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Lance Bass. Kellie Pickler. Lou Ferrigno. Warren Sapp. These are just a few of the names being rumored as the new contestants on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars, which has a two-night premiere starting tomorrow on ABC. Some of these are hardly surprising – with the recent HULK movie, Lou Ferrigno seems a natural choice. Some rumors just seem too good to be true: Lance Bass may be performing with a male partner, for example.

One rumor I do not believe is the idea that Paula Abdul might be one of the contestants – as a judge for a competing network show, it would just be too much a conflict of interest. Either way, it will certainly be a high-energy show as they try and steal some of the audience, thunder, and emmy-nominations from So You Think You Can Dance.

I’ve got my couch ready. Do you?

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Apparently researchers in Australia’s University of New England are exploring whether tango can “boost people’s emotions.”

“While you’re doing tango you can only be in the present — you really have to focus, concentrate, and it doesn’t allow your thoughts to drive into your mind,” says Rosa Pinniger, who is heading up the research. “If people can have a break from their negative thoughts for three minutes, which is the time of the tango, they can realize that… this is what it is, nothing else. So all their problems and their thoughts, they cannot be, they are not invited in the tango.”

Sounds a lot like zen, and she admits that it is a lot like meditation. Also, it may not be for everyone, since it is a social endeavour and depressed people are not known for going out and socializing. Still, if you’ve ever been to a milonga, it does not matter what you look like – everyone moves, everyone dances with everyone else. It’s a group meditation, I guess.

So the question is: would watching a tango on So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing with the Stars be about as effective as watching someone meditate? See for yourself (and let me know if you feel better after). Alex da Silva choreographs for Mark & Chelsie:

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(yes, I realize this falls outside of the time zone idea for the blog-off. But it’s too good to pass up, so let’s call it a “stardate”).

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• That Song in my Head
• Jimmy Ray McGee
• Hide Your Matches

You can hear excerpts and learn more over at JulianneSings.com .

But Wait, There’s More!

Because I love you all so much, and because I visited my friends over at Fred Astaire Dance recently, I can share with you a coupon code that you can use for a free download at Julianne’s site. It will also enter you in a drawing to see her perform live. The one rule is: if you win, you have to take me with you.

Ok, maybe not. But it would be nice. The code is:

ACAAHC26

Have fun!

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A Twisted Road to Dance

However, I’m going to probably be hearing and learning a lot more about her in the near future, as she is apparently in the running to be in the upcoming Dancing with the Stars – well, the UK counterpart, that is, Strictly Come Dancing. She was supposed to be in the U.S. version last year, but had to drop out due to surgery.

She went on to become a judge for the British reality talent show X-FACTOR, and by “loves the show and everything about it” according to fellow judge Louis Walsh. However, when the judges were joined by Dannii Minogue, the sparks began to fly, and things went downhill fast. The two didn’t “get on at all, ” and much to the surprise of Walsh, at least, Sharon was the one who left. “Sharon has walked off, she’s gone. Why didn’t they give Dannii the boot instead?”

Free of the dance, though, and recovered from her surgery, she’s apparently raring to go. I’m interested to see her, not so much due to the dancing ability. Frankly, while I suspect she’ll dance beautifully, I can’t see her winning. But seeing how she tends to really let her opinions be known (to put it mildly) I am interested to see how she interacts with the judges, with her dance partner, and with the pressure Strictly Come Dancing is bound to put on her.

Photo courtesy of Newscom

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Still, the purpose is entertainment, and she was certainly entertaining. Check out one of the winning dance:

I have to say that her precision dancing shows through – and not in a good way. If you watch her hands as she flings them out, they don’t really have a sense of abandon – it’s like she is, as Leon says, “a little stiff”. But it’s an amazing dance, and seems so fun.

My fellow B5Media blogger the Dancewatcher gave what I think was the most succinct review I’ve ever heard of the rest of the show: “It wasn’t two hours of junk…” That’s a good sign; it means the producers is listening to the critics who need to have actual content put into the finales if they’re going to want to cram two hours worth of sponsors into it.

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Marlee Matlin is gone from Dancing with the Stars, but that didn’t stop me from signing up for a ballroom dance lesson with Gray during a recent trip to Madison, WI. Before we started, we talked about my particular needs, since there are a variety of different kinds of accommodations for people who are deaf. We also talked about what we’d seen on Dancing with the Stars, like how Marlee faced the band so that she could see when the music started.

One thing that impressed me was Ms. Rita’s gung-ho attitude. She never had any hesitation in trying to tackle the dances or dance steps. It is surprising how many people without the disadvantage of not being able to hear the music will feel that they can’t possibly move. Ms. Rita would hear me say “Ok, we’re going to try a slightly more complicated move in the tango now…” and she would just nod and say “Ok, let’s do it!”

Gray adjusted the bass and positioned us under the speakers so that I could feel (and hear with assistive technology) the latin beat for our tangos and rhumbas. As a lip-reader, I like to think that I’m a good follower on the dance floor because I’m attuned to the slight adjustments in my partner’s facial expressions and body language as he moves me from the closed position into the open promenade. Still, I’d be so happy if we could just dance without worrying too much about adhering to the beat, but this is the hearing world so the beat is terribly important. Gray found ways to signal the rhythm by counting out loud or tapping me on the back. I’d catch sight of us in the studio’s floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Gray definitely knows how to make me look good. I felt like a princess when he twirled me.

See me blush! It’s not that I made her look like a princess, it’s that she has the regal beauty of a queen (ok, I think we’re done with the mutual admiration society now). One of the benefits of the assistive technology came when some of the other dance instructors needed to change the music for their own students. By simply moving Ms. Rita further away from the bass speaker, the differing beat was nullified and we were able to dance to the beat I tapped into her back with my right hand as we danced and moved.

The judges and the general public called Marlee an inspiration, and I’m not going to deny that she surely inspires deaf kids to follow their dreams of becoming actresses and dancers, but the truth is that deaf people already know how to dance. Hearing people need their music but deaf people rock on even without it.

In the two hours we spent we learned moves in foxtrot, tango, rumba, cha cha, swing, and the waltz. By the end her legs were tired, but her smile never wavered. I’m very grateful for the experience of teaching her, and she’d be welcome on any dance floor of mine any time.

Here’s Marlee Matlin’s samba with Fabian Sanchez on Dancing with the Stars

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Choose Wisely, Dance Wildly

Apparently the game is something along the lines of you picking out your celebrity, your costumes, and then dancing before virtual judges for a simulated eight-week competition. I would imagine that the higher your score, the more costumes become available, and perhaps it runs like several popular snow- & skateboarding games where you get new moves available the better you do.

Tiny Dancer in my Hand

The problem I see is one of variety – sure, they can have multiple moves randomly sequenced together for the characters, but unless they have some really neat motion-capture being done backstage, it’s going to be kind of monotonous. Not nearly as exciting as the real thing, but perhaps it’s more of a panacea. Something to keep the true DWTS addicts going in between episodes or (sob!) seasons.

Me, I’m skipping Windows Mobile and jonesing for my iPhone with YouTube capacity…so that I can watch the real thing whenever I want.

If there’s any readers out there with Windows Mobile platform, please let me know how this plays out…

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What about Mario Lopez?

Oh, that quote? It’s what he said about himself in response to a question about his singing and dancing in the role of Zach in A Chorus Line. He doesn’t have any solos, but he admits that he can carry a tune, and he’s definitely physically fit; “Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness” book is destined to hit the stores May 13th.

“I work really hard,” he adds, and while that’s definitely a great attitude, I don’t think even he expected the level of work his debut on the stage would take. On his first night it could be expected that there would be nervous jitters for a novice thespian. However, Mario had to deal with not one, not two, but four understudies in their roles (trust me, that would throw any show off). As if that wasn’t enough, a female audience member had a heart attack (no reports as to whether that was in response to Mario Lopez or not).

Still, he seems happy with the direction his career has taken since his debut on Dancing With the Stars. Here’s a clip from that, with dancer Karina Smirnoff. An actor who can move, indeed.

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Because of job duties, I’m no longer able to do live, in-the-moment reports on the Dancing with the Stars shows. But I’m very grateful to the bloggers who do – little quotes like the one above make the experience of re-watching it on YouTube all the more fun, like watching it with friends would be. Now, if only I had some friends…

I’m not really surprised to see Priscilla Presley go – in the times I saw her dance, she seemed detached from the performance, and I didn’t see her either investing herself in the dance or in the audience. If she’s not going to care, why should they?

On the other hand, it’s a little disappointing how safe others are – was there any doubt that Mario would remain strong in the dance, compared to Adam Carolla, Penn Jillette, or even Steve Guttenberg? (Speaking of Mario, you can listen to his special DWTS single here). Or that Kristi Yamaguchi would shine so brightly? I prefer the people who have to actually stretch themselves to dance, like Marlee Matlin.

On the other hand, watching Kristi dance this rumba is something that makes all the hype and commercialism very much worth it…

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