So this week John Ratzenberger got sent home. People may not remember, but he did step in at the very last moment to replace Vincent Pastore, and even though he was playing catch up, he had a really positive attitude about this experience, and was sort of the father figure of the crew. So it was sad to see him go. I know Billy was on the chopping block with John and I would have felt awful if Billy got sent home since this past week he took time out of his rehearsal to hang with me a little and help me loosen up. I had a blast learning the bubba chicken (I had no idea what I was doing but I certainly had fun doing it), and I think Billy's fun-loving attitude really helped me relax and start having more fun.Believe it or not, I think the fact that we had two dances to learn this week gave me the chance to stop stressing. There just wasn't any time for me to overanalyze (which I certainly do): I learned the steps and moved on. And with Billy's help, I had fun, too! If I get sent home ...
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The only one shocked by John Ratzenberger's ouster on Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars was Billy Ray Cyrus. The country star had turned in two more hopeless yet fascinating dance performances the night before and was sure he was a goner. In fact, after watching the amazing children featured on tonight's results show as the next generation of ballroom dancers, Cyrus wandered into the audience several times to dispense hugs and handshakes. "Before they throw me out of here," he said, "give it up for those kids. I thought they were fantastic."
But it was Ratzenberger who was forced to say goodbye. The Cheers star says the experience has been "an awakening. I got an e-mail from a mother in South Carolina saying that her 4-year-old son, Conner, said he wa
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Remember that episode of 90210 where Steve entered a dance competition and Brandon, Kelly and Donna cheered him on? No? OK, it never happened, but it sort of felt like such an episode last night when founding members of what Tom dubbed the “90210 Alumni Association” were in the audience supporting Ian. I don’t know if it was their cheers or Billy Ray’s tutoring, but whatever it was, it worked. Ian finally came alive on the dance floor! His first dance was good and showed marked improvement from last week; his second dance was even better. For weeks now, Ian’s had the moves down but has been unable to sell his performances. Last night that all changed and the judges took notice, telling him he finally had fun out there and was authentic and “enjoyable to watch.” Most importantly, they pointed out that he and Cheryl had some real chemistry for the first time.Perhaps this means Joey will no longer be able to say, “If you become too serious, you b...
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Let’s jump right to the highlight of the night: the group swing was 100 percent fun, perhaps the best group dance that involved the celebrities in the past four seasons of Dancing with the Stars. Everyone was so into the performance that the energy was contagious. Even more impressive was how well they gelled as a group (even Heather and Jonathan, who missed the group practice). The couples all played to their strengths (e.g., Ian and Cheryl did back-to-back lifts, while Laila tossed Max aside and carried Apolo), and no one upstaged the others. Plus they all got into character and pulled off the cute little theatrical moments, such as Joey and Ian’s mock fight and the ladies all fawning over Billy Ray.Theatrics wound up playing a big part in many of the dances last night, a night in which the judges really emphasized the importance of performance. No one learned this lesson harder than Ian, who said that he was going to try to focus more on performance than technique this ...
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If you thought head judge Len Goodman's tongue-lashing of the celebrity dancers tonight was scripted, think again. When he told them that they weren't rehearsing long or hard enough, it was his own opinion, something that had been building up in his mind since the performances last week. And it came from a place of genuine disappointment and frustration. "I just had a bad feeling," said Goodman right after the show. "So I looked at the DVD of last season, the fourth week. And then I looked at the DVD of this group three weeks in. And there was no comparison. There was no Emmitt Smith. There was no Joey Lawrence. No Mario Lopez. And I couldn't [figure] out why — because these people all hav
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