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

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

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

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

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

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

While waiting on the breakfast to be ready (Champagne Brunch – Yay!!), I took a stroll around twitter and found the celebs and pros have been tweeting fools. Enjoying their time off. I won’t post all their tweets, but some of them and their twit pics were fun. If you want to follow them and see what they have to say, you can find all their twitter accounts on a previous post!

Aww, Tony, so sweet. And the Ballas men – strange. Lacey and Lance at the Dizzy Feet Gala!! And Natalie Jinxes herself.

Mark has a hot cousin, ya’ll.

Joanna is talking about her new Peta Ad campaign. Jonathan cracks me up, as does Louie Vito.

Natalie – word to the wise, never talk about how good traffic is, because then it WON’T be. Derek being a good uncle, taking the kids to Miley Cyrus with Julianne and his sisters. They apparently hit a local honky tonk after – I assume someone took the children home.

For those who didn’t know, Carrieann had some sort of surgery yesterday – it appears she pulled through nicely. Apparently it was minor and related to her neck/back. I could look it up, but dudes it’s Thanksgiving and I’m stuffing myself.

Natalie tweeted two of her favorite pictures from Finale night:

Kym J. finally gets some sleep.

What a week!

THE GOOD
The thing with all Mya is that she is always good just never outstanding. She stays in the safe zone and that’s why I never get the ‘WOW’ factor from her like I do with Derek and Joanna! However, Dmitry and his mustache were amazing

THE BAD
Don’t get me wrong…I really enjoy watching Kelly and Louis but I think this storyline was just to much! The doll carried on for way to long and her dancing was very small in comparison to all the other celebs dances. I don’t think the dance was terrible but it had no ‘WOW’ factor

THE INCREDIBLY HOT
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!  These two do it again…Derek’s choerography was BRILLIANT!  By far my favorite dance of the season!

THE INCREDIBLY HOT TAKE 2!
I LOVED seeing Sabrina and Mark together again…this routine was fantastic and so hot!

THE INCREDIBLY HOT TAKE 3!
Amazing lifts…amazing chemistry…amazing dance!

Pap Henry is at it again – he gets some great stuff. Look closely to see Melissa Rycroft with Tony at the beginning. Tom Bergeron is *hilarious*. Corky Ballas needs a sedative as does Louis’ friend.

At long last…a week where I actually get excited about a routine (or maybe even two! ) After the doldrums of the past few weeks, I was beginning to think I had come down with H1N1 and was just grumpy about the whole show…but I have to say, I was actually blown outta the water by one couple in particular this week…and it may not be who you think it is

As much as I’ve hated some of the new “twists” of the past few seasons (the “dance off”, the addition of a bunch of new dances every season, the relay dances, etc.), I actually do really enjoy the team dances – although I am getting a bit tired of the team paso (but thank goodness they didn’t try to revive the team mambo…I don’t want to re-live the ones from the past two seasons, yikes!).  While team tango was clearly superior to team paso (Joanna & Derek in particular stood out for me), both this season’s routines didn’t seem as hard-hitting and memorable of those in past seasons…and team paso in particular just seemed to be going through the motions.  Blah. But onto the rankings! Gotta say, it’s getting more and more fun to write them as the season wears on and the power players shuffle around

1.) Joanna & Derek – Now I realize that I may have been accused in the past of being overly “partial” to Derek.  However, I think Heidi can vouch for the fact that I haven’t always been a fan of these tw0 (I’m still scratching my head over the whole Tarzan entrance, haha) and have had almost the same amount of criticism for them as I’ve had praise for them.  But I feel as though I have to point out that these two manage to remain memorable week after week, even if their dancing wasn’t necessarily the highest-scored.  Their rumba was steamy, and I expected it to be, given Derek’s track record; and Derek made a wise move in playing up his goofy side during the little “fantasy” lead-in – it’s endearing to viewers and I think they’ll definitely remember it when voting.  Joanna continues to impress me with her technique, but I did see a few wonky arms and also the little stutter from getting her heel caught in her dress.  And I will again reference the special powers of the Money Spot (TM). These two were the stand-out couple for me in the team tango (those high-speed pivots towards the end of their solo portion were fantastic!) and are at the top of the leaderboard points-wise.  No danger here…

2.) Aaron & Karina – Oh, what a difference a week makes! These two were my favorite couple of the night…that jive was FLAWLESS (I dunno what Carrie Ann was smoking, giving them a 9!).  I would even go so far as to say it was one of the best-executed jives I’ve ever seen on the show…Aaron’s flicks were razor sharp & perfectly synched to Karina’s, and perhaps most importantly of all, HE DIDN’T TIRE.  The energy level stayed up from beginning to end, which is more than I can say about a lot of the jives we’ve seen. I think Aaron is beginning to give Mya a run for her money for the title of Best Technician on the show – and he also seems to tackle the hardest choreography of any of the celebs.  And I have to say, he does seem to be reigning in his over-the-top behavior quite a bit – he’s beginning to become a lot more likeable to me again.  While I was underwhelmed by the team paso, Aaron & Karina were most memorable to me, and seemed to best embody the sharp, aggressive feel of the dance.  I daresay Aaron might have redeemed himself tonight with that jive – and he did manage to avoid the danger zone last week, so I don’t see him suddenly dropping into it this week.  Kudos to him for the vast improvement!

3.) Donny & Kym – Ok, their quickstep this week was a bit of an improvement from last week’s jitterbug, and it did seem like Kym upped the ante with some more difficult choreography – but I still can’t seem to shake the feeling that Donny just looks EXHAUSTED.  And I would be too, if his schedule is as crazy as everyone says it is! But the trick is to hide it well, and I’m not sure he is – he seemed to drop his posture quite a bit, and did lose the rhythm at a few points (although I did agree with Bruno that he seemed to hide it well – whenever he flubbed, I did find myself questioning what I saw, like “Did he just mess up, or am I just seeing things?”).  I also go back to my “Donny likes characters” theory, and thought he may have struggled this week without a real theme or character to play in the dance – he was just left with the steps and his stage presence.  His solo bit in the team tango felt a bit recycled to me (from his Argentine a few weeks back), but then again, Kelly’s did too, and at least he danced it well.  But he has the fanbase, so he will be fine…but I’m sorry, Kym’s dress???! Ghastly.  Please Donny, stick to singing and dancing – because ladies’ fashion is not your calling.

4.) Mya & Dmitry – I really feel like a broken record saying this week after week, but here it is again for good measure: brilliant technique, zero heat.  I almost feel like both of them are more focused on playing to the audience than they are each other – Dmitry in particular.  Cloris, you are such a wise old (crazy) soul, pointing out this obvious lack of heat! This was some great choreography, with such a fluid execution, and it would have been light years better if I didn’t feel like they were still so disconnected after dancing together for all these weeks – the silhouetted kiss at the end just felt contrived.  But I will say that I loved the costuming – probably the best of the night: they both looked like they foxtrotted right out of a ballroom in pre-Castro Cuba.  For anyone that saw Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights - Mya’s dress tonight felt like a throwback to her cameo in it as Lola Martinez (check it out – it’s the big mambo competition scene towards the end).  While I was once again underwhelmed by their frigid chemistry, they did dance their foxtrot well, and they were scored decently well for it.  No comment on the team paso; honestly, most of it was a non-event for me…

5.) Kelly & Louis – This week could easily be titled “How Kelly Got Her Groove Back” – her salsa this week was the most relaxed and free I’ve seen her since week 1.  It was almost as if she had to have a complete meltdown (see lead-in) before she could shake her jitters and just have fun out on the floor…and fun she did have! She shimmied, she smiled…she conquered.  And I gotta give her props for putting Louis in the famous fringe pants that we’ve only seen the girls wear up until this point – the man looked like Cookie Monster out there, and I loved every minute of it! I guess it’s just a testament to she & Louis’ great chemistry that they can get in a “fight” and still look like they love each other to bits while they’re yelling at one another.  Kelly shined in the group tango – so her choregraphy wasn’t really complicated and felt a bit redundant, but she didn’t flub (a lot) and she actually had some really dramatic head snaps.  She definitely reclaimed the America’s Sweetheart title tonight, but let’s be honest: her dancing is nowhere near that of Mya, Donny, or Joanna, and we’re getting down to the wire now – she may live through this week based on her winning personality, but I’m afraid the clock is ticking…

6.) Michael & Anna D. - I’m finally beginning to understand why this guy has managed to stretch far beyond what should have been his lifespan on the show – he has a heart of gold.  Seriously – I cannot hate the guy, no matter how much he may butcher a bolero or flub his way through a cha-cha.  The pep talk during team paso rehearsal? The sweet explanation of he & Anna’s purple costumes? Heck, the guy was even big-hearted enough to hug it out with Aaron during his post-rumba meltdown!  The man is like a walking Hallmark card.  And add to that the fact that he actually is improving – he could surprise us all and be this season’s Ty Murray and live through another week! Like last week’s waltz (which I bit sheepishly admit that I haven’t had the heart to delete off my DVR ), his foxtrot wasn’t necessarily the hardest choreography, but he moved through it gracefully, without any missteps and without getting off-time – the man is light years better at the smooth dances than the Latin ones. And he’s charming when he dances.  But we have to take into account that he was in the danger zone last week, and I don’t know that his fanbase will be able to contend with that of Donny’s or even Mya’s…and then there’s the curse of the dreaded Crap Spot (TM). The play clock may have run down for our lovable wide receiver…

7.) Mark & Anna T. – Poor Mark just couldn’t seem to catch a break this week – his regular partner gets sick, he gets a short tutorial from Tony in New York before jetting back to the west coast, and then is thrown headlong into rehearsals with Anna (<3 her!) with only 2 days to learn both his own samba and the group paso.  The deck was stacked against him from the get-go, I’m afraid.  But I am going to disagree with Bruno & Carrie Ann – I actually got a kick out of his samba.  His samba rolls were actually pretty darn good, and he did have great energy throughout the whole thing.  He wasn’t THAT bad.  But I don’t even remember him in the group paso, and I think America may forget about him amidst very striking routines and high scores from Joanna & Derek and Aaron & Karina, and the fanbases of Donny, Mya, and even Michael.  Sorry Lacey…I don’t think you’ll be able to make that triumphant return next week like you were hoping to

Alright, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m pretty ADD, so I can’t remember if they said tomorrow was another double elimnation or not – so if it is, I’m gonna say it’s Mark & Anna T. and Michael & Anna D. headed home; if it’s only a single, it’s gonna be Mark. What do you guys think?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This isn’t directly related to Week 6 of DWTS, but certainly worth mentioning – Maks is going back to Broadway and he’s taking Kym Johnson with him!! Congratulations to both. Excerpts from the New York Post:

After “Dancing With the Stars” finishes its season next month, it looks like Maks and Kym are going to dance on Broadway.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kym Johnson, two of the best-known professional dancers on “Dancing,” are joining the cast of the hit ballroom-dance show “Burn the Floor” starting right after Thanksgiving.

They’ll perform until mid-January, a rep for the show confirmed yesterday.

Both dancers are under contract to “Dancing” until the finale, set for Nov. 24. After that, they are set to fly to New York and start on Broadway three days later.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find these “Caught in the Act” mentions in People Magazine (Oct. 29) highly amusing. Derek and Maks, out on the town – what a vision.

Another night, another Dancing with the Stars get-together at Teddy’s inside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel! Karina Smirnoff met up with a tall guy in the front and sat down at his table where the two held hands and then started making out after a few drinks. In the back of the lounge, her ex, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, hung out with Derek Hough and his sisterJulianne and avoided any encounter with Smirnoff, who seemed smitten with her new guy. Chmerkovskiy and Hough were acting like their usual playboy-selves, chatting up female clubgoers and dancing.

Joanna’s Playboy Magazine Cover is out and it looks AMAZING!! Gorgeous!!

Extra from Tuesday:

E! on Melissa/Mark and Louie/Chelsie Eliminations:

E! from Monday – Kelly’s Birthday Party, Julianne talks about Derek and dancing, Chuck Wicks…Then about the dancing with Kelly O, Mya/Dmitry, Aaron/Karina

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

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

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

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

More tomorrow – must go to bed!!

Oh, there was some good stuff in the results show last night, in addition to the MJ Tribute. I really liked the “behind the scenes of a Monday” bit – kinda cool. Sure, it was all set up, but I still enjoyed seeing it.

I’m normally a big Nora Jones fan, and I liked her performances – but I can’t say it’s the best I’ve seen her:

LOVED Jonathan and Anna T’s dance to this song. Gorgeous.

Here’s a video of all the pre-tribute discussion from the pros and the Jackson family that I don’t think I posted before: