DWTS final three chosen tonight
I hate to say it but I think Dancing with the Stars is now predictable. Last night the judges' scores gave us a preview of how it will work out, don't you think? Marissa Jaret Winokur, trouper that she is, is most likely to be eliminated tonight. That will leave Jason Taylor, Kristi Yamaguchi and Cristian de la Fuente in the finals. Who do you think will leave the show tonight? And which couple do you think will ultimately be the winner? Check out our slideshow of the final four contestants and their performances from last night, and post below. We want to know!
(all photos by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
May 12, 2008
DWTS semi-finals: Down to the final four
Tonight is the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars. Still in the competition are Marissa Jaret Winokur, long the underdog, whose bubbly personality can't help but be bringing her viewer votes; Cristian de la Fuente, whose injured arm is either a blessing or a curse, but whose stamina has been rewarded by the audience voters; and the two most obviously talented competitors, the NFL's Jason Taylor and former Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, both of whom have the drive and discipline of world class athletes.
Tomorrow, one of them will be eliminated. So, tell me who you want to see in the final three by posting below. And please tell me, do you base your votes on talent or spunk?
May 06, 2008
DWTS elimination: Mario is out
The elimination of R&B singer Mario - the youngest competitor ever - on Dancing with the Stars Tuesday night broke my heart. I have to admit he stole it from me during my week in L.A. with all the contestants. No, not like that. I'm old enough to be his mom, and I would be proud to have a son like him. Mario is a consummate performer and was a gentleman throughout the competition. He made dancing cool for young people and, at 21, broke DWTS ground for future young competitors. Mario may not have bonded with a fellow contestant in the way Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente have, but he was well thought of by his colleagues and certainly by his partner, the beautiful Karina Smirnoff. Next up for Mario will be getting ready for his summer tour, which will promote his new album Go and his Do Right foundation.
Cristian celebrates his DWTS win
Just got off the phone with Cristian de la Fuente's publicist who filled me in on just how good Cristian and partner Cheryl Burke (both are pictured at right) were feeling after last night's Dancing with the Stars. There was a little celebrating involving dinner and a club, but they are mindful that things can change in a night on DWTS. In fact, on the off chance that Cristian should be eliminated tonight, he'll have surgery on his ruptured arm tendon tomorrow. Cristian's doctor is also the team doctor for the L.A. Dodgers, but the doc was in the house at DWTS last night while Cristian danced. Ah, the perks of being the doc to a Dancing celeb.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
Dancing with the Stars has a new leader: Cristian
I was inspired by my travels to Dancing with the Stars, and my attempt at Louis van Amstel's dance class last week, to try out Zumba - a very fun and funky dance class at my gym - last night. Then I watched DWTS and Cristian de la Fuente's big comeback. He and Cheryl Burke (they're both pictured at right) took the number one spot with the judges scores last night, in spite of his arm injury. I'm waiting to hear today from professional dancer Kym Johnson, who will share her opinion on last night's performances. But I was disappointed with some of the judges' scores and comments. Perhaps, with just two weeks left to go the judges are trying to shake it up and supply some surprises, because it still looks to me like Jason Taylor and Kristi Yamaguchi are the top dancers of the season. What did you think? Post comments below.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
May 05, 2008
Cristian's injury: Will it hurt him tonight?
I
'm back on the East Coast today, but that doesn't mean our Dancing with the Stars coverage will wane. Like you, I'll be watching the shows at home, but with newfound appreciation for those quick-steps and turns. On Tuesdays, from now through the finale, we'll have pro Kym Johnson give us her assessment of Monday night's show, so be sure to check for that tomorrow afternoon. And chief costumer Randall Christensen promises to share with us some of his favorite costumes from the season, as well as all-time favorites. That is, if he can find a few moments to think in between the work he is doing each week (I'll tell you more on that in later posts.)
Tonight we'll see if Cheryl Burke, Cristian de la Fuente's partner (they're both pictured at right), choreographed a dance around his injured arm. Cristian and football player Jason Taylor, who have become tight friends, really would like to make it to the finale together. We're down to five couples now. Who do you want to see make it to the final three? Tell us in the comments area below.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 30, 2008
Outtakes from my 'Dancing with the Stars' notebook
Marlee Matlin, who was ousted last week, and her partner, Fabian Sanchez, were in the house both nights this week. She looks fantastic, having lost 12 pounds dancing...
Becki Newton, who plays Amanda on Ugly Betty, was in the front row Monday night (more ABC cross-promotion). It would have been fun if she’d shown up with Michael Urie, her co-conspirator on Betty...
Tennis player Jennifer Capriati was there Monday...
Judge Bruno Tonioli is prone to dancing on and about his desk (though the latter was more of a gyration) when the cameras are off. It takes some audience prompting but not much...
The musical guests, like Tuesday night’s Def Leppard, are taped before the actual elimination show. It’s not happening in the order we see on TV...
Jason Taylor says Edyta teaches him about Polish culture...
Kristi Yamaguchi (at right with her partner, Mark Ballas) is tiny, tiny, tiny. (That’s exactly how I wrote it in my notebook. Did I want to make a point?)...
Kristi says her little daughters know all her dances but they are more interested in figure skating...
Cristian de la Fuente says the experience is like “running for president and learning to dance at the same time.”...
He also says meeting a partner for the first time is “like a blind date. You don’t know if you’re gonna work, or if you will become friends for life.”...
Costumer Randall Christensen says professional dancers are indeed smaller than they used to be. “It used to be that a size 6 or 8 was small, now it’s a size 0 or 2...”
(Copyright © 2007 ABC, Inc. / Kelsey McNeal)
Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough out on DWTS
Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough (at right) are done for the season, at least with Dancing with the Stars. Whether the rest of their relationship will continue is a matter of much speculation and it is hard to assess whether they are digging the publicity or really together. Their colleagues on the show surrounded them with support at the end of tonight's elimination and said kind things like, “Derek is the class clown,” but I got the feeling that they won’t be missed like Cristian de la Fuente or Marissa Jaret Winokur would have been. In fact, the duo didn’t even work the long line of press after the show, which isn’t easy duty but everyone does it – eliminated or not. Not a classy move.
Tonight I sat in the front row directly across from the judges desk and got as good a look at Jason Taylor’s quick step as the judges did
April 29, 2008
Kym Johnson predicts Kristi Yamaguchi and Jayson Taylor in DWTS finals
Just back from coffee with Kym Johnson (at right), the professional dancer who has partnered with Jerry Springer, Joey Fatone and Penn Jillette on Dancing with the Stars. The tall, platinum blonde had just finished a taping for the TV GUIDE channel, at home in the Kodak Theatre complex where the Oscars are held. I had to walk on the Walk of Fame stars of Greta Garbo, Tom Cruise, and Whoopi Goldberg to get to Kym. I've talked with Kym several times to get her expertise on the show, how to judge the dancing and what it's like to be part of it, but today I asked if she will give us her professional opinion or analysis each Tuesday until a winner is chosen and she said yes. So here's a start. Click "Read more" below for her thoughts ...
Cristian's injury upsets all DWTS dancers
I'm just back from Dancing with the Stars live show and the story of the night, of course, was Cristian de la Fuente's arm injury. I talked to most of the dancers after the show and everyone was concerned; his partner, Cheryl Burke, was so upset she couldn't control her tears. Cheryl told me she heard a crack, but thought it was her dress, until she realized that Cristian couldn't finish. I could see him move his arm awkwardly but I thought it was a part of the dance until I saw him wincing in pain. (You can watch the whole thing if you click on the "Read More" link.)
I felt terrible for him because in our conversation on Friday he was so focused on raising his scores. It's interesting that this far into the competition everyone is exhausted but everyone wants to stay, in large part because they just like each other.
April 28, 2008
Mario sets 'Dancing' example
"This is a blessing," says 21-year-old R&B artist Mario (at right) of his invitation to be on Dancing with the Stars, "it separates me from all the other young artists out there." Indeed, it does. And not many young artists are as low-key and engaging. I show up to meet Mario for our Saturday evening date and find him immediately because he gives me that sweet smile we see all the time on DWTS. We sit side-by-side on a leather sofa for more than an hour as we talk about his experience on the ABC show, his tough upbringing in Baltimore and his hopes for the future.
Mario, who has had a No. 1 Billboard single, a platinum-selling album and a couple of good movie roles, not to mention a new album and a tour coming in June, is the youngest contestant ever on Dancing but I think he's breaking ground for more celebs like him. DWTS can use younger faces to bring in a youth demographic and young celebs often want to expand their youthful fan base. It's a win-win.
Who will 'Dance' best tonight?
Will it be Kristi Yamaguchi, Jason Taylor or the young contestant, Mario? Will Marissa be so out of her head that she will feel the dance and score high? It's prediction day for Dancing with the Stars followers. I have talked with contestants, pros and others involved with the show and everyone predicts Jason will win, Kristi's hard work notwithstanding. What do you think? Will it be the Miami Dolphins player? Post your thoughts below.
April 26, 2008
Jason Taylor spends draft day practicing, but not football
It's Saturday morning and Beverly Hills is bustling. I'm at the Sofitel Hotel with Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor's manager Gary Wichard, whose BlackBerry and cell phone are buzzing so frequently he can barely get his latte ordered. It's NFL Draft Day and the
re's been a lot of speculation this week that Taylor will be traded to another team. Wichard is circumspect about that; he also has three college players whose day will end with a new job.
But enough about football. I'm here to talk dancing. Tall, handsomer than heck even with a tiny scar between his dark brown eyes, Taylor arrives in sweats and a white t-shirt. He and his Dancing with the Stars partner Edyta Sliwinska already have put in three hours of rehearsal time today and it's just 11 a.m. "I'm a competitor. I want to win," says Taylor, 33, who will head back to practice for another five hours, then do a photo shoot for TV GUIDE. Several of his co-contestants, as well as much of America, say they think he will best Kristi Yamaguchi to win the title. But if he doesn't? "There are more important things in life than Dancing with the Stars."
Cristian de la Fuente on the magic of dancing
Whenever Dancing with the Stars contestants are voted off the show - and sometimes even when they are not - we hear about what a life-changing experience it is for them. What is it that changes their lives so? I wonder. What magic happens in those rehearsal studios and on the dance floor itself? Cristian de la Fuente (at right), the Chilean Air Force pilot and sexy actor who dances with pro Cheryl Burke, tries to explain. "Everybody is there to help each other," he says. Steve Guttenberg still texts him every Monday wishing him a good show and to congratulate him on Tuesday when he's still in the competition. Cristian so wanted Marlee Matlin to stay on the show that he voted for HER instead of himself the week she was in jeopardy. (She's a pro at texting, he says.) "I spend a lot of time with Jason and I would never be able to spend time with a football player," Cristian says. "The relationships you create on the show are experiences that are hard to have in real life. It's like the Air Force experience - you share something in common."
Rumpled from a day of rehearsal, Cristian is every bit as handsome as he looks on the show. He has big brown eyes and dark brown hair. He had the muscular arms even before Dancing.
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani break from rehearsal
Thanks to Louis' class Friday morning, I'm nursing sore hips, ankles and calves but that's nothing compared to how Marissa Jaret Winokur feels seven weeks into Dancing with the Stars. "I hurt everywhere — and it's not good hurt," she says, laughing that big laugh we hear each week on the show. She tells me to take that one-hour class with Louis and imagine it as a one-on-one class that goes on for seven hours.
I met up with Marissa and her partner, Tony Dovolani, in a North Hollywood cultural center, far from the glamour of the DWTS ballroom. Marissa is more petite in person than she appears on TV but, even tired from a week of rehearsals, her personality is as big as it looks. She and Tony are happy in their worn little studio, which is where they take a break from learning two dances for Monday's show to talk to me.
(Here I am with partners Marissa and Tony in their apple green rehearsal space.)
Dance class with Louis van Amstel
Well readers, I'm still alive after Louis van Amstel's kick-butt dance class Friday morning. And, I might even know how to cha-cha now. The ladies in Louis' classes are pretty darn amazing. They work hard to get the steps just right while working up a serious sweat and the regulars swing their hips, kick up their heels and add turns with flare. TV star Lisa Rinna, who told me she just signed with top-drawer talent agency CAA, was having no trouble, of course. Louis' Season 2 Dancing with the Stars partner, dressed in all black with a white bandana covering half her head, graciously volunteered to stand in front of me so I could keep my eyes on her feet. Lisa takes Louis' classes at least four times a week, which is how she keeps the stick-thin figure she got after her stint on Dancing. I tell her that she's too thin now; she says, "Yeah, but I like it this way."
April 25, 2008
Louis van Amstel, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Cristian de la Fuente on tap today
I'm off to try my feet at one of Los Angeles' hottest dancing classes. Dancing with the Stars pro Louis van Amstel teaches several times a week at a Sherman Oaks studio and I hear his classes are very popular. Who wouldn't want to take a class from Louis? He certainly made Priscilla Presley look graceful this season. Still, even though I took tap, ballet and modern dance when I was young - and still love aerobic dancing classes for fitness - I'm very nervous. Wish me luck.
After I see Louis, I have a day of driving around L.A. to look forward to. Ugh. I'll be off to find bubbly Marissa Jaret Winokur in her practice studio in North Hollywood — we know she'll inject some energy into my afternoon — and then on to Cristian de la Fuente in Beverly Hills. Each contestant gets assigned practice space with his or her coach and they move to different ones. I'm convinced the schedulers at DWTS must be geniuses — or at least incredible jugglers.
Check back later for my posts on all these doings. Can't wait to share it all with you.
April 24, 2008
Lorrie's off to Dance with the Stars
I'm leaving on a jet plane this morning...heading to Los Angeles for six days of interviews and fun with many of your favorites on Dancing with the Stars. I'm going to try to keep up with dancing professional Louis van Amstel (he has been partnered with Lisa Rinna and Priscilla Presley) in the class he teaches on Friday mornings and I have sit-down interviews scheduled with Cristian de la Fuente, Marissa Jaret Winokur, R&B singer Mario and NFL star Jason Taylor. (If you have questions for any of them, post them below.)
Monday and Tuesday nights I'll see the Dancing with the Stars show live; I can't wait for that, or my talk with Randall Christensen, the man responsible for those incredible costumes every week. I'll also catch back up with Kym Johnson, the pro dancer from Australia who has turned TV Guide commentator. I'll be keeping you up to date every day so check back frequently and send me your comments. We're going to have a good time.
April 21, 2008
'Dancing' trip begins this week
So, I'm having my first cup of coffee Sunday morning when the phone rings and the caller I.D. tells me it's Denver, i.e. family. I answer to hear my 9-year-old nephew and godson, Carter Lynch, asking, "Can I come with you to Dancing with the Stars?" Carter's mom, my sister-in-law Nancy Lynch, read him the announcement in Sunday's Who's News column that I head to Los Angeles later this week to cover Dancing with the Stars.
I love that my family can read the column in The Denver Post, but actually, I have been remiss in not telling them about the trip earlier. Carter, his big brother Davis, 11, and little sister Tatum, 7, have been Dancing fans since the first season. The boys, athletes both, are partial to NFL man of the year Jason Taylor (pictured below) this season and Tatum, as blonde and petite as pretty pro dancer Julianne Hough, is disappointed that Julianne is no longer on the show but loves the young dancers. She can envision herself as one of them one day soon.
Unfortunately, I won't be taking Carter or the other kids with me on this L.A. trip. But even without them, it will be an experience.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 16, 2008
Priscilla Presley gave 'Dancing' her all
I've been so busy today I haven't had time to ask, is it me or were Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel (at right, during their last dance) the wrong couple to throw off Dancing with the Stars last night? Were the judges hyper-critical? Did they NOT see Priscilla's full split? OK, I admit I'm disappointed because I was SO looking forward to meeting the actress who put so much into her Dancing experience - from her death spiral in the first week onward. I planned to visit with Priscilla and Louis during my upcoming trip to L.A. when I blog live from Dancing with the Stars. Alas, it was not meant to be. However, I still plan to take Louis' dance class and tell you all about it, sore feet and all.
And I can't forget to ask, what about those tiny dancers? I'm sure the 8-year-old firecracker Cara inspired my 7-year-old niece, Tatum, who already is taking hip hop lessons and loves DWTS.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 11, 2008
Kym Johnson shares 'Dancing' insight
I've been so under the weather this week I have been woefully behind on keeping you posted so I have some catching up to do today. First, some gossip from Dancing with the Stars. I talked this week with Kym Johnson, the pro who danced with Penn Jillette until they got booted in the second week of this season (they're both pictured at right). Here's some info I didn't know:
* Penn had some trouble with his feet because he has broken both of them at various times in his life and, for example, he had trouble getting onto the balls of his feet for certain steps.
* Kym and fellow pros Cheryl Burke and Edyta Sliwinska are best friends. They've toured the country together three times and face the same challenges. She says there's no rivalry among the pros - they help each other with problems. "We're the only ones who know what they others are going through."
* The bond between contestants is genuine. She says Cristian de la Fuente and Jason Taylor can be seen sitting together talking on those long show days; Shannon Elizabeth and Marissa Jaret Winokur share confidences in the makeup trailer.
Kym, like the rest of America, thinks Taylor and Kristi Yamaguchi are headed toward a final showdown, but she says Shannon Elizabeth could be the dark horse. And Kym is now doing TV coverage of the show for the TV GUIDE channel so you can catch her there.
(photo by Michael Desmond/ABC)
April 09, 2008
Adam Carolla is done with 'Dancing'
That nasty cold I told you about yesterday was disguising a full-blown flu. So perhaps I wasn't quite myself, thanks to cough, cold and flu meds steeping in my bloodstream, as I watched Dancing with the Stars last night but I actually was a little sad to see Adam Carolla eliminated. In a few short weeks I'd grown to like him, if not his dancing. And his appreciation for what he had learned from 19-year-old Julianne Hough (at right, with Carolla), his coach-trainer-pro, was touching.
What do you think? Was he the right one to let go? I still plan to talk to Penn Jillette's pro Kym Johnson today - she can't catch the flu by phone - about her new TV GUIDE gig, and her view of how this season is shaping up. Post questions below.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 08, 2008
Who will leave 'Dancing' tonight?
I'm typing through a cough and cold medicine haze this morning, but even a nasty spring respiratory infection won't keep me from dissecting Dancing with the Stars. Will it be Adam Carolla's week to go home? Some DWTS followers believe that Corolla has remained only because the show producers want the very cute Julianne Hough to stay for as many weeks as possible. Jason Taylor, the NFL man of the year, and Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic champion, are clearly in front, but a couple of others are making strides (dancing pun) and there are plenty of weeks to go.
We'll see tonight who does NOT survive for another week. Meanwhile, tomorrow afternoon I will be talking to Kym Johnson, Penn Jillette's professional partner, who is no longer on the show. She'll have an informed opinion on who might make it all the way. If you have any questions for her, send them by posting below.
April 04, 2008
Penn Jillette talks life post-'Dancing'
Just got off the phone with Penn Jillette , who was calling from Las Vegas where he does a show every night with his partner, the silent Teller. Penn & Teller work every night — and Penn was keeping that schedule even while on Dancing with the Stars — so he hasn't kept up with the DWTS competition, though he did get an email from Steve Guttenberg after Steve got the boot this week and "I imagine I'll get an email from Adam [Carolla] soon," Penn says.
I asked him how it feels to be the first one off. "I don't want to say anything that would appear to be sour grapes," Penn tells me, "but to be honest, I'm thrilled to little pieces." Why? He was missing his kids. He has two toddlers whom he sees about four hours a day and when he was on Dancing that was down to about two. Being an older father (he's 52), Penn says he has "a melancholy desperation" about the quick passage of time. The day after he was eliminated, Penn says, he spent 10 hours with them. That's definitely the antidote to any post-elimination disappointment.
I'll post more from my interview with Penn as we continue covering DWTS. And next week we'll talk to Kym Johnson, Penn's partner (they're both pictured at right), who has a new gig on the TV GUIDE channel covering Dancing.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 02, 2008
Steve Guttenberg is off 'Dancing'
Were you shocked that it was Steve Guttenberg (pictured below), not Adam Carolla, who got the boot from Dancing with the Stars Tuesday night? I was. I didn't think Guttenberg would last much longer, but I thought he'd get another week. How does it feel to be told to go home? I'll ask Penn Jillette Friday when we talk about Dancing and Penn's return to his other life - his Las Vegas show.
(photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC)
April 01, 2008
Be a 'Dancing' judge
It was a very competitive round last night, but one Dancing with the Stars contestant goes home after tonight's show. Here's your chance to play judge. Tell us who think will be eliminated tonight. Or, better yet, who do you WANT eliminated?
(photo by Kelsey McNeal)