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DWTS Season 11 Media of the Day – September 14, 2010

Cheryl Burke and Rick Fox Day. 🙂

First look at the Situation. 🙂

Rick Fox on Access Hollywood – they do show some rehearsal video, but I think the bulk of the AH video will be tomorrow.

The Hoff on Jimmy Kimmel Live – Part 1; Thanks to Vogue for the heads up. 🙂

Oh, god, I find this guy oddly charming – but I have been drinking. I’m just saying. 🙂 There appear to be two more parts after this one on Jimmy Kimmel’s YouTube channel.

September 14, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)

DWTS 11 Stat Class: Who has the Edge? Part 1

Yay! My turn. 😀

Heidi and Courtney (Part I and Part II) turned in their feelings of how the power ranking would work for the season. While John wrote about odds/competitiveness factor as well as number of twitter followers for each celeb.

If you were following last season, I tried to predict scores for the stars before they actually started dancing. Well here I am again, using a more “advanced” statistical analysis to try to predict where each celeb will ultimately end up.

These calculations are based on three factors:
Age Group: Taking the average of all the placements of all past celebrities and breaking them down by age group (teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc), it came to pass that those in their teens through 30s tend to do better than those in their 40s on up. As in on average three placements better. That being said, the celebs (on average) place lower in accordance with their age… with one notable exception: those in their 60s tend to place higher than those in their 50s.
Occupation: Again taking the average of all the placements of all past celebrities and breaking them down by occupation. I know there are a lot of celebs that work in multiple mediums, however, I am focusing on the medium that they are best know for. David Hasselhoff is known for Baywatch thus he’s known as an actor. Brandy is best known for her music thus she’s in the singer category. And yes Reality stars have their own category and those like Bristol Palin are found in the “other” category.
Professional Dancer: And yes, I even went so far as to calculate the average placement of all the professional partners through all the seasons. I tried to normalize the result as much as possible, but obviously as much as I try to make this a scientific calculation, it is only half the battle.

After averaging all three of the above factors out I come up with a fairly decent representation of how the celebs could be placed in competition. Granted things will change with every passing season, but we’ll see how things go.

In Part II of the DWTS Stat Class: Who has the Edge? I will present the above three factors in action and give a bit of an analysis of each factor as well as my thoughts, and then follow that with a final averaged placement.

So for your reading enjoyment… I will give you the ranking of the pros (including Alec, Edyta, and Julianne for nostalgia’s sake) in order of ranking from highest to lowest.

The professional dancers (dancers participating on Season 11 are in bold):
1.) Derek Hough – 6 Seasons
2.) Julianne Hough – 5 Seasons
3.) Cheryl Burke – 9 Seasons
4.) Lacey Schwimmer – 3 Seasons
5.) Kym Johnson – 7 Seasons
6.) Chelsie Hightower – 3 Seasons
7.) Dmitry Chaplin – 2 Seasons
8.) Karina Smirnoff – 7 Seasons
9.) Louis van Amstel – 6 Seasons
10.) Mark Ballas – 6 Seasons
11.) Tony Dovolani – 9 Seasons
12.) Corky Ballas – 1 Season
13.) Maksim Chmerkovskiy – 8 Seasons
14.) Anna Trebunskaya – 5 Seasons
15.) Edyta Sliwinska – 10 Seasons
16.) Alec Mazo – 5 Seasons
17.) Ashly Costa (nee DelGrosso) – 4 Seasons
18.) Jonathan Roberts – 7 Seasons

I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

The Pros & Cons of the DWTS Pros – The Anna T. and Jonathan Edition

This is a part of the Pros and Cons of the DWTS pros Series. You can check out all the posts in this series here.

Anna Trebunskaya:

Courtney: Ahhh, my absolute favorite pro on this show, male or female 😀 And not just because she’s a fellow (bottle) redhead! Hehe.  For me, Anna is the perfect balance of creativity and technical skill: her routines manage to combine equal parts of technically sound dance steps and also a good flash of creativity.  I think you also have to respect the fact that Anna and hubby Jonathan are the freshest from competition themselves – they’ve been competing professionally as recently as early 2009, when Anna was a professional Latin finalist with Pavlo Barsuk and Jonathan was the world smooth champion along with Valentina Kostenko. I think because of this, many of their routines are more true to “real” competitive ballroom dancing, and are looked favorably upon by the judges – especially traditionalist Len.  And while Anna may give the impression of being a feisty little redheaded Russian spitfire on the floor, she is (usually) the picture of calm & control during practice sessions with her partners, working patiently with their strengths and through their weaknesses…from Jerry to Steve to Chuck to Evan.  Only on a rare few occasions has Anna broken down in tears or anger, and has been gracious and apologetic afterwards.  Quite possibly the thing I love most about her – her marriage to Jonathan.  Those two are one of the most adorable couples I’ve ever seen, and seem to truly adore one another – anyone that follows them on Twitter can attest to the sweet things they tweet one another, especially when they’re on opposite ends of the country.  And the dances they do together? BREATHTAKING.  Some of their romantic waltzes (like the one they did to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”) make Edyta & Alec look like two complete strangers dancing together.  They’re blissfully in sync and such a delight to watch.  If anything, the one thing that I think prevents a lot of people from warming up to Anna is that (like many of the other eastern European pros) she can often come across as cold – I’m sure its unintentional, and more a product of English being her second language than anything else.  Like Edyta, she still seems to have retained quite an accent, which I actually find cute. 😉

John: If you’d asked me a season ago to write about Anna, I’d have said who? Ok, I knew the name, but I couldn’t think of one memorable dance I’d seen her do. I guess it took her getting a decent partner to come out of her shell and shock me time and time again on last season of DWTS. I can’t remember how many times I went on IM last season and told Heidi, “WoW! How did I miss Anna in past seasons?” She was fun. She was sexy. She was entertaining. Her choreography was exciting and the hair, makeup and costume people figured out how to work with her red hair. I’ll be interested to see how her and the soft spoken Kurt Warner do. Kurt will be as hungry as Evan to win, but probably won’t be quite as agile. I think Anna gets worn down when her partners can’t execute and then she doesn’t know what to do. I hope that doesn’t happen with Kurt. I also loved last season when Anna admitted that she had no idea what to do with the choreography for the freestyle. She has ballroom dancing in her very core and so it was really authentic to see her struggle to go outside of that. I think she said something like, “I’d rather choreograph 1000 paso doble’s than 1 freestyle.” I found that really endearing and my heart felt for her.

Marianya: Anna T is one of those strictly ballroom pros that I love so much. She’s been actively competing in ballroom competitions through the duration of the show and her overall look is amazing. What I love about Anna is she’s able to balance a strong work ethic with having a little bit of fun. I remember in Season 2 when she worked with Jerry Rice she took a bit of his football training and showed him how it could be applied to ballroom dancing, and it worked… he ended up placing second behind Drew Lachey. She knows how to have a little bit of fun as evidence by the big afro wigs wore in the freestyle she did with Jerry. During the period of time when she wasn’t on the show and decided to compete professionally, she always came back to dance in a results show with her husband. Anna with Jonathan are absolutely flawless together, there is no better chemistry than that of a real life couple… and even then in comparison to Edyta and Alec, Anna and Jonathan seem to simply breathe as one. More often than not we have seen the two of them dance together in some ballroom routine, but they have done latin routines as a couple too. In any case, Anna’s been the bridesmaid twice now, so she’s going to be hungry to win this season.

Heidi: I love Anna, but I love Anna and Jonathan together even more. 🙂 They’re very romantic together – and not in a gross, icky way. Hee. Courtney, they aren’t just cute on twitter when they’re across the country from each other, but when they’re sitting next to each other, tweeting at the same time. Adorable. I never really got “cold” from Anna, but then I didn’t pay that close of attention until last season. The only time I felt like Anna failed last season was during her freestyle, and you know what? I don’t think her mistake was her choreography, but using someone else’s at that stage of the competition. Now, she had the help of more than one outside pro, possibly throughout the season, as evidenced by Travis Wall’s hastily deleted tweet in the second to last week of the competition. I don’t actually have a problem with that on it’s face, but the thing is: SHE knew Evan. She knew his personality and his strengths and his weaknesses – she should have trusted her own abilities. She’s extremely talented and I think she got caught up in the idea that the freestyle has to be the most mind blowing thing ever – and it certainly has to be good, but she let that get in her head. Girl, you’re fabulous!! TRUST it.

Heidi: I’m back again because I forgot something – Anna is at her most beautiful SANS makeup. The girl is gorgeous and I think occasionally the DWTS makeup team go a bit too nuts on her. I know this because she’s tweeted pictures of herself in her “normal” state and she’s really breathtakingly gorgeous – more so than with all that makeup on.

Marianya: Heidi and John, thanks for mentioning her freestyles I totally forgot about that. Anna’s Achilles’ seems to be the freestyle, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s because she feels like she has to create a freestyle to fit with modern viewers… and since she is ballroom through and through that added pressure just seems to overwhelm her? Oh and Courtney, you might want to have a body like Edyta, but man… Anna’s my body idol. 😀

Courtney: Well I daresay all of the DWTS ladies are blessed with great figures! But Edyta is just so RIPPED.  But I do wish I had Anna’s hair, skin, & eyes – just lovely 🙂 And I wish I knew what shampoo she uses so that her red stays so vibrant – mine unfortunately tends to fade quite a bit by week 4 post-coloring 🙁

Marianya: Wait, I thought Anna was a natural redhead? And you’re the bottle head… I’m so confused. 🙁 But Edyta isn’t the only ripped on… Karina’s was amazing in that one pic that escapes my mind. Too bad Edyta isn’t on this season, I’d love to see the battle of the best bods.

Heidi: I think Courtney is projecting. 😉 As a natural redhead in a family of natural redheads (although I’m sad to say I’ve faded to blonde over time), Anna sure appears to have the complexion of a natural redhead. Very fair, green eyes.

Courtney: Ahem.  I have never lied about being an artificial redhead 😉 I have also been an artificial platinum blonde and an artificial raven-tressed gal (let’s just say I got bored a lot in college – I’m a natural brunette).  If memory serves from when I first fell in love with Anna back when she & Jonathan were competing in pro Latin together, Anna is a natural strawberry blonde, but started dying her hair a more vibrant red so it would show up better on the dance floor.  So she’s not a total faker like me ;-), but she gets a little bit of chemical assistance – hence the need for a red-boosting shampoo.  And while Karina does have a great body, Marianya, I have felt a bit disillusioned ever since I saw a blurb in US Weekly where she gushed about using the IT Cosmetics Airbrushed Abs kit.  Although I do admire her cleverness – as someone who’s done a few bikini contests, let me say there were definitely days I wish I had a little help to have the impossibly flat stomachs some of the other girls had!

Jonathan Roberts:

Courtney: Quite possibly the most underappreciated male pro in my eyes.  Yes, in the few seasons they’ve actually had him on the show, he’s had some pretty sucktastic partners.  And yes, he is the one responsible for the horrific doll freestyle that Marie did.  But have you seen this guy’s ballroom routines? Absolutely GORGEOUS.  Elegant, technical, creative, fluid – I could go on and on about the superior quality of his waltzes, tangos, foxtrots, Viennese waltzes, and quicksteps.  Yes, the Latin dances may be his Achilles heel (in his defense, most of his competitive career has focused on the ballroom dances, so, like Anna D., Latin isn’t really his bread & butter), but I challenge any of the other male pros to match Jonathan in both ballroom choreography and partnering.  No one is as “there” for their partner as he is in those dances, and can pull off tricky moves like reverse attitude turns with the incredible ease that he does.  And as I mentioned above – he and Anna are just a delight to watch.  Every dance they do is infused with the genuine love they feel for one another.  As cheesy as it sounds…watching those two dance a waltz makes me believe in fairy tales again. It’s just disappointing to me that everyone seems to focus on his shortfalls, rather than his successes…seriously people, just put the doll freestyle out of your mind, and focus on he & Anna’s waltz to “Unchained Melody” during the Swayze tribute instead 😉

John: Unlike Courtney, I still believe in fairy tales. Jonathan and Anna are a great fairytale and waltz is the best. Jonathan is the most under appreciated dancer, because the ballroom routines are generally the most under appreciated routines on DWTS. They’re beautiful, but the Latin dances are WOW! People enjoy beautiful, but vote for Wow! To be honest though, Jonathan doesn’t seem like he wants to be in the spotlight. He’s just a gentleman that loves to dance. Not a bad combination, unless you want to go far in a reality TV show where America votes.

Marianya: Jonathan, I believe though I could be wrong, is probably the only male dancer that speciailizes in ballroom routines left in the competition. That’s what captured my attention about Jonathan (and Anna T once I realized that they were married)… he has an elegance and grace that is missing from many of the other male pros that could only come from someone that has focused on the waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, and viennese watlz. Sometimes I would like to think that Anna came into the partnership as a stronger Rhythm/Latin partner while Jonathan was a stronger Smooth/Standard partner and as thus their yin/yang matched evenly and they balance one another out. I have never seen Jonathan “out dance” or “over shadow” his partner and he is always there for his female companions. Jonathan is even a good sport too, willing to dance the Man-go routine with Steve Guttenburg in season 6. Looks like Louis isn’t the only one in touch with his feminine side! Now if only Jonathan was on more.

Heidi: Jonathan has been hosed more often by this show than anyone else, yet you never hear him say a bad word about it. He never complains or gripes, unlike some, much more fortunate pros. And that sort of stuff really impacts how I watch the show, so I really appreciate him for that. Classy guy. It’s hard to tell, since he gets left out so often, but while I think he choreographs the best waltzes (regular and viennese varieties), I’m not so sure that he’s the best at the tangos and foxtrots – but how can you tell?? The guy gets left off the show far too often. But then, I watch this show with a different eye than the other ladies on this blog – I watch it more as a competition that has to seriously entertain me. Some pros get criticized for being flashy – but I’m here to tell you I’ve read that in a regular competition you have to STAND OUT in order to make the cut. Be flashy. And that’s how I watch the show – I dig flashy. 🙂 Now, Jonathan is truly flashy when dancing with Anna – that I could watch all day long. 🙂

The Round Up

Anna Trebunskaya

Courtney: Absolute perfection, in a beautiful redheaded package!

Marianya:One of the strongest fiery female dancers in ballroom AND latin. 🙂

Heidi: I dig her – but trust yourself, girl!!

John: A redhead that’s surprisingly grown on me.

Jonathan Roberts

Courtney: Poetry in motion! Just wish people appreciated him more…including the casting directors 🙁

Marianya: Amazing underused true ballroom dancer.

Heidi:Fantastically Classy guy.

John: Ballroom elegance.

I Written By

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.

Derek and Jennifer on Access Hollywood

Last week it was Maks and Brandy, today it appears to be Derek and Jennifer’s turn. I imagine it will be someone else tomorrow. 🙂

Are we sure Jennifer Grey is 50?? Because she’s Derek’s match in dorkiness – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. She’s hilarious.

September 13, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)

The Pros and Cons of the DWTS Pros – The Louis and Mark Edition

This is a part of the Pros and Cons of the DWTS pros Series. You can check out all the posts in this series here.

Louis van Amstel

Marianya: Okay, so Louis rubbed some people off the wrong way in the first season with his aloofness and stand-off-ish behavior (as depicted on screen) and I think the various celebs he has had from season to season has opened him up quite a bit (Lisa Rinna of Season 2 and Kelly Osbourne of Season 9 of note). And consider we all now have seen Louis in a dress (and wore better may I add) than Florence Henderson, I say he has opened up a lot. Add on top of that his precise dancing and strong choreography with the professional numbers I’d say he’s a pretty good package. Now I have no idea what was said behind the scenes because I don’t typically read all that stuff despite being a blogger myself, but what I have seen on screen I like and I like a lot. However, him being a “short” pro (both Mark and Corky are just an inch or so taller than him) he has only been on six of the previous ten seasons, but of all the pros he has the best non-winner placement thus far. Placing fourth twice, third once, and fifth in the last season. So he’s doing something right. I really enjoy watching him dance, and like Karina he has that strong classic ballroom feel to him that I really love, and seeing him and Karina dance together is magic to me for a non-couple.

Heidi: Believe it or not, Louis is my least favorite pro and it has nothing to do with dancing. I just think he was the most ungracious and rude pro last season – he seemed angry that Nicole was on the show, never clapped for her and Derek and looked like he’d sucked lemons after they danced. You know, if you don’t think it’s fair, take it up with the producers, but at least try to be gracious to your fellow pros and the other celebrities. I will say he did work wonders with Kelly and I really loved the two of them during her season. That said, when it comes to choreographing the tour, I was glad when Maks took over – I thought he choreographed a more entertaining, more contemporary show than Louis did. But maybe Louis was burnt out on it. And I think that’s enough of that. 🙂

Courtney: I agree with both Marianya & Heidi – in the seasons he’s been on the show, he’s been doing something right technically, because his stars always seem to do decently well, even if they don’t make it to the finale; however, some of his behavior off-stage is just downright bitchy.  I absolutely ADORED him in season 9 with Kelly; but after watching a post-show interview he did after Nicole won, he came across as bitter, petty, and an all-around sore loser – complaining about Nicole having a blatant “unfair advantage” and refusing to recognize any legitimate natural talent she may have had or hard work she may have put into the the show.  Really, Louis – had Nicole NOT done season 10, do you really think you & Niecy would have won? And really, here’s my philosophy for all of the pros who think they’ve been “cheated” somehow in the course of the show: WORK HARDER.  I’m a firm believer that in the hands of the right pro, even the biggest klutz can be a legitimately good dancer – it’s just a matter of how hard you work.  Life’s not fair, and the show’s never gonna be 100% fair…so get used to it.  Be gracious.  Ok, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest – I really do respect how Louis tends to work with the strengths of his partners.  Was Niecy a great dancer? Hell no, but Louis managed to work with what she had, and played on her comedy skills to make their performances entertaining.  Was Kelly the most graceful star ever to hit the DWTS floor? Nope, but he brought something out in her that people adored, and instilled a sense of confidence in her that I’m not sure she had before.  And I think I’ve mentioned this about Louis in general before, but he really seems to thrive when he has partners with a bit of a ‘tude – his best partners (Kelly, Niecy, Lisa to some degree) always seemed to be the ones that were a little mouthy.  While this may have irked other pros (I honestly don’t see Mark, Jonathan, Tony, Dmitry, or Alec faring well with divas), I almost think it just fuels Louis – because as we’ve seen, Louis is a bit of a diva himself 😉

John: I have a hard time really commenting on Louis. I feel bad trying to critique him when the stars he’s been paired with have been some of my least favorite stars on the show. Kelly, Niecy, and even Priscilla Presley always felt awkward to me on the show and I could never come around to liking them. I don’t really see that changing with Margaret. Man it sure seems like the producers have cast Louis with the eccentric star each season. Since I haven’t really liked any of the stars he’s been with, it’s really hard for me to fairly judge Louis. Seems like not too many people care about Louis either since I checked his Wikipedia page and it hasn’t been updated since Priscilla Presley. I can’t argue with his talent and dance ability. His partners seem to love him too. I’ll just hold out any final opinions until he has a partner that I really like.

Mark Ballas

Marianya: Okay between Mark Ballas and Derek Hough I definitely prefer Mark Ballas, he’s such a ham I love him. He’s so sweet and so cute, but he doesn’t have the choreography prowess that his “brother” seems to be blessed with. But I do know that when the two of them dance in pro numbers my eyes float more to Mark than to Derek, despite Derek getting front and center a lot of the time. In the very first pro number that they were in Mark really hammed it up… again something I enjoy. His dancing isn’t as sharp and crisp and he seems to struggle with celebs unless the celeb happens to be a ringer (Shawn Johnson and Kristi Yamaguchi anyone?). He needs to step things up with all celebs across the board to really have an impact I think. At least he’s not as lovesick as his “brother” though, and for that I am glad.

Heidi: Ha! You’ve not been paying attention to Mark for long, have you? 🙂 Normally, Mark is the lovesick one and Derek is the one rolling his eyes. Derek is probably regretting this video right now (at the 4:50 mark). Give Mark time, he’ll be back in love land before we know it. You and I are complete opposites – Mark is much too frenetic and hammy for me. I also think that he has a bit of a tendency try to benefit from his “brother” without giving any of that loyalty back. I certainly hope it’s different behind the scenes. Mark never once tweeted good luck to Derek last season, or asked his fans to vote – yet Derek, to an annoying degree, was pimping Mark’s musical performances. That apparent inequity in their relationship is really starting to bother me, and I’m really hoping there is more going on behind the scenes. If there isn’t – well, that’s more Derek’s fault for letting that happen than Mark’s, when you get right down to it. As for Mark as a dancer – I think he’s very crisp and fast, and I only don’t like it when he goes all hammy and frenetic like I previously mentioned – I think he’s the only male pro who will dance around his partner, or try to draw attention to himself to cover for his partner when they’re faltering, whereas several of the women do it. I don’t think that’s the majority of the time, by any means. I think he’s a very good dancer, he just doesn’t do anything for me.

Courtney: While I don’t by any means hate Mark, he’s not my favorite male pro, either.  Unfortunately, in the multitude of classes I’ve taken with his pops, I’m afraid the apple does not fall far from the tree as far as Mark is concerned – without going too far into detail, let’s just say I think he’s inherited some of his father’s less savory traits.  While it has nothing to do with his abilities as a choreographer or a pro, his revolving door of a love life tends to bother me.  He’s what I like to call a “serial monogamist” – totally in love with one girl until the next best thing comes along.  It’s hard for me to take him seriously when he’s speaking all flowery about our dear Chelsie when he was doing the same thing about Joanna just months before…and he was doing the same about Sabrina not long before that.  Or when he’s tweeting awkward things about sleeping with a Donald Duck doll since he isn’t “sleeping next to anyone at the moment”.  TMI 🙁 Ok, personal life aside, I do think that Mark is the only pro on the show that can come close to matching Derek in terms of energy – granted, they’re also the two youngest male pros, so that might explain why they’re the ones out in front dancing the hardest and the fastest in the pro dances.  He does a pretty good job of choreographing to his partner’s strengths and pulling the best out of them, but I worry that he often gets so caught up in the “vision” of what he wants a dance to look like that he’s reluctant to alter his routines when they clearly aren’t working for his partner – I think that’s what may have happened with Shannen’s Viennese waltz, where the poor girl just looked like she was trying to keep her head above water.  His routines are creative, though – his cha-cha for Shawn to “P.Y.T.” is still one of my all-time favorites, as is his Jabbawockee-themed freestyle for her.  And for some reason, I always remember his rumbas. But I do see what Heidi’s saying about his energy level – I think he sometimes resorts to dancing around or just flat-out “out-dancing” his partner in order to distract from a sub-par performance on their part – Kim’s dreadful mambo comes to mind.  And it actually pains me to see him do jive – literally, it hurts my lungs & chest because the boy is just absolutely spastic.  If he could just calm down a bit, in terms of choreography and performance, and pay a bit more attention to his partner’s strengths & weaknesses, I think he’d be neck & neck with Derek as the strongest male pro on the show.

John: No doubt that Mark is a ball of energy on the dance floor. It’s an interesting contrast to when I saw him backstage. He had all of his energy totally focused on his guitar. Plus, when he was asked to come and say hi he was incredibly kind to me and my wife and seemed to be totally focused on us. Which is a bit ironic since you’d think with his energetic dance style that he would be all over the place. Instead, he was incredible focused and welcoming in person backstage. In fact, it was Derek who seemed like the spastic one backstage who couldn’t focus on anything or anyone. I guess all the pros deal with the nerves before the performance in different ways. I loved Mark with Sabrina. The couple worked and the energy was incredibly fun to watch. However, ever since then his performances have seemed to be missing something for me. Sure, Kristi and Shawn were very popular, but I could just never get into their dances. I felt like Mark should have gotten a lot more out of Kim. Maybe it was all Kim’s fault, but she was a train wreck for me. Shannen was similar. I’m pretty sure Bristol is going to be overwhelmed by Mark’s energy as well. Mark needs a partner that can match his energy or it just feels awkward to me.

Round Up

Louis van Amstel

Marianya: If he can pull off a tacky dress better than the women that have worn it… he can pull off much anything else.

John: Jury is still out for me.

Heidi: Next.

Courtney: Quit yer bitchin’ and get out there and shake it! The latter works the best for you.

Mark Ballas

Marianya: Mmmm Ham…

John: I’ll take Sabrina and Mark, but leave the rest.

Heidi: Ham is too salty. 😉

Courtney: Just reign it in a bit, dude.  When you calm down & focus, I like what you do.

I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

The Pros and Cons of the DWTS Pros – The Derek and Karina Edition

This is a part of the Pros and Cons of the DWTS pros Series. You can check out all the posts in this series here.

Derek Hough

Heidi: I don’t think it’s any secret that Derek is my absolute favorite pro – although I’ve tried so hard to hide it. LOL. Derek is my favorite for many more reasons than good looks. The boy has IT – that mystery quality. Charisma, charm – whatever it is. But besides that, he has a way with his partners, regardless of their talent or lack thereof. I’ve always gotten the feeling that he genuinely likes/loves all of them (obviously, some more than others lol). I don’t know what it is he does, but he manages to make what they do not only entertaining but very re-watchable. He just choreographs an entertaining dance while showcasing his partner very well. I think the reason why his dances mesmerize me is because he’s the most musical of all the pros. He choreographs TO the music – it’s like he sees the music and the corresponding moves that are required, in his head. When Derek says, “It’s the music’s fault” I absolutely understand where he’s coming from – I don’t think he has it in him to go against the music. Just watch that foxtrot with Nicole or his Paso with Jennie Garth – or any of the 3 or 4 dances that pissed Len off – he puts in these little finishing touches that I don’t know if most pros attempt. He’s very musically inspired in his choreography. As for his dancing? IMO, it’s the sharpest, crispest and just plain fastest of any of the men at least. In re-watching his Paso with Jennie, he starts the dance with a spin of such speed that I don’t know how it’s possible. Amazing. And hot. 😉 There’s at least one dance a season where he makes a move that is so fast and sharp that I’m compelled to re-wind to see it again.

John: Derek definitely is one of my favorite choreographers. He has a creativity in his choreography that is really interesting. I’d still like to see him choreograph on SYTYCD so that he wasn’t strapped by the rules of DWTS. It would be pretty cool to see what he might create. I guess we get it with the freestyle some, but that’s even more reason I’d like to see it. My biggest pain with Derek is when he gets up on his pedestal as “The Pro.” He had a few moments with Nicole that were a little annoying. Seemed out of character for the general happy go lucky easy going character that we usually see. Maybe the producers just cut him that way. Sure he’s in charge, but we’re not talking about Kate who totally gave up. Plus, Derek is often a little too politically correct for my liking. I’d probably do the same as him (Heidi thinks that about me I’m sure), but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch someone else tell me what they really think. Plus, Pure DWTS is more interesting with a little drama;-)

Courtney: What can I say about Derek that hasn’t already been said? 🙂 He’s truly a brilliant choreographer, he’s still in his physical prime and can execute all those lightening-fast turns and jumps, and I’m also impressed by his unexpected gymnastic abilities (I’m still floored by the tumbling pass he did during he & Julianne’s pro dance to Jennifer Hudson in season 7). I also have to give him props for thinking of clever ways to either showcase his partners’ abilities (such as Nicole’s PCD hair-flipping in her jive) or mask their weaknesses (hello, fringey pants on those with sub par hip action). And on top of that – he’s just a nice guy. Aside from his little meltdown with Shannon in the confessional after their rumba, he’s generally pretty even-tempered and charming in the press…but echoing John’s sentiments, he’s sometimes just a bit too PC for me. I’d like to see him get a little feistier when asked about bad calls made by the judges – lord knows there’s been plenty, and some of the other pros have raised hell about it. Other than that, my only other complaint is rather silly – the boy doesn’t have the greatest taste in women. I would highly recommend he stop going after the likes of Shannon Elizabeth & Cheryl Cole and go after a real gem – my PDWTS partner-in-crime, Heidi 😉

Marianya: Without a doubt Derek is right up there when it comes to choreography. Taking celebs with any or no dance experience and making it look like they have some week after week is impressive. As much as I enjoy his dances at the moment that they are done, I don’t find myself watching them over and over again like many others seem to. Sometimes I feel like he focuses too much on wow and personality that the art of it gets lost… and once in a while I’d like to see the art of dance, something more subtler. But that’s me. He also seems to be one of the most even tempered of the pros, which although is really good I’d like to see him, as Courtney said it best, get feistier. Be a bit more out there, rather than just putting a cap on the personality factor and keeping a calm demeanor… maybe that’s what it is for me, as a person he just seems to be a blank canvas that a painter is trying to paint onto but doesn’t know what because he’s too afraid that he would create unnecessary controversy. Then again, there are moments, as John pointed out, that Derek goes, “I’m the Pro” and it turns him off completely. Or maybe it’s because I think of him as someone that I would love to meet and get to know, but is more like vodka… great in small doses but definitely not good for you in the long run.

Heidi: LOL Courtney – I’ll take him! Unfortunately, Cheryl Cole beat me too it – he’s in lurve. 🙂 My other response is – don’t mess with success. And when he gets all “I’m the Pro” – well, I’m sorry, but that’s HOT. 🙂 That’s what Dmitry should have done with Mya, actually. Seriously, though, he is too PC sometimes. Always saying the right thing, never getting mad at the judges, etc. Heidi puts on Psychoanalyst hat…remember his season with Shannon? When he literally blew a gasket in confessional?? I mean, he went OFF. At the time, it was a classic case of “You bastards made my girlfriend cry” syndrome. But I think he was sincerely horrified by what he saw on TV that week and vowed that he would not let it happen again. You do see glimpses of him getting angry – kicking the cd player, ripping his jacket off and throwing it – but it seems he’s learned a little too well from a previous experience. I heard he actually wrote personal “I’m sorry” notes to everyone in the cast in Season 6. There’s something else at work there, and I’m not sure what it is, unless it’s the Mormon upbringing trying to reassert itself. Or maybe he convinced himself that his temper cost his partner – which is ridiculous because Shannon was not going to win, in any case.

John: Him (or any of them) getting all “I’m the Pro” is not hot. Although, I guess we just learned something about Heidi now didn’t we?

Heidi: It best not be hot to you, John, or I’ll have to have a talk with your wife.

Marianya: Heidi, as many people have told me over the years… until there is a wedding band on that finger it’s open season. Not that I condone that kind of behavior mind you, but a lot of others seem to. 😀 Nice to know that you like the controlling side of Derek, now we know what kind of guy to send to you.

Karina Smirnoff

Heidi: I don’t think I fully appreciated Karina until she wasn’t there anymore. Because of my love of watching Derek dance, I took most notice of her when she danced with Derek in a Pro dance on Season 8 – to that little Disney girl whose name is escaping me right now. I think I have Maks to thank for that. 🙂 Anyway, when watching her dance with Derek I realized that she is probably Derek’s equal in terms of sharp and fast – she not only kept up with him, but I watched her as much as him. And that is saying something! For as much as Aaron Carter’s personality bugged me, she really got some good dances out of him – I think she actually taught him the steps and I never got the feeling (as far as I can remember) that she danced around him – many of the female pros have that tendency, unfortunately. But what has struck me on a few occassions about Karina is that she’s fearless – how many times on DWTS (and off) has she gone air borne?? There was an opening pro dance in season 5 or 6 where she flew off the stage to Maks and then was thrown to Tony – I remember gasping out loud. Same thing when she danced with Maks at the Emmys – good lord. She dances fierce, like the Queen of the Ballroom – and I mean that in a good way.

John: I remember when I first fell in love with Karina. I was just starting to blog about Dancing with the Stars (on the predecessor to this site called Something for Nothing) and I came across this picture of Karina dancing in a DanceSport competition (which I can’t find now). In the picture Karina’s bending her back into basically a U shape unsupported by her partner other than one hand. It’s one of the most unbelievable dance pictures I’ve seen and since then Karina’s back bends have been some of my favorites. Karina’s partners have been a bit lackluster for me ever since she had Mario Lopez. He was a great partner for her. Karina doesn’t change who she is for her partner and so that makes some of her partnerships seem awkward to me. Plus, I adore that she doesn’t hide anything on the show. When she’s in front of the judges she’ll either say what she’s thinking or you can see it right on her face. It’s beautiful. I’d be totally comfortable meeting all of the pros, but I have a feeling if I were to ever meet Karina (and Edyta) I’d be like a little school boy meeting a girl for the first time. Talk about being intimidated by a strong powerful woman. That’s Karina!

Courtney: Karina is a ballroom GODDESS. Prior to joining the cast of DWTS, she was the quintessential “IT” girl in the professional Latin ballroom scene – she’s the only woman to ever make the British pro final with three different partners, and her show dances were legendary. And homegirl has brought that with her to the DWTS stage in a big way – she is by far the best female technician, IMO, as she has this uncanny ability to really sqqqqeeeezzzze every last drop of juice out of every step she takes – those hips, those legs, that torso….she works all of them 110%, and with razor sharp precision. And she puts that work ethic on her partners, too – as Heidi mentioned, she refuses to let them stand there while she dances around them. She seems to make an effort to really make those guys learn their dances, and the technique behind them. And oooh wee – she dominates the pro dances. My fave was definitely the one to “Maneater” in season 8, when she danced circles around Maks, Tony, and Dmitry – not an easy feat. So why isn’t Karina more popular with the fans? I’m guessing it’s because she can often come across as cold or detached, and this seems to be a recurring theme with some of the eastern European pros (let’s face it, Americans are pretty vocal compared to a lot of eastern European cultures!). While she is prone to the occasional snippy comment or eye roll, I daresay she’s mellowed quite a bit since she started the show, and anyone who can deal with the mercurial moods of Aaron Carter is a saint in my book!

Marianya: Karina is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite female pro. If I ever danced ballroom, she’d be the female dance I would love to emulate. I mean just look at her legs as she presses her foot against the floor… you don’t get quads like that by just dancing, but by dancing if that makes any sense. Sure she seemed to turn off a lot of people at the beginning by her poutiness and demeanor, but considering she’s from eastern Europe I’m none to surprised. Plus she’s beautiful and is able to deal with the mood swings of other people… I mean come on, if she could deal with Aaron Carter and put up with Maksim’s antics for so long, that’s saying something. 🙂 If you want strong, classic, ballroom dancing you look at Karina without question, and that’s really what I like… good, strong, classic ballroom.

Heidi: Is Karina not popular with fans? Or is that a myth constructed by disgruntled Maks fans? I mean, seriously, the girl is amazing and she showed a lot of class over that whole mess. I don’t think she ever said a word in the press. And why is it okay for the men to be snippy and not the women? Look out – here comes my soap box: why does Karina get put down when Maks was the one spouting off to the press (and doing the eye roll and snippy thing too)?? Someone clue me in!! Although it could be as simple as the Eastern European thing – Anna suffered the same thing until last season. But I thought Karina was great with Aaron, and following her on Twitter she seems very sweet.

Marianya: Heidi, When Karina first started, she always had this look that was pouty or she rolled her eyes or when she had pursed lips when things seemed to not go her way… a lot of people read that in a negative light. This happened particular during results or while the judges were giving their critiques… so a lot of people read Karina as a brat (to use a tamer word) or elitist. So when news of the Karina/Maks pairing came to light everyone was so against Karina thinking that Maksim could do better. Honestly Karina could do better… but that’s just me.

Courtney: Yeah, I agree that Karina has gotten a bit of a bum rap due to the whole demise of her engagement to Maks.  But her slightly diva-ish behavior in earlier seasons didn’t help, either.  Again, I think Karina has calibrated to the rhythm of the show at this point, and knows that eye rolls and pouty lips are going to get her nowhere.  It’s kind of in the same vein as Derek’s temper tantrum in the confessional – he was still relatively new to the show, and I get the feeling that new pros are still under the (false) assumption that DWTS is like a real competition – technique takes precedent over flashiness, basics are more important than entertainment, etc.  We all know that DWTS couldn’t be further from being a real ballroom competition 😉 But at first, I think the pros don’t (consciously) know that.  Hence, the indignation, temper tantrums, & outbursts during their first season or two when basic ballroom “law” is made a mockery of…but then they get used to it, and they shut their yapper and just do their best to let it roll off their back when the judges act a fool. 🙂

Heidi: Well, except for Maks. 😉

Courtney: Hehe…good point!

John: I think Karina is popular because she hasn’t hid her feelings (or she’s tried, but partially failed). If she ever became the nice girl (like Chelsie) we’d all call her a fake and she’d lose all her fans. She is who she is and we love her for it.

Round Up:
Derek Hough

Heidi: Oh please – like you don’t know. 🙂

John: Great choreography, mediocre interview.

Courtney: A huge bright spot on the show with a promising future…if he can just keep focusing on his career and not his lady friends 😉 (Heidi Note: From your lips to God’s ear)

Marianya: He’s like vodka, good to have once in a while… and even then only in small doses.

Karina Smirnoff

Heidi: Queen of the Ballroom!

John: Man…now that’s a woman.

Courtney: A goddess in the pantheon of DWTS.

Marianya: This woman descends all heights of ballroom godliness.

September 12, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)

DWTS Season 11 – A Commercial and Some Media

ABC has a commercial up on YouTube that gives a little bit more of a look at the contestants. Bristol is the only one that lets Mark do all the talking.

Access Hollywood with some stuff from Maks and Brandy that we’ve seen before – but before that a special treat for the men on this site. Edyta show one of the Bachelor guys some moves while is psycho girlfriend glares. Damn, this woman’s body is astounding. 🙂

I’ve got ten bucks that the Paparazzi manufacture drama.

Audrina and Tony on Extra – I dunno, Audrina has NO hips at all.

Erin on the new contestants.

September 11, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)

DWTS Season 11 – The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate, Part II

In part I of this series, we took a look at the 4 stars this season that likely have the largest amount of “previous dance experience” – Brandy, Florence, Jennifer, & David.  What did we gather? That even though they’re the most “experienced” of this season’s cast – they still don’t have much of an advantage.  Oh, and we did have some laughs along the way 😉

And laughs don’t stop there, kids.  Today, we’re gonna take a look at the rest of the cast, and see if they have any “previous experience” that might give them a leg up in the competition.  A fair warning: while part I was semi-serious, don’t expect too much intelligent discussion on this one – because some of this dancing is just downright laughable! I recommend using the restroom before you commence reading, lest you wet yourself from laughing too hard & too long 😉

Our first subject today? Kyle Massey, who filmed a music video for a song he did on the Underdog movie soundtrack a few years back:

 

Courtney: He gets an A+ for bouncing around and flailing his arms – but thank goodness he leaves that sizzling choreography to his backup dancers.  The dog is clearly the best dancer in this video.

Marianya: Boingy, boingy, boingy… I think Tigger bounces better than he does. That being said, I don’t know if bouncing in place and tossing arms this way and that would constitute as dancing… but people seem to do that a lot in clubs. So if this was Club Dancing with the Stars, he’d have a good chance to hit top spot…

Heidi: Forget the “dancing”, can we talk about his ability to lip sync? He has none. 🙂 I mean, aren’t your lips supposed to go with the words to the song? I was so distracted by that that I didn’t notice the dancing or lack thereof. LOL. Underdog?? I’m too old for this, aren’t I.

The verdict: If this were “Clubbing with the Stars” or “Bouncing with the Stars”, he’d be a shoo-in.  But if it were “Lip-Syncing with the Stars” – he’d be the first sent home.

Bet you thought Jennifer Grey was the only star this season that had ever been in a dance movie, huh? Well think again – Margaret Cho did a little dance flick called Can’t Stop Dancing 1999 – keep an eye out for sweet moves by Marge at the :43 & :49 marks:

Heidi: Okay, I’m just twisted enough to find that amusing. 🙂 CHEESY, but amusing. I’m thinking that shoulder won’t take her far, but we’ll be laughing while she’s with us.

Courtney: HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS MOVIE WHEN IT CAME OUT?! I must rent this…ASAP.  And Heidi, I’m going to have to disagree about Marge’s shoulder popping & back bending – they’re far more entertaining & challenging than some of the moves in Tony & Kate’s Breakfast Club-themed foxtrot.   

Marianya: Interestingly enough, my friends and I are fans of Margaret Cho. What we agreed is that Margaret’s weight is directly relative to what type of work out she’s doing. So as amusing as I found the vid to be… I find this much more my taste for Margaret Cho, or even this one…. 😉 Whether Louis could integrate them into ballroom or use that to their advantage remains to be seen. 😀

The verdict: Not much Marge can glean from her experiences in this movie…other than how to make us laugh like crazy, and have a good time while she’s doing it!

Next up: Kurt Warner, who did a little “Walk it Out” with Larry Fitzgerald at a charity basketball game in 2009:

Marianya: He’s got rhythm, he’s got music.. He is my man do I need to ask for anything more… Sorry I blame Courtney. Mildly entertaining, for a quarterback, at least he’s willing to put himself out there and have a bit of fun. *watches again* Ok… not really mildly entertaining, I can’t stop watching and rewatching and rewatching… ugh this is sad.

Heidi: LOOK OUT!! Kurt has got some rhythm!! 🙂 Again, highly amusing – but the fact that the guy doesn’t take himself too seriously might cause me to re-evaluate my ranking of him in this competition. Although he might bend his knees TOO much for Len.

Courtney: Calling it right now – if Kurt & Anna make it to the finale, “Walk it Out” will be their freestyle 😉 KIDDING!!!But yah – I love that the guy isn’t too uptight to do a little impromptu grooving at an event, in front of A LOT of people.  He, like the Hoff (and really Margaret too), may have an advantage in that he’s not afraid of embarassing himself.

The verdict: Kurt’s adorable – but he’s not gonna win any points with Len for “walking it out”…if anything, he may “walk it out” of the competition if he dances like this! 

Now Michael Bolton isn’t typically known for doing really any dancing in his videos – but this is the closest thing I could find.  Ladies, for your enjoyment, the Bolton classic “How Can We Be Lovers If We Can’t Be Friends”:

Courtney: W-O-W.  I had forgotten how music videos from the ’90s were so overwrought with emotion.  And is there a rule about being in Michael Bolton videos? Like you have to have long, permed hair or something? It’s a pretty loose definition of dancing, but Michael does the “I’m in emotional agony” clenched-fists-while-hitting-those-high-notes pretty damn well and he dips that mic stand like a pro.

Marianya: Is it bad that this song is in my playlist? Aren’t I a bit young to enjoy Michael Bolton effectively? Why the hell does he have long hair? Does he think that he’s a girl? Why do people throw their panties at people? How do they take their panties off to throw onto the stage? Do people strip on the spot to throw their panties and bras on the stage? Ok… yeeeaaaah…

Heidi: So, like, what was the deal with the little James Bond Homage in the middle of the video? And, like, where can I get a pink guitar. Also, like, was this before the miracle bra because these chicks need some help. I suddenly have, like, the urge to throw my panties at my computer. Like, why do I keep saying like?? Like I think I might be in the wrong decade, but who the hell knows?

Courtney: Marianya, don’t feel too bad – it’s on my iPod too, and my roommate my freshman year of college & I used to dance around to this before exams to get pumped up.  And as for the removal of undergarmets at concerts – a bra is pretty easy to remove without doffing one’s top.  The panties, I’m not quite sure how they pull that one off…is there such a thing as tear-away panties? On second thought – nobody answer that. 😉

The verdict: Michael makes us want to scream, cry, and hurl our undergarmets at him – but he doesn’t really make us wanna dance.  Nope, not really. 

Looks like we’ve got a Situation on her hands – he and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast appeared in Enrique Iglesias’ latest video, “I Like It”…feel free to fast forward to the 2:34 mark, when the signature Jersey “fist pumping” begins:

Heidi: Shit, Enrique is HOT. How did I manage to ignore him for so long? Oh, right, I ignore pop music as a rule. 🙂 Was the Situation in this video? And what the hell is a Snookie? 😉 See my earlier comment about ignoring pop music – I’m also trying very hard to ignore MTV. Indie and classic rock all the way!!

Courtney: Am I the only one that finds this song downright awful? I think I’d rather get a root canal than listen to it voluntarily.  And yes, the Situation was the one in the lavender button-down (which was completely unbuttoned)leading the rest of those hoodlums in that challenging fist pump section.  Oh, and a Snooki is a low-calorie whipped dessert…according to Simon Cowell 😉

Marianya: I had to watch the video several times because I was paying more attention to Enrique than to “the Situation”… Unlike Heidi, I listen to pop music, in the car trip between the ‘burbs and the city. He’s been hitting the circuit a lot… first SYTYCD, then AGT… wasn’t he on DWTS recently too?

The verdict: No Situation here – fist pumping is not going to win you the mirrorball trophy on DWTS.

And last but not least, we come to Bristol.  Ok, so maybe it’s not Bristol herself…but they say dance skills run in the family, right? 😉

Marianya: I got not comment about the pick, but man I hope she isn’t as bratty as rumors are claiming that she is b/c I would rather prefer to be taken by surprised… ah que sera sera. I suppose they are wanting to egg on mama bear to protect her young… and that would bring in more drama. Poor Mark.

Heidi: Girl, it’s going to be hard enough to stay away from politics and the freakin’ train wreck that is Sarah Palin (she made up another new word this week – 5 point to the person who can tell me the word) without you putting up pictures of her on the site. 🙂 And remember, don’t punish the daughter for the sins of the mother. Just punish her for being a sucky dancer (if she is). 🙂

Courtney: Well what the hell was I supposed to post, considering that the only videos I can find of Bristol online are of her walking or talking? 😛 While I find this mildly amusing (if this ever happened in real life, I’d check to see if pigs were soaring in the skies above and if there was a forecast of snow in hell), shame on whoever defaced poor Karina’s body.  This is a pretty damn seamless photoshop job, though…I will say that.

The verdict: Bristol’s  just plain screwed, whatever way you look at it. Poor Mark.

Heidi: Hold UP a minute, Courtney, you forgot one. Rick Fox. 🙂

Heidi: Personally, I’m a fan of ass dancing. Hee.

Courtney: Go Rick Fox, it’s your birthday, we gonna party like it’s your birthday…

Marianya: I don’t think it’s ass dancing as much as it’s ass bouncing. At least I prefer his bounce over Kyle’s… which on second thought isn’t a good thing either.

The verdict: Hope Rick’s got a strong caboose after doing all this bouncing…because Cheryl’s gonna whip that caboose into shape if not!

We hope you all enjoyed this journey of mediocre (and downright ridiculous) dancing as much as we did 😀 For those of you wondering about Audrina and her suspicious absence – we just couldn’t find anything remotely dance-related that she’s done in the past.  So if you happen to be in possession of a video or photo of Audrina shaking her groove thing, please – do share 😉 We’ll even give you credit!

I Written By

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.

DWTS Season 11 – Pre-Season Media, September 10, 2010

Maks and Brandy on Access Hollywood. All I’m going to say is: I love Brandy – so direct and funny. And I like her WAY better than her partner. 🙂

Slightly different version of the above interview:

And a third version of Access Hollywood. Derek and Jennifer taped theirs today, so expect to see them on Monday.

Speaking of Derek and Jennifer – Entertainment Tonight. I don’t think Derek is lifting her EVER – he’s afraid. With good reason.

Paparazzi Video with a little of everyone – from ET

Corky and Florence on ET – Has Corky had his eyes done?

September 10, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)

All the Right Moves – Attention All Men!

LOL. I posted this on PureDerekHough because they use a picture of him and Nicole, but I figured this was an interesting article about a dance study that was done in England. Found this in the NY Daily News Click the link to read more.

Best foot forward?

Guys who make the right moves on the dance floor just might attract the girl of their dreams. It’s the speed of a man’s right knee, paired with the variety and the shape of his neck and torso movements that can set a woman’s heart aflutter, according to research reported on LiveScience.com.

Psychologists employed computer-generated avatars to figure out what ladies like to see in a guy when he dances.

At Northumbria University in England, they filmed 19 guys ranging in age from 18 to 35. Using a 12-camera system as the guys danced to a German dance track, the researchers mapped the volunteers’ movements onto white, featureless, gender-neutral characters.

They used this picture with the article.

September 9, 2010 I Written By

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. :-)