Ditto, ziglettospal. I don't dislike the woman: I didn't even know who she was before this show started. To me, she looks like another cookie cutter sex kitten, spunky but not a particularly coordinated dancer.

No I don't get the whole Joey vibe either. On a good day, I can remember the names of all the Beatles; any other boy group is on their own. Although just for a minute at the beginning of last week's dance, when his head was down and the camera was taking a long shot, he was a dead ringer for a young Martin Sheen. Now that caught my attention.

And as long as we're still casting season 2, Bergeron, be a dear and put in a good word for John Burke, would you please? (Do a FIND command for Burke and you'll pop right to it. Hey, who's that guy above him!) It's been 10 years and he still makes me squeee every time I see him. Ah, here's the pic I was looking for. I thought maybe E! had taken it down.

(Oh wow. Found a whole section on the original fX network in the Wikipedia while I was searching out Burke pictures. Good times, hey Tom?)

I'm still loving the idea that CBS probably thought this series was too fuddy-duddy and wouldn't appeal to a young enough demographic to be around long. Now they're stuck with it. *giggle*

It's not like her 'sexy' tag is coming out of nowhere. She was the Playboy Playmate of the month for April, 1997. That's no small thing.

I think a lot of guys watching sure know that fact about her and remember her pictures in Playboy at a fresh 21 year-old. And we sure are voting for her, even if we've never seen GH. Brings back good memories and all, a way of saying 'thanks' if you will...

I also don't think her boobs are fake, judging by those Playboy photos. As Bruno might say, "pleasing form, extended shape, natural movement, nice bounce..."

In a world where almost every actress out there with anything larger than an A-cup is considered to have implants, Kelly is actually naturally big-chested. Her sisters and mother are as well. IMO, no implants.

Chemistry is a strange thing, and it colors people's perceptions. I happen to see so much chemistry between Kelly and Alec that it practically melted my TV screen during the Rumba. Others might not feel the same.

Well, as a former amateur competitive ballroom dancer I will give you my own experiences, perhaps from a different viewpoint.

Quite frankly I am getting a little tired of this so-called "reality show". Competitors know the realities of being a ballroom dancer, and this is ANYTHING but reality.

As far as the dance performances went, this is how I would rate them:

(1). Rachel and Jonathan: For the SECOND week in a row they were giving the most NON-DANCE music that I have ever heard. There was NO RESEMBLANCE of tango basic rhythmic structure in the horrid rendition of a Britney Spears song. I give Jonathan and Rachel all the credit in the world for trying to make a convincing tango out of non-tango music.

(2). Kelly and Alec: It is amazing that Kelly could learn to do a half-way decent JIVE (in high-heels no less) in just one week. She is the only one who actually did JIVE, and the fact that she faded at the end should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever attempted to dance it up to speed, particularly with the kick-ball changes and toe flicks. I give her and Alec a lot of credit for trying to stay true to the dance form.

(3). John and Charlotte: John was an actor playing the part of a tango dancer. This time his mugging got very annoying, it looked more like a caricature of a tango dancer than someone who actually feels tango music. Again, John and Charlotte were given music more suitable to the dance. The tango hold and connection was dreadful, and even someone with the skills of Charlotte could not make that perfomance convincing. They did have some nice, and synchronized at least, stationary promenade kick-flicks. When they moved together it was painful to watch, and Charlotte's arm, back, and overall body is probably much sorer than usual. NOTE to all you TANGO NEOPHYTES: The lady is supposed to flick her head in RESPONSE to the man, not IN SPITE of him.

(4). Joey and Ashley: The ONLY reason they are fourth is because Evander was still dancing! Joey is so clueless about JIVE that he actually thought he could create a better routine than a former amateur Latin champion! It was awful. There was NO jive in anything he did, it was ugly to watch, his shape was horrible, his feet were sloppy, he looked bow-legged, etc. His rendition would have been more suitable to a parody of a drunk G.I. at a 40's USO dance.

(5). Evander: What can one say? No jive, mostly barroom boogie. Even his enthusiasm and "happy puppy" look couldn't save him from his obvious demise in a ballroom competition.

Let's look at the "reality" of this show.

(1). IMPLICATION: I can learn to dance competitive figures in just five weeks.
FACT: Most self-respecting dance studios would require a minimum of SIX MONTHS of basics before even attempting to show you a competitive figure.

(2).IMPLICATION: I could get Charlotte or Louis to offer me one-on-one private instruction.
FACT: Assuming that either Charlotte or Louis ever showed up at your studio, there would be NO WAY that you as a beginner could even get an hour with them. Most coaches will NOT work with a solo student, and the hours (45 minutes actually) would be filled with teachers and PRO-AM couples (and perhaps an amateur competitive couple or two), so you couldn't get an hour, much less dozens of hours that these "celebrities" got, even if you tried.

(3).IMPLICATION: I can look as good as the celebrities after only a few hours of instruction.
FACT: Every one of these celebrities are used to being in front of the camera and the public eye. Many are trained actors, so why should it be surprising that they can fake their way through a performance art? Some had ballet, some had other dance, all of them have had training in presentation. Most of us without that background would have the posture of GUMBY rather than John or Rachel.

(4).IMPLICATION: Me and the misses could go to a local dance and tear up the floor.
FACT: Assuming you can even find a place other than a dance studio to do a routine, you certainly won't be able to use any of that at a public ballroom dance. Most dance floors are crowded, with people going the wrong direction, or stepping backward, or "boogying" right in the middle of LOD. Some are in their eighty's, and have danced "all their lives", so they know to put down "dance wax" so they can shuffle their feet. You, meanwhile, end up breaking your neck.

To say nothing of the real COST to get that kind of training, assuming that it was available in the first place. It might get more people into the dance studios until they see their checkbook receipts after the first month. Training like that (assuming you could even get it) would cost Tens of Thousands of dollars.

And then there is the voting system. WHO in the world would come up with a system that has the audience voting on a DIFFERENT performance than the judges? It would be MUCH better if the judges voted, then the audience voted, and the results were announced at the beginning of the NEXT week's show. Whoever was eliminated could dance their prepared routine as a farewell dance.

Even better would be that the SAME competitors stayed through the entire competition and that they rotated PROS. This would have given us the opportunity to see what Charlotte would have done with Evander! It is only fair, because obviously some of the pros are much better teachers than the others.

I love ballroom dancing, and have great respect both for the art form and for anyone who would attempt it. I appreciate the progress and effort that the competitors are making, but this show is ANYTHING but "competitive reality".

JMHO

It's a "competitive reality" show in the sense that American Idol or Fear Factor are competitive reality shows. The music business doesn't work like American Idol, and Fear Factor is just odd, so I think most people are looking at this as fluffy fun somewhat cheezy summer entertainment and not as a realistic rendition of what it's like to train for and compete in dancesport.

I think that in this day and age "competitive reality" is just a fancy/sophisticated name for "game show." :) In some ways DwtS is a single-track (i.e., partner dance only) glitzed-up version of "The Gong Show." Except Chuck Barris was more fun/more snide/more weird than Tom Bergeron as host. :)

I am sorry you took this show so seriously, bornonce . It must suck to have something you took/take seriously trivialized on tv. However, I don't think most of us who are watching and enjoying this show believe that it is a true representation of the ballroom dance world. I, for one, just enjoy watching people I've sort of heard of trying to do something that I could never do.

I have not been given the impression that with a few lessons I could light up the dance floor. On the contrary, the celebrities have been working hard and are in obviously much better shape than I am; I can only fantasize about dancing so well.

bornonce:

You're implications are way out of whack from what us 'normals' are getting from watching the show. I think only someone in your position (with some actual knowledge of ballroom dancing) might be even close to thinking what your list of implications state. The rest of us know that the 'stars' are no where near what even a skilled amateur would be at - and thats the fun. Of course they aren't very good - but its still remarkable that they are not making total fools of themselves (except Evander of course. BTW, who do you think had a worse June, Evander or Mike Tyson?). Are the stars' lack of skills being hidden by the pros' choreography? Sure, but that might be seen as an actual great skill by the pros in this competition and its still enjoyable for anyone who isn't a purist. And face it, its such a niche sport that 99% of the audience fits that non-purist bill.



I don't think anyone thinks that. Instead, we want to see what level people can attain in just 5 weeks. Very few believe that these stars are even at the competitive amateur stage, as the amount of snark shows.



I don't think a single person thinks this is possible if they thought of that at all, unless they are willing to shell out major dough. Just the fact that Charlotte and Louis are now on TV just increased their pricetag probably by a factor of 5x. Not to mention that 4 weeks ago, no one knew who the hell they were. But now we do, and they can probably make a hell of a lot more money doing apperances or opening schools in the next two year than they did in their whole careers before. I'm pretty sure Charlotte and Louis will be better compensated by this exposure than if the star DID pay them the rate for private instructions.



I think most of realize we can't look as good as the celebrities NO MATTER WHAT. That's why they are on TV / modeling/ boy bands and we aren't. Not only that, but the show makes it known that its not just 'a few hours', but 5 weeks of 6-to-7 days a week, 10-14 hour days. I don't see how you missed that message. Thats why the stars aren't embarassing themselves, and we the audience can still see that even with that intensity of training, they are no where close to the pros. If anything, it has opened my eyes to how good these pros really are.



Maybe more like me and the misses had no idea about ballroom dancing, but now we want to get into this for fun. Since its YOUR sport, you should be nothing but welcoming of the exposure and the implications for the future this type of show is giving to it. Look what it's done for poker. Instead, you seem pretty angry about it.

I think you are way overstating what us "dumb" non-dancing audience members think. I watch the NBA finals - doesn't mean I think I can be a pro baller the next day. Give us some credit and make the implications actually fit our brain capacity, instead of outlandish ones that no one is really thinking.

What sgtbecktar said.

I also resent the implication that those of us that may be interested in taking a ballroom dance class now or in the future are evidently not approaching it with the seriousness you think it requires, bornonce. If I were you I would be happy that "my" sport was experiencing such a renaissance. Many of us (especially like me, at 34 I would hardly entertain the idea of starting any kind of dancing career now!) would just like to to have fun doing something new.

As an amateur dancer for six years, I find that I mostly agree with bornonce. I figured the five weeks of training the "stars" got prior to the premiere of the show to be the equivalent in traning hours of two years and $10,000 of private instruction for me. And I wasn't traning with world-ranked Pros either. My instructor says his longtime students have been asking him huffy questions like, "I've been dancing for X years, why don't I look like John O'Hurley?" Certainly not everyone, but I think at least some dancers and non-dancers alike will come away from the show with unrealistic expectations.

My studio manager told me the show has brought "a few" new people into the studio, but hardly a great influx. They have taped a commercial to run during this week's show that they hope will bring more in.

That said...I really have fun with the show. I get to see dancing on TV and snark on the "stars"! Plus...uh...there's nothing else to watch.

"Reality" in the context of the term "reality show" or "reality t.v." is synonymous with unscripted. It means that the participants, be they actors, singers, "civilians" recruited to participate, or whatever, are put in a situation and we see what happens. "Competitive" reality means that the situation they are put into has an element of competition--participants compete against one another in some manner. Other options in "reality" include "candid"--they are just put in some situation and we watch what happens, e.g. Surreal Life; or cameras follow them around while they do what they were going to do anyway, e.g. Show Biz Moms and Dads--and "how to," unscripted shows in which some project is undertaken and we watch, e.g. decorating shows and fashion makeover shows. Taking issue with the terminology seems like looking for things to be annoyed about. I think most people have long ago grasped the idea that reality and reality television are not the same thing.

As a viewer, I get these implications:
Ballroom dancing looks like fun.
Preparing a complex performance takes a full time, boot-camp approach.
There is a whole world of people out there who take this endeavor powerfully seriously; an entire sport, with its own stars, that I knew nothing about. Could be fun to watch. Think I'll set my TiVo.

I'll admit I also got the implication: you can look better on the dance floor if you have a professional for a partner. I did not get the implication that I, personally, COULD have a professional for a partner.

I don't much get it either. She has no curves whatsoever except for her chest. Other than that, I think she looks like a 12 year old girl. But I guess people have different tastes.

No matter how "unrealistic" DWTS is, there is no possible way that Ballroom Dancing as a sport or dance studios in general will find this exposure a net negative. There will always be idiots who will look at John O'Hurley and wonder why they don't dance like that after 2 years of 2 hour group lessons per week, but the vast majority of viewers, whether they currently dance or not, are going to understand that they are more likely to be like Trista or Evander than John O'Hurley, and that these celebrities are getting one on one instruction, personally designed choreography, and hours of training every day. We're not seeing just the dancing -- we're seeing them learning the steps and sucking at it, we're seeing them run the stairs to get in better shape, and we're hearing that they did it for 5 straight weeks before the show even started.

And as for the dance studio person only getting a few people coming in so far, it's only been on for 3 weeks, for crying out loud! Taking dance lessons, particularly in the summer when most folks have plenty of other leisure activities, isn't necessarily something that you'll see on TV on Wednesday and sign up for an 8 week class the next day. But after seeing this, come October when the evenings are dark and you're looking for something fun to do, a viewer might very well think of learning to dance, something that might never have occurred to them before.

Dance studios should be setting up altars and blessing the day that ABC decided to run this show, IMO.

Since I was the one who called her boobs fake, let me restate. I got that from a KM fan site that made a comment about "after her plastic surgery." I made the assumption they meant boobs - maybe she had a nose job. I jumped to conclusions. Since it's a fan site, I'm thinking they wouldn't have said she had plastic surgery unless they thought it was true.

And word to what sgtbecker said. I've never confused "reality" TV with reality any more than I do a sitcom.

[OT]I watched Strictly Ballroom, and both versions of Shall We Dance this weekend. Paul Mercurio....rrrowrrr, has than man's hips got moves. I thought both versions of SWD sucked, the American one sucked more because of JLo, but it was offset by the yumminess of watching Richard Gere glide across the floor.

What DWtS needs is flashier costumes! Insane hair! More makeup! We need one of the men to wear one of those clingy jumpsuits with the big poofy arms, like Wayne and Nathan Starky were wearing. And I'll be darned if John O'Hurley wasn't channeling just a wee bit of Ken Railings, with the whole mugging routine. [/OT]

I've found that amongst people who have been competing for a while, their feelings toward DwtS are either "love it" or "it's awful." Most of the people I've talked to love it...we see it for what it is and figure the general viewing audience gets the point that the results seen on the show are not typical :-) Truth be told, most beginners look a lot more like Evander (and Kelly in that first-week waltz) than they do like the other dancers. But look at Evander! Despite his results he was still having fun and showing a lot of heart and spirit up until the time the judges critiqued his last performance and then he found out he had to go. Fortunately judges at real ballroom competitions don't give an oral critique for all to hear: you get a mark on a score sheet (an ordinal just like in the old figure skating system before they switched over to "Code of Points" last year) and that's it.

Mint Tea, at age 34 you are not too old to start dancing for fun, and even to start competing as a hobby. I started at 28, took a multi-year break, and then re-started again (from scratch) at 33. I am now 40. I do it because I enjoy it. There are competitions for many different age levels and proficiency levels, so you don't have to already dance like Ashly or even John or Rachel to go out there and challenge yourself and have a good time. There are competitions where two pros dance together, where two amateurs dance together (and these events are for a variety of levels), and competitions where a professional teacher dances with their amateur student (again, with a variety of age and ability levels). You don't have to be young or even particularly fit or beautiful to take this up -- you just have to be someone who enjoys the process of learning to dance. And it is a process, it goes on and on for so long as you still enjoy dancing in general.

DwtS is showing some of the process, enough for people to see that there's a lot of sweat and repetition involved, and is definitely showing the "carrot" that draws some people to competitive dancing. It's actually a two-fold carrot: one is the joy and self-satisfaction of making your body do something new, and the other is the fun and excitement of competing. Well, and then there's the joy of dance itself, the thrill of moving beautifully to music.

It will be interesting to see what tack the show takes now that there are fewer dancers. This week will have more dancing and less fluff, as we have four dancers dancing a total of eight numbers. But when we get down to the final, there will be just two dancers and a whole hour to fill. Will we learn more about the celebrities and their pros? Will we see a recap of their training exploits and so witness how hard they've worked and how far they've come? I hope so, because it will be fun to see the tranformation of the ultimate favorites in montage form.

Preach it, sister! I watched it yesterday, and had forgotten how yummy he was. (And that he's a professional ballet dancer as well).



Thanks for mentioning that, too! When Ken came out, I started laughing because the cheesy similarity (height...hair...general "look"....hamminess...) was so much like John O'Hurley.

JH's -got- to have seen "SB", right? I wonder if, with his sense of humor/fun, he's doing that as a funny shout-out, on purpose? If it's just coincidence....too funny, and someone should show him the movie. (I enjoyed it enough to finally be willing to give "Moulin Rouge" a try, since the directing of SB was so good).



I found my own solution for that during week 2: "It's awful, and I love it!" :)

Thanks ziglettospal, I actually meant to say I wouldn't plan on having a serious competitive career (like the pros on this show) but I certainly don't think I am too old to start dancing for fun!

I do hope as the pairs get cut we get to see more of the training and rehearsing. That part interests me as much as the performances. So far we have only seen highly edited bits and pieces.

The "reality" factor of this show reminds me of Project Runway - it did win fans and respect from the fashion industry for the most part, but nowhere in that business do people think it is 100% accurate representation of what actually happens in the industry. Like DWtS, it doesn't make it any less enjoyable for most to watch. (OK I let my PR season II anticipation slip in here, sorry!)

The average viewer is probably someone like me, who knows squat about ballroom dancing and doesn't care that he knows squat. I watch because I like looking at Rachel Hunter. I watch because I like making fun of someone who sucks like Evander. I watch because I find it entertaining. And in the end, that's really all ABC cares about, isn't it? To put on a TV show that people watch, for whatever reason.

If it wasn't for DWTS, they wouldn't be making plans for PBS to start showing ballroom dancing again. They had a blurb on my local news station the other day about how many people are signing up for ballroom dance lessons around the area - all due to DWTS.

Since we have so many real dancers posting, I would be interested in reading more of their critiques of the pros. Since I have DWTS on Tivo, I find myself watching the star the first time around, and then focusing on the pro the second. The difference really is astounding. If you are only watching DWTS once, or focusing on the star again during the encore presentation, I think you are missing out.

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if the experienced people would point out what is spectacularly good but looks easy or what was not so good from the pros. For instance, what makes Charlotte so much better than Ashly (or vice versa). What pro did a flawless jive kick thing with pointed toes (my vote is Alec - am I wrong?). What Latin specialist did only fair in the non-Latin dances? Is Joey at a disadvantage because Ashly is not top tier (or is that a false statement)? For each dance type (i.e Rumba, cha cha cha) which pro did the best?

I ask because I just think all the pros are super good, but would like to have a better eye to distinguish the '9' from the '10'. I know there have been some critiques, but not too much criticism of the pros - mostly on the stars instead. And yes, we realize the critiques of the pros is on a whole different level than the stars to those who are sensitive to that subject.

barkley, is this true? I hope it is. I used to love watching it (despite Sandy Duncan's annoying hosting) and was sad when they stopped airing competitions.

As for this show promoting a false sense of the rigor of ballroom dancing, I, and as others have said for themselves, am smart enough to know that dancing is a lot of hard work. I've thought about taking ballroom lessons (Argentine Tango and Rumba, in particular), but I just don't have the time to do it. Right now, I take rueda de casino lessons (stated, oversimply, as "salsa square dancing," though we actually dance in a circle), and let me tell you that it's intense...and very fun! (And, now I've become addicted to buying dance heels.)

Anyway, I'm quite glad that they put Evander out of his misery. It was painful watching him clod his way through his performances. As for Kelly, she annoyed me a bit when she got so defensive over some of the comments the judges made either last week or the week before about the performance. Everyone else seemed to take their negative comments in stride; Kelly, on the other hand, was snippy. I will say that her partner brings the hotness.

From everything I've heard and read, yes. The one they always filmed was the Ohio Star Ball, but it's not until November or something, but right now there are plans to film it again.

Sandy Duncan was no Juliet Prowse, that's for sure.

I am excited if this is true too, because I used to love watching the ballroom competitions on PBS - that is until I learned that over the years I had been watching the SAME COMPETITION on repeat (with Juliet Prowse, not Sandy Duncan, however). That would be awesome if they showed some current competitions.
Damn tv. They don't show any ballet on tv anymore either, and it pisses me off. Off-topic, I know, but I wish someone or some SHOW would give BALLET the promotional push it desperately needs.

I had no idea who this Kelly was until this show, but and please don't take offense Kelly fans, she has skeeved me out since I first saw her. [OT] It's probably my own reasonings, she just looks (exactly!) like this girl who I went to Junior High with (in the mid-80's) who wore the heavy eye black eyeliner, had the major wings on the side AND the poof on top (didn't we all-but hers was super Aqua-Netted!) and lost her virginity at like, 12, never slowed down and loved to start shit with any girl that looked at her wrong. [/OT]



And that is nice, I feel for her being a DD naturally. However, I've seen her centerfold pics from the link posted her, and it's just so rare to see a naturally big chested gal with no sagging, stretch marks or hunched over posture a bit. Even as a hetrosexual female, I will say, for being so large, she looked nice up top if they are natural. I feel for her, I'm the same height as her and I had reduction before kids because of the back pain. Now, 10 years and 2 kids later, plus, 50lbs heavier, I'm back to the size I was. *sigh* Sorry, off topic again.

I'll just be happy as long as Joey stays. My teenage crush is back again.

ITA, blackwing. I don't know a whole lot about Ballroom Dancing. I tuned in because it's a so-called "Reality Show", with so-called "Stars", and that is the type of TV Show that is always worth trying out for me. I don't know how to judge and good dance from a bad dance (well, in most cases, unless Evander is on, poor thing), just like American Idol, I don't know a thing about singing, so when I think one did good, it'll get back marks and vice-versa. So I enjoy both aspects, seeing the stars and learning a thing or two about the dances.

All GH fans aren't the only reason why Kelly is still in this competition. Last year Kelly couldn't buy fans. She was one the most hated female characters on the show. She is finally winning fans this year. The judges fucked up when they were so harsh to her in the beginning of the show. People can take constructive critisim. What they were doing to Kelly hurt them more than her. They went after Kelly like she killed their dog or something. Some people like an underdog and that is what Kelly became to them so she got the votes. People also seem to like her so they are voting for her no matter how badly she does. She also has her Playboy fanbase to keep her in. She is the only reason why I still watch this show so as long as she stays they have a viewer.

Her breasts are real people. Petite women can have huge breasts. I should know because I am one.

I think Kelly has been a great sport about the whole thing. I would have permanent bitchface too if I were the only person being blasted on live tv while everyone else that fucks up gets kiddie comments while I get roasted alive. My only peeve about the show was if the judges are going to be brutal to Kelly then they should spread that wealth.

She was only 20 or 21 when she did Playboy, so I can see there not being much sag, and stretch marks can be airbrushed out.

I agree that the judges screwed up when they attacked her so harshly the first night without anything other than "you looked stern", because to me it looked like she danced a pretty good waltz. It was overly harsh compared to the ass kissing everyone else got.

Okay, for me that pretty much kills any credibility I was willing to give Bruno. **shudder** PTB, don't listen to him! He's evil!

I think we'll know ballroom has taken hold with the masses when we start seeing classes offered in adult education venues. The pay wouldn't be anywhere near what I've seen quoted here but if you're going to build a base, you have to start with a lot of foundation stones.

Don't you mean if you want flowers, you have to start with a lawn?

Even worse is the fact that before they attacked her she was seen in the video talking about how she's legally deaf since her ear drums were blown out in a scuba accident. When they started to criticise her for not "feeling" the music it looked like they were picking on the deaf girl.

Last week on NPR there was an interview with a woman who had come up with this weird equation to determine the success or failure of British sitcoms. As part of the interview she and the reporter talked about how there was a fundamental difference between British and American sitcoms -- the Brits always want people to be humiliated. In fact, they said that in the case of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, it was popular in Britain because people loved watching people LOSE, while it was popular in the US because people loved watching people WIN.

So maybe those 2 british judges sort of misread the room. Maybe they thought we wanted harsh criticism and that we would eat it up and eliminate their target. Instead, we behaved as typical sentimental Americans, rooting for the underdog, and now they're stuck with Kelly.

Naturally I don't know if this is the case, I'm just pulling this theory out of my ass.

Len is British but Bruno sounds very Italian to me. According to the website though, he did judge the UK version of this show. I haven't watched GH in years but I still threw my vote to Kelly because I didn't think it was fair that the judges were harder on her than Evander, who is obviously a very nice guy but did not dance better than Kelly (who also seems pretty nice in spite of her supposed "bitch face" which I really don't see). I also don't know much of anything about Playboy but the one thing I do know is that those photos are massively retouched. If they weren't, you'd better believe you'd be seeing plenty of surgery scars in every issue. None of those women look that good in real life. None of them.

Here's hoping that we see Barbara Eden hosting the PBS competitions again. She might not have known a lot about dance, but she knew how to let the show take center stage and anyway, she always seemed like such a sweet woman.

Bwah to watching the same competition and WORD to the ballet suggestion. I guess a ballet show wouldn't give the networks the same demographic appeal (i.e. ratings) as DwtS, but it's so beautiful and just as much hard work. In a time when ballet companies are turning to having principal dancers "sponsored" and many ballet companies are forced to cancel their annual Nutcracker performances (their main source of income) due to lack of funds, ballet could really use some positive exposure. [/rant]

As someone who has no professional ballroom experience, I began watching this show for two reasons: I like watching most kinds of dance and I was curious to see how well the stars were able to dance. ITA agree with Hip 2 Be Square - reality television doesn't mean that the participants are placed in a realistic situation (how "realistic" is it for a bunch of people to be placed on an island to compete for money or for a woman to have her pick of a gaggle of eligible bachelors?). In that sense, this show did not give me any delusions of beginning a career in professional ballroom dancing (no matter how much I might fantasize about dancing with many of the participants on the show!).

I understand that anyone who takes ballroom dancing seriously would not want it to be portrayed inaccurately, especially if it results in people coming into the studio believing that it will only take a few lessons to become a good dancer, but I don't think it's the show itself that leads people to believe that. There are always people who think they have the talent and it just needs the opportunity/exposure. I mean, look at all the tone-deaf people who audition for American Idol and INSIST that they are the best singers evah!

Maybe she had an extra toe removed or something.

I don't have the dances recorded, so I can't go back and give you a complete blow-by-blow, but here's some highlights that I remember. (Focusing on the standard dances, since that's where my training is.)

Edyta looked very weak in the quickstep. Sure, she had a tough job to do getting Evander up to speed, but I don't think she focused at all on the right things in training, and she didn't do particularly well in performance, either. (This is understandable, since I don't think she has any standard experience at all.)

With a "heavy" dancer like Evander, I would have cut out all (or almost all) of the "hoppy" bits of the quickstep. (Charlotte took this strategy with John, you will notice.) Instead, I would have concentrated on getting a feeling of "swinging" across the floor. (Given that Evander was a boxer, I might have tried the same thing that Edyta tried with getting him to do scatter chasses in the ring - but I'd like to think that I would have either abandoned it before performance, or at least worked on getting his steps smaller so he would be able to use his weight effectively.) Evander actually had a decent topline when he wasn't trying to do too much with his feet - it would have been better to really play that up. (In hindsight, we can see that this might have worked particularly well because Joey's topline and posture were so bad.)

In performance, Edyta was too focused on staying with the routine instead of staying with Evander. (Again, this is partly because she doesn't have that much experience as a follower in this style of dance.) There were a couple of places in John's routine where you could see him flub his steps, but only if you knew what you were looking for, because Charlotte followed the flubs well enough to make it look like he "meant to do that." Edyta obviously got Evander's jive to the point where he could go out and do a whole dance socially - if she had gotten his quickstep to the same point, then they could even have aborted the routine entirely when things started to go bad, and probably done better in competition.

She also had arms that were either too loose or too rigid (depends on which point you watch), instead of being "just right" - relaxed but responsive. She did a respectable job with the footwork, but it still wasn't really "on".

I don't really remember Ashly's standard routine (I was fixated on Joey's bad posture), but generally what separates a great like Charlotte from an OK like Ashly is the consistency of the topline (you will never see anything but a beautiful neck and shoulder line from Charlotte, even when John is about to pull her right arm out of the socket), the tone and power of the core muscles (she could probably take a punch from Evander in the midsection and shrug it off), and the smoothness of the foot action. If you cover up Charlotte's feet (or the camera helpfully omits them... :p ), you will see her body moving across the floor as though she were levitating. In contrast, you probably will be able to detect the placement of each of Ashly's feet by the tiny "bump" in the movement of her torso.

It sounds like we will get an actual side-by-side comparison this week, which should really highlight the differences between both the amateurs and the pros.