Danseur

What a little doll!

I've always wondered about the first meeting storyline. It's hard to imagine they don't discuss the pairings with the Pros although the celebs being surprised seems believable. Reality shows are actually UNreality in so many ways, nothing would surprise me. In the Extra interview, Marilu said she was extremely shocked to be paired with Derek because she thought he was no longer a part of the show and she was looking forward to Hairspray, etc. Which, if true, would mean she didn't request him as a partner. She's talked about wanting to do the show for so long that I think she would have easily been happy with any Pro they assigned to her. When she was first rumored to be on, I thought she would be paired with Tony or Artem based on past pairings. I can't imagine there isn't a lot of negotiating between the Pros and producers, with some Pros (long timers, Pros who draw more viewers, etc.) having more leverage than others. If Maks, Derek, et al bring in more viewers then I'm sure the producers will do a lot to get them on and keep them dancing as long as possible. Their bottom line, $$$, is more important to them than anything else. I agree with truthaboutluv's reasoning when it comes to the matter of Derek's lying, but understand why others disagree. As Len says, "reasonable minds can differ." In addition, reason is never the only factor that determines perceptions and beliefs.

When reading about why Charlie and Meryl didn't wait to do the show, the main reason for them was keeping their names in the news for the sake of endorsement contracts. But Laurie's situation, as has been pointed out, is different. Maybe her experience, quickness to learn routines and her adorability will offset the busyness/less time factors. As for the dreaded Rick Perry, while he's no Bill Engvall or Kellie Pickler, he does hail from that ever loyal neck of the woods where patriotic, military-admiring and southern middle aged women dwell. They cannot resist voting for one of their own. Even if he dances like Master P, I don't think theres a snowballs chance in Hades he will go out first and I won't be surprised if he outlasts Jake, Lochte, and all the other potential first-outers. Being paired with Emma will probably add to the equation, since after all, she's Bill Engvall's adopted daughter and sweet to the bone. When a redneck is participating, ["not that there's anything wrong with that" ?] the same people who voted for Bill, Michael Waltrip, Kellie Pickler, Sadie Robertson, et al will come out of the woodwork to root for their admittedly ornery but "good ol boy." I would LOVE to be wrong but if past is prologue. . .those who are nauseated might have to endure a few weeks. Question: Even though Marilu is a Pro dancer who can remember everything and whose heart Derek has already "Eddie Haskelled his way into" ?, did anyone else watch her on the Apprentice? IIRC, she was hyper talkative, stayed in her head too much and was excessively worried about details. She also asked way too many questions. Does anyone else think these traits might easily and quickly irritate OCD Derek? She was sweet, high energy, creative, hard-working and tons of fun until. . .she began to grate on the laid-back, easygoing nerves of Lil Jon and Trace Adkins. Maybe it won't be an issue but from the first minute I heard about the pairing, I wondered if it would be. I adore her, by the way. But working 24/7 with someone like that could be quite a challenge.

One of the women from the unnamed web site who claims to have an inside source she calls "Deep Throat" has been tweeting about an "as yet unannounced old Pro" returning. She claims it will be a challenge to other Pros to "step up their game." Evidently there has been a lot of Twitterite speculation, most believing it to be Maks. When Maks was announced, she tweeted that he was not the "secret Pro". Now there is talk that it might be Derek who is returning. His Broadway show has been postponed to late 2017 which would make it possible. All pure gossip.

Yes that photo was from the rehearsal. You were obviously right about it not confirming anything. Edyta was in the Kelly/Michael appearance this morning as was Hayley Erbert who was rumored not to be returning. I've decided to quit posting speculations because there are too many rumors and changes. Yes, Kiril Kirlish is standing next to Witney in the rehearsal photo. He was on Kelly/Michael this morning too so maybe he's a new Pro or troupe member. I watched his competition videos and he's an outstanding dancer. There was some hint at Pure this morning about how people might be surprised with a bit of upcoming Derek news. I'm with legaleagle on Derek's status. He doesn't like to be idle and the Broadway show does not open until January, 2017. Also I think he has one more season of his DWTS contract to fulfill. He hasn't said anything himself about whether he will or will not be on the show. The rumor that he won't be has come from gossip sites and Pure.

I agree with you about Paige and Mark. She's a firecracker and a very hard worker. I just read that Derek is definitely out. Singing in the Rain is supposedly not going to be until late Fall though. I wonder if he has something else planned for the months preceding it? It's not like him to be idle for very long. Here's a copy of the rehearsal photo: http://www.puredwts.com/2016/02/10/dancing-with-the-stars-season-22-pro-watch/dwts-pros-by-andy-grammer/

Sasha tweeted "It's official" two weeks ago and some thought it meant he would be a Pro this season. How tall is Kim Fields? I've heard from three different sources that Edyta is coming back but that still doesn't make it true. I also heard that Sharna might be pared with Antoine Brown (?) who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Evidently he played in the Super Bowl. There's a lot of speculation at Pure that Derek will not be back and that Hayley Erbert will not be back in the troupe. She evidently changed her Twitter profile to read DWTS 21 which lead some to surmise that she didn't renew. They say that he keeps alluding to some exciting things. In one interview he was asked when he will be on Broadway and he answered, "sooner than you think." As I said, just speculation and nothing certain. One of the Pros posted a photo of their rehearsal and Derek was not there. There were two new faces and one was identified as Kiril Kirlish who is a Latin champion who has danced on Broadway. No one knows if he's troupe or Pro.

YT has a few videos of Paige dancing so if anyone is interested, here are two: http://youtu.be/Nrk5jgHGmD0

Here's an article about Paige: http://mmajunkie.com/2015/10/paige-vanzant-competitive-dancing-prepared-me-for-ufc-spotlight I'm not sure if the above talks about her parents owning a dance studio, but I read it in several different articles. With a competitive dance background and MMA skills, she might be hard to beat. I didn't know who she was when I looked her up so have no idea about personality, likability, fanbase, etc. As always, I get to know the "stars" when they're on the show, with the exception of a few Buzz Aldrin/Cloris Leachman types. If it's true she's partnered with Mark, I'm sure he's happy since he's such a big fan of MMA.

Interesting point. I hadn't thought about that possible interpretation of his statement.

I noticed Jake's turnaround too. Also, Kristyn added more agreement. In fact, Jake said something like, it was good to see some "real" dancing, following it quickly with "not that contemporary is not". It was interesting that after viewing an entire season with fewer rules enforced, much more fusing of styles and less ballroom, by the end of it everyone was getting a sense that the show had lost something. That's how I heard it anyway. Speaking to Kristyn's comment, there is a conversation that goes around in some circles every season after the finale about the reactions to the win of the various Pros and their supposed factions. I think that's what Kristyn might have been referencing. Some people have made a big deal out of whether the Pro acts like its his/her win rather than the celeb's, Tony raising up three fingers last season meaning that the DWM guys now had three MBTs, etc. In my opinion, I've never seen this as "political" either but just pure joy and excitement when their friends win. I also think for the most part they all seem happy for the winner no matter who it is. It was nice to see the overall joy from everyone over Bindi's win. She seemed to have a positive affect on everyone connected to the show.

I was replying to a long series of comments by people who were disgusted by/sick of hearing about her dead dad in "so many" of their dances. I don't think the jive and tango were dead dad dances either but I added them to preclude what I assumed would be more haranguing since the dad was mentioned in both rehearsal packages.

Thanks for that Woody Guthrie quote. I've never heard it and I love it.

That's beautiful. Here's another Brian Eno one I love, "I wanted to hear music that had not yet happened, by putting together things that suggested a new thing which did not yet exist." And one of my favorites on this subject: "A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language or diverse in interest." T.S. Eliot If you want to create anything you have to take from something that exists and put it with something else that exists which results in a new thing.

Yes to firing Bindi's hairdresser. Her hair looked best when she danced with Val. It seemed like all her hairstyles were old fashioned. What was up with that? And the Trophy is definitely heavy. I'm sure that's the reason Derek wanted to hold it. Every season they mention it and the female winners struggle trying to hold it up for very long. Did anyone else feel exhausted from the running back and forth between the two venues? I thought it was a bit chaotic and nerve wracking. Hope they don't do that again. I agree with all who want Derek to go. I like watching him dance but I really don't want to go through another season like this one with all the complaining and criticizing, some of which I thought was valid and/or understandable. I hope he signed on with the Weinstein Company to do Singing in the Rain on Broadway. That will make his fans happy and his anti-fans will be happy that they no longer have to put up with him. I will miss him and his dancing, but I realize I'm in a minority. I love dancing and enjoy most of the Pros so I'll be fine watching them. The only thing that might influence me to leave altogether is the devolution of the show and some of Rob Wade's choices.