DWTS, Season 11, Week 5 – More News Bits, Blogs, & Media

It’s already Friday and another dance week is fastly approaching. I can’t believe the dancers can put together a performance together so quickly let alone TWO dances for this upcoming Monday night!! šŸ˜®

Up first today, we have a new 8 minute interview with Maks and Brandy on Fox “Good Day LA“. They try to stomp out rumors that the two don’t get along and how much they’ve grown as a dance couple and as friends. Check out how one of the interviewers calls Maks an “ass” and how he addresses it. lol

Brandy also wrote about their dance last week in her new blog on Access Hollywood. She describes the intensity and how sad she was to see Florence go.

So, weā€™re at the halfway mark now and while Monday was a great night for both Maks and I, Tuesday was filled with both joy and sadness. After a rough week of intensive rehearsals, I felt nothing but calm going into Mondayā€™s night performance. All day I felt prepared and ready and very confident that I knew the routine and could hold up my frame. Practicing for the quickstep was almost as tiring as the jive, because while my arms and neck are stiffly positioned, there is a lot of footwork that goes into the dance.

We had pulled the theme song from the TV show ā€œFriendsā€ and I knew that it would strike a chord with the audience. While I knew the song, I had never seen the show. I definitely believed that we pulled that song for a reason, as Maks and I have a burgeoning friendship that Iā€™m certain will go beyond this show. He brought in some useful tools to help me keep my upper body in frame during rehearsals. We went over each portion of our routine, bit by bit, and put together what I thought was a great way to incorporate the audience into our dance. So, all of Monday, I felt completely calm and ready for the show.

I admit that my nerves flared up just a bit before we went on, but once the spotlight hit we were off and I felt confident that I had managed to keep everything together and pull off a good performance. When we heard the judgesā€™ scores of three 9ā€™s, I was ecstatic! Itā€™s one thing to be confident about your performance and another thing to have the judges validate it. I definitely wasnā€™t perfect, but I had incorporated the judgesā€™ previous points and my confidence was at an all-time high when we returned to the booth.

Needless to say, when it came down to the final two, I was saddened to hear Florenceā€™s name called as the one being eliminated. And yes, before you ask, I did get a bit teary-eyed but Iā€™m hoping the camera didnā€™t catch that! From day one, Florence has been really wonderful to me. I was just so excited to meet such an icon, but she truly is an inspirational woman and always had a smile whenever we were together. We would sit in the make-up trailer and chat and compare aches and pains. She would share with me part of her lifeā€™s journey at times and I laughed at some of the great stories she told. Maks became a complete cuddly bear whenever she was around. She was so protective of him that I would giggle! Imagineā€¦.Maks needing protection!

When we knew she was going home, everyone got emotional and I made sure to rush down the press line so that I had a chance to say goodbye. It really does get harder, knowing that you will have to say bye to someone who has been such a huge presence in your life each week. No matter what anyone says, when you work the long hours that we do and spend so much time together, there is a bond built and you do become a sort-of family. And now half of that family is gone. It is a sober reminder of the weeks to come. As I grow more and more confident in myself and in my abilities, I continue to strive to get better each day of each week. Itā€™s not just about the dance. Itā€™s also not just about the people. Itā€™s about the memories that weā€™re all making together.

Thanks to Heidi and Pure Derek Hough for this video showing the awesome support the celebrities have this year. Note the special appearance by Michael J Fox and his wife in support Jennifer Grey. Is he just not the coolest or what? Same with Jamie Lee Curtis.

Speaking of Team Jenougher, I’ve got to post this. Look at this picture Rick Fox took of Derek yesterday funning around in Rick’s suit. The size difference is remarkable, isn’t it? Special thanks to Cheryl for posting this on Twitter. Heidi’s Note: He so looks 12. šŸ™‚

Anyone else having a “Thriller” flashback moment? šŸ™‚

So, is it The Tea Party keeping Bristol in this competiton? I hate to say it, but I think that is exactly the case for what Joy Behar said on “The View” this week. It’s a “right wing conspiracy”, simple as because I don’t see what else it could be (some of you are going to kill me for saying that, lol). If that’s the case, she and Mark could be around for a very long time yet despite talent and who are the better dancers. Watch this and see which lady from “The View” you agree with.

Can you believe DWTS is to air their 200th episode come Nov. 2nd? Time flies when we are having fun. In honor of this special event, The Examiner is reporting that Taylor Swift has been one act booked to perform. Most likely she will perform something from her new album. This will be her second time to perform on the show.

For some TV Alerts, Rick and Cheryl guessed on “The Talk” on CBS today. We hope to have a video of that soon. Also, don’t miss seeing Audrina and Tony on “The Ellen Show” on Monday on ABC before the show.

Ok, more later and don’t forget to do a Tango in your living room tonight with one of your family members or better yet, by yourself with a broom. It is fun. Try it sometime. šŸ™‚