Dancing with the Stars pro Anna Trebunskaya hears the chatter about her partner, Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek, but she's not listening. "It kind of freaked me out at first because people were already talking about it, like, 'Well, he's going to win; he's definitely going to go far,'" she tells TVGuide.com. "But then I forgot about it because we can only try our best and the rest is out of our control. I'm just concentrating on our dances." Their rehearsals are going well, she says — except for the instances when she fears she will fly out the window. See why the 29-year-old thinks she'll take flight, why she likes working with athletes and who she's going to recruit to help out Lysacek.
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You've got to give it up for Shannon Elizabeth. She got a middling score of "23" for her samba on Monday night, but the actress should have received extra points from all three judges for exhibiting tremendous grace under pressure.For the second time in three weeks, Elizabeth had to watch as her pro partner, Derek Hough was carted off to the emergency room — this time just hours before she had to perform what head judge Len Goodman calls "the most difficult" of all the Latin dances. Two weeks ago, Hough wrenched his neck during rehearsals for a results-show pro number with his sister Julianne and Mark Ballas. Hough was confined to a neck brace all week and was touch-and-go for last Monday's Viennese Waltz. Pro Jonathan Roberts was called in to guide Elizabeth through the rehearsals.Then on Monday morning, Hough was taken down by a case of possible food poisoning — or something even more serious. "The doctors think it might be a stomach ulcer," says Hough, who had thrown up...
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He predicted it even before the dancing started. Magician Penn Jillette said that if you looked at the big picture, booking him for the show — and then booting him out first — wouldn't be a bad move for the producers of Dancing with the Stars. "I like a little bit of game theory," Jillette said in his first interview about the show. "The producers could have me on and say: 'We're booking Sasquatch and isn't that funny? And then when he loses, it'll be funny, too.'" But once he signed on the dotted line, Jillette committed himself fully. He got a trainer in Las Vegas that he calls "the Nazi. He's a very, very bad man." He dropped an astonishing 48 pounds before the show went on the air. He got special orthopedic shoes for feet that have been battered by his more than three decades in show business, starting with circus training. "The producers made me promise that I would try as hard as I could," he says.And he did. "He did his best," said his wife, Emily, after Tuesday...
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As Dancing with the Stars' newbies get ready to dazzle on the dance floor — the hit reality competition returns Monday, March 17 — we've got a week-long guide to who's hoofing for Season 7. Check back each day for our profiles of more pairings. — Deborah Starr SeibelMonica SelesAge 34Best Known For Her nine Grand Slam tennis titles between 1990 and 1996 Lives In Sarasota, Florida Partner Jonathan Roberts Advantages During her career, Seles' extraordinary speed, footwork and stamina helped her become the No. 1 player in the world. Disadvantages "Monica is one of our more nervous contestants this year," says DWTS executive producer Conrad Green. "This is a huge departure for her." And she's got a bad left foot that effectively sidelined her tennis career. "I've had numerous injuries to that foot," she says. "That was one of my biggest worries."Cristián de la FuenteAge 34Best Known For Being a telenovela heartthrob who has also appeared on Ugly Betty and CSI: Miami ...
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He may be sitting on the sidelines this time around, but Maksim Chmerkovskiy hasn't removed himself entirely from the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars. Shortly after the new celebrity-pro pairings were revealed, the handsome hoofer shared with us his more-than-qualified take on some of the contenders. — Deborah Starr SeibelCristián de la Fuente and Cheryl BurkeWill things look pretty for the Ugly Betty star? "He’s a good-looking dude, and Latin, and has that swagger," says Maksim. "And [two-time champion] Cheryl knows how to do her thing, getting people to the finals." Jason Taylor and Edyta SliwinskaTackling the ballroom floor is nothing new for a Dancing star (see: Rice, Jerry and Smith, Emmett). "I really like Jason," says Maksim. "He and Edyta are going to do great together and make a beautiful couple."Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark BallasThe Olympic gold-medalist very well could have the mettle to go far in the competition. "This pairing is one of the bette...
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