Pictured above is Dancing With The Stars Pros Val Chmerkovskiy And Tony Dovolani with Z100’s Elvis Duran. Today they did a spot on one of New York City’s most popular radio stations. You can view more pictures at Zimbio.com. Read more..
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
As promised, I am excited to bring you the first installment of our season 4 “costume retrospective” with Randall Christensen, the costume designer for the show from seasons 2-12 of DWTS! You’re in for a real treat, guys – in this edition, Randall not only reveals his inspiration for each of the couples’ costumes, but also explains how the costume department at the studio came to be, some interesting challenges that posed by Heather’s weekly transcontinental traveling, and what you DIDN’T see in Joey & Kym’s disco costumes đ Read on!
Did you know that the DWTS costume department wasn’t always located in the same studio as the show itself? Randall explains how tough it was in the early days: “This season was the second season (and the last season) that we had a company in Burbank, CA make the costumes. A nightmare trying to get the couples over the hill into North Hollywood, with intensely congested traffic. I remember one fitting where Heather Mills was 2 hrs. late getting there, even though it was only about a 15 mile drive, due to traffic. That delayed fitting was the catalyst to our getting our own workroom (the very next season), which helped the cast and my crew TREMENDOUSLY! We gave up the Green Room and created our workroom right in the same bldg. as the show, 2 floors above the soundstage.” Can you imagine how stressful it was for both the costume personnel AND the couples to make that trek for the costumes??? And what kind of problems it posed when there were wardrobe malfunctions that needed a quick fix??? Thank goodness the powers that be recognized the need for an in-house costume department, and made the necessary accomodations đ
*photos courtesy AP/Chris Pizzello
Billy Ray & Karina’s costumes: “Karinaâs âtie dyedâ red/burgundy burn-out velvet was a great choice of fabrics/color for their first dance. Individual strands of bugle bead fringe accented her body movements. Billy Rayâs costume was kept simple for this first week.”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Ian & Cheryl’s costumes: “Cherylâs costume had chrome ânail headsâ and other silver hardware, giving a bit of an edgier look. We tied in Ianâs look with a chrome studded belt.”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Edyta’s costume: “Edyta always looks sensational in âjust a little somethingâ and this costume was no exception! The crystal encrusted petal bra and that voluminous Cuban style circular skirt was perfect for this first weekâs costume! Love the tropical coral color too.”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Apolo & Julianne’s costumes: “Julianneâs red beaded fringe number was TONS of work to create, but oh-so-worth it! That skirt just did NOT stay still!  And Apoloâs red bandana was a fun tribute to his signature look when competing in speed skating. I loved that he was comfortable (and confident enough) to wear a bit of red trim on his shirt â to tie in (not only his bandana, but also ) with Julianne. Apolo was an incredible athlete, and dedicated and determined to do whatever was needed to give him an edge. Iâve noticed (and appreciated ) that about all of the athletes that have been on the show.”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Joey & Kym’s costumes: “Kym Johnson/Joey Fatone â now here is one confident (and FUN) celebrity! Joey really wanted for us to trim the back of his vest with TWO WORDS â FAT and ONE. The producers didnât want us to do that, so we went with his Fatone (one word) rhinestone encrusted on the back of his vest. And what a FUN costume for Kym â a tribute to the 70âs-80âs âABBAâ look. Smoking on Kymâs smoking body, donât you think? Very fun, and a bit tongue-in-cheek.â
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Laila’s costume: “Laila is such a phenomenally gorgeous woman, and one terrific athlete. Because she is so tall, and has quite the muscular body, I really wanted to make sure her femininity came through. In spite of all her muscles (fantastic biceps!!!!) Laila is ALL woman! This rust silk satin gown with crystal encrusted appliquĂ© was soft yet sexy, and did that skirt ever soar when she moved! Of course standing over 6 ft. tall in heels certainly made for a dramatic silhouette, one which Maks could still certainly handle.”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Heather’s costume (and the special challenges it posed): “The first few weeks of pre production and the first couple of weeks of the live show posed quite a challenge for us and Heather. Because of the notoriety of Heather, we had to do so much secretively, so as to not alert the public as to her being on the show (during pre-production I was the only person on my staff who knew she was one of the celebrities â we had to keep it THAT hush, hush!). So consequently, we had a company in London create the first two weeksâ costumes for her, as she was training weekly in England (flying over to compete and then returning back to England). The company we used had been the costume makers for the UK version of DWTS (Strictly Come Dancing) and we are good friends, so I felt really comfortable having them take care of Heather. They travelled a great distance to give Heather her fittings. This gown was one of their creations and fitted Heatherâs style and physique perfectly! I think that the biggest challenge was to find a dance shoe company that could/would make VEGAN dance shoes. Being a strict vegetarian, Heather was quite concerned about wearing dance shoes which always have leather suede soles, for proper traction on the dance floor. Thank goodness her assistant knew of a great shoe company that made several pairs for her to try out, rehearse in, and another set to perform in. And Heather was incredibly helpful, not to mention a total JOY to work with! I donât know that I have ever had (before Heather or since) a person who got so excited on each and every design session. There were times when we were giggling and she was clapping and exclaiming how much fun this was. Heather was one of my most memorable celebrities that I have worked with, totally professional and very appreciative!”
*photo courtesy ABC/Carol Kaelson
Wow! I never realized what challenges the costume department had to overcome behind the scenes! But obviously, they handled them with such skill and perseverence that we never saw them. But it is fun to know behind-the-scenes tidbits like these…definitely makes the show more fun to watch, at least for me đ
Still need more DWTS costume goodness? You can always check out Randall’s website and Facebook page, and be sure to stay tuned here for more costume retrospectives from the man himself – we’ve got Randall’s take on the week 2 costumes coming at you later this week đ
Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, baker, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble.
Congrats are in order for Dancing With The Stars Season 13 contender Kristin Cavallari. Her and her fiance Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears have announced she is pregnant with their first child. Here is a take from People Magazine today.
“We are thrilled to announce we are expecting our first child together,” they tell PEOPLE exclusively. “It’s an amazing time in our life and we can’t wait to meet the new addition to our growing family.”
Shortly after Cavallari, 25, and her Chicago Bears quarterback beau, 28, renewed their engagement, the former Hills star and Dancing with the Stars contestant said, “Sometimes, in order for things to get better, they have to end â even if it’s momentarily.”
Love that quote above! I’m so glad things have worked out for them!! You could tell by Jay’s facial expressions in the audience last season that he still very much cared for Kristin.
Thanks to Courtney (and her Mom) for the heads up on this news.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
What a weekend it was for a bunch of lucky fans and spectators at the Mohegan Sun. Dancing With The Stars Season 13 Champs Karina Smirnoff and J.R. Martinez took to the stage one more time to dance. Emcee Gary Craig of WTIC-FM said “it was the largest crowd ever” for the “Reality Check” series that comes to the Mohegan Sun four times a year and Karina and J.R. danced for free. More below and he sure to read the full article at TheDay.com for how Karina and J.R. answered questions and signed autographs. There is also a stunning gallery of “must see” pictures here (the first picture is precious as can be. I’ll let you look to see why!).
Martinez and Smirnoff greeted fans with hand slaps and smiles before launching into fast-paced dance that took them to every inch of the small stage, ending with a dramatic dip, Smirnoff’s head just inches from the stage floor.
The crowd erupted.
“You are so loud and so marvelous,” professional dancer Smirnoff said grabbing the microphone, “and we are very, very, very appreciative.”
She then darted off the stage to change outfits for the next number, leaving Martinez with the microphone. It was a comfortable spot for the wounded Iraq War veteran, motivational speaker, actor-turned-celebrity dancer. He declared himself a “microphone hog” and answered questions from the audience while waiting for his dance partner to return for one more number.
ADDING: Thanks to the Mohegan Sun You Tube Channel, below is a video of Karina and J.R. dancing, signing autographs, and being interviewed. Thanks to PureDWTS reader and Karina fan @Jimmbboe for the heads up!!
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Other responses (lots of paraphrasing here…and some in-line commentary):
Hope being rude about getting three 7’s in the semifinals – 1 (One of the dangers of overscoring: bad dancers expecting good scores all the time…)
The Kadrashian’s voting tweets/Kim tweeting Rob’s voting # as Justin Bieber’s – 2 (Kadrashian, Kardashian, Cardassian, Klingon…whatevs)
Awful scoring by the judges – 1 (In other news, fire is hot & water is wet…)
Maks, “This is MY show!” – 1 (Ehhh…I think this kind of falls under the same category as “Maks fighting with the judges”)
Anything to do with Hope – 1 (Lemme guess: Maks was the innocent bystander?)
Carrie Ann telling Maks not to smile –Â 1 (Again – this is kinda the same thing as “Maks fighting with the judges”)
Carrie Ann being an awful judge – 1 (Again, nothing new – but it ain’t just Carrie Ann…)
Kym’s comments – 1 (???…Are you talking about her calling Roethlisburger a DB? Cause that was just funny…;-))
The continued presence of Maks’ evil clone (bring back the Maks that danced w/Kirstie) – 1 (Preaching to the choir…)
Both/all of Maks’ controversies –Â 2 (I’m thinking I should have just put “Maks” as one of the responses…)
The continued inability for Brooke to do her job – 1 (Not so much a controversy as a source of comedy…)
Derek & Maks rivalry – 1 (Seemed like more of a one-sided thing to me…)
Rob, who still cannot dance, coming in 2nd – 1 (Lemme guess: Ricki fan?)
Courtney: The biggest controversy category is always a bit amusing (and simultaneously, a bit of a headache) for me, as it tends to reveal a bit of the rivalry between certain fanbases – and also seems to invite a TON of write-in responses, as some people want to hone-in on one very specific aspect of one of the previously listed options. And somehow, Maks’ name always seems to come up. *sigh* I’m honestly a little surprised that there weren’t more votes for “Maks vs. Hope”, because the “shove heard ’round the world” seem to really strike a nerve with people – and boy, were lines drawn! I guess I’ve come to expect the perennial “Maks vs. the judges” controversy; and in retrospect, after watching some older episodes of the show, I’m starting to wonder if some people were a little hypersensitive about the Chaz issue, as I’ve noticed that Bruno has always tended to use animal analogies to describe some contestants’ dancing…not saying that Bruno was right, but I’m wondering if those comments would have evoked the same response had they been directed at another contestant…say, Rob or Chynna.  Definitely not the most sensitive choice of words on Bruno’s part, but I don’t think they were as fat-phobic/insulting/condescending as some were some were making them out to be. Bottom line: Bruno’s an idiot, but I don’t think he’s a cruel idiot…unless you name is Hope. But that’s another story đ The Kardashians started out strong as the antagonizers, but as the season wore on (and Rob actually started doing well, and stopped running his mouth to the press), the hype kind of died down. Hehe…”Nancy’s nudism” was actually a half-joking nomination on my part, as I think I wanted to have 6 responses. So for those 19 of you that voted for it, I have to ask: were you really that perturbed about catching a peek of Nancy’s nipple or underwear, or at the prospect of her *gasp* passing gas on live tv? Cause I certainly didn’t lose any sleep over it đ As for the write-ins…I find that the majority of the responses kind of fell under some of the nominees we had already, although some of the nominations make me curious about the demographics of those doing the nominating…but I’ll just leave it at that đ
Heidi: I didn’t think Maks yelling at the judges was that big a thing. So what? At the end of the day he’s comes off looking like an unprofessional jerk and it’s not the first time. Â Anyone following my private twitter account even saw where I was agreeing with him…up until the point that he just wouldn’t STFU. Â He couldn’t stop with just having his say out on the floor, he carried it upstairs, then he carried it to the media like a petulant child. For me it was the Hope versus Maks thing – that was very painful to watch. He went way too far this time. Â It was just disgraceful.
Vogue: I voted for the “Maks vs Hope” on this one. The “shove” to this day haunts me. As most of you know, I’m a big Maks fan and I was never more disappointed him as I was in all my time watching him dance. On one hand I understood how Hope was bringing out the worst in him and vice versa. She was in no way innocent…and yet, no one deserves to be physically abused. No, it wasn’t full out physical abuse, but, it was still a shove/yank, or whatever you want to call it. Do I still love Maks and am I fan? Yes, because none of us are perfect, he’s acknowledged the incident, being wrong, and he’s a constant work in progress….and, in the end, aren’t we all? His comments to the judges were over the top too at times, but, sometimes I think they are necessary to keep them more balanced and to cool it. So, I can’t fault him all the way on that one. IE: Bruno’s over the top nasty comments to Chaz.
*photo courtesy ABC/Adam Taylor
Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, baker, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble.
As you might know from our previous reports, Chelsie Hightower is opening her own dance and performing arts studio in Draper, Utah. Tomorrow is the big day Hightower Performing Arts opens it’s doors. GenConnect caught up with her at the Sundance Film Festival this past week where Chelsie talks a little about it and her other projects keeping her busy. She remarks how much dancing has changed her life and how she wants to give that back to other people. More below….
I miss Chelsie. I wonder if she will be back for Dancing With The Stars Season 14?
Be sure to follow Hightower Performing Arts for updates on her studio if interested.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
This is too fun! Check out how Tony Dovolani and Val Chmerkovskiy teach 1010 WINSâ Steve Sandberg how to Salsa like Victor Cruz at Dance With The Me Studio’s in New York leading up to the Giants vs. San Fransisco 49ers Playoff game this weekend. Tony also gives his thoughts for why Victor has the dance moves. Val isn’t so sure? He wants to see more. Nicole Volynets gets in on the action too. More below….
Thanks to CBS Local for the video.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Voices Yahoo has a new article up with Peta Murgatroyd where she talks of how she keeps her legs and body looking toned. You can read a take below for how she does it, but, take a look at the last sentence where it mentions Peta will be back for the next season of Dancing With The Stars. I so hope this is true!! Be sure to read the full story at the link as well as seeing a beautiful picture of Peta!!
Peta admits that a “healthy diet and years of training certainly helps keep her legs in shape,” but she also admits to using special products to help make her legs shimmer, shine and look camera ready. Peta says of her routine, “I usually start with a leg tone serum, the one I absolutely love is LegTone by Adonia Organics, it makes my legs look flawless and works in 9 minutes.” The next step in her routine consists of making sure he legs have the perfect, sun-kissed, color. “I love Adonia’s BronzingCollection too! It smells fantastic, delivers the perfect bronzy shade and never streaks.” Peta also adds “I make sure to drink lots of water before a performance too, nothing makes skin glow like hydration.”
While rehearsing for “Dancing With the Stars” and her on-camera performances, Peta changes her diet too, she says “to stay light on my feet I’ll swap out a meal for a shake, I love the PureTrim Mediterranean Wellness Shakes, especially the chocolate flavor, they’re filling and have all the nutrition you could need.”
Peta will be back on the next season of “Dancing With the Stars” and she is certainly the one to watch.
Heidi’s Note: Eh, I call bull on that. We’ll just have to wait and see if she’s back or not. I think the only pros likely to be guaranteed a partner at this point are Derek, Mark, Karina, Kym, Anna and Cheryl – and maybe Tristan. Probably Tony and Maks. I think that Peta, Chelsie and Lacey are not sure things, mainly because the latter two have sat out before and Peta might not have made an impact in her one week on the show last time. We’ll have to wait and see.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Below is another promo Carson and Karina did for Kasa.com in Santa Fe, NM leading up to tonight’s premiere of past episodes of Dancing With The Stars airing on the Game Show Network. They dish on Season 13 and the family they found. They talk of the costuming department. Carson even talks of coming back for Season 14 and being a guest judge or being part of the band. I’m not sure if he’s being serious or not, but, I’m game! How about you? LOL!
Karina Smirnoff and Carson Kressley of DWTS: kasa.com
Here’s to tonight at 6 p.m. ET on GSN. In cased you missed it and if you’d like to watch Part 1 of Karina and Carson being interviewed some more, go here.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Don’t forget! Tomorrows the day!
Per my DVR, GSN is airing Weeks 1 and 2 of Season 4 tomorrow starting at 6 pm Eastern time – check your local listings. Â I would be tempted to assume that means that the Pacific time zone will see it also at 6 pm, but it’s hard to say. Check now. đ
On January 28th, next Saturday, they are airing weeks 3 and 4, both performance and results shows, in order. Â At least, that’s what my Tivo says. đ
This guy isn’t on Season 4…or is he? đ Since we don’t get to see him most of the season, I’m adding him here. đ A girl’s gotta have her fix.
Photo: Courtesy of GSN; Photography: Kevin Lynch
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
