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Did the “Dancing with the Stars” Judges “Hate” these Former Professional Dancers???

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this article that I saw today.  Lance Bass and Vivica Fox claim that the judges hated their pro partners.  Here’s a quote from the article in Entertainment Weekly – click the link to read the whole thing.

On Thursday night’s series premiere of E!’s Overserved With Lisa Vanderpump, the conversation between Fox, Bass, and Lisa Vanderpump turned to something they all have in common: the competitive dancing series.

“I made it to week four and I was a sore loser,” said Fox, adding that her partner Nick Kosovich was one of the “main reasons why we got kicked off.”

“You got to play the game,” she told the others. “My partner made too many requests.”


Bass went on to say that even after he and Schwimmer made it to the finale, the reception wasn’t great.

“We go have drinks at one of the judges’ houses and they had a little too much to drink and one of those judges was like, ‘You know we can’t stand your partner?'” said Bass. “I was like, ‘Why am I working my ass off then?'”

My thoughts? Well, I think it’s a possibility. Neither of these pros lasted a super long time on the series. But I’m not sure I agree with the reasoning that they “asked for too much” – Derek Hough, for one, asked for everything, as did Cheryl Burke. Both of those two, and possibly other pros from back in the say controlled everything related to a performance including the music, the costumes, the themes…..everything. There is video of Cheryl nixing a song for her partner and Derek has described just how much control he used to have over what his partner did. A lot. Of course there was still a ton of producers “producing” and manipulating the show. Perhaps it was a matter of HOW Derek and Cheryl and others “asked” for things?? But it’s still odd, because Cheryl seemed a bit rude in the clip, to me. I dunno. I think it’s very possible that those two pros were not well liked, but I’m not sure that the reason for the dislike is necessarily correct.

Thoughts??

March 19, 2021 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. :-)

Dancing with the Stars Season 28 – PRO WATCH!!!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, here we are again.  I’ve gotten to be a pretty lazy blogger, thanks to this little hiatus we just suffered through. Actually, I didn’t suffer at all, I just like being dramatic sometimes. 😉

Did anyone else notice the wording of the tweet that Courtney posted yesterday about the cast announcement??  “Season 28 of DancingABC is here and we’re revealing all the new stars and the new cast live on GMA next Wednesday.” All new stars AND a new cast?? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Now, granted, Courtney and I did spend half an hour texting last night debating whether the GMA tweeter is just an idiot (probably) or if there is something more nefarious about (who the hell knows?).  But why else do you tweet about new stars AND a new cast?? What the actual f@#k?

Okay, now that I’ve scared the bejesus out of 50% of our audience, let’s talk about who’s not likely to be back – maybe ever. In any capacity. Julianne Hough, for one. She’s now loyal to NBC and on AGT a couple nights a week. Derek?? Has a producing deal with NBC and says with a great deal of certainty (while literally standing 4 feet from me – and I was sitting. Imagine that. 🙂 ) that he will be back on World of Dance in 2020. He might be back for the last season of DWTS…but I wouldn’t hold my breath. I only say these things because invariably I see people in the comments and on twitter putting him in their pro wish list or predictions. Just stop already. I will be STUNNED if he appears on DWTS this or any other season. I do think that Hannah and Derek would make a beautiful dancing pair – oh yes. But even if he were back I don’t think we would see it. Ah well. Maks?? No idea and he’s not that great of a source on his own stuff – he tends to change his mind and/or use his leverage. But I believe he’s indicated that he won’t be back. Mark? VERY doubtful. Why would he? And then there’s the rest….We don’t know a lot yet, because I don’t think they know a lot yet. Read more..

August 15, 2019 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. :-)

PureDWTS Season 27 – Preliminary Thoughts & Predictions

I feel like all I do is apologize for the lack of timeliness in my posts these days 😛 Sorry guys – life got busy for me real fast this season. I thought about doing a preliminary power rankings, but I realized I haven’t been keeping up with enough media about the couples to really do that justice.  So instead, welcome to my random and scattered thoughts about this season, in no particular order 🙂 I tried hit on some of the questions I was getting on Twitter, but if there’s anything else you want my thoughts on, go ahead and leave it in the comments and I’ll try to answer.

This is DeMarcus’ MBT to lose.  Now before anyone assumes I mean “I think DeMarcus will win!”, pump your brakes – what I mean by this is that I feel like DeMarcus has the easiest path to the MBT, from the jump: he’s a former NFL player from possibly the most universally popular team (the Dallas Cowboys – often referred to as “America’s team”, part of the reason why Emmitt was so popular), he’s well-spoken and well-liked, he’s in great shape physically, he’s got one helluva work ethic, and he has a great rapport with his partner, who is also widely well-liked and well-respected.  Basically, as long as he dances decently (not necessarily great – decent should do it) and puts on a good show and has a “journey”, I think the MBT is his – which means the other couples are going to have to work twice as hard to win, even though they might actually be better dancers. DeMarcus is easily the biggest fanbase ringer this season, from where I sit – and sometimes, that can help a decent dancer overtake a fantastic dancer for the MBT. Just ask Donny Osmond.

We could be dealing with season 24, redux.  I can’t help but draw some comparisons between this season and season 24, when there was a preponderance of ringers (particularly female ones) and the last two standing were guys with no previous dance experience (one of which was an NFL player) that were just really likeable and had great chemistry with their partners. I think each season of DWTS can realistically handle 1-2 high-level ability ringers, tops – any more than that and you start to run into some unexpected results, as we saw in season 24 (you could also argue that too many fanbase ringers of the same type yield unexpected results – look at season 22, when all three NFL players got shut out of the finale). And here’s the kicker: you’ve gotta have a pro that actually knows how to choreograph to an ability ringer’s strengths.  One way I think season 24 fell woefully short was handing the two biggest ringers (Normani & Heather) to two pros who couldn’t cut the mustard, choreographically-speaking. Maks’ choreo for Heather that season was absolutely pitiful, and while Val managed a few hits (the Mulan paso, the contemporary, maybe the Argentine tango), towards the end of the season, his choreo kinda petered out (the Viennese waltz and freestyle were both head-scratchers for me). Even Mark seemed to burn out towards the end of season 25 with Lindsey.  I think a big key to the big ability ringers’ (Tinashe, Alexis, Juan Pablo, Mary Lou, and to a lesser degree, Evanna & Milo) longevity this season is how well their partners are able to choreograph to their strengths – and if they’re able to keep up the momentum, all season long.

If any of the pros are going to step up the choreo to become the “new Mark/Derek”, now would be the time to do it. We’re kind of in an odd transition period in the show: with the exception of Cheryl popping in for fall seasons, the OG pros are all gone; even some of the second generation pros (Peta, Val, Sharna, Emma, Sasha) are starting to pursue other opportunities outside of DWTS, and they may move on from the show before long. TPTB continue to try retooling the show to keep up with the times (All-Athletes, Juniors), and the pressure is generally on to keep this show “fresh”. While most of the female pros are actually stellar choreographers, the male pro lineup has been woefully void of great choreography; if one of them wanted to try cementing himself as the new choreographic genius of the male lineup, now would be the time to do it – and I think Brandon may be the ticket.  I have heard tremendous praise for his skills as both a teacher and a choreographer on Juniors, and if you think about it, he’s the first male pro that has come from the same training background that gave us Lindsay, Witney, and Jenna. He’s impressively cross-trained (like the rest of the Utah Squad, and really, Ballas/Hough before them), and doesn’t seem to have any of the same “ballroom purity” hangups that we seem to see with Chmerkovskiy acolytes. I’m thinking Brandon could be the breakout star pro of this season, if he plays his cards right.

I am totally fine with newbs like Brandon & Alan getting ringers. Val’s already been granted his 2 MBT’s, and seems to be transitioning to more of a judging role; Gleb & Keo just can’t seem to get their choreo right; Artem & Sasha are for the most part “hit”, but still sometimes “miss”.  Repeating it again for good measure: the male pro lineup needs a wake-up call.  So if that means handing Brandon & Alan some pretty ringy ability ringers, I’m all for it – let’s see what they’re made of. I actually thought Alan did respectably well with Mirai, and the only issue there had more to do with Mirai’s loose lips and general lack of self-awareness. Seems like these pros really have to hit the ground running in their initial season, anymore, if they want to continue as pros – and that can be kinda hard to do, if they’re always handing the newbs dud partners. Cheryl, Mark, Julianne, and Lacey all got ringers in their first season on the show – and it seemed to keep them in play for awhile. I used to be of the “newbs shouldn’t get ringers” camp – but anymore, I just keep going “Show me something new and different!!!” and “Everyone ends up getting a dud at some point, and everyone ends up getting a ringer at some point. No point getting too hung up on a single season.”

I wouldn’t count on Mary Lou being an early out.  I know some are hoping she’s gone by week 2 or 3, due to her comments about the Nassar case – I don’t blame you.  However, a bit of a reminder about the demographics of this show: the largest chunk of viewers are middle-aged, female, and conservative, and likely have very fond memories of Mary Lou as the Olympic darling who brought home gold back in her youth.  I would also venture a guess that many of them (like some of the conservatives currently trying to get a man of questionable morals elected to the Supreme Court) are “#MeToo skeptics” who are unfortunately more likely to give a pass to an Olympic darling defending her former trainer than to take the word of countless women who bravely came forward to speak about the trauma they endured at Nassar’s hand. It sucks, no doubt – but it’s an unfortunate pattern I’ve noticed, and it makes me think Mary Lou could last at least until the midpoint of the season – especially if she’s a decent dancer, which I think she will be.  I don’t see her winning or making the finals, though…at least not right now.

I think Nikki & Alexis need to turn on the charm, though.  Both come from professions that have yet to really do well on DWTS: comedians, models, and social media influencers. With the exception of conservative-leaning “country boy” comedian Bill Engvall, comedians generally haven’t done very well on this show – I think their biggest struggle is connecting with the audience, particularly if their brand of humor is a bit more high-brow or sarcastic. Or female 🙁 Conservative folk love the somewhat simple-minded humor of Jeff Foxworthy, Rodney Carrington, Larry the Cable Guy, and Bill Engvall – but they tend not to embrace the D.L. Hughley’s, Jeff Ross’, and Margaret Cho’s of the world quite so warmly. Unless Nikki ends up being an Alexis or Tinashe-level dancer (and I don’t think she will be), or ends up finding a way to endear herself to the audience…I see her as an early out. Alexis may be a very trained dancer, but she’s also a model (and they tend not to last long on this show) and a social media personality (the only precedent we have for that being Hayes Grier – who couldn’t manage to get his millions of followers to vote hard enough to get him past week 7). Additionally, Alexis seems more reserved on-camera – so I think she’s really going to have to come out of her shell to endear herself to the audience, if she wants to stick around.

Being an “inspiring backstory” ringer may not be as much of an advantage as it once was.  Not counting Heather McCartney (who despite being an amputee, was also the much-maligned ex-wife of Paul McCartney), Amy was a novelty, since we hadn’t really had anyone disabled on the show in awhile, and Derek managed to mold her into a pretty respectable dancer. Noah had the fanbase boon of being a disabled vet; Nyle was both deaf AND a very likeable guy who could actually dance really well.  I’m not sure anyone really considered Terra’s small stature as a disability, since she was actually a pretty good dancer; and things started to deteriorate once Bonner came along, as he actually was a creep, despite his “inspiring backstory”. Victoria gave it her best shot a year ago, but given that her disability wasn’t as visible as, say, Amy’s or Noah’s, I don’t know that it really carried her as far as it once might have (then again, Val also really phoned it in on the choreo towards the end, so that likely didn’t help either).  I guess the point I’m trying to get at is this: the “inspiring backstory” is becoming less and less of a novelty on this show with each passing season, particularly with contestants whose disabilities aren’t outwardly visible, so Danelle might not get as much support as she would have on an earlier season. Times change – the audience changes.  Things that were once new and novel become commonplace, and voting attitudes change.  I don’t think Danelle will be first, second, third, or even 4th out, but I’ll be interested to see just how far her story takes her, particularly if she’s really struggling with the dancing.

Is Juan Pablo William Levy 2.0? Is Evanna going to be the next Katherine Jenkins? Those are the two former contestants that come to mind when I look at Juan Pablo & Evanna. On the plus side, I already find Juan Pablo quite a bit more likeable and relatable than William, who I always found to be a bit reserved and even borderline awkward in interviews; his dancing was decent, but not as fantastic as the judges would have had you think. Juan Pablo seems like he might have more polish and technique on his side. Evanna seems like she’s got roughly the same level of dance experience as Katherine – they’ve probably dabbled in it at some point, but are more well-known for other things.  I think Evanna will be at least as good as Katherine, ability-wise – question is, will Keo be as good as Mark? I’m gonna go with a big fat “NO” on that one, unless Keo has had some sort of choreographic breakthrough over the summer.  He seemed to hit a small groove with Jodie 2.5 years ago, but that season was a bloodbath and she probably could have gone further on a different, less competitive season. Will his choreo/teaching skills hold up this time? We’ll see.

Early prediction for the final 3: DeMarcus, Juan Pablo, & Tinashe. If they take 4 to the finale – Milo or Bobby join the other 3.

First out: My gut says Nikki.  Outside chance of John. Whichever one doesn’t go in week 1, is probably toast during the double elim in week 2. Having Val will likely keep Nancy around for a bit longer than expected, but I would be surprised if she lasted past the midpoint of the season.

“Shocking” elim potential: Alexis screams “good dancer that will probably get eliminated because she can’t successfully crossover fanbases” to me. I don’t think her millions of IG followers will vote as hard as some think they will, and I don’t know that the general DWTS audience is going to embrace her strongly.

Dark horse: I feel like Bobby is going to surprise a lot of people.  I’m hearing a lot of people say Joe, but Joe strikes me as kinda awkward…especially after I saw this.  What has been seen cannot be unseen. 😛

So there we have it – my thoughts headed into Monday’s premiere.  What do you guys think? Share in the comments, and if you don’t mind, please take 5 minutes to go watch my cousin’s son, Kingston, do his first LEGO unboxing video on YouTube and throw him a like or a comment.  He’s been battling leukemia since March, and he’s officially CANCER FREE now and starting to feel like a regular kid again. Bonus: appearance by his equally adorable brother Lincoln, and they both have the most adorable Tennessee accents 😛

See you all Monday for the live blog!!! 🙂

September 21, 2018 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.

PureDWTS Season 27 – PRO WATCH!!!

After what seems like FOREVER since we’ve had a true, full-length season (not sure about you, but All-Athletes barely felt like a blip on our radar, and Juniors doesn’t quite feel real yet since it’s not airing until October), the fall pre-season is finally upon us 🙂

First, time to do a bit of “pro roll call”: Lindsay, Witney, Emma, Jenna, Cheryl, Hayley, Artem, Gleb, Keo, Sasha, Alan, & Brandon are all serving as mentors on DWTS Junior, which tends to increase their odds of being pros on the fall season, from where I sit (since there’s going to be a good deal of cross-promotion between DWTS/DWTS Jr.); Val is now a judge on DWTS Junior, which makes me wonder if his days as a regular pro are over; Sharna was curiously absent from the list of pros involved in Juniors, and seems to have thrown herself headlong into other ventures, which for me puts her role as a pro in question; and we haven’t really seen Peta or Maks involved in DWTS since their fairly unremarkable run as pros last fall. Keep in mind – fall season typically has (13) couples, and with this fall season being only nine weeks long (as opposed to the standard 10 or 11 weeks) due to the Primetime Emmy’s on Sept. 17, we may end up seeing fewer couples than that. If you are one of the ones hoping to see Hayley and/or Brandon get a shot at being a pro, just know that it means one of the older pros (perhaps Peta, Sharna, Val, or Maks) has to sit this one out. There is not an unlimited number of pro spots, unfortunately.

As for the “old guard” – pros from the days of yore that may or may not pop in for season-long encore run – with the exception of Cheryl, I don’t think we’ll being seeing the return of any alums. Derek is a hard “no”, due to his involvement with World of Dance; and with Mark’s new Broadway gig (and the fact that he seemed pretty done with DWTS when asked about it recently) I doubt we see him back, either. Kym, Edyta, & Anna all have young kids; and  Lacey, like Mark, seems to be pretty done with DWTS, too. Karina and Tony seem to be keeping busy with judging and other events, but might be willing to return if asked – I just don’t see them getting asked, unfortunately. It’s now been two years since we last saw Allison as a pro, so barring extraordinary circumstances, I’d say she’s out; and unless someone (foolishly) requests Louis as a partner, I think he’ll have plenty of time to bitterly shade the current pros on Twitter 😉

So where does that leave us? I will say I’d be genuinely SHOCKED if Lindsay, Witney, Emma, Jenna, Cheryl, Artem, Gleb, Keo, & Alan didn’t get pro spots; I think Sasha is probably going to get a spot, but there always seems to be that degree of uncertainty due to his height (which is dumb, since he is the same height as Mark, and they always managed to find partners for Mark).  I think the remaining 2-3 spots (depending on the number of couples this fall, and how many female/male celebs they get) could go to any combination of Hayley, Sharna, Peta, Val, Maks, and Brandon, depending on whether the Chmerkovskiy faction and/or Sharna opts to return as pros or not.

As of right now (11-Aug, 7ish PM EST) we don’t have a date for the pro announcement or cast announcement, but source seems to think that the cast announcement for Juniors will occur around the same time as the one for the regular season…perhaps one massive GMA event???

UPDATE, 8/28, 9:11 AM EST: So apparently GMA is announcing the pros today, without much previous fanfare.  Big deal being made about Jenna & Val’s engagement, so I guess we know who’s gonna be the ones getting promoted this season. On a happier note – looks like Brandon is getting a shot as a pro after a really strong showing as a mentor on DWTS Junior. Cheryl’s also back, which makes me think Hayley’s chances at a pro spot just got slimmer. Only 8 pros have been announced so far…

Update 2: Full list posted at ABC.com. No big surprises here – but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see how Val’s stint as a Juniors judge changes the dynamic between he and the other pros on the regular season. I’d say this is more than likely the full list – we’ve got our 13 pros.  So I better not hear any “but maybe there’s a surprise 14th couple!!!” chatter…

Update #3, 8/30/18, 3:54 PM EST: So let’s talk troupe.  Source is fairly certain that all three girls will be back – makes sense, since Hayley served as a Juniors mentor over the summer, and Morgan was working a lot with the Junior troupe. It also looks like Artur will be back, as he was looking on Facebook for an apartment to sublet in LA as of last Friday 😛 It looks like there’s going to be at least (1) new guy, though…any guesses on who?

Female pros:

Lindsay – IN
Witney – IN
Jenna – IN
Emma – IN
Cheryl – IN
Sharna – IN
Peta – OUT
Hayley – still in troupe

Male pros:

Artem – IN
Gleb – IN
Keo – IN
Alan – IN
Sasha – IN
Val – IN
Maks – OUT
Mark – OUT (Kinky Boots on Broadway)
Brandon – IN (!!!!)

Status of Former Pros (you never know!):

Derek – OUT (on contract with another network that doesn’t like to share)
Karina – ??
Kym – Likely OUT (has infant twins)
Tony – ??
Louis – ??
Edyta – Unlikely (wants more time with her kids)
Lacey – Unlikely
Anna – ??
Allison – ??

Troupe:

Hayley – IN
Britt – IN
Brandon – promoted to pro
Artur – IN
Morgan – IN
New guy(s)?

August 11, 2018 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.

PureDWTS Ask Court – How Do the Pros’ Contracts Work?

So we’ve been getting some questions on Twitter about how the pros’ contracts work – some of you were concerned about some of your faves leaving the show in the coming seasons, when their initial contract expires; others were just curious how the contracts work.  So here’s our best guess – keep in mind that contract negotiations in the biz are usually kept pretty hush-hush, for obvious reasons, so we don’t know exactly what’s written into each pro’s contract; this is just our best, educated guess based on what we’ve heard from people behind-the-scenes, what we’ve watched unfold, and what the pros themselves have said. Consider that your disclaimer 😉

How long are the pros’ contracts? From what we’ve been able to cobble from interviews the pros have done and intel we have from other sources at the show, it seems like the initial contract (the one the pros get when they first sign onto DWTS) is anywhere between 5-7 seasons (or 2.5-3.5 years), with a possible option to renegotiate after they’ve completed one year of their contract.  After their initial contract expires, it seems as though subsequent contracts are pretty open-ended – pros like Derek, Cheryl, & Kym seem like they’ve been able to negotiate on a season-by-season basis; other pros, like Lacey, appear to have gotten dropped from the roster and not offered a contract extension after their initial contract expired. Some of the one-and-done pros (think of the Jesse DeSoto’s, the Inna Brayer’s, the Tyne Stecklein’s, and the Andrea Hale’s of DWTS) likely were released from their contacts after only one season, when the producers were sure they weren’t going to use them again.

What does being “on contract” at DWTS entail? While being “on contract” certainly improves a pro’s odds of getting a partner each season, it’s not a guarantee; the only thing being on contract really means within the context of DWTS is that the show gets first dibs on you each season, and can use you for whatever purpose is within the scope of your contract – in this case, they can use you as a pro on the show, they can put you in the troupe, they can bench you for a season (and let you pursue other opportunities within that time frame, within reason), they can send you out on tour, they can send you to the (now defunct) Vegas show, they can send you out on one of the DWTS cruises, they can tap you for pro dances/bumpers, whatever. And as Lacey stated in an interview with Kristynyou only get paid if they actually use you.  But let’s say, like Sasha, you aren’t guaranteed a pro spot from season to season, and may alternate going back and forth from pro to troupe – the clock doesn’t stop on your contract, and you’re still burning up seasons on your contract whether you’re a pro, in the troupe, or not on the show at all. From what I can tell, TPTB can also veto any outside gigs you take if it puts you in direct competition with the network (although this seems to vary from pro to pro –  more on that later); so even though you’re getting paid (relatively) well when you are working for DWTS, there’s no guarantee you’ll be working from season to season, and they may also say “nope” to any outside jobs you try to take when you’re not working for them. This sort of exclusivity was ultimately the deal-breaker for a friend of mine who auditioned to be a pro back in 2009 – he had regular students back at his home dance studio, and couldn’t really wait till the last minute before each season to tell them whether he’d actually be around to teach them, and didn’t like the idea of having to “clear” any outside teaching/choreographing he was doing with ABC.

Do all the pros have the same contract? Definitely not.  At this point, some pros (i.e. Mark, Cheryl, Peta, Val, & Maks) have finished their initial contract and are likely negotiating from season to season or have shorter (perhaps year-long) contracts, and probably have more weight to throw around in terms of pay demands and special privileges; other pros still have a bit of time left on their initial contracts (if I had to guess, I think Sharna, Emma, Sasha, Lindsay, & perhaps Witney) and are probably going to be coming up on contract renegotiation time within the next season or two; the newbs (Alan & Jenna) still have a way to go on their initial contract and probably aren’t going to be renegotiating anytime soon.  So those are the differences in terms of length; we have noticed other differences in terms of privileges, though. Back when Julianne was still in her initial contract, she was offered a TV pilot, which TPTB nixed fairly quickly (I’m guessing it was on a rival network); however, Derek was offered a movie role (Make Your Move 3D) in the middle of his initial contract, and was allowed to take a season off to go film it (likely because the studio doing the movie wasn’t in direct competition with Disney, and Derek was the only 3-time MBT-holder and potential Emmy-winner at the time – so he had a bit more clout). Another interesting contractual “thing” we’ve noticed: Val, Mark, Emma, & Sasha have all been allowed to choreograph in the off-season for SYTYCD – but Derek was always prohibited from doing so. Our guess is that the higher-ups at DWTS probably saw him as a potential Emmy-generator, and didn’t want to run the risk of his choreography earning a potential Emmy nod for SYTYCD – so it may have been written into his contract that he was not permitted to choreograph for shows on rival networks. Since all of these negotiations happen behind closed doors and efforts are made to keep their terms confidential – we have no idea what could potentially be written into the pros contracts; but based on what we’ve seen, it’s a safe bet that not all contract are created equal.

Have the contracts changed at all over the years? Most likely yes.  I’m guessing all of the season 1 pros (Alec, Charlotte, Edyta, Louis, Jonathan, & Ashly) were probably only given contracts for that season, given that the network didn’t know if the show would catch on or not; once it was renewed for a second season, though, I’d guess that the pros that returned (everyone except Charlotte) were probably given longer, more exclusive contracts.  By the time Mark & Derek signed on in season 5, and it was clear the network had a hit with some longevity on its hands, the contracts probably got even more exclusive, as DWTS likely wanted to lock down their talent. I would guess at this point, the standard initial contract for new pros is probably pretty rigid & non-negotiable – so the newest pros, like Jenna & Alan, probably don’t have a ton of wiggle room until their initial contract expires.

If a pro’s contract is about to expire, does that mean they’re leaving the show??? Not necessarily. All an expiring contract really means is that a pro now has an opportunity to renegotiate their pay, the terms of their employment, the length of subsequent contracts, etc.  It’s a good thing, usually 🙂 And it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to jump ship. Just look at Derek – his initial contract expired several years ago (we’re guessing around season 15), and we still got 7 more seasons out of him before he finally hung up his dance shoes for good. I know some of you were worried about Sharna, whose contract I’m guessing is expiring after this coming season (season 27) – based on what we’ve seen of other pros whose initial contracts have expired, unless they haven’t used a pro in a few seasons (I think of Allison, who we haven’t seen since season 23; or Lacey’s last few seasons on DWTS, when she was pretty much on-the-bubble as a pro from season to season), I doubt they’re going to suddenly opt not to pick them back up during contract re-negotiations, unless a pro really starts making unreasonable demands or opts not to return on their own accord. And that’s something I think a lot of fans lose track of: eventually, the pros are likely to get offered new opportunities for growth in their careers, and are going to outgrow the capacity they have on DWTS…yes, if they’re your favorite, it’s sad to see them go, but if you’re a true fan, you understand that they can’t stick around forever and will eventually need to move on…which is often a good thing 🙂

Any other questions/thoughts about the contracts? Leave ’em below and we’ll try to answer them.

May 29, 2018 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.

Dancing with the Stars, The All Athletes Season – PRO WATCH!!!

It’s time! Time to come back from your vacation and start chatting DWTS once again. 🙂 So, how ya’ll been? 🙂 I’ve been on something of a vacation from DWTS and even from Derek. But now it’s time to start winding back up again for our abbreviated, all athletes season.

What do we know about the pros right at this minute? Well, Maks, Val and Peta are out for the season due to their tour – likely planned before this season became a thing. Derek is on another network and a different dance show. Mark kinda sounded out – but you never know. Julianne is out as a judge as she’s working on her and Derek’s scripted show “Blackpool”, among other things. Have I left anything out? I think that’s all I’m aware of right at this moment. OH! Kym is also out due to the impending arrival of her twins.

So, what have you heard? Be sure to provide a source if you have something to share….

ETA: It’s a GO for Gleb Savchenko as a Pro for this season. Yayy!! Please read more details HERE. ~Vogue

ETA2: Per the DancingABC Instagram, these are the pros this season – fairly predictable lineup, identical to my hypothetical list on Twitter last week. -Court-

Male Pros
Val – OUT
Gleb – IN
Mark – Out
Artem – IN
Derek – OUT
Sasha – IN
Maks – OUT
Keo – IN
Alan – IN

Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Kym – OUT
Emma – IN
Witney – IN
Lindsay – IN
Jenna – IN
Cheryl – OUT
Peta – OUT

I’m assuming there will be a Troupe???

ETA: According to this Kristyn Burtt interview with Britt Stewart, there will be a troupe for this season. Thanks Kristyn. ~Vogue

The Troupe
Courtesy Hayley Erbert

March 12, 2018 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. :-)

Dancing with the Stars Season 25 – PRO WATCH!!

It’s that time of year once again folks. And sans Derek and Mark, I can’t say I’m terribly enthused…unless we can get Sasha or Sharna a MBT this time around. 😉

If you have something to contribute, PLEASE PROVIDE a SOURCE – by that I mean a link. We appreciate the help, but it needs to be sourced, otherwise it’s just a distraction. Thx.

Derek recently said, very firmly, that he’s not coming back. Since he’s committed to NBC I would assume that to be solid, despite what he says about Celine Dion. 😉 I’m fairly sure I heard Mark say that he is out as well, but I’m not as sure about that. Peta has started playing the Chmerkovskiy salary negotiation game – all three (Peta, Val and Maks) have implied they “might” be back. Peta pretty much outright said if she gets a good partner. I have a question mark by Jenna with the word out because I think it hinges on SYTYCD. Based on her pick, I suspect she’ll be available.

ETA2: It’s Pro Reveal Day on GMA!! Watch this space down here and I’ll be updating (or trying to) as we go!

We think Mark is back based on the silhouette!!  Pray…our only male choreographic hope sans Derek!!

Gee, I had forgotten how lame GMA is. :::rolls eyes:::  This is why I watch CBS This Morning. This show is crap.

Thank you Jesus. Mark is back. Please give him a decent partner. oOooo…sounds like they lured him back with his partner.

LOL to Bruno!!

Shit. Looks like Sasha might have gotten hosed. Alan lovers got their way for some mysterious reason. Let’s hope he lives up to the hype. I have my doubts.

There might still be a pro to be revealed, since we appear to be one short….

ETA: With this latest update from ET, it looks like we now have a full roster of pros.  Sorry, Jenna/Allison/Sasha fans. Cheryl fans, rejoice! 🙂 -Court-

Male Pros
Val – IN
Gleb – IN
Mark – IN (Hooray!!)
Artem – IN
Derek – OUT
Sasha – (OUT??? not announced and we already have 7)
Maks – IN
Keo – IN
Alan – IN

Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Kym – OUT
Emma – IN
Witney – IN
Allison – OUT
Lindsay – IN
Jenna – OUT
Cheryl – IN
Peta – IN

Status of Former Pros (You never know!)
Tristan MacManus – No, appears to have sworn off TV dancing
Anna Trebunskaya – Expecting Baby #2
Lacey Schwimmer – Unlikely
Louis Van Amstel – ?
Chelsie Hightower – ?
Corky Ballas – ?
Karina Smirnoff –
Edyta Sliwinska –
Tony Dovolani –

The Troupe
Brittany Cherry – Filling in for Jenna for first three weeks
Britt Stewart – In
Hayley Ebert – In
Brandon Armstrong – In
Sasha Farber – In
Jenna Johnson – In
Artur Adamski – In
Shannon Holtzapffel – Out
Dennis Jauch – Out
Kiril Kulish – Out

ETA: Let the guessing begin!! I guess Tony and Cheryl.

August 10, 2017 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. :-)

New “Dance To The Movies” Spring Tour Schedule, See Shirley Jones, Leslie Ann Warren, Tony Dovolani, Anna Trebunskaya, And More

Would you like to some pros from Dancing With The Stars dance near you this Spring? If so, they may be coming to an area near you in “Dance To The Movies”. Special guest stars include Shirley Jones and Leslie Ann Warren. Rotating Celebrity Dance Pros from Dancing With The Stars include Tony Dovolani, Anna Trebunskaya, Dmitry Chaplin and Oksana Dmytrenko. Choreographers include Jaymz Tuaileva , Lacey Schwimmer, and Chelsie Hightower. More in detail at Broadway World. Below is the new Schedule. Producer Scott Stander says “it’s so much fun”.

DANCE TO THE MOVIES TOUR SCHEDULE:

STARRING Lesley Ann Warren:
Fri, Mar 31 – Sunrise Theatre for the Performing Arts, Ft. Pierce, FL – 8:00PM
Sun, Apr 2 – Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Cerritos, CA – 3:00PM
Thu Apr 6 – Eppley Auditorium & Steinbrenner Performing Arts Center, Culver, IN – 8:00PM
Sat Apr 8 – St. George Theatre, Staten Island, NY – 8:00PM
Fri Apr 21 – The Corbin Arena, Corbin, KY – 7:00PM
Fri May 12 – The Colosseum at Caesar’s, Windsor ON – 8:00PM

STARRING Shirley Jones:
Thu Apr 27 – NYCB Theatre At Westbury, Westbury, NY – 8:00PM
Sat Apr 29 – North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, MA – 2:00PM and 8:00PM

March 18, 2017 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 Season 24 – PRO WATCH!!

It’s that time of year once again folks. There are other sites out there mimicking us, but none of them that I would bank on just yet.

Which means that we know Derek is out. Also, according to a Good Morning America announcement today, Maks and Peta are dancing. If you have something to contribute, PLEASE PROVIDE a SOURCE – by that I mean a link. We appreciate the help, but it needs to be sourced, otherwise it’s just a distraction. Thx.

ETA1: And Tony confirms he’s out for this season.  Not gonna lie, I’m disappointed – he was always so kind to his partners, moreso than some other pros that will likely get a spot…-Court-

ETA2: Witney and Sharna are confirmed per People Magazine as is Val…but I do wonder if they are making the same silly assumption that others do re: the poster. ~Heidi

ETA3: According to People, Jenna is OUT! ~ Vogue

ETA4: Vogue again. Gleb is IN again according to this interview. YAYYY! Can you tell I’m excited?! 🙂 Thanks to @GleekyZ for sending.

ETA5: And in the first development this season that actually has me excited, an old favorite returns…yes kids, She of the Awesome Boobage is back…Kym 😀 -Court-

ETA6: Not sure on this, but, according to @DWTSGossip, Allison is out. I think I am going to cry if true. I love her. – Vogue

ETA7: Confirmed – Keo is back. Kinda thought he might be, since I think he was only set aside last season in order to bring Gleb back on board. -Court-

ETA8: Source confirms that Sasha, Lindsay, & Emma are all IN.  Doing some extreme vetting over here, folks…-Court-

ETA9: According to ET, Mark and Karina are out too. Dang. And to anyone thinking this site hates Mark, you couldn’t be more WRONG. ~ Vogue

ETA10: Not sure if anyone is really still watching this post, but it looks like Jenna is also out as a troupe member this season. To address some of the chatter on Twitter – no, we don’t know what Sasha’s talking about; no, we don’t know if Mark is back in as a surprise; no, we still don’t have a confirmation on Artem’s status. We’ll share if we get any updates…-Court-

Male Pros
Val – IN
Gleb – IN
Mark – OUT
Artem –
Derek – OUT
Sasha – IN
Maks – IN
Keo – IN

Female Pros
Sharna – IN
Kym – IN
Emma – IN
Witney – IN
Allison – OUT??
Lindsay – IN
Jenna – OUT
Cheryl – OUT
Peta – IN

Status of Former Pros
Tristan MacManus – No, appears to have sworn off TV dancing
Anna Trebunskaya – ??
Lacey Schwimmer – Unlikely
Louis Van Amstel – ?
Chelsie Hightower – ?
Corky Ballas – ?
Karina Smirnoff – OUT
Edyta Sliwinska – OUT (pregnant)
Tony Dovolani – OUT

The Troupe
Brittany Cherry – ??
Britt Stewart – ??
Alan Bersten – ??
Hayley Ebert – ??
Shannon Holtzapffel – ??
Dennis Jauch – ??
Kiril Kulish – ??
Jenna Johnson – OUT

February 21, 2017 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. :-)

The DWTS Season 23 Partnerships – Who’s Dancing with Who?? Guesses?

As of this moment – Friday Night – we don’t have any confirmed pairings. But we do have a few good ideas based on DancingABC clues, history, rumor, twitter…and just plain guessing. 🙂 So, Vogue and I are going to put it down on paper – what we think, guesses we’ve seen on twitter, what we would like…all of the above. Just for fun. We’ll find out on Tuesday for sure, but write it down now so we can all see how we do. 😉 We reserve the right to edit as we get more information…or reality sets in through leaks and such. 😉

Here are the confirmed pros (I’m including Mark Ballas cuz I think he’s in, as does @DWTSGossip, even though we have no “confirmation”) – keep in mind there could be more. George Pennachio seems to think so. When I have a partner next to a pros name, that’s someone that’s been confirmed by DWTSGossip or a leak. If there’s a question mark, I just ain’t sure.

The Men
Derek – Marilu Henner
Maks – Amber Rose
Val – Laurie Hernandez
Gleb – ??
Sasha – Terra Jole
Artem – Maureen McCormick

The Women
Lindsay – Calvin Johnson ??
Witney – Vanilla Ice ??
Emma – Rick Perry
Sharna – James Hinchcliffe
Allison – Babyface Edmonds
Jenna – Jake Austin ??

Vogue:
Derek – I haven’t a clue but, he’s looking for his Cleopatra? Hmmmm…..
Mark – I think it might be the new rumor of Beverley Mitchell who is said to be in talks and not signed yet. I’m having serious Willow Shields flashbacks too and I’m loving it.
Maks – Amber Rose! We’ve seen a picture of them together and then there is this snap.
Val – Ok, I’m going with Lauren Henderson for all the reasons in Court’s rumor post. Plus, George P says there is more than one Olympian dancing.
Gleb– My guess is JoJo Fletcher and what a beautiful pairing this would make. I love the video in this post.
Sasha – Terra Jole! He teased his partner has a show on Wednesday’s and guess what? “Little Women” airs on Wednesday nights. I can’t wait to see how he is inspired from her and he’s happy and excited which makes me happy and excited too.
Artem – Legendary Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick. One of my wishes forever and they even look a like. And shame on his fans for having such a meltdown on this being she’s 60. “60” is only a number. Just ask Jennifer Grey, Bill Engvall, and Tommy Chong made it or almost made it to the finals.

Lindsay – Well, it can’t be Tim Tebow like some fans speculate on since he wasn’t born in Georgia. I’m going to guess that it might be Detroit Lion Calvin Johnson since he WAS born in Georgia. Hubby will be so happy if we have another football player dancing. My Dad will be watching too in heaven. I just know it.
Witney – Not sure on this one (more below)
Emma – Is she paired with a Republican? If so, I’m hoping for someone tall, dark, and handsome…..someone like Donald Trump Jr.! Can you imagine? Ssssssssss!!
Sharna – Ryan Lochte because I think they would look striking together. Then again, Sharna says she’s in Texas, so, maybe Witney has Ryan instead? Geez, this show keeps us guessing.
Allison – Babyface Edmonds! Coupled with Allison’s creativity and his ability in making Grammy winning songs and videos, they will be off the hook as Lea posted in comments. He’s so handsome and has infinite amounts of class, swagger, and charm too.
Jenna – Jake T. Austin. I just think they’d make a great fit. What a great first partner for Jenna too. I hope she shines out there like she did on the last DWTS Tour.

Heidi:
Derek – the only guesses I’ve seen have been Lindsey Stirling and various olympians. Lindsey is going on a world tour, which kinda leaves her out. Olympians? Who knows? It would be fun if he had Mckayla Maroney…she of the “sass”. 😉 Beverley Mitchell is the type that Derek used to get all the time, early on – married mommies.  But since Mark hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, maybe she’s dancing with him, since last word was that she was “in talks”. Heh…Court just texted me to listen to Becca Tilley’s snapchat to listen for Derek’s voice – she’s with Jojo Fletcher doing a shoot today. Kinda sounds like him, kinda doesn’t….I’ll get the video in a bit.
Mark – Personally, I would bet Mark is the one with the Olympian, but I don’t really know. I’m going to say Laurie Hernandez. Or Beverley Mitchell. 🙂
Maks – I kinda thought that Gleb had Amber Rose, but I guess she’s with Maks, based on that photo.
Gleb – No clue…. How about Emma Samms?
Sasha – Yeah, gotta go with Terra Jole.
Val – Well, it’s gotta be someone with dance experience…Emma Samms had training until she was 15 but that hardly counts. This is an interesting question: with Derek, Maks and Gleb all back, will Val still rate the ringer?? Hmmmm…If I had my way he would get the model who can’t move. But who would that be? I don’t think he has the Olympian..perhaps someone we don’t know about yet?
Artem – Maureen McCormick, who, judging by the photos, I wanna be when I grow up. Dang, woman! Lookin’ good!

Lindsay – Seems pretty certain she has Calvin Johnson.
Witney – Ryan Lochte…although this could be BAD. Neither are the sharpest tools in the shed if you get my meaning.
Emma – My first thought was republican…but not a weasely Trump boy. Ugh. Spare us all more of that drivel. I’m thinking someone who’s been around a while and who isn’t in prison (that was an obscure Tom Delay reference for you young’uns). 😀 But if not a republican, then what’s the deal with the Elephant? I actually looked up “Unforgettable Elephant” because DancingABC uses that word in their tweet and got Martyn Colbeck, an award winning wildlife photographer. Much more palatable than a politician. 😉 Someone else on twitter mentioned Jack Hanna to DWTSGossip which is a much more relevant celeb than Martyn.
Sharna – She’s been spotted in Texas, where the speculation brings us back to racecar driver James Hinchcliffe – why yes, there is a big race in Texas tonight and there is apparently a Arrow Electronics fire suit in the background of her periscope according to Courtney’s – I don’t even know what that is. 🙂 Could be another driver, I suppose…definitely going to say James or another racer.
Allison – seems pretty certain that she’s dancing with Babyface Edmonds
Jenna – yep, going to agree with Jake T. Austin.

August 27, 2016 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. :-)