You Wanna Dance with the Stars Around the World

With the huge popularity that the show has received it is possible to find versions of Dancing with the Stars in several different countries.  With the success sweeping the world the show is popping up in areas that it never would have before.  While the original version is based out of the United Kingdom there have been franchises sold all around the world, which have further expanded the popularity of the show.

Australia – The show features four judges and has successfully finished seven seasons so far.  The very first season started in late 2004 and has run up until late 2007 so far.

Austria – This version finds a total of three judges with two hosts handling the show.  Season one hit the airwaves in the fall of 2005 and the show has so far enjoyed four successful seasons.

Brazil – Up against a history of five successful seasons, the show marches on further.

Chile – With the very first season starting on October 16, 2006, the show has been going strong ever since.  A total of four seasons has so far been completed.

China – The first season hit the airwaves in the end of 2007.  This was intended to mark the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China from the United Kingdom.  The show is released under a joint venture between Hong Kong’s TVB and mainland’s Hunan TV.  Each station sends a total of five women and five men to the competition for a total of 20 competitors or 10 couples.  The actual match-ups are handled by SMS voting before the show begins.

Croatia – Features two hosts and four judges the first season kicked off on December 2, 2006.  The show began with eight couples paired together.  Season two started on November 3, 2007 and again featured eight couples dancing together.

Czech Republic – Season one danced to begin during the winter of 2006 and season two started a year later in the winter of 2007.  Each season featured eight couples and also four judges.  Two hosts were also used for the show.

Denmark – After starting in the Spring of 2005, the series began with seven couples.  At the conclusion of season four there were eleven couples competing.  A Christmas Galla in 2007 featured six couples.  There were three standard judges in the competition; however, occasional guest judges were used as well.

Estonia – Begun in the Fall of 2006 the show began with eight couples including several politicians and season two started on October 7, 2007.

Finland – Started in the Spring of 2006 it first featured eight couples partnered together.  The second season also featured eight couples.  However, when season three began in the Spring of 2008 it featured ten couples.

Germany – With season one started with eight contestants in April 2006 and season two began in May of 2006.  Season two expanded to ten couples.

Italy – The first season aired on Autumn 2004 and featured a start of eight couples.  For season two there was a total of twelve couples.  Season three offered fourteen couples and season five offered again twelve couples.

The Netherlands – With a series first starting in the late summer of 2005.  There have so far been a total of three full seasons and two additional specials.

As you can see, this is just a small list and it has spanned a large percentage of the world.

Gathering the Strength for Dancing

With several performers facing injuries after various points in the season, it is really important to take a look at the injuries that can occur and how some of these injuries have perhaps damaged Dancing with the Stars.  With injuries hitting not just the professionals but also the celebrities it is very important to look around at all of the minor details to see how the larger picture, the title of winner was actually impacted.


The first hit that occurred was to professional Kym Johnson.  This occurred during season three while she was paired with talk show host and former politician Jerry Springer.  During one of the actual performance, Kym hyper extended one of her legs creating a serious injury.  She was however able to continue dancing.  Overall, the couple did not fare well and were eliminated soon after.

During Season five, there were several problems that were encountered.  The first was during week five when Marie Osmond was dancing.  For exact reasons unknown, she fainted in the middle of the dance.  The show was immediately cut to a commercial break and she was treated.  Additionally during week six Jane Seymour was missed from the results show due to a case of food poisoning.  Due to the show only being results, rather than an actual performance Jane was not harmed for missing the date.

Another injury in season five was Mark Ballas a professional.  His injury occurred during the season finale for the season.  He was performing an encore dance with Sabrina Bryan his celebrity partner when he suffered a shoulder injury.  After the dance, he was sent to the hospital to seek immediate treatment.  Because this injury occurred long after the couple had been eliminated it did not harm their likelihood of winning at all.

Season six brought with it relative calm.  However, Kristi Yamaguchi suffered from an injured ankle during week four.  She managed to perform without incident and later went on to actually win the season.  Cristian de la Fuente suffered from a ruptured tendon in his left bicep during his actual performance.  The judges allowed a bit of slack, only judging his performance up until the actual injury occurred.  Immediately following the dance, he was sent to the hospital and was not present for the rest of the show.

With all of the seasons of the show that have thus been released and with Dancing with the Stars now marching towards season seven the overall number of injuries is extremely low.  Working to avoid injuries is always a top priority for the show, but on the occasion that injury does occur they are promptly treated which for most contestants has allowed them to return to the show quickly to continue competing.  To this point, there have been no contestants who had to pull out of the show completely due to an injury.

While there are of course other problems such as Sara Evans withdrawing due to a divorce and even other casting changes before the show actually starts the overall number of contestants that are injured and thus influencing the overall conclusion is extremely small.  This has allowed very few circumstances to actually impact the overall winner for each season.  After all, the season six contestant with an ankle injury Kristi Yamaguchi even went out to claim a win.

Facts and Trivia from Dancing with the Stars

Looking at all of the seasons of Dancing with the Stars it is rather interesting the patterns that start to emerge sometimes.  Learning some of the facts and trivia of the show can be really entertaining and is often quite exciting.

There are numerous tidbits of trivia that is not always widely known.  For example, the oldest male celebrity in the competition was George Hamilton at 66; the youngest male celebrity so far was Mario at a spry 21 years old.

The oldest female celebrity was Priscilla Presley, the widow of Elvis Presley at 62 years old.  The other end of the spectrum found Sabrina Bryan at just 23 the youngest female celebrity.

The oldest professional is Nick Kosovich at a mere 43 and Julianne Hough takes the prize for being the youngest at only 19.

If you start looking at actual performance on the show there are several other interesting things to learn.

Jerry Springer is the one celebrity with the greatest number of bottom 2 appearances.  He appeared in the bottom 2 a grand total of four times before being eliminated.

For professionals, Edyta Sliwinska has appeared in the bottom 2 a total of 12 times, however this is spread across all six seasons as Edyta is the only professional to appear in all six seasons.

Celebrities who have never been in the bottom two include: Drew Lachey, Mario Lopez, Emmitt Smith, Helio Castroneves, Apolo Anton Ohno, and finally season six winner Kristi Yamaguchi.

Professionals who have been in the bottom two the least includes Fabian Sanchez, Mark Ballas and also Julianne Hough whom has also won two different seasons as well.  These three professionals have each found themselves in the bottom 2 a single time.

Kristi Yamaguchi is the only celebrity to place First in a total of eight instances.  However, on the other end, P. Miller, Jerry Springer, Marie Osmond and Clyde Drexler all appeared in last place four times each.

The list could go on for miles, but finding the details that are actually interesting is not always easy.  After all, who really cares that the tallest celebrity to participate was Clyde Drexler at 6’7” tall?  Or that Marissa Jaret Winokur was the shortest at a tiny 5’0”?  Most people instead are concerned with actual performances.

As far as the most times champion for the professions both Julianne Hough and Cheryl Burke both win the prize after winning two seasons each.  Additionally, Julianne enjoyed the thrill of being the youngest professional to win, being only 18 at the time of her first win and 19 at the time of her second.  Alec Mazo who is also a winning professional was the oldest professional to win at 31 years old.

For the celebrities themselves Apolo Anton Ohno was the youngest winner at only 25, while Emmitt Smith was the oldest at 37 years old.

Looking over all of the seasons it is truly incredible just how diverse the group has been.  While many of the professionals have remained the same throughout many seasons, there are constant changes in the celebrities that are sought.  Trying to ensure that you are really looking over all of the true details and statistics is not always easy, but it can certainly be a lot of fun and when combined together with the thrill of the actual show can be a really great way to pass some time.

Dancing with the Stars The Tour

Trying to maximize the financial boost of the show as much as possible during the broadcast on October 25, 2006, it was announced that Dancing with the Stars The Tour was going to start embarking around the country.  With the promise of many of the celebrities as well as professionals all combined together for a great performance at a location near you the tour started out quite small and managed to grow substantially as time went out.

After three successful tours the empire has continued to grow and the results that ABC are finding is absolutely incredible.

The first tour kicked off on December 19, 2006 in sunny San Diego, California and wrapped up after 38 different arenas on February 11, 2007.  The first tour showcased celebrities Drew Lachey, Joey McIntyre, Lisa Rinna, Joey Lawrence and Harry Hamlin.  The professionals involved in the initial tour included Cheryl Burke, Kym Johnson, Louis van Amstel, Edyta Sliwinska, and Karina Smirnoff.

Rout two for the tour was a bit smaller with only celebrities Joey McIntyre, Apolo Anton Ohno, Drew Lachey, Joey Lawrence and Joey Fatone combined with professionals Julianne Hough, Cheryl Burke, Edyta Sliwinska and lastly Kym Johnson.

The third tour, which started on December 18, 2007 and ran through February 10, 2008 was much larger and offered a much greater cast.  This time the tour included Sabrina Bryan, Monique Coleman, Joey Lawrence, Wayne Newton, Marie Osmond, Drew Lachey, Mario Lopez, Joey Fatone and finally Helio Castroneves for celebrities.  The professionals for this tour included Mark Ballas, Derek Hough for a brief period, Alec Mazo, Edyta Sliwinska, Cheryl Burke, Jonathan Roberts, Kym Johnson, Brian Fortuna, Karina Smirnoff, and Julianne Hough.

Trying to really generate interest for the tour, it was really important that it not last too long.  Additionally, it is also extremely certain that the show would limit the show dates to accommodate the very small amounts of time that is left open between seasons.  Dancing with the Stars continuously starts a new season after only very short breaks, which leaves very little time for a tour.

The overall tour has not been as successful as the actual television show; however, it is has still performed extremely well with most audiences.  The last run of the tour was certainly the biggest with the largest cast participating from all three tours.

One person who was obviously missing from the third tour was Melanie Brown the second place winner for season five.  Due to a Spice Girls Reunion Tour, she was unable to participate in the tour and was forced to miss out completely.  Additional problems can when professional Cheryl Burke started having problems with her appendix and was forced to withdraw from the show.

While it is not quite time for the next tour to set out across the country, it will be extremely curious to see celebrities like Joey Lawrence and Drew Lachey will return again, after all they are the only two celebrities who have participated in all three tours.  Trying to work out an ever growing cast may be a nightmare logistically, but for the audience it means an even bigger and better show than previously and is certainly well worth all of the time and effort to really get great seats.  After all, how many other opportunities are presented to actually see Dancing with the Stars live?

Season Three

Gaining on the successful momentum that helped to shove Dancing with the Stars into popularity the show made a few additional changes when it was time to start casting season three.  The first change that was made was the inclusion of an additional celebrity and professional pair.  This brought the total number of contestants to twenty-two total with eleven being celebrities.  Additionally changes were made to the actual scoring system with the total points being awarded to each pair of contestants being heavily influenced by the total overall voting numbers.

The third season saw the highest viewer numbers so far with a total of 27.8 million viewers tuning in for the season finale that was aired on November 15, 2006.  With changes in voting and scoring worked out it was hoped that the competition would be again focused solely on the actual dancing ability.  However, this was proven untrue by the scores of both Jerry Springer and also Sara Evans.  Additional complications that plagued the season including Sara Evans dropping out after filing for divorce from her husband.

The contestants of season three included:

Tucker Carlson a news anchor for MSNBC was teamed up with professional Elana Grinenko and was the first pair eliminated on September 13, 2006 after the season kicked off on September 12, 2006.

Shanna Moakler the wife of rocker Travis Barker is a former Miss USA, as well as has started in numerous television shows and also appeared in Playboy.  Shanna was paired with Jesse DeSoto and was eliminated quickly from the show on September 20, 2006.

Harry Hamlin, an actor was paired with Ashly DelGrosso, however was eliminated on September 27, 2006.

Vivica A. Fox well known for numerous acting roles was paired up with Nick Kosovich and stayed on the show until October 4, 2006.

Willa Ford, the self-proclaimed Bad Girl of Pop was paired with professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy.  Following her time on the show, it was rumored that the two were dating, however several weeks later Maksim released a statement denying a relationship outside the dancing competition with Willa.

Sara Evans was paired up with Tony Duvolani.  Sara was one of the celebrities to benefit from the popular vote as she was also the subject of many extremely low scores.  She withdrew herself from the competition on October 13, 2006 after filing for divorce from her husband.

Jerry Springer daytime talk show host and also former politician was paired together with Kym Johnson.  Due to the elimination of Sarah by withdrawal the couple was given an extra week to remain on the show.  However, after receiving the popular vote for an extended period of time their luck came to an end and the pair was voted to be eliminated on October 25, 2006.

Monique Coleman the star of several Disney shows was paired together with Louis van Amstel.  Popular in many shows for tweens and other similar age groups she performed well and was eventually eliminated on November 1, 2006.

Joey Lawrence the actor most recognized for his roles on Blossom as well as several other television shows.  Coming in third place for season three he was paired up with professional Edyta Sliwinska but was eliminated on November 8, 2006.

Mario Lopez, best known for his time spent on the popular teen show Saved by the Bell was paired up with Karina Smirnoff, whom he eventually started dating.  Finishing the season in second place, he performed quite well throughout the entire season and finished extremely close to first place.

Emmitt Smith a respected, loved and retired NFL running back was teamed up with Cheryl Burke and performed quite well through the entire season.  When the season ended up November 15, 2006, the pair was awarded a first place finish.  Barely beating out Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff the pair performed well throughout the entire season with only one low score during the third week.

Professionals and Celebrities

Each season of Dancing with the Stars has been really interesting and amusing.  Watching the celebrities learn how to maneuver with the large costumes is a real treat for many people and with so much going on during the whole season it is really easy to forget just how important it is to really take some time to look at the real winners for each season.

Season one gave us the winners Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo.  With Alec coming in as the oldest professional winner and Kelly Monaco the first winner of the show a hit series was born.  By bringing the success of the show together with all of the great benefits that are provided a truly hit series was created.  Kelly Monaco the season one winner is an actress and is quite well known for her role on the hit show General Hospital.

Season two was off in full force quickly and allowed the viewers the opportunity to really start connecting with the stars.  Drew Lachey the younger brother to singer Nick Lachey and also a former member of the boy band 98 Degrees pulled out a win with professional Cheryl Burke.  The duo performed excellently together and had a fabulous time.

Season three started with several great players and found the winner in Emmitt Smith a retired running back who was partnered with Cheryl Burke.  This represented the second consecutive win for Cheryl, but the first win for Emmitt.  After dancing his way into the hearts of viewers, he managed to pull a great win.

Season four was a great treasure with the winner Apolo Anton Ohno who was paired up with Julianne Hough.  Julianne Hough was the youngest professional winner at only 18 when she helped Apolo Anton Ohno who was the youngest celebrity at 25 dance his way to win.  Performing beautifully the entire season together, they enjoyed a large amount of success.

Season five was another great season for Julianne Hough’s who secured her second consecutive victory with Helio Castroneves as her celebrity partner.  Helio a racecar driver for the Indy series performed really well however seemed a weaker contestant against the runner up Melanie Brown.

Season six saw a return of the women to the winning ranks.  Kristi Yamaguchi an Olympic champion figure skater pulled out a win with professional partner Mark Ballas for the last season.  After winning the highest scores for the entire season and the only perfect score for a contestant so far, Kristi was the true favorite of the crowd when she finished the season in top position.

Looking at all of the winners of Dancing with the Stars it is easy to see that the men have routinely dominated the winners circle.  With men capturing the title for four straight seasons in a row it is time for the women to step up and compete better in order to keep the title from reverting back to a male contestant in the subsequent season 7 that is scheduled to start in the fall of 2008.  With contestants still under wraps at this point, finding the perfect matching pair to win the hearts of the judges and the viewers is not always easy.  Dancing with the Stars is certainly destined to grow even further and the previous six winners make it a great experience.

Why Dancing with the Stars is Special

For so many people the idea of watching television is simply watching another boring show that features more boring characters doing the exact same thing repeatedly.  Starting around the time of the writers’ strike in Hollywood the number of new and creative television shows that were released suddenly took a serious nosedive.  Working to ensure that people had television to watch is not always easy, but networks started scrambling to provide shows.  For most, the answer was additional reality shows.

Dancing with the Stars came along before the writers’ strike hit and as such, it provided the opportunity for people to watch the show without forcing themselves to endure excessive reality television.  This advantage was a huge help when it was time to start looking at the ratings that the show was pulling.  While Dancing with the Stars has managed to acquire a great viewer base the writers’ strike certainly helped to increase viewers and has pushed the show to the second most popular show on television following American Idol.

Additional reasons why people love to watch Dancing with the Stars is all of the great things that you can watch occur.  If there is ever a show that combines excitement and dancing together this is certainly one of the best options.  By pulling stars and professional ballroom dancers together, the ABC network has managed to secure a hugely popular hit on their hands.  Each season, new celebrities are chosen to compete on the show, and each year the goal is still the same, winning the competition.

While most television shows that feature contests also involve large amounts of prize money, the celebrity that wins the season of Dancing with the Stars is lucky to receive anything at all.  Generally, each week there is a couple that goes home.  The exact determination of which couple will go home each week varies heavily based upon the score that each couple receives not only from the judges, but also the number of votes from the viewers.

Using the special method of computing which couple is sent packing from the show is designed to help viewers really feel connected, while at the same time providing judges to help seriously critique the dancing of the contestants.  While each of the couples has a single professional ballroom dancer and a single celebrity there are some that at the very end of the show you would never be able to guess which was the professional dancer before the season actually began.

Many celebrities enjoy their time on the show due to the increased publicity surrounding them, as well as the competition that they are able to engage in.  While it is possible that someone might not actually appreciate competition it is quite rare that someone would deliberately harm their efforts on the show.  This works to heavily encourage viewers to look for the contestant that they truly feel is best.

With a large number of celebrities to choose from for each season, it can be a lot of fun to watch the dancing relationships develop and grow.  For the largest number of people it is a truly amazing and thrilling ability to watch the show continue to develop and wonder exactly which pair is going to be leaving next.  However, it is also extremely entertaining to see just what exactly some of the stars are capable of.  By pulling celebrities from a large number of fields, there are magicians, boxers, actors, and even singers all engaging in competition on the show to determine who is really and truly the best.

A short amount of time watching the show will no doubt allow you to decide exactly which celebrity you are personally interested in seeing win the competition.  Regardless of who you are pulling for and exactly when they go home watching the show unfold over the season is still a lot of fun, and by allowing every season to be bigger and better than before it is a show that is likely to continue for a very long time to come.

History of Dancing with the Stars

Have you ever been flipping channels and stumbled upon Dancing with the Stars?  Many people have found themselves in this position and wondered exactly how the show actually got started.  The fact is, this is not a show that is unique to the United States, in fact, it comes from a long line of shows that it is similar to and is based off the British television show Strictly Come Dancing.  A  piece of a franchise from the BBC Worldwide and has successfully finished six seasons so far with the seventh season scheduled to begin in September of 2008.

The show itself features professional ballroom dancers who are teamed together with celebrities from a wide range of fields.  The celebrities themselves come from movies, television, music and even some modeling.  Combining the dancers together with the actual celebrities is typically done randomly but the final result is a pair that is combined together for the season and must compete against all other pairs for the season.  It is the job of the professional dancer to teach, coach and encourage the celebrity in all of the appropriate styles of ballroom dancing that is needed in order to complete the season.  The celebrity that performs best is typically the winner, which obviously requires a very strong professional dance partner in order to actually help the celebrity learn the necessary dances.

Once each pair performs, they are provided a score from the three judges.  This score is then combined with the votes from viewers voting for their favorite pair as well.  At the end of the voting period, the couple with the lowest score is sent home.  This is the format that has been adopted from the British version, Strictly Come Dancing.  Additionally, as well as adopting the British version the show also includes two of the judges from the British series.  Both Bruno Tonioli and also Len Goodman are associated with the American version and the British version to name a few.

The show itself has been incredibly popular all around the world and is shown in numerous countries all around.  Finding the perfect combination of judges, guidelines, contestants and even dance styles has afforded the show a large amount of success.  With success coming all around the world the show seems to have everything it could possibly want, great stars, wonderfully talented professionals and a cast of great judges.

However, much as Dancing with the Stars seems to have everything they are still behind in terms of ratings.  American Idol is still the top ranked show in television; however, Dancing with the Stars is fighting very hard to actually catch up.  How successful the show will be at working to catch up in ratings is still yet to be seen, but each season has continued to increase ratings.

As you can imagine, the show tends to strike at the hearts of competition.  With a highly competitive nature, arriving all around from both the professional dancers and even the celebrities who find competition extremely addictive the show pulls a large number of contestants, viewers and fans.  As you can imagine, the show’s popularity has continued to grow and there is an ever increasing number of people who are looking for great advances in the show.  Finding the substantial success that Dancing with the Stars has located is never easy, but it is always something that will continue to grow as the show has continued down a path of great success.

Bruno vs. Carrie Ann

With all highly successful shows, you always find a few spinoffs’ that appear to try and steal some of the thunder.  With Dancing with the Stars, the spinoff was designed to be between two of the judges and several contestants that the judges choose.  The actual storyline was that Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli would each bet assigned to a group of talented individuals.  Through the coaching of Carrie Ann and Bruno, the contestants would battle and vie to see which was truly the best at the end.

The show was hosted by Drew Lachey the season two winner of Dancing with the Stars and first hit the airwaves on January 7, 2008.  The season finale was concluded on February 18, 2008 and by most was considered to be an enormous flop.  The contestants were pulled from several different locations around the country with auditions held in Nashville, Santa Monica and also New York City.  A total of 14 contestants started off during the show, however two were cut from the show immediately.

The final twelve contestants were divided up into teams and were assigned to work with either Bruno or Carrie Ann.  Despite the success and popularity of Dancing with the Stars which both Bruno and Carrie Ann are involved with this show never managed to take off, in fact it pulled more viewers for the very first show than it managed to do for the season finale.

The other spinoff’s of Dancing with the Stars that have appeared have been a bit more successful, however they all follow the exact same format as Dancing with the Stars and also are actually classified as spinoffs of Strictly Come Dancing the British version of Dancing with the Stars.  While popularity had been hoped to tap into in order to make the Bruno vs. Carrie Ann a success it ended in complete failure.

Luckily, for the judges the success of Dancing with the Stars and also the tour has managed to win over the hearts of enough people to keep them a job.  While the pair works well together on television shows including Dancing with the Stars, overall they are not a highly desirable couple without the added concepts that Dancing with the Stars really brings.

The actual format for the show was initially taken from the British television show Dance X.  While the show has been popular in the United Kingdom, it has pulled substantially less attention.  However, the show was not marketed as heavily as it could have, only having auditions in a total of three locations certainly worked to ultimately harm the show.  In order to actually see a substantial show that provides the viewers desired it should have been pushed heavier in the initial stages and also in the follow up marketing.

With this spinoff of Dancing with the Stars successfully squashed, it will be interesting to see the new formats that are tried and the new approaches that are demonstrated.  The ultimate concept of finding a successful spinoff is not impossible.  After all, Dancing with the Stars offers a huge amount of freedom and flexibility as well as great freedom of viewers to become personally invested in the show.  Tapping into this potential is huge for allowing an additional show to be created that will actually start to win over the hearts of viewers as well.

Dancing with the Stars Season 2 Recap

Building upon the success of season one of Dancing with the Stars was something that sent audiences into overdrive.  Pulling the total number of competing couples up to 10, rather than just the six that season one offered was one of the largest changes.  However, it certainly was not the only change for the show, which allowed it to reach a wider base of viewers.  Another substantial change for the show was the change to an hour and a half time slot, rather than just the single hour time slot.  Added to this change was the addition of a results show that was aired the subsequent night, which ran for an hour.

Following many of the changes that were in store for the season it was extremely important to begin season two of Dancing with the Stars with a fabulous cast of celebrities pulled together.  In order to really do this, the show pulled out several well known celebrities to really give the show a serious boost.  The huge changes in the show paid off and it continued to grow in popularity.  However, it was also speculated that the viewer voting was creating problems in the results, as many people who received extremely low scores from the judges were actually given the ability to remain on the show an extremely long period of time.

Kenny Mayne was the first contestant to be sent packing.  As an ESPN sports commentator he was teamed up with professional Andrea Hale.  After an extremely brief stint on the show, he was eliminated on January 6, 2006 with the new season only starting on January 5, 2006.  As one of the shortest durations on the show, he was certainly passed over by many when discussing highlights of the show.

Tatum O’Neil was partnered with professional Nick Kosovich and was eliminated on January 13, 2006.  For her previous accomplishments, she was a successful actress and has even won an Academy Award previously.

Giselle Fernandez is a TV journalist who appeared in season two partnered with Jonathan Roberts.  Following the elimination on January 20, 2006, she was expected to return to her normal job.

Master P is the rapper that everyone loved to support.  Drawing the love of the viewers, he was kept around for many weeks despite the fact that he had no real skills in ballroom dancing.  After putting in very few hours of actual dance training, it was immediately obvious that the viewers were voting for him simply due to his popularity, rather than his actual dancing skills.  Partnered with Ashly DelGrosso the pair was eventually eliminated on January 27, 2006 after causing quite a stir over the voting process.

Tia Carrere is a model and actress who was partnered with professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy.  The duo was eliminated on the February 3, 2006 episode.

George Hamilton an actor was partnered with Edyta Sliwinska after a successful run on the show the pair was eliminated on February 10, 2006.

Lisa Rinna was designated as one of the best dancers in the competition and was paired with professional Louis van Amstel.  Despite best efforts and scores from the judges, Lisa was eliminated on February 24, 2006.

Stacy Keibler an actress and also a former Diva for WWE was paired with professional Tony Dovolani.  The pair was eliminated on February 24, 2006 in third place; however, there was disputes that they should have rightfully beaten the second place finishers due to much better performances over the duration of the show.

Jerry Rice is a retired and highly successful NFL wide receiver.  After being chided by the judges continuously over his lack of ability, it became obvious that the reason he stayed for so long was due to the viewers voting for him.  The controversy surrounding the voting reached a fever pitch when Jerry finished second place.  Many attributed his win to the votes that poured in right immediately following his dancing which was often at the very beginning of the show.

The final contestant for season was Drew Lachey, brother to Nick Lachey and also member of the boy band 98 Degrees.  His professional partner was Cheryl Burke and they managed to secure a first place win on February 24, 2006.  This was the first major project that Drew was involved in for quite a while, and his wonderful performances on the show attributed heavily to his win.

Dancing with the Stars Grows During Season Four

With the latest season of Dancing with the Stars starting on March 19, 2007, the show hit the ground running and never looked back.  Several adjustments were made to the show though to improve the overall flow.  The first change that was in store was the shift in timeslots.  This was actually done to accommodate a larger audience that would otherwise potentially be wrapped up watching American Idol on Fox, rather than tuning into Dancing with the Stars.  Additional changes also included waiting until the end of week 2 to start actually eliminating contestants.  A final change was airing the show in the UK, which had not been done previously.

Pulling out the contestants for season four was a lot of enjoyment, with a range of athletes, singers, and even actors combined together it created a really enjoyable show.

Paulina Porizkova a supermodel was paired with Alec Mazo and was the first contestant that was sent home.  Paulina and Alec departed the show on March 26, 2007 after only two weeks on the show.

Shandi Finnessey has enjoyed a career as a former Miss USA and also a game show host.  Partnered up with Brian Fortuna she was also struck from the show extremely quickly and found herself removed on April 3, 2007.

Leeza Gibbons a talk show host was paired up with professional Tony Dovolani and only stayed for 4 episodes before being eliminated from the show on April 10, 2007.

Clyde Drexler a retired NBA player was teamed up with professional Elena Grinenko and was eliminated on April 17, 2007 after holding on for several weeks.

The former wife of Beatle Paul McCartney, Heather Mills was on the show for season four as well.  Her official job was listed as Charity Campaigner; however, this has not been verified since there is some difficulty locating her actual job.  It was rumored that her stay on the show was dragged out due to the publicity surrounding her extremely public divorce to Paul McCartney.  As the only contestant with a prosthetic leg, she only had one incident where her leg created a problem.  She was partnered with Jonathan Roberts and was eliminated finally on April 24, 2007.

John Ratzenberger an actor with credits including the hit television show Cheers was partnered with professional Edyta Sliwinska but was eliminated on May 1, 2007.

Billy Ray Cyrus the one hit wonder of the 1990’s was partnered up with Karina Smirnoff.  Presently best known as the father of Hannah Montana star, Miley Cyrus he was eliminated from the show on May 8, 2007.

Ian Ziering an actor with credits that include the popular show Beverly Hills, 90210 was partnered with professional Cheryl Burke for his stay on the show.  After an elimination on May 15, 2007, they finished in fourth place.

Laila Ali the daughter of Mohammad Ali and also a professional Boxing World Champion.  Partnered with professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy she pulled out a third place finish on May 22, 2007 at the season finale.

Joey Fatone from the 90’s boy band ‘N Sync was partnered with Kym Johnson and pulled out a second place finish.  Despite an extremely limited career outside of music before his appearance on the show, he was extremely popular with the audience and received a large amount of votes.

Apolo Anton Ohno is a five time Olympic Medalist in Short Track Speed skating.  After winning two gold, one silver and also two bronze medals in the Olympics Apolo appeared on season four of Dancing with the Stars and was partnered together with professional Julianne Hough and danced his way to victory yet again by winning the title and first place in the season finale on May 22, 2007.

With the wide range of celebrities involved, it was only natural for a bit of controversy to follow as well.  The biggest controversies included Vincent Pastore an actor pulling out of the show right before it began.  Originally partnered with Edyta Sliwinska he was replaced by John Ratzenberger.  There were two professionals who pulled out of this season as well, Ashly DelGrosso pulled out due to a pregnancy and Louis van Amstel pulled out due to personal reasons but still appeared as a professional dancer for performances and assisted with choreography.

Stars from the Beginning

If you have ever wondered exactly where the show Dancing with the Stars has come from, it is really an amazing story.  With six different celebrities paired together with six different professional ballroom dancers, a phenomenon was born into the United States.  The show was already a hit in England, however trying to gauge exactly how well the show would perform in the United States was not quite so easy due to the dramatic differences between viewers.

With the start of the show on June 1, 2005, it was immediately obvious that the show was a hit.  The viewers for the very first episode hit an enormous 13 million viewers and climbed its way to the number one position.  This was an incredible feat for a show that was just starting out, and was success that would just continue to grow as the show went on.  Combining together celebrities from a wide field, incredible costumes and some fabulous dancing has all proven to be a great recipe for success for the show.

The initial cast of the show for celebrities included several people who had not been seen heavily for a very long time, and demonstrated that a bit of time away from the spotlights of Hollywood is not always fatal for a career.

The initial contestants for the show included:
Trista Rehn, her claim to fame was her time on the show the Bachelorette as well as also competing on The Bachelor.  Her time on the show was extremely short lived as she was eliminated on June 8, 2005 along with her partner Louis van Amstel.

Evander Holyfield, he dazzled the world as a major heavyweight boxer and proved that while he was not the most graceful on his feet; he certainly was not the worst.  Pulling all of his experience, as a boxer did not seem to benefit him greatly as his time on the show was tragically brought to an end on June 13, 2005 after just two weeks.  His professional partner was Edyta Sliwinska.

Rachel Hunter, as a famous supermodel it is standard that moving gracefully is required.  While dancing with partner Jonathan Roberts it was unfortunate that Rachel was eliminated on June 22, 2005, which brought their time on the show to an end.

Joey McIntyre, made famous by the 1980’s boy band, New Kids on the Block he has also done a few acting gigs, mostly plays though.  With his own semi-successful music career covering several years, it had been a while since he had been actively heard from.  Paired with professional Ashly DelGrosso he was eliminated on June 29, 2005 after coming in 3rd place.

John O’Hurley was able to secure several acting jobs as well as numerous television show hosting gigs; however, his first stint at competing came on Dancing with the Stars.  Paired with Charlotte Jorgensen as his professional partner the pair was eventually awarded a second place finish on July 6, 2005 for the season finale.

Kelly Monoco, a successful actress with numerous shows to her credits including Baywatch, Port Charles, Hard Copy, Spin City, and General Hospital to name a few was declared the winner of season one on July 6, 2005 with professional partner Alec Mazo bringing a successful end to the first season for the show.

Due to the success of the first season, additional seasons of the show were quickly organized.  Each additional season of the show has increased the number of viewers watching and each features a unique set of celebrity contestants as well.  One of the key factors that has helped to influence the success of the show is the uniqueness compared to anything else that is currently on television.  Because the show pulls upon the success of contestants and offers no prize money at all, it is only a title as well as a trophy that the winning pair is awarded.  While many contestants are not as comfortable with this idea, many others are thoroughly pleased to simply be able to compete again and stay in the public spotlight.

Dancing with the Stars Contestants

Several of the contestants on the hit ABC television show Dancing with the Stars have had some great success pulling their careers back into the public spotlight.  With a large number of celebrities getting renewed attention due to the show, many others are starting to look for new ways to revive their careers.  With a large number of celebrities starting to appear in the spotlight more and more following their stints on the show it is a great ability for many to locate a rejuvenated career.

Joey McIntyre has picked up quite a bit of publicity surrounding his performance.  After successfully finishing in a third place finish for season one his band New Kids on the Block decided to create a reunion tour and also is working on promoting an album of new material that the group has recently released.

From season two the biggest name to make a splash recently has been Tatum O’Neal who was recently in legal troubles after being arrested by police in California over drug charges.  The only other member of the season two cast to spark a huge career boost has been Drew Lachey who has appeared in all three Dancing with the Stars The Tour as well as also stood in for the show’s co-host while she delivered her baby.

Mario Lopez in season three brought back the attention that had since waned from his A.C. Slater days on Saved by the Bell.  By turning to Broadway to star in A Chorus Line, he has certainly seen a renewed spark of attention.

For season four the biggest contestants ended up being Billy Ray Cyrus who is working to heavily boost his image as the father of Miley Cyrus the star of Hannah Montana.  With plenty of publicity surrounding his teenage daughter he has made great advances in staying in the public spotlight, just not quite for his career per say.

In the midst of season five Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls spent a large amount of time in a very public paternity dispute with actor and comedian Eddie Murphy as well as working to organize a reunion tour with the girl power group Spice Girls.  All of the publicity that was extended also poured over to Floyd Mayweather Jr. who is nicknamed “Pretty Boy” and he made several appearances on shows that earned him additional publicity as well.

With all of the celebrities involved in season six; it is rather quite on the home front.  There have been so far no major attempts to really create massive amounts of publicity for the newest season.  However, with the season just ending at the end of May it is extremely early into the summer to see exactly how the publicity that the contestants received will really pay out.

For all of the attention that is drawn, many of the contestants disappear into the background once their time on the show is over.  For all of the attention and all of the viewers that the show pulls, it is also important to stay on the show long enough to actually gather a good following in order to see real results in the publicity and careers of each of the contestants.  With so much going on for a few of the contestants, it is true that the career really can see a huge boost after a great run on the show.

You can also dance at any time

There are many things in life we can do to show emotions and let others know how we feel. Some people sing, some people write poetry and prose, some retreat within themselves and hold it all inside. Others dance. Dance has for centuries been a way to express a wide range of emotions. It is an excellent outlet for the emotions that at times our minds simply cannot process. Dancing is a method in which you can work through those emotions and to some degree move on with your life in spite of emotional upheaval.

Believe it or not, many people believe that belly dancing (or Oriental Dance) brings not only emotional healing but also physical healing for some conditions. Dance is well known as a form of exercise but belly dancing is a type of dancing that is body friendly. This means that you do not need to be in the best of physical shape to enter into this sort of dancing. You will not have to worry about stress on your joints due to high impact moves that other forms of dance require. You should also note that the movements in oriental dance these moves are smooth and natural.

Among the health benefits you can experience through Oriental Dance are improved circulation, lower blood pressure, improved joint health, and the burning of calories. Some believe that in addition to the health  benefits mentioned above that Oriental Dance can also help improve whiplash symptoms and back problems. If you are considering belly dancing to address these sorts of symptoms you really should consult with your doctor before doing so and make sure that you have a highly qualified instructor.

When it comes to Oriental Dance, physical healing isn't the only sort of healing that is often experienced. Many dancers also find themselves letting go of the stress and tension in their lives as well as some quite traumatic issues that have been in their past that may continue haunting them long after. For this reason, Oriental Dance is sometimes recommended for treatments of emotional issues as well as physical ailments.

There are vides such as Healing Dance that will allow you to learn some of the basic moves at home. However, if you have the resources within your community there is really nothing that can replace taking dance lessons with a group of women. You will find that these women come in all shapes and sizes and from all sorts of financial, physical, and spiritual backgrounds. It's a solidifying experience to join with other women for the sake of physical and/or emotional healing such as an Oriental Dance class will provide.

In addition to the Oriental healing dance there is also the African healing dance. This is a little more high impact in nature and focuses on healing through expressions of joy. This is a very uplifting form of dance and one well worth considering if you would like to focus on feeling happy and energetic and renewing your joy for living but prefer something that offers a little more impact than the Oriental style of Dance for healing.

There are also healing water dances or hydrotherapy that are often used in helping people with specific injuries. These sessions are low impact though there is some degree of resistance offered through the water for great results. You should make certain however that if you are considering this sort of dance you have a qualified instructor and if possible one on one attention.

For many common ailments, there is a good chance that some form of dance exists that could aid you in recovering from your ailment. Additionally, there are often classes offered for groups in your area. If you are considering learning to dance in order to improve your quality of life or just your enjoyment of life in general, I for one hope you dance.

Wanna dance with a star?

With so many shows on television anymore, it is amazing at times, how some of the simplest shows can actually capture the imagination and attention of the audience.  In order to actually enjoy the show it is very important that you realize that no the winners of the show do not receive money.  They do not receive a dancing contract like singers on American Idol receive a singing contract.  To really enjoy the show you need to understand they are not receiving anything more than a title, and a cute little trophy that really does not mean that much to them.  Of course, they are paid for being on the show while they are there, but in terms of Hollywood, it is not enough pay to really make the stars stick around for a long time.

The main reason why many of the stars stick around is nothing more than pure competitive nature.  Being in the competition simply means that each star is teamed up with a professional dancer and must dance their hearts out each week for the right to stay.  Being kicked off early is a disaster and could easily result in the star looking foolish against their peers.  This makes it a desire for the stars to perform their very best in order to avoid getting kick out.

Some of the other reasons why the show is so incredibly popular range from simple things like incredible dancing styles, to even just wondering what each contestant is going to actually wear.  Trying to decide which part is the most interesting to you is not always easy to pinpoint but if you spend a few minutes watching the show you are quite likely to find something that you are interested in watching.  If you enjoy watching people being criticized then this is also the show for you, what Simon Cowell does for American Idol there are three different judges on Dancing with the Stars, this gives plenty of opportunity to hear criticism, unique comments and even an occasional praise when a pair of contestants do well.

With contestants competing against each other and relying heavily upon the votes of viewers, it is possible to vote for your own favorite celebrity and professional pair to hang around.  Regardless of the exact reason why you like the show, it is really easy to see at first glance just why it is so much fun to watch.  From the thrilling dance scenes, to the amazing costumes, and even the comments of the judge, competitive nature abounds and this makes the perfect opportunity to show off just how competitive each of these contestants really are.  By making their own mark on the Dancing with the Stars show, they are adding a small piece of themselves, and since most of the stars on the show are not as successful as previously, it makes a great way to get back into the public spotlight.

Just realize if you decide to watch a single episode that you might become deeply attached to the show.  There is so much excitement and it is quite contagious.  If you are simply looking for something that could be a bit of fun to watch occasionally then this is certainly not it, you will find that rather quickly you are drawn to watching every episode and ensuring that you have ample time to vote for the contestant that you feel strongest about.  Struggling to find time to actually watch the show could quickly become your biggest problem!

If you are ever channel surfing and looking for the next greatest show to watch spending a few minutes watching Dancing with the Stars is some time very well spent.  There is no reason at all why you should ever look for anything else, after all with a season full of drama, excitement, amazing dancing and so much more the American version of Dancing with the Stars has it all.

Importance of Dance

Throughout the history of the world, dance has played a vital role in some of the most important and life altering celebrations and ceremonies that have existed. Battles have been fought and won immediately following weapons dances, Kingdoms have been one and lost and celebrated with dances. Kings and Monarchs have been crowned then celebrated with dances, and marriages have been consummated with dances of another kind.

Dance has always been at the center of important events until recent history when it would seem that dance and the importance of dance to morale has been lost somewhere in the process. Dance these days seems to be limited to certain people in certain circumstances or only to those who engage in the art of dance for the entertainment of others rather than the simple joy of dancing for the sake of dancing.

Dance is one of those things that should not be a footnote in the journals of the history of the world. When mankind looses the ability to dance for joy, there really is no reason for the race of mankind to continue on. The ability to dance, as an outward expression of emotion is one of those rare things that separates a man from a beast.

Though the importance of dance seems to have been misplaced in the last century or so, we are seeing a rebirth of sorts for the love of dance and finally beginning to understand some of the more important issues that dance addresses. It is far more than something meant to entertain spectators. It should also entertain those that are doing the dancing.

In addition to the entertainment aspect of dance, which should not be diminished, dance is also a physical activity. We live in a world where the expected lifespan of our children, is shorter than the lifespan of those who are already adults. The primary reason for this is a lack of physical fitness and an over abundance of weight. We need to lead by example and show our children that it is important to do little things that get us off our seats and moving around. Dance is a great way to do exactly that.

Beyond this however, dance has other fitness benefits. By increasing your muscle tone and your blood flow by dancing you are giving your heart a 'battery boost' so to speak. Doing this on a regular basis will lead your heart to be a much healthier heart than if you were to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Dance also relieves stress and releases endorphins if your working up a good sweat so to speak. This makes you feel happy and relieves and reduces instances of depression.

Another great benefit of dance to those who care is the fact that it increases muscle tone and gives your body a longer and leaner look over time and with consistent, disciplined training. Some have also noticed a renewed sense of grace and constantly increasing self-confidence.

Of course, if these reasons aren't enough to convince you of the important role that dance can play in your life as well as in society then perhaps you should just get out there and dance. Try it out, see how much fun it is to dance for no reason other than to dance and then try to explain why we as a society do not need to engage in such activities a little more often.

Season Six of Dancing

Putting together the latest season of the show was a truly special time.  By crowning a female as the winner for the first time in 5 seasons, it was a chance for the women to recapture the crown.  By sticking to the new time slot, as well as working with another twelve celebrities and twelve professionals the show again kicked off on March 17, 2008.  However, the difference for this year was not one but two eliminations that would occur on the first elimination show.

With a wide range of personalities and celebrities pulled out for the latest season it was a truly magical time for some.

Magician Penn Jillette half of the famous duo Penn and Teller was paired up with professional Kym Johnson.  While Penn has a true ability to perform amazing magic tricks there were no tricks capable of keeping the duo on the show.  They were eliminated in the very first elimination round that was held on March 25, 2008.

Monica Seles a women’s tennis Grand Slam champion was paired up with the talented Jonathan Roberts.  Despite talent on the tennis court, the couple was also eliminated on the first elimination round on March 25, 2008.

Steve Guttenberg an actor well known for numerous films including Three Men and a Little Baby as well as Three Men and a Little Lady, was paired up with the talented Anna Trebunskaya.  Following a very brief stint on the show, they were the third couple to be eliminated on April 1, 2008.

Adam Carolla a truly funny comedian as well as radio host was paired up with the two time winning Julianne Hough.  Despite Julianne’s luck with previous seasons, the couple was eliminated on April 8, 2008.

Priscilla Presley best known for being the wife to the King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley was partnered with Louis van Amstel.  After performing well on the show for several weeks, the couple was finally eliminated on April 15, 2008.

Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin was teamed up with professional Fabian Sanchez and performed wonderfully for several weeks.  After a fabulous experience on the show they were eliminated on April 22, 2008.

Shannon Elizabeth an actress best remembered for her role in American Pie was paired up with the talented Derek Hough.  After a thrilling experience on the show, their partnership came to a halt on April 29, 2008 after coming in only sixth place.

Mario an R&B singer with plenty of soul was partnered up with Karina Smirnoff.  After a smooth flow on the dance floor the pair was eliminated in fifth place on May 6, 2008.

Marissa Jaret Winokur an incredible Tony award winning actress from Broadway was paired up with ballroom professional Tony Dovolani.  Putting their talents together the pair managed to hang in to secure a fourth place finish.  They completed the show on May 13, 2008.

Cristian de la Fuente was paired with professional and previous winner Cheryl Burke.  As an actor, he has appeared in numerous television shows as well as movies.  Many of his movies and appearances have also been Mexican shows as well.  They worked well together until the conclusion of their adventure when they made a great third place finish on May 20, 2008.

Jason Taylor a NFL player for the Miami Dolphins is used to playing the defensive end.  However, despite being the NFL Man of the Year, he and professional partner Edyta Sliwinska only managed to secure a second place victory in the final on May 20, 2008.

The winner a female for the first time in five seasons was Olympic Champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.  After receiving the only perfect score throughout the entire season as well as the talented professional Mark Ballas as a partner, she waltzed her way to victory in the season finale on May 20, 2008 and was one of the treasured favorites throughout the entire season.

Why Dance is Importanat?

When it comes to dance there are many reasons that different people in different cultures spanning the globe choose to dance. This article will explore some of the many reasons that people dance around the world and perhaps provide new incentives for you to dance your way through your days as well.

Dancing for Religion

Many religions around the world and throughout history have used dance in praise of their deities, in celebration of the seasons, and simply as an outward expression of joy. Christianity has mixed emotions when it comes to dance. Some religions feel that all manner of social dance can lead to forbidden actions or thoughts and tend to frown upon dance in general as a result while other Christian religions believe that there is a time, place, and purpose for dancing. Some have even incorporated dancing into their religious ceremonies (weddings as one example). Most will agree that dance is a matter of personal conviction within the Christian religion because of the heated debates that can arise on the topic.

The Hindu religion dance is an essential form of worshipping the various aspects of the Divine. This form of dance is often mistakenly referred to as Classical Indian Dance though in reality it is a form of worship. There are different dances for the different deities as every god has a different preference.

Even the religion of Islam has its own version of dancing for worship. Those who practice this form of dance for the sake of worship are often referred to as Whirling Dervishes.

The Weapon Dance

This is a form of dance that has a long history dating back to Spartan warriors preparing for battle. This style of dance has been used throughout history and around the world by many nations and cultures as preparation, training, and raising morale for imminent battle. Though no longer widely practiced, and certainly not as a precursor to battle, the history and ceremony of the Weapon Dance is not to be forgotten and still practiced in ceremonial events today to honor the way things have been done in the past.

Native American Tribal Dances

It is also worth noting that what has become commonly referred to as war dances by Native American tribes are quite possibly the very same weapons dances that have such a long and noble history around the world. Individual tribes had their own dances that were used when preparing to battle with other tribes, preparing for a big hunt, or preparing to defend themselves against constant invasion and relocation.

War, or imminent battle was not the only reason that Native American tribes danced however. Dance held an important role in the worshipping of various gods as well as tribal ceremonies or individual expressions of prayer, grief, joy, or simply of embracing nature and become one with the world around them. Dance is essential to Native American heritage and culture. For Native American dance, the beat of the drum is an essential component. It is the drumbeat that drives the pace and the intensity of the dance.

Competitive Dance

Around the world there are those that dance competitively in all forms of dance. From recreational forms of dancing to spiritual forms of dancing the competitions are fierce and the competitors quite often dedicate their lives and the vast majority of their free time to honing and perfecting their particular forms of dance. In competitive dance there are judges who judge artistic expression, technical skills, costumes, and the uniformity or execution of movements. Those who dance competitively must be committed to their craft in order to remain competitive.

Of course some people dance simply because they want to and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. There is really no bad reason to dance unless you are being forced to do so against your will. Otherwise when it comes to dance, the best reason to dance is because the music leaves you no other option but to dance.

Every one can dance

If you are a fan of reality television chances are that you have heard of the hit show on Fox by the name of "So You Think You can Dance". If you are a fan of "American Idol" then this show just might also be of appeal to you. It is much like the wildly popular Fox hit, American Idol only the focus is on dance rather than vocal talents.

Much like American Idol, So You Think You can Dance has an audition process by which the wheat is separated from the chaff so to speak. The first two episodes of the season are essentially clips from the audition process showing some of the hits and misses that have been encountered throughout the process of whittling down the numbers. It should come as no huge surprise that Simon from American Idol is also one of the creators for this show which is popular in its own right though not reaching anywhere near the wild success that American Idol has experienced.

This show will use dancers with a wide range of background. From street performers to those that have previously held titles for their dancing skills, they begin on an even and level playing field and are eliminated as the competition intensifies and crowd expectations rise. The prize for winning on this series is $100,000 cash, a dancing role in the Las Vegas show of Celine Dion and a Hybrid SUV of their very own (I do applaud the efforts of the producers to make greener choices in this matter by the way).

The show is actually quite interesting on a level that American Idol doesn't manage to capture. For one, it involves the pairing up of talent that hasn't worked together previously for the purpose of dance while competing against one another. Secondly, they lowest scoring couple is allowed the opportunity for one member to redeem himself or herself by performing solo for the judges. Obviously this makes for some interesting situations along the way. Yet another interesting fact about this show is that it throws the competitors into forms of dance that they are not likely to be familiar with against other performers who may very well be familiar and comfortable with the style of dance in question.

All in all, when it comes to dance, the television show So You Think You can Dance is doing a great deal to educate its watchers about various styles of dance that they may have never otherwise encountered. If you have always wanted to learn a little more about the many styles of dance and to see others as they learn the ropes to some degree, then this is definitely a show you won't want to miss.

I should also take this opportunity to point out that shows such as Dancing with the Stars on ABC also provides an excellent venue for education and entertainment when it comes to dance. In this series celebrities are actually paired with professional ballroom dancers and put through a ballroom 'boot camp' of sorts in order to learn the fine art of ballroom dancing then put through the wringer with judges and voters alike. In truth, any exposure to the wonderful art of dance is a good thing for many who are overcoming their preconceived ideas about dance.

Popular Contestants

While the show Dancing with the Stars has found huge amounts of success there are some contestants that are liked much more than others.  A few of the contestants are extremely successful while some of the other contestants have found that they are not loved much by the judges, the viewers and ultimately their time on the show is shortened.  While everyone has different opinions on the best contestants for the show, there are a few that are rather continuously listed as favorites.  These favorites tend to bring the attention of the crowd, regardless of which dance style they are performing, do you think that your own personal favorite is included?

Master P – Who does not like the idea of watching someone step way out of their own personal comfort zone?  Master P was a perfect example of this, going from bad boy rapper to ballroom dancer was a true stretch for him, but the couple managed to stick around and last a few weeks.  Teamed up with Ashly DelGrosso in season two he was only on the show due to an injury of his son that found him filling in.  Despite pulling out of his comfort zone, he managed to be the fourth pair of contestants to be eliminated that season.

Jerry Springer – This was an incredible experience, the man who went from being a City Council member, to the Mayor of Cincinnati to even moving onto his own television show.  Coming to the Dancing with the Stars world seemed like just another strange choice for Jerry but proved to be fairly successful.  During season three when he competed, he and his partner Kym Johnson came in fifth place.

Heather Mills – Everyone loves to hate this women and the time that she spent on Dancing with the Stars was certainly no exception.  Being eliminated as the fifth couple Heather Mills and Jonathan Roberts managed to do quite well during the competition.  As her claim to fame from marrying a former Beatle, she managed to bring very few fans to the actual show.  Most who watched her time on the show were interested in seeing how quickly she would actually be booted off.

Melanie Brown – Dubbed as Scary Spice, this former Spice Girl brought her own unique style to the show.  In the middle of a load of drama with ex Eddie Murphy, she managed to do extremely well during her brief time on the show.  Combined together with Maksim Chmerkovskiy they pulled from her own performing background, as well as the professional ballroom experience that Maksim provided to the pair.

Kristi Yamaguchi – As one of the top figure skaters in the world, Kristi is certainly no stranger to competition.  Paired together with Mark Ballas for season six she walked away with the title, as well as the hearts of many fans.  Pulling on her own experience as a professional figure skater, she managed to breeze her way through much of the dancing competition.  As a professional ballroom dancer, Mark Ballas enjoyed working with Kristi and they moved wonderfully together.

As you can see, the popular contestants have come from a very large variety of backgrounds and have had the enjoyment of different lengths on the show.  Pulling from experience in some other professional career, most of the popular contestants have been truly missed after being removed from the show early, but Kristi Yamaguchi has managed to go on to actually win her time on Dancing with the Stars which provided her and partner Mark Ballas with the trophy at the very end of the show.

You might notice that someone that you felt was truly popular is missing, everyone of course has their own opinions but there are several different types of contestants who have made great impacts on the show who are not considered extremely popular.  If you look beyond just those contestants, who are successful on the show and consider their entire popularity you no doubt will notice that most are not truly popular after all.