Randall Christensen | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS Who Wore it Better? Part XI – Season 12 Thus Far Edition

With a mere 4 weeks of competition complete, we’ve already seen a slew of costume dittos from the pros and also the troupe this season. Let’s have a look, shall we? It’ll give Heidi & I some time to come up with this week’s cheesecake…and I’m sure it will be a doozy, after suffering through “American Night”-mare.

Battle of the lime green, jeweled & feathered Latin costume: Peta in the “On the Floor” pro/troupe dance this season vs. Kym’s pro dance with Tony to Santana in season 11

Courtney: Hmmm. Tough one for me. I like Petra’s hair better, but I think the color looks better with Kym’s skin. Although I’m not wild about that thing they’ve got going across the midriff on Kym…glad they omitted it for Peta.

Heidi: Peta is certainly beautiful, and looks good in the dress, but I don’t think the Awesome Boobage of Kym can’t be beaten – by anyone. Add in that her darker tan compliments the dress and there you go. I do see something resembling a crotch doilie though and it’s giving me flashbacks.

Courtney: I was thinking more “feather loincloth”, but crotch doily works too

The winner: The Awesome Boobage prevails once more

Battle of the beaded black mesh Latin dress with plunging neckline, redux: Karina’s pro dance with Louis to Jennifer Hudson this season vs. Anna’s pre-season photo shoot with Sugar Ray this season vs. Kym’s cha-cha with the Hoff in season 11

Heidi: Again, I have to go with Kym for reasons previously stated. Plus, I think Anna is too pale in her photo and with the red hair it just washes her out. Karina looks amazing, but I would go with Kym.

Courtney: The problem with this dress is that it’s not a typical “Anna” dress – she seems to tend more towards the conservative, less va-va-va-voom Latin costumes these days, so she’s out. I loved the way the dress looked on Karina while she was moving - quite quickly, I might add, which is why it was hard for Heidi to get a clear screen cap – but alas, Kym reigns supreme once more with her sex kitten hair, smoky eye makeup, and perpetual Awesome Boobage

The winner: You don’t mess with the Awesome Boobage.

Battle of the hot pink fringed Latin dress, redux: Chelsea’s pre-season photo shoot with Mark this season vs. Lacey’s Team Kristi cha-cha with Kyle in season 11 vs. Anna in the “On the Floor” pro/troupe dance this season

Courtney: Poor Anna always seems to get stuck with the 3 & 4-peat costumes God love her…she’s cute, but I’m not wild about the hot pink paired with her red hair. Sticking with cute-as-a-button Chelsea on this one…

Heidi: Ummm….not Lacey? I think I lean toward Chelsea, as I think her hair style compliments the “cute” of the dress.

The winner: Chelsea’s still pretty in pink.

Battle of the red & gold paso doble dress: Karina’s paso doble with Mario in season 6 vs. Oksana’s paso doble demo with Kiki this season

Heidi: I’m going to go with Karina based on skin tone and, even though it’s not a fair comparison since we’re looking at stills, the movement she achieved with this dress. Although that could also be due to what appears to be a different cut to the bottom portion – did they remove a slit and the gold trim for Oksana?

Courtney: Oksana keeps reminding us of how she’s a “powerhouse in a small package”, so I’m guessing they probably had to hem this dress for her – hence, the disappearance of the gold trim at the bottom of the dress. Looks like they also omitted the gold belt (likely to make her torso appear longer) and may have sewn up a few of the slits & jeweled the bodice to balance the look. A good example of how some minor tweaking can really change the look of a costume But I agree – I like the look better on Karina. Just works better with her skin tone and her build.

The winner: Oksana the powerhouse-in-a-small-package is no match for powerhouse-in-any-package Karina!

Battle of the pink & red ruffled Latin dress: Oksana in the “On the Floor” pro/troupe dance this season vs. Cheryl’s samba with Gilles in season 8

Courtney: I feel like a lot of Cheryl’s costumes in season 8 were similar to this – ruffly, midriff-y, and brightly-colored. I guess she was maybe celebrating her weight loss (and departure from the frumpy costumes she wore in season 7 to cover up her weight gain) with all of these loud dresses…but it just doesn’t feel like something that really fits her personality well. For that reason, I’m gonna go with Oksana…seems like something she’d actually pick out for herself.

Heidi: Hmmmm….I think I have to go with Oksana and I’m not really sure why I like it better on her. Overall, I don’t much care for the dress at all, but Oksana wears it well.

The winner: Everyone’s favorite pint-sized mail-order bride – Oksana

Battle of the red & orange fringed Latin dress: Melissa’s would-be jive with Tony in season 8 vs. Lacey in the “On the Floor” pro/troupe dance this season

Heidi: Again, a dress that I don’t care for much – but believe it or not I’m going to go with Lacey. Again, not a fair comparison because Lacey is benefiting from movement whereas Melissa is stationary. That said, Lacey’s hair is gawdawful. But then, Melissa looks like a school marm posing as a hot Latin momma and failing miserably. So, it’s really a double fail, but less on Lacey. This time.

Courtney: Poor Melissa – she didn’t even have a chance to show us this dress in motion (this was the week that she injured herself and was unable to do her jive, so they showed us the footage of the camera blocking instead). She just wore it on the results show for the sake of consistency. Not that I’m too disappointed – this dress reminds me of a Muppet. Or rather, the leftover trimmings of a Muppet on the cutting room floor of Jim Henson studios But weird & Muppet-y fits right in Lacey’s wheelhouse, so I’m gonna go with her as well.

The winner: Lacey rocks the “leftover Muppet” look well.

Battle of the pink ruffled mesh rumba dress & the jeweled & ruffled black mesh samba dress: Lacey’s rumba & samba with Kyle in season 11 vs. 2 wardrobe assistants futzing around backstage this season

Courtney: Two of Lacey’s weirder costumes from last season, fo sho…but these boys are fearlessly rocking them. The Asian guy dominates in this one – he’s even got the artsy Latin hand gesture down cold! Other guy gets points for trying, but the socks, dude? As for Lacey…she never stood a chance against either of these fashion plates

Heidi: The Asian guy, definitely. The other guy would be doing well if not for the white ankle socks.

The winner: Lacey never stood a chance against the fabulosity of these two

DWTS 12 – Randall Christensen “Behind The Seams” Of Week 4

Stylist reports on Randall Christensen’s thoughts on Kirstie’s shoe mishap and how she handled it with “expected grace”. She didn’t skip a beat. He also dishes about how he was inspired to do this week’s costumes. More below in a take from the link. I love what he says about Kirstie and how she sketched her necklace-style neckline.

Kendra Wilkinson: Christensen’s team bedazzled a classic pinstripe fabric to execute Wilkinson’s mafia princess fantasy look. “Kendra had worn a fun gangster costume for Halloween, which was the inspiration for her costume this week,” he says. “The fabric was the perfect template to encrust with crystals.”

Kirstie Alley: The actress sketched the turquoise, necklace-style neckline of her shimmering lilac waltz frock on her own neck with lip liner and sent Christensen a photo. “We were actually planning something different, but it turned out to be such a fun collaboration,” he says. Alley also continues to request more fitted looks as dancing tones her frame. “Her waist is looking fantastic,” Christensen says.

Chelsea Kane: The Disney Star’s “Harry Potter”-inspired wizard princess look was among Christensen’s most ambitious designs of the week. Pewter embroidered netting was used to create the bodice while several kinds of fabric were layered to create the textured ruffles of her skirt for a performance that topped the leader board.

Petra Nemcova: The supermodel wore a red and black two-piece charmeuse number created for a classic Paso Doble. “We were going for an understated Carmen look,” Christensen explains. Red and gold stones along the waist and hematite stones on her corset added subtle sparkle. “I really thought the off-the-shoulder ruffles on her top were sexy,” he says.

The guys: Christensen’s favorite male celebrity costume this week was wrestler Chris Jericho’s copper lamé Paso Doble look. “The classic opera jacket in that fabric was the bomb,” he says.

Speaking of costumes and everything that goes into them, be sure to read about the Dancing With The Stars jewelry and take part in our new Yellow Swarovski Crystal Hoops Contest in you haven’t done so yet >>>>>HERE . The Hoops are gorgeous and just think, they could become yours.

So, which costumes were your favorites this week? I loved them all, but, I especially loved Petra and Anna’s costumes this time. They were breathtaking to say the least!

DWTS Earrings Giveaway – Yellow Swarovski Crystal Hoops

I think we’re all quite familiar with the costumes used on Dancing with the Stars. We know about Randall and the challenge he has in putting together the costumes so quickly. We even have our incredibly popular Who Wore it Better series where we compare costumes when they decide to reuse them. What I hadn’t heard much about was the jewelry that Randall decided to use on the show.

Turns out that Anne Koplik Designs provides over over 400 pairs of earrings to DWTS each season. A veritable rainbow of Swarovski crystal earrings in all shapes and sizes. As you can imagine they reuse the earrings on DWTS as well (It is the 12th season). Sounds like we might have to have a special Who Wore it Better: Earring Edition (Courtney?). To find out who is wearing Anne Koplik Jewelry on DWTS each week, just “Like” Anne Koplik on Facebook for all the latest details and photos.

I’m really excited to tell you that Anne Koplik Designs has very generously provided a free set of earrings to a lucky Pure DWTS reader. The lucky winner will get a pair of the Yellow Swarovski Crystal Hoops as worn by Kym and Hines last week (and shown in the picture below).

How to enter to win:
There are 2 ways to enter and unfortunately this is restricted to US residents only. The only person who can’t win is me (or maybe I should say my wife). Be sure to enter both ways to double your chances of winning.
1. Leave a comment on this site about your favorite DWTS jewelry. Be sure to use a real email since that’s what we’ll use to notify the winner.
2. Send a tweet that includes @puredwts and @AKoplikDesigns. Something like the following will work:
I really want to win the Swarovski crystal hoops Kym Johnson wore on DWTS that @puredwts and @AKoplikDesigns are giving away.

That’s all. We’ll run the competition for a week and then do the giveaway next week based on a random selection amongst all the entries.

Check out some of the other jewelry Anne Koplik Designs has provided to Dancing with the Stars:

Here’s a little more info about Anne Koplik Designs:

Anne Koplik the designer…

Anne Koplik, founder, and head designer, has always loved antique jewelry. Anne’s initial inspiration stemmed from her mother’s successful hat design business ambitiously established in New York City during the roaring twenties. For 30 years, Anne has been combining her innate sense of style and design with her vast knowledge of glass jewels, crystals and brass findings to create original works of art treasured for their heirloom quality.

It seems this family tradition remains strong throughout generations as Anne works side-by-side daily with her two daughters Jill and Kara. Jill is the CEO and lead designer. She produces and creates the innovative 200+-piece collection each season, Kara is the CFO who ensures all business, and financial operations run smoothly.

Together these three women have combined their exceptional talents to develop a very successful fashion jewelry company.

Anne Koplik Designs…

Anne Koplik Designs, is a high fashion, trend setting jewelry company offering beautiful vintage-inspired jewelry…..Anne Koplik Designs have been seen on many soap operas and prime time television shows, currently on Dancing with the Stars, Skating with the Star as well The View, The Wendy Williams Show, Americas Got Talent, The Insider, Entertainment Tonight, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and 90210. We have been featured at the American Music Awards, The Daytime Emmy Awards, and The Tony Awards. Fashion editorial coverage includes prominent magazines such as In Style, Lucky, Modern Bride, Your Prom, Good Housekeeping, and WW to name a few.

We use only the finest materials, including Swarovski Elements, semi-precious stones, antique glass beads, and exclusive hand enameling. We individually design, produce, and ship from our New York, USA studio. Anne Koplik was also honored by Swarovski as one of the top designers using Swarovski crystals.

DWTS12 Week 3 – The Cheesecake Awards!!

Well, well, well…Heidi here. I’m afraid Courtney and I were very hit and run this week. While I am extremely grateful for my job, it actually had me working some nights and last weekend – and it’s sucked much of the creativity right out of me. In it’s place…well, just read me and Evaine’s commentary about half naked Derek and Maks. That’s just about all I can handle. In any case, I hope you enjoy the cheesecake. Courtney is on her way out of town so I will also be struggling to fill in on her Power Rankings too. Oy. On with the show….

Worst Prop of the Week: The smoke machine

Courtney: Seldom does smoke really “enhance” a performance on DWTS – a notable exception is Jonathan & Anna’s waltz to “Hallelujah” last season – so I don’t understand why some pros insist on using them. In Dmitry’s case, I think it was a clever ploy to conceal Petra’s subpar footwork – and it seemed to work, as Carrie Ann conveniently missed several lifts, and everyone raved about how great her waltz was, despite some rather shuffly feet. Not sure what Louis was thinking putting Kendra in a smoke cloud – we all see how well that panned out. She looked about half-baked as she manged to stumble out of it. And maybe the judges had a bit of a contact high as well when they scored her, which could explain her inflated scores. Thankfully, Tom has assured us that the smoke machine in question has since been relegated to the community theater circuit

Heidi: What was really funny was the “Oh my god” that you hear in the recap – Kendra freaking out. Which is why they were all laughing so hard when they cut back to the couples on the results show. Pretty hilarious. Kendra said she argued strenuously against the smoke machine and obviously lost. Which seems sucky. ALSO in the recap, you see a BLATANT lift by Dmitry and Petra – seriously blatant – and long. Kinda annoying. And the smoke wasn’t that strong – she wasn’t being eaten in like a horror movie where you could only see her from the waist up. Combine that with the TWO other lifts and I’d have to call Carrie Ann out for selective blindness.

Best Prop of the Week: Sugar Ray’s boxing announcer; honorable mention: Hines’ Terrible Towel

Courtney: Let’s face it: Ray ain’t the best dancer this season, and he probably isn’t going to last much longer. So I can’t really blame Anna for going the gimmicky route with his paso – the boxing gloves, the entrance, the punching bag…and quite possibly the most creative intro I’ve ever seen for a dance on the show: a boxing announcer, complete with drop-down microphone. I thought it was pretty damn cute. And I daresay Hines has managed to make the Terrible Towel trendy on the show – the audience is waving it, the judges are waving it…I’m half expecting the entire celebraquarium to be waving it by season-end. For those of you unfamiliar with what it is, it’s a yellow towel that Steelers fans wave at games. I used to hate it, since as a Colts fan I pretty much LOATHE the Steelers. A local bar I frequent is unofficially a Steelers fans bar, and there’s always a Terrible Towel up on the wall. The towel has been known to inexplicably jump into my purse after I’ve had a few drinks, and then commits suicide back at my house either in my fireplace or in the jaws of my Chow mix, Xena (see below). It’s really an interesting phenomenon Anywho…now I’m faced with a bad case of cognitive dissonance, since I hate the Steelers and I’m starting to LOVE Hines. *sigh* What’s a girl to do?

Heidi: See, this is why some pros get yelled at for “messin’ about” and some don’t. Some messin’ about is pretty creative – like this. Another example is when Derek and Jennifer played the piano in the opening of their accoustic Argentine tango - very creative. Not so creative? Dusting the judges table for half the song. Sitting in the audience on your ass. LOVED the announcer, and Tom stepping in with the correct dance. As for the terrible towel – I thought that was sweet of the judges to do that. You could tell by Hines face that he was surprised and happy to see that.

Costume Brain Fart Award: Louis Van Amstel, for Kendra’s rumba dress

Courtney: If Kendra’s rumba dress looked familiar, it’s because it was almost identical to the one Chelsie wore for her pro dance with Damian in season 10, and then again for her rumba demo with Dmitry last season. But I have to confess – I thought it looked much better on Chelsie. Not only the color, but the cut – I think Heidi remarked on Twitter that all of the bodysuit-based costumes this week seemed to be cut a little on the conservative side.

Heidi:Actually, I think I said that the bottoms look like granny panties.

The “I Can Tell You’re New to This Show” Award – Week 3: Tristan and Oksana

Heidi: Tristan, DUDE, get thee to the spray tan! I haven’t seen that much white skin since…well, since Ralph disrobed in his own bathroom. But he’s not a pro dancer AND that was funny. And also…I don’t need to see tongue in the Paso Doble. Not cool. Oksana – Mark Ballas’ facial expressions are OTT and not something to emulate. Just sayin’ – that will NOT help you be a better mail order bride, sweetheart.

Courtney: I have a feeling we’re going to be having a heydey with Oksana all season Very pretty girl, but an easy target – everything about her is just a bit too much. The voice. The facial expressions. The hair. The makeup. Definitely gunning hard for the green card As for Tristan – ok, I realize he’s trying to set himself apart as the “Irish lad” this season, but that doesn’t mean he has to look the part by being fair as the Emerald Isle! He was less Michael Flatley & more Casper the Friendly ghost out there. Side note: anyone else think it was a bit weird that they had Ted & Nicole dancing together and having to get up in each other’s face all kissy-like a couple of times? I know Derek has said that he’s had to rumba with Julianne in the past – awwwwwwkward – but it was never on the show. There’s 2 other chicks in the troupe…they couldn’t be bothered to stick Ted with Peta or Oksana? God I hope they separate those two in the future…because this show is gonna give me some serious Oedipal issues if not…

Heidi: Plus, the only time I remember actually seeing Derek dance rumba with Julianne was on tour when her original partner (or was it his??) was hurt – kinda funny, after the dance was over they couldn’t get away from each other fast enough. You know, it also occurs to me that that Oksana could borrow Tristan’s tongue action….THAT would help the the green card for sure.

Least TV Friendly Clothing Selection: Wendy William for those rehearsal shorts.

Heidi: Is she wearing a diaper?? That’s what goes through my brain every time they showed her rehearsal footage.

Courtney: Maybe she’s just SUCH a dedicated dancer that she doesn’t have time for bathroom breaks. HA! I think those damn rehearsal shorts were about the only thing on the show that Wendy was 100% committed to. The thing that got me is that she mentioned in a segment on her show that she loved looking the part of a “serious dancer” so much that she would wear her rehearsal clothes out to run errands and whatnot! I can only imagine the thoughts of onlookers…”Is she incontinent?” “Is she trying to conceal a bad case of camel toe?” “Is she one of those extreme gamers that doesn’t have time to use the bathroom?”

Heidi: More like, “Is she a crazy bag lady?”

Biggest BURN by a Celebrity – Female: Chelsea Kane for Outing Mark’s Request for False Eyelashes the Previous Week; Honorable Mention: Chelsea Kane for telling Mark he is a better girl than she is.

Heidi: I’m liking this girl more and more all the time. What more can I say that Chelsea didn’t?

Courtney: Mark is just a liiiiiiittle too comfortable gyrating around like a drag queen – guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because Corky is pretty damn good at it, too. Someone should sign Mark up for RuPaul’s Drag Race, what with his fondness for false eyelashes and sassy dance moves. I can just picture him lip-synching to “Show Me Love” by Robin S. now…anywho, yeah, Chelsea calls it like she sees it, and I like that I’d also like to give my own personal “honorable mention” to Anna, who made the comment “I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Mark’s choreography!” before giggling heartily during the pros/celebs talk about the other pros/celebs time-killer during the results show. Even Anna seems to notice Mark’s spaztasticness. LIKE.

Heidi: Last season, Mark had a thing for eyeliner. LOTS of eyeliner, not just a little. Does this mean he’s graduated??

Biggest Production Screw Ups of the Week: The Camera Dudes; (dis)Honorable Mention: The Sound Dudes

Heidi: Lovely shot of the FLOOR during Chelsea and Mark’s dance…Oh, and I really liked when it looked like someone smacked a steady cam during One Republics performance so we got that drunken pan of the audience next to the stage. Problem is, I don’t think you dudes use a steadicam, do you? :::rolls eyes::: And you sound dudes? Turn the audience mikes DOWN and the Bergeron’s mike UP – Tommy often says things that I find very humorous. Brooke? She’s fine.

Courtney: Hell, I would just get rid of Brooke altogether…except then I wouldn’t have as much cheesecake material, since a lot of it stems from her obtuseness But yeah, looks like they’ve got the orangutans and Muppets manning the cameras and sound board again this year as a cost-cutting measure – either that or they’ve outsourced the grunt work to India, and they’re taking liberties with the “censoring” of the show…maybe there was a dance move they found objectionable in Chelsea & Mark’s routine and decided to avert the camera to spare us. You think the censors over here in the States are bad…ooh wee. Try watching a Bollywood flick. It’s Sesame Street compared to most American movies! Instead of kissing or anything suggestive, they break into song. I can only imagine what an episode of Dancing with the Stars: India would look like…

Tom Bergeron Line O’the Night: “Later tonight, Len goes to the Wizard to get a heart.”

Heidi: WHY are all the good ones married? Seriously apropos line for the Berge, not to mention funny as hell.

Courtney: Yeah. Tom’s dreamy And Len still sucks.

Most Over Done Costuming Gimmick for the Week – Male: Dmitry Chaplin

Heidi: You know, if you whip your chest out all the time it stops being exciting OR sexy. Just sayin’. “Oh look, there’s Dmitry’s chest, it must be Dancing with the Stars.”

Courtney: He’s still holding out for a chest-off…and Tony & Maks aren’t taking the bait. Totally unfair fight…for Dmitry.

Best Brooke Distraction Technique of the Week: Kirstie Alley, for “You’re sooo pretty Brooke Burke” to get Brook off the fall topic

Heidi: Genius Kirstie has the ideal tactic – call the other female “so pretty” – she is forced to say thank you and laugh and then she’s out of time. Ta da!! LOL!!

Courtney: You know what I really love about Kirstie? She really GETS the show. I think she realizes that most of the banter that goes on during the show is complete crap, and unlike some of the other celebs, she’s learned to cleverly circumvent it…and she’s figured out early on that the path of least resistance is Brooke, who tends to fall apart if she drifts too far away from her canned dialogue, since her powers of improv are basically non-existent. Kirstie, if you keep poking Brooke with this metaphorical sharp stick, I will love you forever…it is my goal for you to get her completely tongue-tied by season’s end.

COOLEST Production Dude of the Week: Little Producer Dude in the Black Shirt During Petra’s Behind the Scenes

Heidi: Please don’t tell me that I’m the only one that caught the blatant eye roll the producer (stage manager??) gave the camera after telling Petra to get out on stage (and, by extension, to STFU)!! It was HILARIOUS. His face totally said, “Get the F@#k out there already, would ya?” Poor Petra, she was all “gush gush gush” and dude wasn’t having it.

Courtney: Miserable little peon Nobody rolls their eyes at Saint Petra! Even you, self-important crewneck-wearing stage guy. No matter how much her philanthropic gushing in broken English may irk you. Kapeesh?

Most Bizarre Non-DWTS Costuming of the Week: Selena Gomez

Heidi: I spent most of her song thinking either she’d had a run-in with a mean guy on a lawn mower or she invited a bunch of school kids to make snowflakes out of the bottom of her dress for craft day. What the hell? It was pretty…but it was like Brooke’s satellight dish/Hepburn Hat dress. It was hard to focus on anything else.

Courtney: That whole performance was just odd to me. I wasn’t particularly floored by her singing, her outfit, the song, or Mark & Chelsie dancing…it was all just meh. But I’m sure Lacey would have loved to hack up that dress to make more crotch doilies.

Heidi: I’ll give her one thing – unlike SEVERAL “pop” tarts…I mean, stars I could name, she actually sings LIVE.

Dancing With The Stars 12 – Costumers And Stylists ‘Get Personal’ For Week 3

What a week it was for beautiful costuming. In my opinion, Randall Christensen and his crew outdid themselves. He explains how he was inspired for making some of the costumes even more personal to match their stories at Stylist. Note how Kirstie is nursing an injury.

Petra Nemcova: The long-legged Czech supermodel, who barely survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, vaulted to the top of the leader board, performing a soulful waltz she dedicated to child survivors of natural disasters.

For her top-scoring waltz, Christensen created a dreamy costume that featured an inventive dual-textured bra top. One side was encrusted with Aurora Borealis crystals, while the other was painstakingly hand-ruched. Layers of sheer, pale-blue chiffon gave the frock an ethereal quality. Nemcova and professional partner Dmitry Chaplin “had visions of Petra standing in the clouds so the light-blue fabric was the natural choice to signify an angel above the sky.”

Nemcova is the founder of the Happy Hearts Fund, which builds schools and shelters for children impacted by cataclysmic events.

Kirstie Alley: Despite crashing on the ballroom floor with injured partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Alley’s pale-gray rumba costume — and near flawless recovery — kept her looking good. The former “Cheers” actress worked closely with Christensen to conceive the design for her floaty dress to outfit a performance inspired by the “agony and ecstasy” of losing her mother in a drunk-driving-related car accident within days of getting her first major movie role, in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

“The fluted jersey panels added the sense of speed to her movements while accentuating her hip action, whereas the chiffon overlay softened her every move,” Christensen explains.

Meanwhile, our friends at PopEater report Alley is also nursing an injury.

Hines Ward: The NFL wide receiver scored big again with a sexy samba and, yes, the banana yellow of the trim of his black, sleeveless shirt and partner Kym Johnson’s buoyant two-piece bedazzled ensemble was Ward’s nod to Pittsburgh Steelers nation. “Hines not only nailed it, he showed how much fun he is having with that look and performance,” says Christensen.

Kendra Wilkinson: For her “prelude to the bedroom” rumba, Christensen trimmed the red, silk-bed-sheet-inspired overlay of her bedazzled leotard after a weekend fitting to show off her phenomenal legs, back and hips. Red is a color Wilkinson rarely wears, but “there was just enough blue in it to show off her eyes.”

Chelsea Kane: After their quirky jive was lampooned last week by the judges, the Disney star and partner Mark Ballas asked Christensen for a more traditional ballroom look, “just to show their commitment to winning.” Tradition came in the form of a bedazzled bra top and super-short, gold-fringe mini. “Chelsea was all about a hot, flirty, beaded costume, and we just went from there,” he said.

Melanie Mills, head make-up artist for the show, gave Hollywood Life some backstage secrets on the celebrities and the grueling process they go through as well to get ready for showtime.

Petra Nemcova is “so elegant, so sweet, so kind, just lovely. She’s a fabulous beauty but very humble.”

Kirstie Alley is “a fun, crazy gal. She’s hilarious and a hoot to be around and have fun with.”

Wendy Williams is “sophisticated but fun, and has a lot to say about everything! She loves her makeup and wants it piled on. One cute thing about her is as the makeup starts to get completed she almost starts to purr, she gets so excited! She’s been taking fun pictures of herself through process and Tweeting them–she loves the process.”

Kendra Wilkinson is “so cool and really down to earth. She’s a tomboy. She’s really nice and loves her baby and her husband, and has really been missing her baby lately. Her husband [Hank Baskett] is so cute, too– he comes in and they’re just adorable together. She’s really into the competition and wants to win!”

Melanie explains the grueling process of getting dancers ready for the competition: “They all get three to four hours of hair and makeup every day– half go into hair for an hour and half go into makeup, and they’re practicing in between.”

Why all the hair and makeup? Since the outfits are so wild (glitter and bright colors!), Melanie explains that “you have to balance the outfits– if you don’t have makeup on you look absolutely naked.” To keep the process fun, Melanie creates a festive atmosphere in the makeup trailer: “We have music pumping, we’re dancing– we create a fun environment in there!”

Melanie also explained how she did Kendra and Wendy’s make-up in more detail to In-Style.

Since Wilkinson was dancing the romantic rumba, Mills kept her makeup soft and sultry. “We toned down the over-the-top diva look that we’ve been doing the last few weeks and instead went for a soft bedroom eye,” she told us. Mills swept amber shadow from Anastasia’s Illumin8 Complex eye shadow palette No. 5 ($40, sephora.com) across the entire lid, and then rimmed her eyes with black pencil and finished with tons of lifting mascara. A few dabs of highlighter on the star’s cheekbones and chin warmed her complexion and added a touch of light, as seen on Mills’ face chart (inset). See Wendy Williams’ look after the jump!

Wendy Williams had a different inspiration. “Wendy Williams’ look for the Foxtrot was inspired by Jessica Rabbit,” Mills said. By layering brown shadow on the lid, the makeup artist kept the look innocent, while shimmery black shadow underneath the lower lashline and along the crease added a smudgy, sexy appeal.

What an outstanding effort by everyone behind the scenes. No tables were left unturned and Petra gets my vote for the best costume. Who gets yours?

Picture above of Kirstie from the Dancing With The Stars Make-up Facebook page. Visit the link to see more.

DWTS Season 12, Week 3 – Dancing by the Numbers

Oy veh. Another crazy night of scoring. As much as I love Petra as a person, and like Kendra too, you can’t tell me that their dances were that many points better than Ralph or Chris, or even Chelsea. It’s weeks like this where I have to wonder if the judges are trying really, really hard to manipulate who’s going home. Why do I say that? Well…gee, let’s take a look at the scoring. It seems clear, to me. The question is, will it work?

The Judges Scores and Percentages

Place	Celebrity	Score	Percentage
1.	Hines	25	11.68
2.	Petra	25	11.68
3.	Chelsea	23	10.75
4.	Kendra	23	10.75
5.	Ralph	21	9.81
6.	Kirstie	21	9.81
7.	Chris	21	9.81
8.	Romeo	20	9.35
9.	Sugar Ray	20	9.35
10.	Wendy	15	7.01

As you can see, Wendy is scored WAY below the other contestants – she’s five points below the next celebrities! That is 23,365 votes per million votes cast! I don’t disagree with that at all. It’s the scoring of the other contestants where things get hinky. Specifically, Petra and Kendra – overscored, as much as I like both of them. Anyway…

I think that Kirstie Alley’s likely the safest of them all after watching Maks get injured and then soldiering through so brilliantly. Way to Go!! Maks looked to be in pretty serious pain and even at the end of the show he was favoring the one leg and not putting weight on it. I hope like hell he’s not badly hurt, but I worry. Usually the pros on this show don’t let it show as much as Maks did, which makes me think he was really hurting. I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed for him and Kirstie that he’s not hurt too badly. Regardless, I think they are safe.

I also think that Hines, Ralph, Chris and Chelsea are also safe, not so much on the scoring, but on my perception of their popularity combined with the voting. Hines, Ralph and Chris in particular seem like they would be very popular. Hines and Ralph for sure, Chris possibly less so. Chelsea is likely the fourth of the four, but she’s got some time to ramp up the competition. Keep in mind that my analysis has less to do with actual dance ability, but more the scoring combined with my feel at the end of the night for who is connecting with the audience. Of course, the overscoring of Petra and Kendra play into this as well.

Does anyone honestly think that Kendra was 2 points better than Ralph and Chris? How about Petra being 2 points better than Chelsea and 4 points better than Ralph, Chris and Kirstie?? Seriously. Even if you are a die hard fan of Dmitry and Petra…4 points? Don’t get me wrong – I adore Petra. I think she might be an angel. Someone whose outside matches her inside perfectly. And her dance wasn’t bad, or terribly flawed – just not as good, emotionally or technically, as the others. There is no way in HELL that she should have outscored the people she did by as much as she did. Not to mention the fact that her feet came off the floor at least 3 times and Carrie Ann was conveniently blind. I can see missing one lift…but three?? The conspiracy theorist in me is screaming right about now.

Look at the scoring – you’ve got Kendra and Petra who are two not horrible but not great dancers scoring higher than those that I consider to be more entertaining and better dancers, and you’ve got Wendy way down at 15 points. Now, if you think Kendra and Petra are overscored, but others scored about right, it certainly appears that the judges are protecting Kendra and Petra from Wendy’s voting fanbase – giving them a bit of a safety net that Kirstie, Ralph, Hines and Chris may not need. Honestly, I can’t figure any other reason that Petra and Kendra end up towards the top of the pack. I think they are trying to set Wendy up to leave. I don’t have a problem with that, per se, but I do kinda have a problem with them propping up dancers just to keep them around. They did that last season and we all remember what happened there.

As it stands right now, Wendy would need about 47k votes per million votes cast to beat Petra and about 37.5k votes per million cast to beat Kendra. If Petra and Kendra were scored down at 21 with Kirstie, Ralph and Chris, Wendy would only need 28k plus votes to stay over one of them. And if the stories about her fanbase are to be believed, then she could probably do it. But those extra points provide them some protection – an 19k vote cushion if you will.

So, now, it appears more likely that Wendy, Ray or Romeo is the one in danger. For Wendy to stay she would need to do one of the following:
- Get 23,400 more votes per million votes cast than Ray, or;
- Get 23,400 more votes per million votes cast than Romeo, OR;
- Get 28,100 more votes per million votes cast than either Kirstie, Ralph or Chris
- And so on with the other contestants upwards of 37,400 votes…

Honestly, I think it’s Wendy’s time to go. I hear too much complaining about her on twitter and in the comments here. Her fanbase would have to be massive and I think tonight we will find out. IF Wendy manages to stay, then it may be Romeo – based solely on his age and the likelihood that his fanbases is a voting one.

We find out tonight!!

DWTS Season 12, Week 3 – Who’s Dancing What…and When?

Okay, this could be one crazy week, for sure. The celebs are telling a story that’s personal to them? Oh dear. This rarely bodes well. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this theme. But then, most of you know I’m not a fan of themes in general, although I did like the acoustic night that wasn’t. That will probably be the one they don’t do again.

Now, does someone want to explain to me why we get FIVE rumbas and a hodgepodge (tm Len) for the remaining dances?? What on earth? It’s only week 3, it’s not like they’re running out of dances. Someone clue me in here. I can’t even guess what is going on – at first I thought all the top dancers were getting rumba and everyone else was getting something that played to their strengths. But then I saw that Hines has Samba and Chelsea has Cha Cha – arguably dances that will play to their strengths. They included Kendra in with the rumbas, so that also shot that theory. So, are Ralph and Kirstie so dominating the voting that they were given the rumba, while Hines and Chelsea need a little help so they got more uptempo dances? Same principle applies to Ray? The waltz definitely benefits Petra better than a Samba or a Rumba would. The only explanation I can come up with for this random set up is that it’s not random at all and it’s a bit of deck stacking to level the playing field – or attempting to. After all they got SO much attention with “shocking” eliminations…lord, I’m such a cynic. Hey…anyone got a better explanation?? Back in the day, 3 years ago, they had two dances and you did one or the other.

Ralph and Karina – Rumba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.08

Kenda and Louis – Rumba – Dancing 4th per Louis
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.07

Chelsea and Mark – Cha Cha Cha
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.01

Wendy and Tony – Foxtrot – Dancing 1st (Per Wendy’s twitter – Thanks Greg)
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.02

Kirstie and Maks – Rumba- Dancing 9th, per Maks’ twitter
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.11

Romeo and Chelsie – Rumba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.05

Chris and Cheryl – Rumba -Dancing 3rd per Cheryl’s twitter
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.09

Hines and Kym – Samba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.03

Sugar Ray and Anna – Paso Doble - Dancing 8th Per Anna’s facebook (thanks Suzanne)
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.06

Petra and Dmitry – Waltz
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.04

Now for some girl bonding.

Chelsea has her eye on the prize…

DWTS 12 – Dancing With The Stars Backgrounds and Time Warps (Videos)

Good Morning America did a cool spread on the dancing couples before they hit the dance floor. It shows them were they just little to now….including some of our pros. Really cute.

On a related note, Len Goodman explains why all three judges are important with each of their backgrounds and how it makes the judging panel unique as a whole. He explains why he wants the couples to stick to the rules of Ballroom dancing versus all the modern-day theatrics. Carrie Ann and Bruno explain their dancing backgrounds before they did the show and what think is important when judging as well.

DWTS 2011 – The Dancing With The Stars Cast After The Results Show Week 2 (Videos)

PopTVDotCom has a fun video up of some the cast out on the town after the results show. Check out what Tom Bergeron’s says about the “Deer Hunting Lights” and the “Velcro suit”. LOL. Maks is a hoot too for what he says on making babies with Kirstie.

Edit To Add: Here are a couple of more videos of the stars after the show being interviewed by the paparazzi. These are good too!

Dancing With The Stars 2011 – Costume Designer Wanted To Interpret Icons Ginger Rogers, Veronica Lake, and Donna Reed

And I’d say he did just THAT! Stylist has a new article up for how Randall Christensen came up with the “retro” costuming this week. Here is take, but, be sure to read more at the link.

Kirstie Alley: Just two weeks into the competition, Christensen says he’s already altering dresses to make them smaller for the former “Fat Actress” star who has pledged to shed 40 pounds dancing. Such was the case with the sublime ballgown he designed in a peachy shade of Alley’s choosing. “Kirstie is a wonderful example of how hard work and dedication will pay off with a more sleek body,” he says. “Dancing just makes the body more toned, which forces the costumes to be taken in and in and in!”

Kendra Wilkinson: Christensen let Ginger Rogers inspire Wilkinson’s royal blue and fuchsia ballgown with elbow length hand-dyed gloves. Despite the Playmate’s fears of not seeming lady-like, “I actually think Kendra channeled some of that Old Hollywood glamor,” Christensen says. “Because of that she had a wonderful payoff this week.”

Ralph Macchio: Christensen’s team sewed more than 10,000 hematite crystals on the former “Karate Kid’s” bedazzzled jacket.

Petra Nemcova: The model, once again, played an active role in designing the red and yellow vintage-inspired dress and wide-brimmed hat that was a nod to Brinkley’s turn in ex-husband Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” music video. Nemcova ripped the dress skirt off mid-jive to reveal her model frame. “We had to have a hot and sexy skirt for the reveal and what’s hotter than a red mini-skirt with tons of beaded fringe?”

Below are some pictures of the Dancing With The Stars Hair Team getting Karina and Petra ready for Monday night.