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May 5, 2007
Dancing With the Stars news
[update]
Us Magazine | Apolo Anton Ohno: Why He’ll Win Dancing
Sure, Joey Fatone and Ian Ziering stole our hearts back in the day, but now it’s all about Apolo. Here are the top five reasons why we know he’ll win
Seattle Times | Can we ask about sequin bike shorts?
SHE WEARS SEQUINS on "Dancing with the Stars," but the only thing sparkling on Julianne Hough during a recent visit to Seattle — with dancing partner and local hero Apolo Anton Ohno — was the 1.3-carat princess-cut diamond on her left hand. "I proposed on Christmas Eve," said her cutie-pie fiancé, Zack Wilson, who had nothing better to do than talk to me (and baby-sit Julianne's metallic clutch) while the press flocked around Julianne and Apolo.The nice thing about interviewing not-quite celebrities is that you can shamelessly ask them about their personal lives and they don't know any better than to answer. Julianne and Zack, who is also a dancer, met in Salt Lake City when she was 9 and he was 14. They started dating a year ago and haven't set a wedding date. In person, Julianne looks exactly like Christina Aguilera. But they weren't even the cutest couple in the room. The cutest couple in the room were Christine Chen's parents. ...
Who's Christine Chen? Oh well. (photo by JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES)
Hattiesburg American | Cyrus has charm, but not the right steps
And what's with judge Len Goodman? Is he even watching the same dances the rest of us are? To say Apolo Anton Ohno's fox trot and mambo Monday were not great was ridiculous. It's like the man has a list of put-downs and criticisms and he is determined to use them whether they are justified or not, because his scores did not back up his critiques. Simon Cowell he is not.
(Carol Kaelson/ABC)
Northwest Asian Weekly | Ohno’s excellent on & off the ice
TV Guide | Meet the Pros Who Go Dancing with the Stars!
(Carol Kaelson/ABC)
Posted by noelle at 10:10 AM | Comments (34)
May 1, 2007
Dancing With the Stars post-mortem - week 7
MSNBC | ‘Dancing’ steps it up with double-dance night
Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough have set such a standard for not only dancing but fun and energy that a restrained dance like the foxtrot was bound to challenge them, and it did appear that maybe something was missing. Neither of them seemed to enjoy that dance as much as they did some of the others, and the drop-off in the sparkle factor was evident. When judge Len Goodman complained that Apolo was good but not great, it wasn’t entirely surprising.
Apolo and Julianne hit their fun, youthful sweet spot a bit more with their samba, which brought them back to the energetic and borderline hyper energy of some of their best dances. They both seemed to enjoy the samba quite a bit more than the foxtrot, and the judges liked it better, too. Len still complained that it was good but not great, but Bruno loved it and Carrie Ann called it a nice recovery from the so-so treatment of their foxtrot.
EW.com | Gaining Attitude
For the first time, Apolo's youth, posture, spark plug of a partner, and strategically placed bandanna did not wow the judges, who suddenly wanted ''great'' instead of just ''good'' out of him. I thought he did great, but Apolo tied for third, leaving Laila Ali and Joey Fatone to share the top spot.... What do you think? Was it just Apolo's turn to have a harshly judged night, or did he really seem off his game? Do you even listen to these crazy judges anymore? And have any of you ever voted for Ian?
TV Squad | Dancing With The Stars: Week 7
Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough (Foxtrot) - Apolo was determined not to share first place with anyone this week. He dodged that bullet with performances that placed him in the middle of the pack. I guess that's one approach! The couple's Foxtrot was elegant and romantic. No matter what style of dance they perform, Apolo and Julianne's energy and sweetness always comes through. They have gotten off easy with the judges so far, but they received some serious criticism this week. Len said that the dance was good, but not great, and that Apolo did not perform as well as expected. Carrie Ann and Bruno disagreed, but their scores were a little lower than previous weeks. Score: 26 (9, 8, 9).
Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough (Mambo) - Apolo started off his Mambo with a fun slide towards Julianne, and set the tone for a fun, technically difficult performance. The couple seemed to be playing more to the crowd by adding some exciting, tough moves. Were Shandi and Brian in the audience? Carrie Ann referred to a wardrobe malfunction during her remarks, but I'm not sure I saw it. Either way, it must not have been too distracting. Len was back with his "good, but not great" criticism, which I don't entirely agree with. I think it was just Apolo's turn to take some hits from the judges. Score: 28 (9, 9, 10).
The National Ledger | CAREER ON ICE
Apolo's dedication is so strong that he tells us he plans on moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, after his stint on "Dancing With the Stars" in order to train. In the meantime, Apolo says he just hopes to take his recent exposure to help introduce new fans to the world of speed skating. "Obviously I'd like to be one of the ambassadors for my sport in the Olympic movement. I've been able to put a spotlight on that, and that's been wonderful."
TV Guide | Backstage at Dancing with the Stars: a 90210 Invasion!
Carrie Ann on Apolo Anton Ohno: "Apolo had a rough night tonight," says Inaba. "I think Len was a little hard on him for the first round [the fox trot]. But Len is the ballroom expert, so maybe he saw things that Bruno and I didn't. But I think that critique rattled Apolo a little bit. Tonight, he had a bit of the Ian syndrome, in that he was in his head. And then he was off rhythm, he was dancing ahead of the beat, and he and Julianne weren't connecting. They were out of sorts with each other."
TV Guy | Go Joey Fatone: Give us the razzle-dazzle
ET | The 'Dancing with the Stars' Recap
Transworld News | Double Duty on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ as Laila Ali and Joey Fatone Lead Charge
Posted by noelle at 5:02 PM | Comments (86)
April 30, 2007
Dancing With the Stars - week 7
VOTE FOR APOLIANNE! 1-800-868-3411 and/or VOTE ONLINE You can vote up to 6 times per phone line or screen name so get busy!!
Post your comments here as always!!
Posted by noelle at 7:41 PM | Comments (147)
Great Seattle Times article and AAO in US Weekly
Seattle Times | Three local dance experts judge Ohno a "10"
... there's the rascally Ohno with frisky partner Julianne Hough twirling on the dance floor like there's no tomorrow. "You two were possessed tonight! Like two bewitching devils!" roared judge Bruno Tonioli two weeks ago, almost jumping out of his chair after the pair danced a winning rumba to that catchy "Madagascar" song. Hough wore sleek, sparkly leopard stripes; Ohno had matching cuffs. (What? You don't remember the cuffs? That's because you were too busy gawking at Ohno's buttery hips).
Fave quote, by pro dancer Wade Madsen: "I'm assuming young girls are going ga-ga over him because when I look at him I feel like a young girl."
Thanks to Katie for this scan from US Weekly!
click image to enlarge
Posted by noelle at 3:43 PM | Comments (32)
April 29, 2007
Debbie's Dancing With the Stars adventure
Many thanks to DebbieF for sending in her detailed account of attending a live performance of DWTS last Tuesday, April 24:
First things first, Apolo & Julianne are on page 84 of Star Magazine (May 7th edition). Star did a poll regarding who's the best male dancer with the following results: Apolo - 49%, Joey 33%, and Ian 14%. Apolo is looking real good in US Magazine (May 7th edition), also on page 84!
Now to DWTS. My sister and I arrived in Hollywood late Monday afternoon. I had tickets for the Tuesday results show. I called the number on my DWTS ticket and asked them when I should arrive at the studio (the ticket indicated to be there no later than 4:00pm) and I was told to be guaranteed a seat I should be there by noon! Pre-show taping does not start until 5:00! They actually send out more tickets than they have seats, because quite often people accept the tickets and then do not show up and DWTS does not want any empty seats. My sister and I arrived at the studio around 12:30, there were 11 people already in line. We all had to wait outside of the gate on Beverly Blvd. Most people were all dressed up (again, ticket indicated you should be in evening attire), but all of them were smart enough to bring folding chairs with them. After getting to know these people, I found out that they are DWTS "regulars" and have been to many tapings! They live in the area and obviously do not mind waiting in line for hours! The people were very nice and since I was wearing a pair of my very high and not real comfortable dressy heels, one of the gentleman let me use his chair for most of the afternoon.
Around 2:30, the limos starting arriving at the lot. Of course they all have tinted windows so we couldn't see the occupants. Also, around that same time Simon Cowell was leaving the lot in his Ferrari convertible (American Idol is filmed at the same studio as DWTS). He was friendly and said hi and waved to all of us waiting in queue. Around 3:30, an employee from the studio came out and starting numbering our tickets and comparing the name on the ticket with our photo IDs. Around 4:00, we were finally allowed through the gates. We again had to show our photo ID and go through a metal detector, just like at the airport! They made all the ladies open their purses for inspection. All cell phones, pagers, cameras, etc. were not allowed in the studio. So they took them from us and gave us a claim check to retrieve them on our way out.
As soon as we went through security, we were led to another "holding area", this time we had benches to sit on! We had to be seated in order of the numbers on our tickets. An employee came out and gave us a little pep talk and told us to dispose of our chewing gum. She said chewing gum looks horrible on camera, so if we didn't get rid of it then, someone would come by in the studio with a little cup for us to dispose of our gum! We were also informed that when the show ends we will be led out one door, while the press comes storming in through another. Studio sets are so much smaller than they appear on TV. It is much more glamorous on TV than in person! The camera can really capture an illusion. The reality of Hollywood is rather boring.
As soon as we were herded into the studio and were placed in our seats, the audience "warm-up" guy came out and gave us another pep talk. The main headliner of the show this past Tuesday was Joss Stone, have their songs pre-taped for the live show. They do this so if there are any problems, they can do it over again. So, around 5:00, Joss Stone came out and did her two numbers back to back without any problems. On one of the numbers Julianne danced with her brother, Derek, and I got so nervous when Julianne got her heel caught in the hem of her dress. She handled the problem with ease. Her brother is also an excellent dancer.
The live show does not start taping until 6:00; it is live on the east coast at 9:00. After the headliner's songs have been taped, they did an audience participation dance "contest". Julianne's parents and many of her family members were in attendance on Tuesday night. Julianne's parents dance really good and took part in the contest. There were about 15 couples who had their time in the spotlight and overall it was a lot of fun for everybody.
Finally, we were ready for the live show. The contestants came out and took their places on stage. I was so glad we were told we can cheer as loud as we want for our favorite contestants. I didn't hold back, I wonder if Apolo recognized my "GO APOLO" from Nationals in Cleveland! :-) I was so happy that I got to see the group "Swing number" in person, of course, Apolo did a great job! The studio had big screens so we could also see the pre-taped interviews with the stars just like the at-home TV audience. During commercial breaks, Apolo and Ian were joking around on the set. It appeared that Apolo got along well with all his cast mates. The Dreamgirls performance was live and the performers did a wonderful job.
Of course we were not surprised when we found out that Apolianne would be returning next week. I kind of thought it would be Heather's time to leave the show. When the show ended, we were herded out to retrieve our cell phones and return to the real world.
I am so glad Apolo is doing well and hopefully his involvement in DWTS will bring more public attention to short track. I am hoping as the weeks go by, they will focus a little bit more on Apolo's short track background. Overall, it was a fun experience and I wouldn't mind getting tickets to one of the performance shows, but it does not compare to seeing Apolo skate. Seeing him skate at Nationals in Cleveland was just awesome. I am so hoping to see him on the ice again real soon!
Posted by noelle at 10:44 PM | Comments (18)