Greg Louganis Just Wants to Dance

Olympic swimming star, Greg Louganis was very clear in a recent interview with People magazine - "Put me on Dancing with the Stars!"

He doesn't give an indication that he has been offered a spot, but he obviously wants to be on the show!

"I want to be on Dancing with the Stars. It would be such a blast.""

Greg has an interesting history - an Olympic champion, openly gay, HIV+, appeared on Hollywood Squares, dog trainer - the sort of thing that would be lapped up by the producers.  Plus he's still pretty fit.

As an added bonus he says he would feel right at home with the costumes.  As a child he wore "sequins, headbands and poofy sleeves" for jazz routines.

I think Greg would be a great contestant - outgoing, recognized and obviously very, very keen!

Samantha Harris Leaving Dancing with the Stars

Well, it's over.  Samantha is leaving the ballroom.

According to a report in People magazine Samantha Harris will not be returning for season 10 of Dancing with the Stars when it returns in March.

Samantha has been on the show for eight seasons and says the decision was not easy.

"I loved every single second of it and I’ve made lifelong friends at the show"

She is focusing on her other projects such as her corespondent duties at The Insider and her role at Entertainment Tonight.

Executive producer Conrad Green wished her good luck and said they had already started the process to replace her.

Tom Bergeron also said she was sad to see her go, but raised the possibility she could return as a contestant.

What about you?  Are you sad to see her go?  How about Paula Abdul replacing her?!!?

Dancing with the Stars Announcement Mid-February?

In a recent tweet (here), the marvelous Louis Van Amstel says:

"hello hello....only 20 more days before i find out about season 10 of DWTS.Hopefully i'll be back...."

Working with my calendar and a few of my fingers and toes, that implies he would find out Monday February 15.

In the past DWTS celebrities have usually been announced on Good Morning America, and they have been on a Monday too.  So my money is on an announcement that day!

I do hope Louis is back - he is a brilliant choreographer and seems to bring out the best in his partners.

Paula Abdul Asked to Appear in Dancing with the Stars

TMZ.com reports that Paula Abdul has been offers a $1M "development contract" by ABC.  A condition of the contract is that she appear in season 10 of DWTS (presumably as a contestant!).

The timing would work for Paula as she could then start the X-Factor with Simon Cowell in the Fall.

This would certainly generate interest in DWTS, which experienced a slight decline in ratings in season 9.

There would be some controversy as Paula was a dancer before she was "discovered" as a singer.  I actually bought her CD, mainly because of the video "Opposites Attract" where she danced with a cartoon cat.  The cat wasn't a bad singer either...



Think of it.  Samantha interviewing Paula while they are both a little dizzy.  That would make for classic television!

What do you think?  Would Paula make it more interesting?  Is she a legitimate contestant?

Dancing with the Stars Videos

I have set up a channel at magnify.net for Dancing with the Stars Videos.

Magnify.net allows you to pull in videos from all the major video sites into one place.  It can run an automatic scan based on keywords or you can add videos you come across.  It also has a number of social features like reviewing, commenting etc.  It also has widgets, like the one in the sidebar.

It's not perfect - it can only import videos that are "embeddable", and I need to brighten the site up a little.

I'll see how it goes, but it does seem to be useful in seeing the latest videos that are out there.

Check it out and let me know what you think.  Meanwhile, here's Maks and Kym performing from Burn The Floor.

Who's the tallest female professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars?

I admit to being intrigued by the thought of Conan O'Brien on Dancing with the Stars.  I don't for a second think he will compete, but it would be a sight to behold!

He is not only 6'4", but a gangly 6'4" reminiscent of Mike Teavee - the boy who was stretched to twice his own height in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after shrinking himself in the chocolate television room.

But I digress.

I started to think who could be Conan's partner.  They would need to be tall (and very, very patient) so I thought I'd research the heights of the female professionals on the show.  Here's what I found:

Anna Demidova 5'10"
Edyta Sliwinska 5'6"
Kym Johnson 5'6"
Karina Smirnoff 5'5"
Cheryl Burke 5'4"
Julianne Hough 5'4"
Anna Trebunskaya 5'4"
Elena Grinenko  5'4"
Inna Brayer 5'4"
Lacey Schwimmer 5'3"
Chelsie Hightower 5'3"
Ashly DelGrosso 5'3"

(Chelsie is actually 5'2.5" but I rounded up!)

I was surprised that 2/3 of them are 5'4" or 5'3".  I don't know the distribution of female heights of the population in general, but this seems very clustered.  Perhaps dancers need a certain body type and a specific height is a key factor - something to do with center of gravity?

I was also surprised that Lacey was 5'3", I'd always imagined her as six foot!!

There have been a number of tall contestants in the past - Jerry Rive, Clive Drexler, Master P, Penn Jillette and others - and the ladies always seemed to cope very well, so maybe it's not an issue.  A sturdy pair of extra high heels is the answer, or has Anna Demidova got a job for life as long as there are tall celebrities?

Conan O'Brien Says He Has Dancing With The Stars Offer

I dismissed this as typical Conan joke. As a "Dead Host Walking" - he probably has a huge amount of material he could use, and he's working his way through it.

But then I thought, "If I were the producers of DWTS getting Conan would be huge!".

So, I don't think for a second that Conan O'Brien will appear on Dancing with the Stars, but I wouldn't be surprised if the producers offered him a spot.

Conan is very tall so choosing a partner for him would be quite difficult. Elena Grinenko partnered Clive Drexler, the basketball star, but it was a bit of a mis-match. Anna Domidiva would probably be the best bet...but I'm not going to waste too much time thinking about it!

Conan O'Brien Says He Has 'DWTS' Offer at The Insider

Ochocinco on DWTS?

Ochocinco on 'Dancing': ABC mum

I got quite excited when I saw this, and I was a bit disappointed when I saw it was about a tweet in the fall.

Matthew Cherry, an ex-football player, and now a video producer tweeted:

I used to warm the bench for (Ochocinco) back in training camp of '05 w/the Bengals. I guess that's why they asked me about him for DWTS ... I hope it works out

This was back a few months so it could still be valid, especially as Chad is now out of the playoffs.

Dancing with the Stars have had a number of Football players in the past with Emmit Smith winning season 3, and Jason Taylor, Warren Sapp and Jerry Rice all acquitting themselves well.

If he does appear in DWTS, Ochocinco would certainly generate attention!

Would you like Chad to appear?  Who would dance with him?

 

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Dancing with the Stars and PETA

Over the years a number of celebrities involved in Dancing with the Stars have been featured in PETA campaigns.

PETA are a resolute organization who campaign vigorously for animal rights, ruffling some feathers along the way.

A number of stars have appeared in their ads - ranging from Cloris Leachman in a full-length dress made of vegetables to Joanna Krupa with a strategically-placed small purse.

I have put together a page with a selection of PETA ads featuring DWTS stars over the years.  Let me know what you think, and if I've left anything out!

Dancing with the Stars Back March 22, With Fewer Stars?

ABC has confirmed that Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars will return on March 22 at 8pm EST.

The premiere will be two hours long and all the contestants will dance that evening.

No one will be eliminated in Week 1, with the cast returning March 29 to perform again.

The first results show will be Tuesday March 30th at 8pm for an hour.  One couple will be eliminated.

Given that all the couples will dance in a two-hour show, it means we will be going back to a 12 or 13 pair competition.  I'm glad about that - 16 just made my head spin!

We will learn who is in the cast at a later date.

Looking forward to it!

Who's the Favorite to Win Season 10 of dancing with the Stars?

I came across the odds for who will win Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars.  It only covers the professionals of course, as the celebrities have not yet been announced.

It was an interesting list as so much depends on the celebrity and you have to imagine all the professionals have the same partner (gender aside).  Here's the list:

• Derek Hough +600
• Mark Ballas +700
• Julianne Hough +750
• Cheryl Burke +800
• Maksim Chmerkovskiy +800
• Lacey Schwimmer +800
• Chelsea Hightower +1000
• Dmitry Chaplin +1200
• Karina Smirnoff +1400
• Kym Johnson +1400
• Alec Mazo +1600
• Louis van Amstel +1800
• Edyta Sliwinska +1800
• Anna Demidova +2000
• Tony Dovolani +2500
• Anna Trebunskaya +2800
• Jonathan Roberts +3000
• Ashly DelGrosso +3300
• Elena Grinenko +4500
• Inna Brayer +4500
• Corky Ballas +6600

(Example: If you bet $100 on Derek Hough and he wins you get $600 plus the original $100.  If he loses you get nothing!) 
Source: Sportsbooks Offer Early Voting on Season 10 Of Dancing WIth The Stars

Some thoughts:

• Derek and Mark deserve to be at the top given their track record and their popularity
• While she does deserve to be one of the favorites, Julianne has not even confirmed she will participate in season 10!  (Or I've missed something?)
• Given so much depends on the celebrity, I am a little surprised at how wide the range of the odds are.  I don't think Tony, Anna T and Jonathon deserve such long odds...perhaps worth a flutter?

What do you think?

Topanga on DWTS?

(I tried to think of a dance that rhymed with "Topanga" - if you think of one let me know!)


OK Magazine reports that Danielle Fishel who appeared as Topanga on "Boy Meets World" and currently hosts "The Dish" on Style has asked to appear on Dancing with the Stars and is hopeful she will one day be successful.

"I’ve told them really straight forwardly that I really want to do the show, and unfortunately they’ve got thousands of other celebrities that feel the exact same way"

I think she would be a great fit for the show.  What do you think?