Those of you with an in at ABC or anywhere they know stuff that isn't given away in the promos, this is the place to let us all in on it! Spoilers, please!

LOVE the thread name.

Ian posted on his TV Guide blog that he's doing the paso doble.

Heather posted in her USA Today blog/interview that she's dancing the paso doble this week (April 23).

Just to remind everyone, things posted in main stream media aren't spoilers. Spoilers, in this instance, I would think would be:
- Song choices (if not revealed in media)
- Scores and/or rankings
- Judges' comments
- Who's leaving

I suppose we can always ask a mod to clarify if this thread takes off....the spoilers I've usually seen for this show are all "mainstream media" info.

As posted in The Bachelor forum, "Dancing With the Stars" will close with a three-team dance-off this season

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/enter...cle_1668181.php

I'm not sure if this should be spoiled, but I figured since it deals with an upcoming show, I'll go ahead and be safe.

It has been confirmed on Maks' official forum that his brother Val and Val's partner Val will be on next week's results show. Maks and Karyna may be dancing with them as well, but that isn't certain yet.

You don't need spoiler tags in the spoiler thread, and I don't think that either the three-team finale info or that Val and his partner will be there next week are spoilers, anyway.

What do they do with four teams? Still two dances each? Don't we run out of dances after next week?

From past seasons I know that 1 dance is a couple's choice; ie they pick their fav dance.
another dance is one they have done before that they would like to do again though this could be the same as above.

the judges pick the other dances

From Max and Yulia's website (http://www.ymdance.net/latestnews.htm):

"-- we will be appearing on special guests on the ABC network show 'Dancing With The Stars'. We will provide dates as this gets closer! Check back for more info!"

So we will get their exhibition dance after all. I can't wait!

WOOHOO!!! There is still hope for Fringe Pants Woman!

So, the new season starts on 9/24, and the Tour is over on 7/24 -- we should be beginning to get leaks on who the stars and pros will be pretty soon, right? I've heard rumors of Tori Spelling or Jennie Garth in the media thread. Anyone else?

ETA: Aaron Carter as The Boybander?

From Maks' forum again.

Maks most likely not going to do next season. Also may have found the one. Although it may not work out.

Welcome to TWoP,KarenM and bigmae. Just to let you know--under the forum rules, spoiler tags aren't necessary or permitted in the spoiler thread--that's whole point of having the thread to begin with.

KarenM, could you elaborate a bit please? Or perhaps point us in a direction to get more information.

If it's true he's not going to do S5, I'm not really surprised. He seems to have had his fill of the show. I, for one, will miss him.

That's what he told to some of his forum ladies who went to his workshop few days ago. Maks' forum

Thank you legaleagle44,

I guess I thought better safe than sorry.

Ashly wont be back for season5.

Ashly DelGrosso, who is due to give birth to her baby any day, said this in her email newsletter:
"Like last season I will be cheering all my friends on but will not be participating because of my newborn. I intend to be back for season 6 though in February and am looking forward to it."

Wiki says jennie Garth is doing season five. I'll admit to not knowing how reliable wiki is though..

I reckon the rampant rumours about Jennie Garth are true. Being in the audience is always an indication of being on the next season. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if Sela Ward was on the next season also.

The question is, who will they partner JG with? Maybe Jonathan?

They should give her to Nick, who has been through the wringer with his partners. Somebody younger and more likely to have a fanbase would be terrific for him.

Splitting this off from the Media thread for discussion of the gossip of which stars & pros may be participating in the Fall '08 Season.

Potential spoilers may follow, and until ABC confirms, I would recommend, treating everything that follows as pure speculation.

In other words, a place to moan, speculate, and hope until the official episode threads start. ;-)



I have a hard time with this one, though in some ways I would like to see it, but only if they also do a female pairing also. But I'm not sure America would be ready for this, add to the fact that we have a british judge, and it's the brits who frown the most on same sex couples. I've heard that some NDCA competitions have been sanctioned or at least spanked for allowing same sex couples, usually because an european judge saw it and complained. Most folks are willing to overlook it for the lower newcomer levels because they know how hard it is for women to find male partners, so female pairings are more accepted than male pairings, though a male follow/ female leader I think is somewhere between the 2. Once you get into the higher levels, than it's expected to have the mixed pairs.

Hmm, don't know how this would affect the pro side though, anyone who is competing internationally would have to have some qualms. If I were to guess anyone it would be Louie or even Christian, since I know he has danced with male students on tv with ballroom bootcamp.

But honestly, I'm little impressed of how few names have been rumored for the next season. Last season, by about this time out didn't we have at least 6-8 names floating?

I'd prefer not to see it. I doubt Disney/ABC would put it on the show. Having Lance Bass on the show is fine, but not sure why being a gay man would necessitate him dancing with a male partner. Does ABC now think they have to "showmance" every GD couple on this show, and with Lance being out, that makes showmance with his female partenr impossible to promote? Jeez. Hey, PTB, here's a great twist: Lance's beautiful, talented, playful, partner is SOOO hot that she actually straightens him out! Go fly with that one.

Doing one same sex couple for the season also has a bit of sensationalistic quality to it, vis a vis "the one-legged dancer". Those judges would certainly have a hoot with it, however. I'm assuming this is a silly rumor until I hear otherwise. Has any international version of DWTS had a same-sex couple?

I will ask a sincere question though: In a same sex couple, who leads? Can it be either partner, depending on the dance? And in the context of DWTS, would a male pro, who has spent his entire career as a lead, be able and willing to be led by a male partner for all or some of the dances? Or would the male celeb, by default, take the "lady's" role and be led by the pro for every dance?

Ugly truth: I suppose the biggest reason I would be against it is because I would hate to see a spot eliminated for any of those gorgeous female pros. That might suggest my preference, were there a same-sex couple, is female-female, but overall I'd prefer a field of all mixed-gender couples.

The BUZZ over at Maks' Forum is that Maks will come back.





I'm doing the happy dance.

About Lance’s rumor…ITA

Unless they want do it for the pure sake of controversy - I don’t see why Lance can’t dance with a girl.

Why does a gay guy have to dance with a guy? Are they implying that dancing is like romancing or dating or something? Good grief, it's just dancing. Gay guys still have male physiques, which is why guys "lead" - they're usually taller and almost always stronger. I didn't think it had really all that much to do with who you want to have sex with -- maybe at a club or something -- but not in a dance competition, surely.

However... If they feel they must do this, to advocate gay rights or something, I'd suggest, like some of you, that they start with Lesbians. I nominate Ellen DeGeneres. She'd be so much fun to watch! I don't know how tall she is, but sheesh, I guess with two women, it makes no difference whatsoever, lol. So how about Ellen and Kym? They'd be a riot, I bet. Ellen and Julianne would be cute too, though I'm not sure why I think so -- I guess there's something very gentle about Ellen and I think it would be endearing.

But I still think the whole idea is ridiculous. BTW, did the Zac Efron rumor die out? Seems like he's involved in something else now. And somebody named Carter? (I'm talking about potential Julianne partners.)

Also, what about Oscar de la Hoya. I was looking forward to seeing him dance! No so much Al Pacino -- the judges would walk on egg-shells like they did with Heather, so no thanks.

Honestly, I don't know who else has been rumored since I try to stick to published rumors and haven't been doing my daily run of googling latest news stories in a while, and just started again this week. I do remember Oscar being mentioned a while ago, and thought he might be cool. Personally, I think the PR people for ABC like to leak these kind of details to see what kind of reaction they get on the boards. Still cracks me up that someone was able to predict last summer that Vincent wouldn't be able to stand up to the rigors of training after seeing him on one of those celebrity weightloss shows, and that was the reason given when he quit.

I'm old enough to be Zac Efron's mother (if I'd had him when I was a teenager :), but I just saw him in Hairspray and thought he was adorable. So, I'd love to see him on DWtS with Julianne. Sadly, I think he's probably too "hot" for this show right now since it was just announced that he's been cast in the Kevin Bacon role in a film remake of Footloose.

And hooray! that Maks will probably be doing S5. I knew he wouldn't be able to stay away. :) Here's hoping that he gets paired with Jennie Garth because I'm pretty sure she wouldn't put up with much from him.

M: I am zee boss and you will do exzzzzactly what I tell you to.

J: Um, yeah, I used to work with Shannon Doherty and her big ego, so you're not impressing me. I think we've danced enough for today. Why don't you come home with me and we'll have a tea party with my three daughters. They all think you're cute. :) :)

No, and, as others here have already pointed out, there's no need for them to. Gay men (and lesbians,too, for that matter), are perfectly capable of dancing with members of the opposite sex. In fact, I've seen openly gay men dancing with women, and doing extremely well, even with the Rumba, and it would be patently ridiculous to have Lance dance with another man simply because he's gay, in my opinion.

And as for Ellen DeGeneres? I doubt she'd do the show, since she's made too much of an effort to be anything but a "lipstick" lesbian since coming out. She wouldn't be caught dead in a ball gown or heavy makeup, and I can't for the life of me picture her in one of the skimpy Latin outfits, either. She'd be the female Master P, in my opinion, and just painful to watch.

Besides, if they were going to start doing same-sex couples, why would they have to start with women--don't they think that gay men (who probably make up a great deal of the core audience in any event) would enjoy seeing two men dance together? As a gay man, I would vastly prefer seeing that over seeing two women dance together just to satisfy certain straight-male lesbian fantasies. Besides, as one who has seen men dancing together, I can say that there is definitely an energy there that simply is lacking when women dance together, or even mixed-gender couples, for that matter.

But, it's a moot point as far as I'm concerned, because honestly? If I wanted to see same-sex dancing, I'd go to a gay bar. I much prefer ballroom on DWTS and in DanceSport competitions to be of a variety where I can enjoy the masculine presence of the men and the feminine presence of the ladies. As always, the mileage varies, though, so chacun à son propre goût! :)

I don't think a gay person would HAVE to dance with someone of the same gender, I mean seriously do we actually KNOW for a fact that EVERYBODY on DWTS is straight? For all we know we have already seen gay people dancing mixed gender and not known it. However I do think it would be nice IF people did have the option of dancing with someone of the same gender if they wanted to (somebody in an old thread mentioned going to see two guys tango and that that was pretty cool) and IF America didn't freak out about it. I don't think we are there yet but I would take it as a sign of us maturing as a culture if we COULD tolerate it.

When I heard that they allegedly asked Bill Clinton and Al Pacino to be on this I knew it would never happen but I can't help wondering what the heck that would be like. Who the hell could resist keeping Pacino in at least till he Rhumba'd and Clinton would be surreal.

Sorry, legaleagle. I just think America, in general, would be more accepting if two women together went first - to kind of warm them up for two men. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like there's less resistance to gay women than gay men, at least where I live (Deep South.) Actually, I hope I'm wrong - I hope resistance in both cases, on all fronts, and in general, is diminishing rapidly.

Maybe I really don't understand how this business works, but I was shocked when Maks was pretty vocal in saying that he thought Len Goodman should NOT be on dwts anymore. I thought I read somewhere that LG was one of the producers? Can you go around bad-mouthing a big-wig and not pay for it?

Also, that the judges were annoyed with Maks when he left Laila to get up off the floor by herself at one point during the Waltz -- he helped her up at the end -- I think this was towards the beginning of the number. Apparently, the judges were horrified at how un-gallant or tacky that was.

I mean, he's good and everything; he's hot; he's 6'2"; he was on People's most eligible bachelors list; but still...

It's reality tv. The more drama the more ratings. Nothing like a good feud between people to get audience to tune in. Maks is pretty popular right now, they would be foolish not to have him back. He was just on EXTRA at the ABC party saying he might do it. He still has time to decide. They are keeping Maks in the spotlight for a reason. JMO

And Ellen has been marketing her self... I think the joke was "Yes, when I thinking of a talk show host to dance, I too think of Jerry Springer first." With eyebrow raised, and a "pick me, pick me" type of body language.

Anyways, just posted a link in the media page to an article about the Lou Ferrigno, Incredible Hulk being in talks with the producers. Hopefully, they'll give him a female pro that has a chance at matching him height/width wise, unlike poor Clyde & Master P. But I got the impression he has some body rhythm.

Isn't Lou Ferrigno deaf? Or am I totally crazy..........that would make moving to the music very challenging.

I'll have to go read in the media page for more info.

From Lou Ferrigno's bio on IMDB.com



Its a very accomplished bio.....football, bodybuilding, acting, and author.

Isn't Kym Johnson the tallest dancer (I'm thinking of who'd they pair with Ferigno)? And the lady that danced with Kenny Mayne - I don't know her name but I think she was tall too. I always think Edyta looks sort of tall but think I've read that she isn't - still, she's been given difficult cases before (assuming he'd be difficult - have no idea.)

From the myspace page (ID= 175640306) of Nia Peeples (TV's Fame, Walker Texas Ranger, Young and the Restless):

Nia is being considered as one of the celebrity contestants on
Dancing With The Stars. She would be trying to raise money for Loretta (Dusty on "Fame") Chandler's non profit organization Vepag.

Oh my, I hope that's true. I LOVE Nia Peeples. I've seen her do some interviews and she seems like she could be a lot of fun (granted, I saw those interviews years ago, but still...)

I was also a big fan of hers (Peeples) twenty years ago. But would she be the "ringer" for the season that everyone complains about? I thought she was a fairly talented dancer.

She definitely already knows how to dance, or at least whatever that was she did on Fame the series.

According to this article, Melanie Brown, one of the Spice Girls, has been signed to be a judge.



I have no idea if its true or not. This same source said she was going to be one of the stars on the show just a week or so ago.

This shouldn't be a rumor. It was announced on Edyta's forum that her and Alec are coming back for S5
I hope Alec gets someone that has a fan base this time around. I sure would like to keep him on my TV screen
for a while :) squee............

edit:already posted

Edyta said she'll know all the details Aug. 20. Wonder what that means.

Someone asked who her celebrity partner will be and she said she would know the details Aug. 20.

Stole some of my discussion back from the media thread....



<checks calendar> Whoo hoo, won that bet!! Course, noone took me up on it.

So.... if Edyta is not trying to misdirect fans, sounds like they've gone back to giving the stars only 5 wks. I'm a bit mixed on that one. I wonder if everyone "peaked" too early last season with that extra week?

Now to wait for the confirmation, though I'd give credibility to some of the rumors we are hearing, I won't go counting my chickens before they are fully hatched.

As for a fourth judge, in some ways, just to maybe give the scores some chance at being varied, I want one, but I'd prefer another american.

Once Again, Brian & Louie are out. Tony, Jonathin, Masx & Alex are in. The additions from the Ballis home are. Derek, Markey, & Julianne. All live with shirley Ballis in London, and all are 20 years old or younger. Markey Ballis is about 5'6" tall. So they must have a short girl for him. So we have 3 from the same London household. And now a British Judge, from the spice girls. Dirty Spice, or something like that.

Obviously DWTS is trying to change their demographics with all these under 20 (if true). I for one do not want to see anymore 18 year olds on the show. I had my fill with Julianne. What source did this come from? I really hope it is not true. There is a big difference between 18 and 25.

With Julianne just turning 19, I think Mark and Derek are either 21 or 22.

And Derek was working on "Dance X" or something like that with Bruno (as a judge or panelist I think.) But if Bruno will be back, I guess Derek will also be finished up and available to be back. And Mark is Derek's best friend and they are in a band together, so I guess it makes sense. Derek is about 5'10" -- are you sure Mark is 5'6"? I've seen pictures and don't remember it jumping out at me that he was tiny. I'll go try to dig them up again. He was dark and handsome if I remember correctly. But yes, awfully young. I'm happy though -- I really love Julianne and Derek.

And I'm glad Alec will be back too. He's only 30 -- these dancers run on the young side. Louis is like the oldest of the lot at merely 35 or so, and Louis is like 5'7" or 5'8" so maybe that's why he's not needed again. Sorry Brian won't be back. He was such a sweetie -- and by the end of the season, I had decided he was hot! After definitely NOT feeling that way in the beginning.

THANKS FOR THE INFO!

hmmm, 6 potential pro guys? I wonder if tptb are going with 6 female stars or if the number of couples is bumping up to 12. <wink> And if you thought the nepotism on SYTYCD was bad.... Thing is, have we heard of any younger female stars?

Mark Ballas? Now I'm really looking forward to next season. I've never seen him perform but Corky and Shirley Ballas' performances for the US Latin Championships are among the top favorites in my memory. Their choreography was so innovative - you can see their imprint on Julianne's work.



Also, from Julianne's DwtS Tour bio:

"Julianne and her British partner Mark Ballas won many titles, and she is the youngest (and only) American dancer to have become both International Latin Youth Champion and Junior Blackpool World Latin Champion. "

There are videos of Mark and Julianne competing at Blackpool on her site but they aren't very clear.

And for those interested in their competitions and placements, they are listed here.

I can't wait to see what Mark comes up with in terms of choreography!! If he gets a great partner, a woman might win this upcoming season!

Very excited about Derek and Mark! I love it when the show gets an infusion of fresh blood. And if the Nia Peeples rumors are true, she'd be a great partner for Mark since she's only 5'2.