Maksim Chmerkovskiy | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS Carrie Ann Inaba Discusses Her Favorite To Win, Maks Chmerkovskiy, Being The Lift Police, And More

Time.com interviewed judge Carrie Ann Inaba about Dancing With The Stars Season 16. They ask her straight up about being the “lift police”, punishing the star for what the pro is doing, and more. Below is a take about who is her favorite is to win the season. She also answers a question on whether Maks Chmerkovskiy will be back to dance in the future.

Who is your favorite to win this season?

As far as my scores go, I think Zendaya [Coleman] has gotten the highest scores from me. I love the way she interprets music when she dances. It’s a full-body interpretation. I think Kellie Pickler is a fantastic dancer. I don’t know if she’s always really in tune with her emotions. She’s always very concerned with the technique. I think she had a breakthrough on the paso, and I hope it continues. I’m hard on her because I know the finals are coming,and if she thinks there’s nothing else to work on, she’s not going to improve. In the finals, people vote for you when you surprise them and you give them something new. If you’re the same, the audience gets bored very quickly. The audience loves to see a breakthrough, they love to see something unexpected. I push people to do that, because I’ve been on the show for 16 seasons, and I know what works. I’m always trying to give people hints on how to win.

Speaking of Zendaya, when you’re pitting a 16-year-old against someone like DL Hughley who is 50, do you think the show is stacking the deck a bit?

No, because not all 16-year-olds could handle the pressure. Our show is tremendous on your emotions. It’s physically exhausting, the hours are crazy, and she’s also going to school. I worked on a show called American Juniors, and it was so hard for the kids to balance. She’s able to grasp that it’s a television show, which isn’t always easy. She’s able to grasp that the comments are about the dancing, not her. When it’s a younger child or a teenager, I worry that they will misinterpret what’s said on the show or on social media, because there is a lot out there.

Kellie Pickler’s experience facing a panel of judges on American Idol must give her some advantage when it comes to weathering criticism. Even when Len’s at his worst, he’s no Simon Cowell.

I worked with Kellie on Idol [as a choreographer] and that is a different situation, because on that show, it is everyone’s dream to become a singer. It’s not everyone’s dream to become a ballroom dancer. It’s not nearly as hard on your soul to get negative feedback. Although some people really get into it and forget that they aren’t going to be a professional ballroom dancer, but I do think that’s a big difference between our show and a lot of other shows. There’s nothing at risk, except your ego. We give a really cheap trophy. It’s a big old mirror ball, that does not cost that much, but it means a lot to people, because it’s a good old-fashioned sporting competition.

Is Maks Chmerkovskiy coming back? He was always a fan favorite.

I don’t know. I don’t know what the producers will choose. He came back once this season, so I don’t think there’s any bad blood necessarily. I try to stay away from it. As a judge, we don’t have any meetings on the set, we don’t go to the set, we’re never allowed near the dancers. We’re never near the celebs. We aren’t allowed in the studios during rehearsals. It’s nice, because as a judge I don’t want to know what’s going with the dancers. As a judge you want to stay neutral. Tom [Bergeron] has a party in the middle of the year for the cast, but we never go. I want to support Tom, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix with people. I don’t want it to affect my judgment.

More at Time.com. Let us know what you think?

My thoughts: Carrie Ann may try hard to be neutral, but, I think she needs to try a little harder!!!

DWTS Anna Trebunskaya, Chelsie Hightower, Maksim Chmerkovskiy And More Dazzle At 20th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala

Wow, aren’t these photos breathtaking?! Last night in Century City, California, Dancing With The Stars Anna Trebunskaya, Chelsie Hightower, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Lindsay Arnold, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Vanderpump, and Gleb Savchenko attended the 20th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala “Love to Erase MS” at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Gorgeous!!! You can view more fun photos of them at Zimbio Pictures.

DWTS 16, Week 5 – Power Rankings

Well, side-by-side challenge night went about as well as can be expected when you put complete amateurs (well, and a ringer or two…) next to seasoned pros with years of experience under their belts. If nothing else, it let us see some sorely missed pros doing what they do best :-) The judges have made it pretty clear at this point who their favorites are (ZENDAYA, Kellie, Jacoby, & Aly), who they are lukewarm about (Sean & Ingo), and who is disposable (Victor, D.L., and unfortunately, now Andy), and seem to be scoring accordingly. And dare I say that many of the pros came out dancing at full throttle…but noticeably slowed down and calmed down when the celebs joined them on the floor? No bueno. And god bless Tom for soldiering through what had to be a tough night for Bostonians :-( Let’s get on with it…

1.) Zendaya & Val – It was a good dance, and I was actually impressed with Val’s first venture into Argentine tango choreography – and thankfully, he seemed to eschew the multitude of lifts big bro seems so fond of, and put in some good basic steps. Zendaya handled pretty well, and I liked the jewel thief storyline – I was worried they were going to go more the smut route, which would have felt…icky. But this was appropriate :-) So that was the good – now here’s the bad: I don’t think it was 10-worthy. Sorry kids. Once again, I find myself just fixated on how BENT Zendaya’s legs are – yes, I am aware she is tall, and yes, Argentine tango is usually done with a flexed knee. But girl was damn near SQUATTING – and consequently, it made her upper body look that much more flimsy when they were in hold. I hate when tall people (male or female) try to compensate for a shorter dance partner – it almost always looks awkward, and you don’t get the full impact of their lines. I say stand up straight and forget about who’s taller – the bf has 2 female students that have a good 3” on him in heels, and when they’re dancing to the full extent, it’s MAGICAL…their legs just go on forever. You don’t even worry about who’s taller, because the lines are so gorgeous. So with that said – these two are obviously safe (and thankfully, there were no Twitter machinations this week to tip things in their favor), but I do think Zendaya’s legs will continue to be an issue in the coming weeks.

2.) Kellie & Derek – I’ve always loved Derek’s foxtrots, and the Broadway quality & character they have to them. This was no exception – great side-by-side, playful choreography, and Kellie seemed to handle the sweeping motions of the foxtrot well. She seemed to get a bit stiff in her neck and shoulders at a few times, which looked a bit awkward, but other than that, she handled this routine well and I liked watching her do it. I think she probably came the closest to mirroring her pro counterpart tonight – and I think she has Derek to thank for not dumbing down the choreography, because in most of the routines, the pros went from dancing full-on, difficult steps to dancing simple, kindergarten steps without much energy. It gave me whiplash, at times. But the transition in this one felt seamless – the way Kellie was keeping up, it felt more like another pro couple joining Henry & Anna on the floor, rather than “Oh sh*t, here comes the celeb, better slow it down…NOW!” So even if Kellie “doesn’t like Derek’s ways” – I think it was those “ways” that probably helped her look so good tonight. Read more..

DWTS Val Chmerkovskiy Writes Of Dancing With His Brother Maks, The Argentine Tango, And More

Val Chmerkovskiy has written a new blog for Today. He writes of how excited he is to be dancing with Zendaya and next to his brother, Maks and Anna Trebunskaya tonight. Val says, “The number is great, the dance is really strong, really passionate.” He also writes that this dance is better than any other dance he and Zendaya have done this season. We will soon see. I can’t wait as the Argentine Tango is my favorite dance. What is your favorite?

We have a song that has a different energy about it, so that allows us to still be passionate, still have the strength and the attitude of an Argentine tango, still have proper technique. But we’re passionate about a completely different topic. There’s going to be a theme to the dance, and I don’t want to reveal before you watch it and that will all make sense as to why there is aggression, why there is passion, why there is a struggle. It’s going to be great, but it doesn’t always have to be about love. Even love has very different angles. We celebrate the love for dance!

This dance has been a lot – a lot – more challenging than any other dance we’ve done this season. The most challenging part of it is the speed, the precision, the intricate footwork. The technique of the dance is like no other. The posture is like no other. The frame, the lead … so that’s been challenging. The choreography, most importantly, is very, very challenging. I don’t know if it’s going to be noticed by the judges, but most certainly I know that the fans are really going to appreciate.

The dance turned out amazing so far. We took huge risks this week with tricks and choreography. And obviously, there’s a moment in the dance where we’re dancing side-by-side, which is a huge risk because no matter how talented Zendaya is or I am as a teacher, Anna is a professional ballroom dancer. That’s what she does, better than most people. That comparison’s going to be interesting. You don’t have to be the best dancer to be a great performer, and that’s what I really want to showcase in Zendaya this week. I think this tango’s going to do that better than any other dance we’ve done this season.

You can read this new blog in full at Today.

ADDING: Just in time before the show, On The Red Carpet has uploaded a new rehearsal interview with Zendaya and Val!!

ABC Releases New Dancing With The Stars Promo For Season 16 Week 5

ABC has released a new Dancing With The Stars promo for Week 5. Note the bit with Maks at the end and the facial expression they used of Andy. LOL! Anna looks so sweet too in the pose they used of her. Enjoy and thanks to Maksim Chmerkovskiy Fans You Tube for uploading!!

Kerli, Selena Gomez, The Band Perry To Perform On Dancing With The Stars

Just a quick update!! Music artist Kerli is set to perform for the Results show next week on Dancing With The Stars. Below is a tweet from Island records!!

#MoonBabies – don’t miss @KerliMusic perform on @ABCNetwork‘s Dancing With The Stars (@DancingABC) next Tuesday, April 16th at 9 pm EST!

April 10, 2013 11:59 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@IslandRecords

Island Records

In case you don’t know Kerli, here she is singing her single “The Lucky Ones” ! LOVE HER!!

UPDATE: And below is more information about the shows next week from ABC Media Net. Note how it mentions all the pros who are returning to perform. Also, Selena Gomez and The Band Perry will be performing.

“Episode 1605 & 1605A” – Nine remaining couples hit the dance floor and face an exciting new challenge MONDAY, APRIL 15 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET). In another first for “Dancing with the Stars,” a new twist called “Len’s Side By Side Challenge” tasks each couple to perform a portion of their individual dance alongside a pro dance couple. The pro couples will include returning favorites Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Anna Trebunskaya, Tristan MacManus, Tony Dovolani, Gleb Savchenko and Chelsie Hightower. This new twist will allow the audience as well as judges to compare the celebrity’s dance technique in real time to a professional’s. Monday will also feature a show stopping opening number with the entire cast, returning pros and dance troupe.

On TUESDAY, APRIL 16 one couple will be eliminated on “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show” (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET). The show will feature music by multi-Platinum-selling artist Selena Gomez who will perform her new single, “Come & Get It,” and Country Rock group The Band Perry will perform their hit No. 1 song, “Better Dig Two.” The results show will also feature a spectacular opening number choreographed by Mark Ballas and Derek Hough.

“Macy’s Stars of Dance” returns for its second installment of the season. Choreographed by Emmy-nominated Stacey Tookey, this sexy and powerful performance will feature dancers Tyne Stecklein and Jeremy Hudson and music by singer/songwriter Kerli, who will perform “Love Me or Leave Me.”

More at ABC Media Net.

DWTS 16 Preliminary Power Rankings – Part I

So it’s time once again for me to gaze into my crystal ball before the premiere and try to take a wild (but educated) guess at how things are gonna pan out this season – who’s gonna be good, who’s gonna be bad, who’s gonna stick around, and who might get sent packing early. Admittedly, this kind of snuck up on me – after my prolonged hiatus after season 15, season 16 seems to have arrived at breakneck speed and I’m just struggling to keep up. Guess that’s what happens when one bad season turns you off of a show completely…don’t know that I’ve been this dubious about a new season of my favorite show since season 5 of Nip/Tuck

For those just tuning in, a few words of explanation about how I arrive at these rankings. It’s a combination of factors – how good (or bad) of a dancer I think they’ll be, how much of a fanbase I think they do or don’t have, how likeable/unlikeable I think they’ll be to viewers. So all those factors considered – this is how I predict the eliminations to shake out. And they can (and usually do) change after seeing the first episode So in today’s edition, I tackle the bottom half of the couples: the ones I don’t see lasting past the middle of the competition. Here we go…

12.) Lisa & Gleb – It pains me to say this, considering that they’re my favorite couple, but I’m afraid my favorite Real Housewife of Beverly Hills may be the first on the chopping block this season There seems to be several factors working against them – and the one that concerns me the most is the fact that Lisa’s a reality star, and she’s a Real Housewife at that. Considering that TPTB have avoided casting from that franchise like the plague until now, and that the Housewives seem to be some of the more maligned reality tv stars amongst DWTS fans (some DWTS fans reeeeeallllly don’t like Housewives – trust me, I’ve gotten tweets complaining, as if I have any control over casting!), I’m worried that some viewers have already written her off, sight unseen. Then again, I could be completely wrong – since we have no precedent for a Real Housewife on DWTS, how do I know that RHOBH fans won’t tune in and vote in droves for our British lass? They’re also contending with the fact that Gleb is a brand new pro without much of a fanbase (and without the benefit of being visible to the DWTS viewers already, a la Sharna in the troupe or Lindsay on SYTYCD) – although I daresay Gleb’s stunning good looks certainly don’t seem to be hurting them Besides those two hurdles, I also worry that they’re just too laid back - their rehearsals are neither memorably good nor memorably bad, which could make them blend into the woodwork amongst some of the bigger personalities this season. And we don’t really have any idea what Lisa’s dancing prowess is like, nor do we know what Gleb’s teaching/choreographing prowess is like – they could be really good, they could be really bad, they could just “be”. I’m hoping that we’re in for a pleasant surprise with these two, but my gut’s telling me that they’re probably not going to make it past the first few weeks of the season. Read more..

Who Will Be Rooting On The Sidelines For The New Cast Of Dancing With The Stars?

Who will be on the sidelines cheering for the new cast of Dancing With The Stars Season 16? ABC has a cool write-up about it which is a fun read today. Below is a take on Wynonna and her husband and family. Did you know that her husband had a motorcycle accident in South Dakota last year and had to have his leg amputated?

Most of the real-life partners this season aren’t nearly as famous as their star spouses, though Wynona Judd’s husband Cactus Moser made headlines last year when his left leg was amputated above the knee following a motorcycle accident in South Dakota.

Moser’s leg was severed at the scene and doctors in Rapid City performed the surgery. He also underwent surgery to his hand.

The accident came just a couple months after Judd married her drummer husband in a sunset wedding on June 10, 2012, at her farm in Leiper’s Fork, Tenn. According to Us Weekly, Judd wore a Houri Barahimi dress and no shoes for the ceremony.

“I felt a joy that hasn’t been there before,” Judd said of her third marriage.

Now Judd is finally ready to take the plunge on the dance floor, after being asked for six years. “This is something I said I would never do,” she told ABC, adding “It’s the year of doing things that you’re scared of.”

No doubt she’ll have the support of Moser and her two children, Grace and Elijah, from her marriage to businessman Arch Kelley III.

More on most of the other celebs and their families at ABC.

Speaking of the new cast and on another topic, Annie Barrett of Entertainment Weekly makes her predictions on the cast. Don’t take what she says to heart though as she is there to entertain and be snarky. What’s fun though is seeing the pictures they have featured. Go HERE if you’d like to see and read more.

DWTS 16 Interview Roundup After The Cast Announcement, Some Of First Dances Revealed

George Pennacchio of On The Red Carpet was at the Dancing With The Stars Cast Announcement to interview all the couples today. It’s so great to see him as always and he dives right into it all asking the couples on their strengths and weaknesses. We also find out what dance some of the couples have? Are you ready? Let’s do it…

First up, Dorothy and Tristan! Dorothy Hamill is so excited to dance with her new teacher. Tristan is also excited to have an athlete and to see how Dorothy can move. He’s looking forward to teaching her. They both think her competitiveness, experience, and confidence on the ice rink in the past will be her strengths. Isn’t it great to see her again Ice Skating fans? Wow!

Jacoby and Karina!! George thinks Jacoby is going to be one of the most “playful” contestants this season. He’s goofy too, but, Karina says he’s already a task master just like with his football ability. The Cha Cha is their first dance and Jacoby says he hopes to bring a “big personality” to the dance floor.

Ingo and Kym! George first brings up about how Ingo is an athlete and a “Stand Up Paddler”. Ingo is scared though and jokes about a nightmare he had with a horrible costume design. His one word to describe Dancing With The Stars right now is “panic”, but, Kym is confident in him. They have a contemporary dance as their first dance and he is doing good in practice so far.

Mark says Aly is sassy, bright, and bubbly and is ready to go. He couldn’t have asked for a better partner. They talk of Aly’s personality, showmanship, discipline, and grace for a couple of her characteristics she will bring to the show. They are anxious to get started.

George starts out telling Andy how fearless he is. Sharna says they’ve already been working hard and that they’ve already built trust and a foundation. She thinks Andy is going to surprise America. They will bring comic relief, but, Andy is hoping to show people he can dance too. He’s competitive and doesn’t want to be voted off. They have the Fox Trot as their first dance. Sharna says Andy is already connecting to the character.

Zendaya wants Val to be tough and serious with her and yet, she wants to have fun too. Val says Zendaya is his first priority now and he’s excited for their story to happen. She’s looking forward to learn more other kinds of dancing versus rap for what she’s use to. She wants to do her very very best. Great attitude.

Wendy Williams Gives Her Thoughts On The New Cast Of Dancing With The Stars Season 16

Not sure how many of you are interested in Wendy William’s thoughts on the new cast of Dancing With The Stars Season 16, but, here you go. I just have to say….I can’t wait for some of the couples to prove her wrong on some of the things she says.