ballroom gear

Partner: Jonathan Roberts….he always seems to bring out the best in his partners and I think he’d be the only person to keep up with her busy schedule!

Let me know your opinions and look for the male contenders next week

Dang, I’m putting my favorite thing first. Our pros dancing to Taylor Swift’s Romeo and Juliet song (yeah, I know that’s not the real name) – dang. DANG!! That was one of the more romantic dances I’ve seen on this show. I love Taylor and I’ve loved this song (ear worm for real) since I first heard it – but she was having an off night and I was wondering if she caught Derek’s swine flu. I can’t rave enough for Cheryl, Tony, Maks, Edyta, Jonathan and Anna. Particularly Jonathan and Anna – they look absolutely gorgeous together. It’s funny – put Jonathan out there by himself and he looks the total dork…but put Anna next to him and they are simply sublime. Lordy. This pro dance made me a bit teary eyed – I am such a sap. But the costumes, the choreography – gads. Perfect. LOVED IT!!!!

I just love these little segments – yes, I am easily entertained sometimes. Call me crazy, but I am rooting for the sequined speedo. But then, I’ve had a glass of wine and my filter is gone. Seriously, the words “Derek” and “half naked” are words I can get behind. For that matter, I wish Mark and Melissa weren’t eliminated, because I can so see Mark in high heels. And I fear for Louis – Kelly has an evil streak that I love.

Tiempo Libre – Never heard of them, but I enjoyed them!!

Taylor Swifts new song – not as good as that Romeo and Juliette song, but not bad. Who are these dancers? The girl reminds me of Janene from SYTYCD.

More tomorrow – must go to bed!!