And I’m so sorry for that! I humbly beg your pardon, I got caught up in some family and home affairs this fall. I should have more time soon to devote to the love of dance.

I did enjoy the rest of the fall season of Dancing With the Stars and was surprised at how far Bristol Palin actually got. Good for her! I watched her very critically all season and the only critique I had for her was to STOP being embarrassed and really enjoy herself. But geez, you go from speaking at a few abstinence rallies to frickin’ DANCING on national LIVE TV? She did great.

My absolute fave star was Kyle Massey. What a treat to watch. Absolutely the “Entertainer” of the season. I really wish that he would have won. But by the end we knew what would happen.

I knew by semi-finals that Jennifer Grey would win the trophy, especially when Brandy got the boot. Too bad for Brandy. Well done on Jennifer’s part, but I really could have done without aaaaaallllll the draaaaaaaama. I am not a fan of the drama queens. But, congratulations to her anyhow. She worked hard and deserved it.

The new season’s coming late spring, and the new season of So You Think You Can Dance, so I will be back with more comentary and with more dance quotes and lovely dance videos, so stay tuned!

Soullldiva

It is a very unusual cast for season 11 of Dancing With the Stars and I am very anxious to see how everyone starts out. Who has potential and who has two left feet? It is usually obvious who the ringer is of the season, but this fall season it’s not so obvious. Let’s just get started shall we?

I’m going to continue with my “DWTS First Night Awards” that I started last season, because I love first impressions.

Biggest Surprise: Kyle Massey. Whoa, this kid put it ALL out on the dance floor. Rhythm, musicality, personality, technique, speed, smoothness. And he’s a big guy, so doing the Cha Cha Cha super fast ain’t easy, folks! He let his enthusiasm take over and I just love that.

Biggest Potential: Again, Kyle Massey. Just wait until this kid loses 25 lbs, see how he flies across the dance floor (and it WILL happen, you know!) Hope he has staying power.

Best Tom Burgeron Moment: “It took you 8 seconds to overshare” (to Judge Len Goodman talking about his clenched buttocks)

Weirdest Bruno Tonioli Moment: “I love the taste of Brandy in the evening.” Hmmm. Kinda creepy. But I guess that’s just Bruno!

Toughest First Critique: Len Goodman’s critique of Kurt Warner’s waltz with Anna Trebunskaya. He’d already been nice to Audrina Patridge, so he missed his chance and Tony shouldn’t hold his breath for next week. Ouch!

Best Choreography: Lacey Schwimmers’ cheeky Cha Cha Cha to “My First Kiss”. Yummy!

Biggest Disappointment: As sad as I am to say this, I thought Florence Henderson was going to just wipe the dance floor up with Corky Ballas (and what an amazing dancer Corky is). But it just didn’t happen, she seemed stiff and hesitant. Granted, she’s the oldest person in the cast, but she’s no Cloris Leachman!

I-Don’t-Get-It-Outfit: Once again to Cheryl Burke for her odd-colored orange/tan/flesh-colored spandex and white feather dress for her Waltz with Rick Fox (ooooh, Rick Fox). Looked like she should be on the cast of Jersey Shore.

Best Outfit: Brandy’s pretty champagne/sunset satin gown for her Waltz with Mr. Maks. Whenever you saw the peek of that sunset orange underneath. Classy. Brooke Burke’s dress on the other hand…not so much. Say what you will about Samantha Harris, she always looked completely classy.

Biggest Train Wreck: Bristol Palin. Honey, get over the embarrassment and just dance. I know you can.

Favorite Couple: Amazingly enough, Karina and The Situation. I’m just talking the two people together, not ability or anything. I’ve never seen Jersey Shore, or just enough to be turned off by it. He seems cute and funny and genuinely interested in doing the work, even if he’s a little full of himself. He did only get 5 days where everyone else got three weeks. Maybe he’ll improve enough to stay a few weeks!

Best Dancer of the Night: Baby is back, and Jennifer Grey was smashing in her Viennese Waltz with Derek Hough. Excellent work!

Interestingly enough, I don’t believe there is a ringer this year. Yes, Jennifer seemed to be slightly ahead of the pack, but it is just week one, and they all had three weeks to practice (except for Mike). Now they all have the regular 5 days in between shows to put together their dances.

I’m excited, let’s get down to it–get to work stars, I wanna see some DANCIN’!!

ABC announced today the pairings for season 11′s new star cast. Here they are:

1. Anna Trebunskaya with retired NFL pro Kurt Warner (hmmm…could be good)
2. Chelsie Hightower with singer Michael Bolton (so interesting since she usually gets the young stars)
3. Cheryl Burke with actor/retired NBA player Rick Fox (she always gets the hotties)
4. Corky Ballas with “Mom Brady” Florence Henderson (they always trot out the master Corky for the mature women)
5. Derek Hough with actress Jennifer Grey (yea! she got the best male dancer on the show, should be cool)
6. Karina Smirnoff with reality person “The Situation” (do you think she’ll call him that in rehearsals?_
7. Kym Johnson with actor/singer David Hasselhoff (yea Kym’s back!)
8. Lacey Schwimmer with actor/rapper Kyle Massey (Lacey is the other person who gets the young ones and she got him)
9. Louis Van Amstel with comedienne Margaret Cho (he always seems to get the funny girls)
10. Maksim Chmerkovskiy with singer/actress Brandy (if she’s good it could be his year for the trophy)
11. Mark Ballas with Bristol Palin (I have no descriptor for her, she’s just on the show)
12. Tony Dovolani with reality star Audrina Patridge (I can’t see her having talent, but if she does this could also be Tony’s year–he would deserve it after the Kate disaster)

Season starts September 20th, a whole 19 days away!!! As rumors and rehearsal pictures begin to surface, I’ll get you all the news. Let the new season begin!

Ok, we have our official cast list for Season 11 2010 Dancing With the Stars! (Drum roll please.)

Brandy–R&B singer, actress and reality star
Jennifer Grey–actress and star of Dirty Dancing with the much missed Patrick Swayzee
Margaret Cho–fantastically funny comedienne
Audrina Patridge–reality star of The Hills, a show I can not stand (have you ever tried to watch that?)

Florence Henderson–really lovely actress and Mrs. Brady from kitchy The Brady Bunch tv show
Bristol Palin–(ugh) Sarah Palin’s daughter
Michael Bolton–ultra smooth crooner and former sporter of the worst mullet in history (but great voice all the same)
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino–(ugh) reality show person from Jersey Shore
David Hasselhoff–ever-enduring actor and singer
Kurt Warner–Ex-Pro NFL quarterback
Kyle Massey–young actor and rapper, most famous for doing the Disney show That’s So Raven
Rick Fox–Ex-Pro NBA player, and also recently really good looking actor

Not a bad list at all! Even though I’m not so excited about Bristol, Audrina and The Situation (oh, even the name rubs me the wrong way)

We will find out who they are paired with tomorrow on Good Morning America. Until then, mull the cast over and let me know what you think!

Ok, things are getting juicy folks! And I’m here to serve it all up to ya.

First things first, as far as the Pros go, Lacey Schwimmer Tweeted (@LaceySchwimmer) yesterday that “I’ve got great news ya’ll!! I am ON this season of DWTS after all!! Get ready for a fantastic season! Halla!!!” Woo Hoo ya’ll! I really missed her last season.

As of Aug. 23, Louis Van Amstel still didn’t know whether he was going to be on this season. Kym Johnson hasn’t tweeted about being on the show either, the same with Anna Trebunskaya and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Wow, looks like Lacey is an early one to know! As we get updates on the Pros I’ll let you know.

Now on to cast rumors:

The first seems to be no rumor and this does NOT make me happy at ALL. According to E! Online (and I think we’ll agree they’re a pretty reputable source) reported that Bristol Palin (daughter of politician Sarah Palin) is set as a cast member for season 11. I have to say (even though she did a short stint on an ABC Family show) that she’s even LESS of a star than Kate Gosselin.

Let’s visit this word “star”.
Star: [stahr] noun, adjective, verb, starred, star·ring.
1. any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.
2. a person’s destiny, fortune, temperament, etc., regarded as influenced and determined by the stars.
3. a person who is celebrated or distinguished in some art, profession, or other field.
4. a prominent actor, singer, or the like, esp. one who plays the leading role in a performance.

Ok, so focus on those last two definitions. Words like “celebrated or distinguished” in the first and “prominent…leading role” stand out to me. Is Kate Gosselin in that category? Is Bristol Palin? This is rhetorical, people, but the answer is NO. En-Oh.

And I realize there have been some supposed “D-listers” on the show (Steve O, as enjoyable as he was, Mark Dacascos, is only the Chairman on Iron Chef but who cares I love him, Tom Delay, politician, and Ashley Hamilton, ugh) everyone has been pretty notable, even if they were “past their time” as far as huge fame was concerned.

I think the producers over at ABC need to get their heads on straight and get with the program. The name of the show is Dancing With the STARS. Not “Dancing With the 15 seconds of fame person who is lame anyways”. Got It, Execs!!!!???

Ok, on with the list of those other awesome people rumored to be joining the cast of Season 11:
Margaret Cho (adore her, very funny)
Jennifer Grey (NOBODY puts Baby in the corner! This is too good to be true!)
Rick Fox (Retired NBA player)
David Hasselhoff (even though he’s had his troubles, this guy has longevity and a great voice)
Kirstie Alley (pretty please, I heart Kirstie)
Audrina Patridge (skating the line there, but ok)
Brandy (great, I wouldn’t object)
Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady!!!)
Michael Bolton (the smooth crooner of the bad hair set)

This is a GREAT list I think and if we can keep the “rabble” to a minimum it is shaping up to be a great season for the Fall edition of Dancing With the Stars!

What does everyone think of the list? Let me know! Heard rumors of your own? Leave a comment!

google ad:

In keeping with the start of the Halloween season, Darren Aronofsky’s (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) new film is called Black Swan. What happens when you marry ballet and horror? This does:

I never thought I would ever say these words: ballet is creepy, geez. And what about the black feathers poking through her shoulders (shudder). I love Darren Aronofsky, and The Fountain is one of the most beautiful and sad movies ever made. I adore Natalie Portman as well. I will give this one a try!

Special new addition to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Los Angeles:

Oh, that reminds me:

OH PUHLEEEEEZE Alan Ball, please to a musical/dance episode for True Blood. I know Stephen Moyer can sing, and I’m sure everyone else can, too. What is singing without some dance? Russell could dance with the candy jar full of Talbot, that would be interesting. I’d LOVE to see La La Lafayette do a number, come on. Alan, are you listening?

I LOVE Glee. I was in choirs and show choirs and musicals my whole young life through Middle School and High School and we never did anything close to what they do on this show. What I wouldn’t have done to have a rock band available every day for choir practice (who wouldn’t).

Since the premise of the show is a glee club in High School, it’s easy to segue into the musical numbers. Most of them are super fun. But this one was extra special.

Towards the end of the second season there is a storyline about Artie (played by the lovely Kevin McHale) seeking procedures and therapies to help him walk. Now, Glee has taken heat for its famous “wheelchair episode” where they did “Proud Mary” with the entire cast in wheelchairs. I don’t pretend to know what a wheelchair bound person deals with every day. All I can say is that there are people in wheelchairs and they are people just like anyone else and should be treated with respect like any other person on this earth. I’m glad for Artie’s character because paraplegics don’t get enough screen time. TV just isn’t “real world” enough, and they sometimes don’t want to highlight the tougher issues that might just “bring us down”. How people deal with their confinement in the chairs and still express their art is what makes them unique. And everyone needs to play up their uniqueness, because there is only one YOU. (thanks Mia)

Artie talks with Emma Pilsbury (Jayma Mays) about the different experimental treatments they are doing to help people walk again. I really hate that her character discourages him from these, saying that they are in the first stages and would take years to perfect, let alone use. I actually don’t like her character all the time (now Sue Sylvester on the other hand I’ll take any day, considering how she treated the Down’s Syndrome girl, yea).

But then Artie is at the mall with his new girlfriend Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and tells her that he’s actually been doing the treatments, and he thinks they’re really working.

The dance is so completely awesome it makes you want to get up and dance with him. This is also the first time we see Kevin McHale out of the chair and moving. Hey–he can effin’ dance!! The song is a perfect choice for the scene as well, as 80′s one-hit-wonder pop tunes usually are (thank you Men Without Hats). You are so elated by the dance and Artie’s obvious joy that when the song abruptly ends and slams him back in his wheelchair your heart is pinched hard. Tears sprang to my eyes. You and empathize a bit more with Artie and his longings. If you were in a wheelchair, would you want to dance too? I would.

google ad:

Ok, the rumors are starting to fly for season 11 of Dancing With the Stars. The full cast will be revealed in under two weeks, Monday August 30th on ABC. Here’s a few of the rumors that I found on the “intranets” over the past couple of days:

1. Newly engaged Bachelorette stars Ali and Roberto: They deny it and I certainly hope so. I don’t watch the Bachelorette and I’m not interested in them.

2. Jersey Shore’s The Situation: Um…who? The only one I know is Snookie, and I can’t stand her. Although he would fill the “funny/oddball/comedian” slot.

3. Former NFL Quarterback Kurt Warner: This could most likely be a joke like the one Troy Aikman made up about himself and told TMZ a couple of weeks ago. But you usually need an NFL player on each season, so who knows?

4. Real Housewife Teresa Giudice: Teresa Tweeted that she is “thinking” about being on the show. Well, thinking and being asked by ABC are two different things, Teresa.

5. Deadliest Catch’s Sig Hansen: Again, not familiar with him, but anyone who does that death-defying job is ok in my book. Can he dance at all?

6. Mel Gibson Ex Oksana Grigorieva: Not sure how I feel about this. She would certainly get the exposure her music career needs, now that it no longer has Mel’s money.

7.Super Babe Betty White: I picked her for my dream cast list, too, so I don’t blame ABC at ALL.

I read a great article on Entertainment Weekly.com where writer Annie Barrett came up with her own dream team like I did a couple of weeks ago, and I LOVED her picks of Elizabeth Berkley and Leonard Nimoy. Great picks, Annie!

OK–what woman, due to be married to the love of their life or not, wouldn’t want private dance lessons with Maksim Chmerkovskiy???? I’m there, ya’ll. I didn’t dance at my wedding, but I got to sing, and it was one of the greatest moments in my life (unfortunately I surprised my guests so much with my performance that there is NO video record of this anywhere). My brother and his wife danced, and I will never for get that!

Lucky Chelsea and her then fiancée Marc Mezvinsky took lessons from Dancing With the Stars’ bad boy Maks to do a very sexy dance to Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good”. They didn’t tell anyone about the first dance (my brother and his wife kept it a secret, too). Needless to say, there were reportedly raised eyebrows at the dance, but a great surprise and enjoyment for the guests as well.

Anybody see a video floating around? Let me know!