I just read that part about Master P only practicing once with Ashly. I feel really sorry for her. She did look stunning last night.

Poor girl.

Louis and Cheryl have blogs up on the ABC site. Cheryl says that Drew's quickstep is better than his cha cha. She also said that he was practicing even when they weren't together. Now that's the attitude I like.

No doubt ABC/Disney is just fearful of a near-miss like Kelly Monaco's last season (when her dress strap popped mid-boogie)...after Janet Jackson I'll bet the FCC fines are hellacious. Of course, if new mom Tia is breastfeeding, going braless is Out Of The Question.



Oh my God, I needed that laugh. Bless you.

I wanted to ask some of the serious dancers who have posted about the use of (what seems to me) very non-traditional music in this show. I would think that if you're a neophyte it must be much harder to learn the dance steps when the music isn't even in the right tempo.

Totally saw it and loved that he tipped his hat (helmet) to his sport. He brought "himself" into the dance.

I'm not a ballroom dancing fan, which is to say I don't know much about it. I learned a bit from last season and I can now pick up on certain things, and that makes the show more fun. But, I feel bad that some are holding them to the standards of professionals. If the sport requires so much, and it seems it does, they don't have years to practice. (Sorry if it's not considered a sport. Didn't know what else to call it. Proof of my ignorance.)

It was said upthread that the non-original music bugs. As someone new to the sport (?), I appreciate the music I recognize, so it works for me. More than once, I've said aloud, "Oh, I love that song." What makes that all the more remarkable (or sad-teehee) is that I live alone.

Psyched for what looks to be a great season.

Arnold also had that Master P concept of dance in that scene which means to stand still and let the chick do all the moving.

Tia was darn fine in that scene. I distinctly remember her "sighing" whenever he dipped her throughout the dance which got my juices going.

I own an Oakland Rice jersey which is now, sadly, inapplicable (and also just plain sad, considering recent performances by that team). But I think I'm going to start whipping it out to wear Thursday nights.

I always loved to watch him play... but suddenly I find myself in the strange new territory of a monster crush. Bald, cute smile, wiggles his hips...

Trust me when I say that they aren't--at least not by their scoring. Their scores are extremely generous. Master P would have gotten a 0 even if he did that in an amateur competition.

I think of all the instructors on the show, Ashly was the least equipped to deal with the Romeo injury/Master P. substitution. She's a competent dancer, but she seems by far the least experienced coach and she seemed woefully in over in head in trying to whip someone into shape in 1-2 weeks. Master P. looked exactly like most students I've seen who have been in cha-cha classes in the first month, very heavy-footed, kind of flailing and just trying not to hurt themselves. And the cutesy music that had obviously been chosen for Romeo was ridiculous for someone of his size. I actually think Kenny is a worse dancer, but he had more time to prepare, a better partner and a routine that played up the ridiculousness.

I would not be surprised if there's basically an understanding between Master P. and DWTS that he will be kicked off after the first week. He gets nothing out of being on the show, and his schedule is already packed.

Otherwise, most of the women looked pretty good, although I totally agreed with Len that Staci's waltz lacked actual waltz content and once Giselle started dancing, I totally got why her father refused to coach her (no awareness of her legs or the music). I actually thought they were the weakest of the women.

Counse, Louis really is an amazing dancer. When he was in NY, I would see him coaching students sometimes, and he is astounding in person. Last season, I was cursing Trista because even though she was annoying, I really wanted Louis to stay on longer so I could see him dance more.

And yay! for Drew. He had an opportunity to get his face out there, and man, he grabbed it.

I agree with manager -- they are not asking anything out of the Stars that wouldn't be expected from a beginner in a beginner's competition. I've seen dancers like everyone on that show in beginners competitions...well, everyone except Master P! He was just in a whole new universe of dancing. :-) I am impressed with how far everyone (besides the P Meister) has come in five weeks. The Stars are working really hard, and have packed about six months of training and practice (as compared to what the average beginner does) into five weeks. In other words, I think that most of the Stars are at least as prepared for their competition as anyone else starting competitive ballroom dancing is before their first competition. The big difference, of course, is that the Stars are doing it on TV and are getting feedback directly from the judges.

As for the nude elastic, it is very commonly used in dancesport costumes, to keep them on. It can look annoying, but ya gotta hold on those scraps of fabric somehow!

I would say that in general, serious dancers tend to like music that's not the same thing we hear at every darn competition. (One of my favorite quicksteps is "You're the One That I Want" from Grease.) But it should still sound like it's supposed to be the dance that you are doing. I was raising eyebrows at some of the waltzes last night.

For tempo, though, my understanding is that the pros have been allowed to select the tempo, and that they have praised the band for getting the tempos exactly as requested.

"Sport" is the correct term, Insomniac, even if the International Olympic Committee still disagrees. In fact, professional dancers, and even serious amateur competitors, always refer to it as "DanceSport."

As for the music, it's better than it was last season, but that's still not saying much, considering how generally horrendous the music choices were last season, especially during the final weeks of the competition. I sincerely hope that the producers at least checked out the music that was used on the Dutch version of the show last year and during their recent Holiday Special--now, THAT was some serious dance music that they used, and highly appropriate for each of the dances (well, except for the choice of "Bolero" for one of the Paso Dobles--I'm still wondering what the Dutch producers were thinking with that one!)

The FCC fines were always hellacious which is why the Superbowl fiasco was such a big deal even when people were like, so what? A friend of mine was an engineer at ABC, and they had a very thorough lecture on what all the penalties were involved and it came out well into the millions of dollars.

The nude bra straps aren't that unusual on dance costumes, and probably a smart insurance policy for live TV where there's very little margin for error.

The IOC does not disagree. They recognized dancesport as a sport a few years ago. The issue now is getting it into the medals program. Part of the problem is that the Olympics are huge and the IOC has pretty much decided not to add more participants, and are looking at cutting some of the less popular sports. Another part of the problem was that there was not a big TV audience for dancesport in the US. Perhaps shows like "Dancing with the Stars" will change this, but I have my doubts. A lot of people watch for the celebrity embarassment aspect, which will not be a factor in a high-level televised dance competition.

What is it about this show that makes people love it? I think it's the train-wreck aspect (will Tatum go crazy...will Kenny tell more bizzare jokes...how much weight will Tia lose in 8 weeks), and not necessarily the dancing. If we took away the approachability factor of recognizable people starting to learn to dance and compete, and also the "showdance" format where each numbers is specifically choreographed to the specific music and is danced one couple at a time, we'd have something that looks a lot different and is more difficult to show on television.

Well, when "America's Ballroom Challenge" (formerly PBS's "Championship Ballroom Dancing") comes back to TV in February, we'll see. But for now...woo hoo, I'm so glad to see that the show has come back strong. Go Stars!

My first thought: Is Drew dancing to himself singing?

Read a few posts back, that P Person only practiced with Ashly ONCE. Not 2 weeks, not one week. ONCE. The only person not equipped to deal with this is Master P.

Then he shouldn't have agreed to do it.

Master P has shown the utmost disrespect for Ashly. I really give her tons of credit for going out there and making lemonade out of cabbage.

The best dance teacher in the world couldn't have done much better.

Speaking of teachers, the one I thought did the most disservice to her student was Andrea. It didn't seem like she slowed the tempo down at all and that routine was WAY too difficult for Kenny. He did a lot of moving around while more fleet footed male celebs like Jerry Rice did an awful lot of standing. There had to be a better way to choreograph Kenny. If Kenny had a routine similar to Evander's, JOH's or Jerry's, he would have looked a whole heck of a lot better.

I'm fairly convinced that Ashly and P will be the first to go tonight - P was just terrible. I understand he had less time to practice but really he just stood there. I would have hoped that years of stage performances would have taught him to do some kind of movement. Too bad... I like Ashly.

Drew was impressive but I think that Jerry Rice is going to come away the lead for the men. You know how the judges love those who show improvement...

The wrestler chick was lovely! I think I was most surprised by her performance.

Argh! I went out to dinner last night so I only caught the last 30 minutes or so. I got to see Grandmaster P and Ashley, Giselle and John, Jerry and Anna, and Tatum and Nick. I'm extremely bummed that I missed Lisa and Louis, Lisa annoys the hell out of me on Soaptalk but I've been dying to see Louis tear up the place ever since he got stuck with that frigid horrorshow Trista. The ponytail didn't bother me all that much last year while his hair this year reminds me of a troll doll. Doesn't matter... I Love Louis.

I loved Anna schooling Jerry. That was awesome. I think there's something inherently delicious about putting a football star of Jerry Rice's calibre with someone like Anna, who doesn't know who the hell he is, and watch her shred him without giving a damn about his Stah! status.

I'm also upset about missing Tia and Drew with their respective partners. Tia because I like her and Drew because I, apparently, missed a durn good performance. Yay for boybands, says I. Give us some pretty who aren't afraid to dance.

As, as always, I just love watching the professionals do their thang. Especially the women, who I admire for all their sassy hotness. I'm a straight girl so I have a definite weakness for sparkly dresses that twirl. And I like to thank Dancing with the Stars and the sassy hotness for encouraging me to NOT skip my workout last night even though it was late.

Dancing with the Stars! Good and good for you!

Did Romeo really injure himself or did he just get cold feet? I'm in the opinion that the kid can't dance and someone must have told him the truth.

I thought (from the admittedly short practice clip) he was spending more time choreographing his "flubs" than actually attempting to learn the correct moves. Since he is on ESPN, a journalist/commentator of sorts, I think he is participating only to provide material for one of those "comic exposé" soft news features. I inferred that a "jock" from a "real sports network" could only be playing it for laughs, because dancing isn't a "real sport". This irritates me. Just because something is funny, it doesn't mean it can't be demeaning-just ask any blonde.

I apologize if I am mis-reading his motivation, he just seemed to be making too many mistakes for someone who had been practicing the same dance for a month.

Well, then they should have told his father the same thing.


I can totally see that. (In fact, I think I have seen that.) But where the song is one rythym and they're dancing to a different one - that just makes me cringe.

I was wondering about that. I'd imagine the scores would start out low and get higher throughout the season just for the drama of it, but I can see how they would like to see improvement over someone staying consistent, even if they are consistently good.

I am rooting for Stacy Keibler to win although I think the song she & her partner chose didn't showcase them well enough the first time out. It had a tempo that dragged and to me it was annoying to listen to.

Will someone please confirm for me that the calls are free? My tightwad BF wouldn't let me call more than once last night to vote!

I wish Drew would introduce Stacy to his brother (Nick), she seems like his type.

I missed most of the show so I didn't see Tia. How recently did she have her baby?

I thought Tatum looked really pretty, but I have always liked her. Hope she has cleaned herself up.

I think I spotted Alec in the audience. He's behind Tom - near where DAvid Carradine was sitting, against the curtain. I noticed him the most after Edyta danced.

Yes, the calls are free.

I don't know when they started taping the show, but Tia mentioned during rehersals that it was a month and half (probably before the start of rehersals)

Seven weeks ago is what she said on Entertainment Tonight.



Why would Carradine have been there? Is he being tapped for Season 3 or something?

Thanks Cynthia187 and makesyouwonder! She must have been in great shape to begin with if she is taking this on so soon. For that, she deserves to stay around for a while.

I forgot to mention how cute Harry Hamlin is with his all-out rooting for his wife. It's nice to see a Hollywood couple that has been together for a while and actually look like they really love and adore each other.

Since J-Blo is Lisa and Harry's hairstylist, I wonder if he did Louis' cut also. That would have been an interesting consultation.

I don't know why Carradine would be there, maybe he's a friend of George.

Also forgot the other cute George moment. Edyta is adjusting her leg warmers while wearing her very little rehearsal outfit and George quips "Yes, don't worry about the rest of the body, keep those ankles warm!"

That was MomCounse's opinion last year too. She HATED Trista - but who doesn't? :) She was particularly annoyed at her blathering about doing an 'intimate' dance with Louis and had to have Ryan 'approve' I believe her exact words were 'She's so stupid!'

And MomCounse does not suffer fools at all and she really, really likes Louis. Said he was a great dancer and teacher.

I really can't blame Ashly's inexperience as a teacher on the Frankenstein P. He looked EXACTLY like that in the practices too. Or would that be practice. But in the clips, wasn't he wearing different clothes? Did they just do that for the photo op of it all? If so - STOOPID. Why not spend that time, oh I don't know, practicing?!

I will be gravely disappointed if he is not eliminated tonight. Others might have sucked but at least they tried and were moderately entertaining. He was a waste of time and sucked poor, cute Ashly down with him.

Good thing Lisa and Haaron don't mind her getting into the performance. I really thought they were going to kiss at the end of the performance last night. Just brought more attention to her lips, if you ask me. (Don't get me wrong, I really like Lisa. But her lips are huge and there's just no way around that.)

I remember years ago David Carradine hosted Saturday Night Live and in his monologue joked about how he always wanted to make his living with his feet and then clarified that he wasn't talking about Kung Fu he was talking about dance and went on to do a little number that I think was a soft shoe. Heck maybe they ARE tapping him for DWTS 3. It couldn't possibly be worse than Grandmaster P.

Speaking of which it particularly galls me that he made that speach about representing and implying that he was trying to inspire ghetto kids to take up ballroom dancing. He made the worst example possible. He basically said don't show up to rehearse, don't listen to your coach, put in a half assed (or in his case 1/10th ass) effort, and then bring up your heritage to try to unfairly get votes. Unless he payed off a hooker, and refused to pay his child support ON STAGE he couldn't possibly have been a worse role model. Wow just wow.

ETA
Now I have a mental image of people trapped in their dressing rooms because they just can't get around Lisa's lips.

Didn't Joey and Ashly dance the quickstep to that last season?

I was duly impressed with my first viewing of the show. Last year I thought the idea was ridiculous. I just gave in last night because there wasn't anything to watch before the UA-UCLA basketball game came on, and I remembered that Kenny Mayne was going to be on. What embarassing fun (at least better than watching my 'Cats play like crap)!

I think you did mis-read Kenny. If you've watched him at all (and he's actually one of the only people on ESPN that doesn't make me want to break the TV), you know that's how he always is. He's the same if he's doing horse racing commentary (which he does a lot) or talking about football. Don't get me wrong, a little Kenny Mayne goes a long way, but he was in no way showing disrespect; it was Kenny being Kenny. Besides that, he's made several comments about wanting to do well, even though he knows he's not a good dancer. Also, after reading his blog on ESPN, it broke my heart to learn that he lost two children in 1996. I was hoping he'd hang around another week even before that, but now I've got the sympathy going full-strength.

Although I've had almost no exposure to ballroom, I love dance. I studied ballet for 12 years--until I was 17--but I think dance competitions should be dance competitions. There are already too many "sports" in the Olympics that I don't think belong there (synchro swimming is just the most blatant). It's not that these things don't take skill, strength or even athleticism, and it's not that they can't be competitive, but I think things have already gone overboard. (BTW, I think dancesport is more a "real" sport than, say, golf or auto racing, but those don't belong in the Olympics, either.)

They kept talking about a "journalist" and I kept wondering who they hell they meant. So, Access Hollywood is considered "journalism" these days, huh? Wow!

I was so glad they showed her actually wrestling, being active. Those rape storylines are the reason I told Mr. Chomskyite that I didn't want our daughter watching wrestling with him anymore.

I thought he was awesome, and I didn't even know there was ever a band called 98 Degrees! Definitely my favorite, although I didn't get to see Jerry. I missed his after my ill-fated decision to tune into basketball. Too bad. It sounds like Jerry did better than the UA last night.
That brings me to another point, though: I thought that the celebrity women had it much tougher for the simple fact that my eye usually goes to the woman in a dance (or figure skating) team. I guess it's the costuming and the fact that I just find women's bodies more attractive than men's bodies, but I tend to judge a team on how good the woman is (unfairly, of course). The male celebs have the advantage of having a skilled woman to draw my attention. The only male celebrity who actually held his own and drew my attention was Drew. That's why I have to say he & Cheryl are atop my list right now.

I remember reading that some football players used to take ballet to improve their balance and agility. In fact, read that Herschel Walker did some work with a professional dance company when he was with Dallas (in the late '80s?).

I followed one of the links on this post and found this example of synergy.

Couldn't agree more. I had such a little-girl crush on him when he did Love At First Bite with Lauren Hutton.

ETA:
That makes more sense now.

She also used to be the Chicago CBS affiliate's news anchor.

That was Susan Saint James, chomskyite, not Lauren Hutton. ;) I saw Love at First Bite not so long ago and laughed myself sick over the fastidious Count Dracula's reaction to his beloved's incredibly messy apartment. Does the disco dance make George Hamilton a professional dancer?

I'd never heard of Kenny Mayne before this, but I got the self-deprecating vibe from him too. That choreography probably was too difficult for him, but I feel there are only two options for hopeless male dancers: move and show how awful you are, or stand there while the woman pole-dances around you. You get criticized either way, so why not just go for it and have fun? I'd much rather watch Mayne and listen to his comments than put up with a zonked out Tatum O'Neal.

I am a wrestling fan so i'm rooting for stacy to win.

WWE has a link on its website where you can vote for Stacy so she may have a much stronger chance at winning.

I watched some of the clips. I think not only was the music selection better, but they seemed to have a tighter band. (And maybe a smaller one?) Though listening to all these English-language songs sung with a Dutch accent was a little weird.

I don't understand why the music is so bad in the US version. It reminds me a bit of the first couple seasons of American Idol, which also seemed to have some really cheaply done aspects despite a decent budget.

Latest Odds from Pinnacle:

Stacy +144
Giselle +400
Tia +629
Drew +639
Tatum +739
Jerry +739
George +961
Lisa Lipps +3677
Kenny +5000
Master L (Lazy) +5000

Prop:

Who will be voted off tonight:

Master L -432
Kenny +382

So it looks like Master L is heavily favored to be booted tonight, at least according to the bookie. I'm surprised that they only listed these two as 'bootable' since it is very possible both move on due to audience ranking and someone like Lisa goes instead. Hopefully in this case they are right.

I know anyone can go look up the odds themselves, but I'd like to post them here so that we can watch the odds move up and down week to week. Unfortunately, Pinaccle does not keep a 'history' of odds to show movement, only the latest numbers instead, so I'd like to list them here.

Big Movers:

Stacy - opened at 4-1, now at (1.4)-1, heavy favorite.

Lisa - opened at (7.5)-1, now plummenting to a 36-1 longshot. Pinnacle must now know something about the public voting trends for someone to take such a nosedive after a more than OK performance, so it looks like Lisa's Lips and the turn off to the public is real.

Master L - believe it or not, opened at 11-1. Now at 50-1, I'd be surprised if a single dollar was bet on him.

Tatum - Opened at 14-1, now a bit over 7-1, has become a good value bet. If she can only keep her mouth shut to avoid annoying the public...

Jerry - proved the odds makers pessimism wrong by moving from a long 19-1 Hail Mary to a respectable 7-1 Hook Route. There is still value in this bet, as JR is known for his competitive nature and has high public appeal.

Giselle - Opened at 10-1, now a bit over 4-1, has closed the betting field with Stacy. I think she is overpriced at these odds.

Drew - Surprisingly only a slight bump from 9-1 to close to 6.5-1 after a very well recieved performance. Could "Boy Band" label prevent him from winning? Betting seems to say that the women outclass the men, and being the best of the worst isn' enough.

George - Opened at 5-1, now 9.6-1, and I think that is still too generous. Pinnacle also has a prop: Will George still be alive by the end of the show:

Yes +220
No -170

Poor Kenny - started out as a 15-1 dog and quickly plummented from there, even before the first show aired. Still, I predict Kenny will survive this first elimination (bet Master L at -432), and will offer value next week when he is again targeted for elimination. If he is a favorite to get the boot in week two, bet the FIELD at odds (whoever they list), as I believe Kenny will surivive a few weeks on goofiness and personality (i.e. Pinnacle will do a bad job factoring in the public's power).

Value Bets: The block of Tatum, Jerry, Drew, and Tia still offer some value at 6 or 7-1. An insider with knowledge of how the public is voting could make a KILLING at Pinnacle. If anyone out there has this info, I'm willing to pay for it.

How to read betting odds - a quick primer. If there is a "+" sign in front of the number, that is how much you would win if you bet 100. So if it is +350, you would bet $100 in order to win $350 if you are right. If there is a "-" sign in front of the betting number, it is the AMOUNT YOU NEED TO BET in order to win $100. So if ther odds are -350, you would have to BET $350 just to win $100 (in other words, a heavy favorite).

It looks like they got good ratings last night.

From Media Life Magazine...

Oh-oh. That sounds "in the bag" already.

Staci definitely has lots of potential but I hope she'll push herself with the choreography, not go the Rachel Hunter route, which she can obviously do well.

Giselle wasn't the best of the women, but I have a feeling she'll be like Joey--going far through a ton of determination and effort--making more and more of a commitment, as time goes on.

It was interesting that the women were stronger over all than the men. Master P, Kenny, and George should easily be the first ones eliminated.

That was from November. IMDB says she gave birth on September 25, 2005 so it's been a bit more than 3 months.

I don't see that...I see a link for voting for the "Divas" magazine cover...but on the WWe homepage, it just pops a (heavily edited -- they don't show the "sizzle but no sausage" comment) video of her dance.

Bet With the Stars:

Rules: Start with an imaginary bankroll of $20,000. Post bets here before results, using posted odds at the time of making the bet. Players track their own odds and wagers on the honor system. Winner is the one with the most imaginary money at the end of the show. Join in anytime, start with 20k.

My Bets:

Bet $1000 on Jerry to win, pays $7390
Bet $1000 on Drew to win, pays $6390
Bet $2000 on Master P getting boot tonight, pays $463

Bankroll left: $16000 + 3 Outstanding bets.

Results of bets to date: None so far.

She was also the weekend co-anchor for Today and The CBS Morning News. Lately, she seems to be doing a talkshow thing and playing reporters in movies. However, certain other, more porny movies appear to be a different Giselle Fernandez. (She may want to correct some of those IMDb entries!)

I think David Carradine may either just be a fan or be an invited guest. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if some Hollywood-types showed up for fun, and the PAs ensured they got on camera. "Dancing With the Stars! By the Stars! In front of Stars! With Stars watching at home in their sweats!"

I think they graded a little on a curve with Jerry Rice - he tried, he's a huge sports star, he didn't suck, they piled on the praise. He and his partner are a strange combination.

I think they overcompensated w/Tatum O'Neal also.

Drew Lachey surprised me - going by rehearsals I thought he'd be a young Kenny Mayne but he was excellent. His ability is higher than his estimation of himself, he's got a partner who won't let him get a big head, and what a cute face. He probably got the best possible partner for him.

The wrestler chick won't get the "She ain't that hot" problem, I think. She's really nice. Has an appealing personality to me and I never heard of her before the show.

ETA: her partner is obnoxious but it doesn't seem to rub off on her.

Lisa Rinna was better than I expected but after seeing everybody else she didn't stand out in the end. Poor Louis - he probably thinks he got the soap star this time and will go further, but she's not popular.

Poor Ashley Del Grosso. What is Master P famous for? Because he joins a dancing show and refuses to dance, apparently can't act - so when he raps he makes an effort? I hope so.

I think Lisa is going to look much better performing the latin dances, especially with Louis as her partner. Just hope he can tone it down enough so that he doesn't outshine her too much.

I don't know that Stacy can really be blamed for posing when it's her partner's responsibility to come up with the choreography. At this point she's following his instruction. Rachel got similar criticism last season, when again, it was her partner who put together the dances. Maybe neither lady could really get the waltz steps in practice so the men decided that they should showcase their flexibility instead?

I'm rooting Drew and Lisa as the final two.

I'm a dancing fan, so I'm rooting for her to do a little less posing and a little more dancing. Then I'd be okay with her winning. Girlfriend is gorgeous, no doubt, and she is absolutely graceful and her lines are lovely. But if anyone's going the Rachel Hunter Spin and Pose route, it's this chick. Which put her right on my last nerve.

I cannot believe that Tia scored lower than P. It must have been the Ashly pity vote.

I'm so happy for Louis.

Damn this is like American Idol, if you don't vote, good people might just get sent home.... There is no reason that Tia and Max should have been the bottom two. Master P and half-assed dancing sucked.
You've obviously never heard him rap. He's very laid back. His biggest claim to fame is the incredible amount of money that he has made, not only with his own recording career, but with the creation of Hip-Hop empire that sells every aspect of the culture for a small fee. Think Sean Combs of the Dirty South.