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.

Why "Dancing with the Stars" is so Popular

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.

Dancing or Playing the Judges -- You Decide

On every episode of "Dancing with the Stars" celebrities and their professional
dance partners all take the stage and grace the audience with a short dance.
The actual dance is frequently nothing at all to do with the actual scores that
are handed out by the judges. However, it is also extremely important to realize
that while the judges do play a large part of determining who wins the show, and
even who goes home each week there are several instances where the viewers
themselves will have a much larger impact on how the show proceeds.

In general terms it is typically widely accepted that the show is based heavily
upon appearances. Both the appearance of the celebrity and also the appearance
of the professional dancer. It is very seldom that anyone actually makes it
through the competition by looking sloppy, uncoordinated and even badly
organized. If you are looking to ensure that you are well pulled together and
are actually appropriately scored then it is critical that the contestants
actually look the parts that they are trying to play. For many this means
stepping out of their comfort zone and wearing clothing that they normally
would never wear.

In order to actually put together the true package needed to win the show it is
very much necessary to take the time to pull together a great routine that is
complete with perfect timing, great dancing skills, audience draw and even a
great costume. Someone is just not going to look as pulled together if they
select the wrong costume. There is no denying this at all, but if you do not
take the time to actually select a good costume you could quickly find yourself
leaving the show simply because the costume took too much attention away from
the actual dancing.

In order to really move past the small details and determine if the judges
really do decide the show based on actual dancing skills it is important to
watch a season from start to finish. There has been speculation for a very long
time that the judges are not very concerned with the actual dancing. This has
been further proven by the lack of fairness that judge Mary Ann Inaba often
shows to contestants. However, while the show continues to plug along, there
are times when it is noticeable that the actual dancing is the primary concern
of the judges.

For most viewers it is extremely frustrating only having a partial impact on
which contestants stay and which go. The judges having at least some impact on
which contestants are permitted to stay is intended to ensure that the
competition stays focused on dancing skills, however it does still occasionally
fall to the side in the event that some contestants are more favored by the
judges and even the viewers than others who are more talented. While the show
has struggled to ensure that it is fairly judged there is still an
uncertainness whether the actual dancing or the whim of the judges makes a
greater difference in who will actually win.

Pulling your favorite star out of the crowd and giving them the boost needed to
win is not just based on actual votes. It is still required that contestants at
least attempt to completely master the dances that they are trying to compete
with.

This goes a long way towards helping contestants be absolutely certain that
they are winning based upon their actual dancing skills, rather than just
popularity but as many arguments have occurred, it is still undetermined just
how effective this actually is. Many feel that the dancers whom are actually
more talented are actually penalized by the judges in terms of a contestant
that is more favored, such as the case with Melanie Brown and her partner on
five. However, while the debates continue to rage on, there are still several
theories that are discussed and the show marches on for a new season after each
one ends, further increasing the popularity.

Dances from "Dancing with the Stars"

Each Season of "Dancing with the Stars" features some different dance techniques.
While some seasons have featured the same dances, there are also some seasons
where a special style is thrown in to ensure that things stay interesting for
the audience. Looking over all of the different dance styles, there is truly
something for everyone and it can be a lot of fun to see the different styles
and watch how each professional handles it.

The first thing to consider is the styles that have been present for every
season so far. The Foxtrot, Cha-Cha-Cha, Quickstep, Jive, Tango, Paso Doble,
Rumba and finally the Samba is the dance styles that is seen in every season.
Once you start looking at the different styles that have only been used
periodically, you notice a much smaller list. The first is the Waltz; this was
only used for the first four seasons before being replaced in season five by
the Viennese Waltz. The final dance style that has been used is the Mambo; this
was first introduced during season three and has continued through at least
season six so far.

The Foxtrot is a dance style that was initially created by Harry Fox and
premiered in 1914. It has been developed and is not typically accompanied
musically by big band music. In the beginning however it was most often
accompanied by ragtime music. As one of the most popular dance styles it is
really easy to understand why this has been a basic staple for Dancing with the
Stars every season.

The Cha-Cha-Cha is a dance that originated back to its Cuban origins and comes
to us from Latin America. Pierre Margoli is the actual dance teacher credited
for creating the ballroom style of Cha-Cha-Cha.

Another frequent style is the Quickstep. Designed as a combination of several
different styles including the Foxtrot, Shag, Peabody, One Step and even the
Charleston the dance was standardized in 1927. At a fast glance, it may seem
extremely similar to the fast Foxtrot, however it is completely different with
distinct patterns.

Jive is another popular choice. This was created in the early 1940's and
originated with African-Americans. The dance itself evolved from the Jitterbug
as well as Swing dancing. As an extremely quick dance, it is most commonly
performed at the clipper speed of 44 bars per minute, though on some occasions
it can be slowed down to as little as 32 bars per minute.

Tango is an intriguing dance, with two different styles to choose from the
American and also the International style it is a favorite of many ballroom
dancers. Trying to really find the perfect style for each partnership is not
always easy; however, the International style is typically much more accepted
for competitions.

Paso Doble is a progressive style International ballroom dance and is not as
widely used. It is quite similar to the Samba.

Rumba is broken up into three different styles. There is the Cuban Rubma, the
Early American Rumba and finally the Ballroom Rumba.

The Samba is a very quick and speedy style. With a speed that is easily
adjusted, it can move from very slow to extremely quick depending on the music.

As you can see, there is an extremely diverse mixture of dance styles that are
heavily used for the show. This provides ample opportunity to see a diverse
range of dances as well as ensure a well rounded competition.

"Dancing with the 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" 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.

Season Three -- "Dancing with the Stars" Excels

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.

"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.

Continuing with Success "Dancing with the Stars" Season Five

With an ever increasing fan base, "Dancing with the Stars" returned on September
24, 2007 and brought with it an extra long premier week. With three episodes
offered initially it was an extremely long week and the season ended on
November 27, 2007. During the season, the co-host Samantha Harris took time off
to have her baby and was temporarily replaced by season two winner Drew Lachey.

The season started with an interesting mix of twelve celebrities as well as
twelve professional dancers all teamed up.

Josie Maran a successful model that has appeared in numerous magazines and
photo spreads. She was partnered up with Alec Mazo and was eliminated early in
the competition the very first week on September 24, 2007.

Albert Reed another successful model who has worked with companies such as
Abercrombie & Fitch danced with professional Anna Trebunskaya. After a very
limited stay on the show, they were eliminated on October 2, 2007.

Wayne Newton the favorite of many old western movies appeared and was partnered
with former professional champion Cheryl Burke. After just three weeks on the
show, the pair was eliminated on October 9, 2007 and Wayne rode off into the
sunset.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. a WBC welterweight champion boxer nicknamed "Pretty Boy"
was tied to professional Karina Smirnoff. The pair danced together for several
weeks until they were eliminated on October 16, 2007.

Mark Cuban is an entrepreneur who was professionally teamed with Kym Johnson.
About halfway through the season they were eliminated on October 23, 2007.

Sabrina Bryan a member of the Cheetah Girls was paired with Mark Ballas. After
performing extremely well for several weeks, it was an outrage to many viewers
when the pair was eliminated on October 30, 2007.

Jane Seymour an actress known for many different roles was paired with
professional Tony Dovolani. After remaining on longer than Sabrina Bryan, many
were upset over the voting process. Eliminated from the show on November 6,
2007.

Cameron Mathison an actor on All My Children the ABC soap opera as well as
several different television shows. Paired up to dance with professional Edyta
Sliwinska they remained on the show for quite a while, only being eliminated on
November 13, 2007.

Jennie Garth, best known for her role as Kelly on Beverly Hills, 90210
performed beautifully was paired with Derek Hough. The pair performed
wonderfully until they were eliminated on November 20, 2007 to finish in fourth
place.

Marie Osmond an entertainer who had not performed quite as well as expected was 
paired up to Jonathan Roberts. The duo came in third place on the November 27, 
2007 season finale. However, many were extremely upset that Marie Osmond made it 
to third place beating out several others that were more talented.

Melanie Brown, a member of the girl power group Spice Girls and called Scary
Spice was paired to Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the season. Performing beautifully
the entire season it was expected that they would win first place. However,
they only pulled out a second place win during the season finale on November
27, 2007.

Helio Castroneves an Indy 500 Race Car Champion and speed demon on the roads
was paired up with Julianne Hough. Many were upset over the win for Helio and
Julianne and claimed that the title was stolen due to Melanie being a
substantially better dancer. Regardless of the reason, the duo danced their way
to victory and pulled out the first place finish for the finale.

As you can just imagine, the entire season was filled with excitement. From a
Cheetah Girl to a Spice Girl and even throwing in a boxer, racecar driver and a
few actors it was a truly unique and remarkable season. The overall shockers
were fairly minimal except for the extended length that Marie Osmond stayed and
the loss that Melanie Brown received rather than actually winning the title.

Summarizing Season Six of "Dancing with the Stars"

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.

Changes to "Dancing with the Stars"

There has been extremely positive responses to "Dancing with the Stars" since it
was first created. The show has experienced a large number of changes over the
seasons and many of these changes have been for the better. Trying to really
keep up with all of the changes is not always as easy as you may like, but in
general, the changes made the show even better than it was previously.

Season one saw the show kick off with a total of six couples. There were six
celebrities and also six professional dancers. The judges all awarded points at
the conclusion of the dances and then audience members were permitted to call in
and vote.

Season two increased the contestant count to ten couples. However, there was no
other changes made aside from adding contestants.

For season three the vote scoring system changed a bit. The votes of viewers
still accounted for half of the final score however; it was changed to directly
relate to percentages rather than actual points. This was a significant change
and was intended to help minimize the popularity vote that was seriously
harming many of the less popular contestants that were much more talented.

"Dancing with the Stars" season four kicked off a few different changes. With a
total of eleven couples paired together, the season kicked off on March 19,
2007. The biggest change of the season was the shift of time slots. Dancing
with the Stars was moved to a new night to avoid a conflict with the Fox hit
show American Idol. This proved good for the ratings as well.

The beginnings of season five started with twelve couples paired together. This
was the one year that had the greatest problems with viewer voting. There was
numerous complications with better dancers being kicked off in favor of
contestants that were actually much more popular contestants that were not as
skilled at dancing. The celebrities that were voted off included Sabrina Bryan
leaving early and also Melanie Brown losing to Helio Castroneves.

Season six offered relatively few changes with everything staying essentially
the same as in season five. This allowed for a very smooth flowing season and
very few problems over all.

As you can just imagine, those instances when significant changes took place
created the opportunities where there were some very large complicated that
took a bit of effort to smooth out. For the majority of contestants adapting to
the changes was easy enough. However, it is also important to note that during
the duration of the show voting was changed to require votes from viewers to
wait until the end of the show, instead of permitting voting to occur during
the actual show itself. This change was made to help ensure that all voting was
conducted in a fair manner.

All of the changes that have occurred so far during the show have worked to
ensure that the show increases in popularity. For viewers the changes to the
show have helped to add a significant amount of value. There are very few
contestants who have found negative repercussions due to the changes which have
further proven that the changes made to the show have helped to ensure that it
is running the best possible. While further changes are likely, at this point
there have been no changes for season 7 released yet.

Can "Dancing with the Stars" Resurrect a Career?

For all of the celebrities who have been involved in the show Dancing with the
Stars there are plenty of questions about whether it is actually valuable to
them or not. With so many people looking for ways to really boost their career
after a brief lull many celebrities are lining up for their chance to get on
the show. Trying to determine just how successful the show has really been is a
huge series of questions though, after all the effect for each celebrity has
been a bit different.

With the celebrities of season one including Trista Rehn, Evander Holyfield,
Rachel Hunter, Joey McIntyre, John O'Hurley and Kelly Monaco there was very
little that was actually gained for the celebrities. Kelly Monaco is still
acting on the soap opera that she appears in, and Joey McIntyre is presently
preparing for a trip around the country with band mates from the boy band of
the 1080's New Kids on the Block.

Season two brought not only a larger selection of celebrities but also several
that are making headlines. Tatum O'Neal has recently been in the news for a
drug arrest that occurred following her time on the show. Additional figures
have been Master P who has maintained a fairly low profile after appearing on
the show, but still works on albums occasionally. Additionally, Lisa Rinna has
rejuvenated her career and is a television show host on the Soap Opera network.

For season three, it was a really star packed season. With celebrities such as
Joey Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Emmitt Smith and even Monique Coleman packed into
the season it was certain to go somewhere. With celebrities like Shanna
Moakler, they returned to dealing with family issues, while other celebrities
including Mario Lopez went onto star on Broadway in A Chorus Line. Monique
Coleman is a Disney star and has moved onto several new projects with the
company.

The majority of the cast from season four was much less active prior to the
show. The biggest names of the show included Joey Fatone, Laila Ali, Billy Ray
Cyrus and also Heather Mills. The greatest attention from each of the
celebrities has circulated around people such as Billy Ray Cyrus who is now
best known as simply being the father of Hannah Montana Disney star Miley Cyrus
and also Laila Ali who is the daughter of boxer Mohammad Ali. Additionally,
since the show ended Heather Mills has appeared in a few other television
shows, but also managed to secure her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney.

The majority of the contestants from season five included Sabrina Bryan, Floyd
Mayweather, Jr. and also Melanie Brown from the Spice Girls. Since the show
ended, the Spice Girls launched an international reunion tour, and also Floyd
Mayweather made a special appearance on WWE earning a nice paycheck for the
appearance.

From season six, it appears that none of the celebrities who disappeared into
the background before the show are really managing to break out from the
darkness. With celebrities such as Steve Guttenberg and Priscilla Presley, the
largest promise was from celebrities such as Penn Jillette half of the magical
duo Penn & Teller as well as actress Shannon Elizabeth. Overall, the results of
the show still seems to have settled with very few of the recent contestants
making a huge splash after the show is over. This latest season really will be
the test of time to determine if the show is really good at resurrecting
careers.

Winners of "Dancing with the Stars": 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.

Win or Fail -- Creating a Truly Special Show

While most television shows currently, broadcasted feature enormous prizes
handed down to individuals who vie for a position on the show, Dancing with the
Stars stands out above the crowd. By skipping over the thrill of prize money and
even resurrecting someone's career, it is clear that the show is pulling on a
tradition of success and trying their absolute best to bring success to the
show any way they possibly can. Trying to determine exactly what makes the show
a hit or a miss is not always as easy as calling off a list of benefits or
negatives, but it can certainly make for a rather entertaining list.

Your first consideration should always be looking at the fact that the stars
who are selected for the show are typically those you have not seen or heard
from in a while. In all reality since 2005 when Kristi Yamaguchi was inducted
into the Olympic Hall of Fame, has anyone really seen her doing much? What
about Jerry Springer? Perhaps Melanie Brown was your actual favorite, but in
reality, most of the stars that are pulled out are at best B rated stars who
have done very little in recent years. Occasionally someone comes along who is
primarily famous due for whom they married, such as the case with Heather Mills
and even Priscilla Presley but most contestants have had some sort of career for
themselves at some point to fall back on.

Other reasons that the show seems to pull a lot of attention is when is the
last time you saw guys such as Penn Jillette, Mario, Wayne Newton, and even
Floyd Mayweather all ballroom dancing? These are guys who are known for music,
magic and even boxing. Ballroom dancing certainly does not fit into the
standard experience, but yet it is one of the main draws that helped each of
these contestants do well on the show. With contestants on the female side also
coming from some strange backgrounds, it creates a lot of interest and intrigue
to see who will actually make it on the show and who is going to crash and burn
quickly.

I would have to think that one of the biggest draws to the show is there is
absolutely no prize. The best that the contestants who win receive is simply a
statue or trophy, and a sweet little title that means absolutely nothing at
all. In a growing group of celebrities who are used to being given anything
they want they are increasingly finding themselves getting nothing at all but
just a small trophy for all of their efforts. This is rather amusing to some
viewers who normally expect to watch these shows and see large prizes handed
over.

Another draw is the fact that the show brings together several different
elements. There are the professionals who actually know what they are doing,
the celebrities who act like they know what they are doing; the gorgeous
costumes, fun music, incredible dances and the even intensive popularity
contest. While many have tried to argue that the show is actually about talent,
anyone who has watched much knows that it is much less about talent and much
more about the popularity of the contestant. Those who are loved by a large
number of fans and viewers tend to stay around much longer regardless of how
well they can actually dance. This makes the show closely resemble the in
clique of high school where only the most popular kids were allowed to hang out.

With the draws of the show pulling people from a large number of demographic
ranges it is obvious that the show is doing something right. Whether they are
pulling in the right celebrities to resurrect, or the format itself is just
that good is yet to be seen, but people are loving the show. Discussions after
the show trying to determine who is going home abound, and the wheel keeps
ticking bringing new contestants and sending home more as the Dancing with the
Stars empire continues to grow.

The Most Hated Judge -- Take a Guess

With each season of "Dancing with the Stars" bringing all new celebrities to the
center of attention it is increasingly obvious that there are several judges
who play a very large part on the show. Trying to determine the exact role that
each of the stars play is often varied, but it is possible for a large number of
people to easily pinpoint the one judge that they dislike. However, while
everyone tends to have different opinions, there are also several factors that
make it increasingly obvious that one judge in particular has the role of
villain wrapped up tightly.

For the vast majority of viewers the inclusion of Len Goodman as well as Bruno
Tonioli seems only natural. After all, these two gentlemen are directly
involved with the British version of the show Strictly Come Dancing. One major
difference between the original British version and the United States version
is the number of judges, for the British version there are a total of four
judges, which includes Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman, and
finally Bruno Tonioli.

Len Goodman comes from England and is a professional dancing judge, as well as
instructor for ballroom and also Latin dance styles. Beginning his dance career
around 1962 he has ample experience to pull upon and has demonstrated a very
extensive knowledge of all of the dance types, styles, varieties and even the
alternative techniques that can be used. Due to the overwhelming success of the
British version, Strictly Come Dancing he was offered the position as the head
judge on the American version, "Dancing with the Stars".

BrunoTonioli is a professional dancer as well as a choreographer. His
professional credits have ranged across a large number of projects with his
most recent notoriety coming from both the British version, Strictly Come
Dancing but also the American version, "Dancing with the Stars". Pulling from his
own experience as a dancer and even a choreographer he is able to offer the
contestants, both stars and professionals some great first hand advice and is
also known for making an appearance on the Australian version of the show,
"Dancing with the Stars".

Carrie Ann Inaba is an American actress, singer, and also dancer. She has also
handled numerous professional choreography needs as well, especially for
various competitions, and television shows. From all of the judges involved in
the show "Dancing with the Stars" she is the only judge who has no personal
ballroom dancing experience or training. This has no doubt found her repeatedly
questioned on her ability to judge the competition. Pulling on her dancing
skills, she has proven in her own professional career that she is incredibly
talented and has been involved in the show since the very beginning.

Overall, if you had to just read the small pieces of information presented and
pick the one judge that you believe is the worst what do you think you would
say? Most people can agree that it is extremely difficult to actually pinpoint
that one judge that is unanimously called the villain but for some it is
actually quite simple. The lack of experience in professional ballroom dancing
tends to make Carrie Ann Inaba the first choice; however, there are several
reasons why she is often considered the villain judge in the show.

For the majority of people who have watched the show for any great amount of
time it is noticeable that aside from the truth that many people all compete
against each other Carrie Ann Inaba also has a habit of being much harsher on
the female contestants than on the male contestants. This is regardless of
whether the contestants are professionals or celebrities. This has created a
large amount of frustration amongst fans that felt that male's were not
performing to the same level as the female but yet received better comments and
ratings. Trying to avoid this reputation, it has been obvious that Carrie Ann
Inaba is working to change her image, but it is proving to be a bit difficult
for her to do since each couple has at least one female actively involved.

Learning the Moves -- Is it Enough?

After six successful seasons on the show it is rather obvious for most viewers
that the winner of the show is not always about necessarily who is the most
talented. There are plenty of occasions where a much more talented contestant
will be cast away in favor of a contestant that is much more popular. If you
are completely unsure exactly how you are going to really determine the best
contestant then it is incredibly difficult to really decide what is most
important. There are several key issues that will heavily influence the outcome
of the season.

Of course, "Dancing with the Stars" is obviously about dancing. Nevertheless,
there is so much more to actually making an incredible run on the show. If you
really look around at all of the different elements, it is really easy to see
how the actual dancing can quickly become something that is much less important
than the actual presentation of the performers. For the different celebrities
who are less talented but extremely popular it is possible to pick up a large
amount of support from the audience. Often times, this support from the
audience and the viewers will go a long way towards holding a contestant into
the competition even after they should have gone home.

Many viewers become completely enthused by the actual costumes that are worn
rather than actually paying attention to the actual dancing technique of each
contestant. One of the many details that should be thoroughly viewed is the
technique though. This can often be easily overlooked with the glitzy and
glamorous costumes that are used, but should never be shoved to the backburner.
Several seasons however have proven that actual technique is not always the most
important area to review as there have been several contestants who remained on
the show much longer than they should have due to just actual technique
seriously lacking.

For the contestants who are actually skilled at dancing it is much easier to
relax and enjoy the performance. But for others this can be extremely
difficult. Contestants who tend to actually enjoy their dancing tend to perform
much better, they demonstrate greater levels of confidence and they also are
quite talented at putting a good bit of effort together to ensure that they are
truly selling their performance to the audience as well as the judges. While the
judges are always going to be much more critical of actual technique, the
audience will quickly notice how confident a performer really as, as well as if
they seem to actually be enjoying themselves.

Another factor that can play into the draw to win is the relationship between
the celebrity and the professional. While the professional is ultimately
responsible for teaching, the celebrity how to dance it is also extremely
important that they be close enough to feel comfortable around each other. For
everyone who has actually watched an uncomfortable performance this is a huge
issue. There are many times when partners are not really comfortable together
and this can create a huge issue on the dance floor due to the stress coming
through even during actual dancing. In order to really sell themselves to the
audience and judges it is critical that the partners actually like and enjoy
each other. However, this does not mean that they have to date or even fall in
love. There is a distinct difference between enjoying your partner and
disliking them.

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.

Gathering the Strength to Go On

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?

"Dancing with the Stars" Spinoff -- 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.

Some of the Most 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.

Pulling Your Dancing Shoes Out to Audition

Many people have wondered exactly how they could have their turn on the hit
television show "Dancing with the Stars", but the fact of the matter is that it
is extremely hard to actually get onto the show. While there are always new
seasons created, the need to actually qualify is very important and there are
no actual auditions that are used to cast the show. However, it is extremely
important to realize that the show does not allow typical people to compete;
rather the show is intended to be between a celebrity and a professional dancer.

Because of the format of the show, it is critical that you either be a
professional dancer or you be a celebrity of some form. The types of
celebrities that have worked on the show is extremely varied but in general,
the majority of celebrities that are used are not at the peak of their careers
when they are invited to perform and compete on the show.

For example, former contestants have included Kristi Yamaguchi, Steve
Guttenberg, Priscilla Presley, Marie Osmond, Marlee Matlin, Melanie Brown, Jane
Seymore and Jerry Springer to mention a few. As you can just imagine, there have
not been a huge assortment of opportunities for each of these celebrities
lately, however they are professionals of some form or another. Some of the
stranger castings on the show include choices such as Master P the rapper and
Floyd Mayweather the boxer who has ranged from the super featherweight to the
light middleweight rankings.

As you can see from some of the previous contestants there is very little that
you can do to actually pull yourself out of the shadows if you are not already
a celebrity in order to actually compete on the show. Most people find that the
celebrities that are chosen for the show each year are a group of celebrities
that have not been seen much for several years, which allows the show to serve
as a bit of a coming out party for them in many ways.

The fact that the show does not have any actual auditions makes it a bit of a
disappointment to some fans, however since the contestants are required to
compete against each other continuously in order to remain on the show many are
happy with the outcome. Of course trying to make all of the contestants happy is
never easy and there are some times when it is nearly impossible to have all
contestants performing their very best.

As the show continues along it is increasingly obvious that they enjoy pulling 
out celebrities that are not as well known, yet still recognizable in their own 
rights. By pulling many different celebrities from a large number of backgrounds 
it can work to ensure that everyone has someone that they are pulling for, which 
can be quite effective to ensure that all of the viewers of the show are happy 
with at least one contestant each year.

Pulling the celebrities from a large variety also ensures that someone has
something to offer, which while not always helpful for the dancing competition
can be quite helpful in connecting with the audience and working to help pull
the votes that are needed to remain on the show. This together with the
guidance and assistance of the professional dancer that each celebrity is
teamed with ensures that the show is still entertaining each week, while
showcasing numerous celebrities from the varied backgrounds stepping very far
out of their comfort zone.

Overall, this can be extremely disappointing for anyone who is really
interested in trying out for the show. It can however provide you with a few
good reasons to just watch the show, but losing the ability to audition and
only finding contestants due to casting decisions can be a huge blow for many
that is not appreciated at all. But a new season can come along and at some
point; the rules might change to allow normal people to audition for a spot
with the professional dancers. Then again, it could be created by a spinoff
that is developed in the future.

"Dancing with the Stars" Contestants -- Where are they Now?

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.

"Dancing 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.

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