Hi Y’all, it’s been a busy few months but, I am so looking forward to DWTS starting on Monday and kicking off the weekly blogs once again!
xoxo
Heather
The winner of the DWTS VIP Package _dwts.hough wrote about her experience and I wanted to share it with you…
By: _dwts.hough
Having VIP and meeting the professional dancers of DWTS was honestly a dream come true. They were the nicest people and just amazing. I met Val, Laurie and Artem in the meet and greet and I was just in shock. I could not believe I was standing in front of them! They gave the absolute best hugs I did not want to let them go! Emma & Lindsay were mingling and honestly they were the sweetest! They talked to me for so long and it was so nice of them! Meeting them was such a dream come true…I cried so much! Getting this chance I felt so blessed and I just could not thank Heather enough for the opportunity! Doing this meet & greet I know for sure I will do it again on the next tour! Thank you Heather for giving me the opportunity to meet my idols!
My favorite dance of the night was the contemporary to “Unsteady”. the dance is such an inspiring dance I cried through the whole thing. It really hit home with me for sure. It is such an amazing piece It was a masterpiece!
My favorite part of my first VIP experience was for sure meeting the pros! Especially Emma Slater and Val Chmerkovskiy! They have been such role models in my life and to finally meet them was amazing! They were two of the nicest people I have ever met! I was very surprised as how nice and humble the pros are! I knew they were nice but, honestly I did not think they would be the most amazing people! I am so proud to call all of the pros my idols!
I’m so very blessed for this opportunity and thank Heather for making my dreams come true!
_dwts.hough
Hi guys! So happy to be featured in this guest blog by Heather, it’s amazing and such a pleasure! I’m going to be telling you all about my amazing experience doing the DWTS We Came To Dance Tour VIP. First of all, I have to thank Heather again for this opportunity to meet my favorite dancers and watch an incredible show up so close. It was the best time of my life, and I loved every second of it. Forever grateful for that experience and to have met the wonderful person that’s Heather. 
Afterwards, it was time for the mingle with Hayley & Lindsay! So glad they added this to the VIPs because it gives you so much time to be able to really chat with them and take individual pictures. I was beyond happy that Hayley was in my mingle because I really wanted her there. I got to talk to her multiple times and take pics with her, and sometimes we’d just go back if nobody was talking to her. One of my favorite moments talking to Hayley was telling her about me and Erica’s name in the jive she does, and her laugh is the cutest thing. She really made this VIP experience so special. Lindsay was super sweet to meet again, and when she was leaving she even helped give my gift to Laurie. I loved how interactive they were with fans! Both the m&g and mingle was absolutely perfect, even better than I expected. Moments I’ll treasure forever! 
We got to sit in the second row right in the middle, and I had such a perfect view. It was unbelievable how close I was, and the whole show there was so much contact made between me and the dancers. You can also hear things they say when you’re so close up, and it was just wonderful. The show was absolutely perfect, everything to the costumes, dances, voiceovers, made this show incredible and really made me connect with them more. My first VIP experience was just indescribable and made me so happy, I smile just thinking about it. Thank you once again to Heather, the whole cast, and friends who experienced this with me. If you can, definitely get VIP or just general tickets to the show because wherever you sit, it’ll be an amazing time for you. January 21st, 2017 is a day I’ll remember always! XO -Sandra
I am attending 5 shows on this tour and have one more to go in Costa Mesa on the last night of the tour and did VIP for each. If you want to learn about their amazing VIP experience check out this link: 
This year’s tour really focused on each dancer’s story and it was so beautifully put together. You would find yourself laughing, in tears, with goosebumps and just sitting on the edge of your seat. To highlight just a sample: Val and Laurie perform a few of their favorite dances from the season, there is a section on favorite movie dances that is just fun and stunning at the same time, special dances for just the men and just the women and a lovely moment as Emma shares the story of her engagement. The girls and Artem perform a fun Spice Girls number that will really take you back. I loved the opening & closing numbers and the piece they all participate in on how they put together the dances each week. There is also a section after intermission that will leave you in stitches it is so hilarious. 
Jenna Johnson performs a really amazing number to Seduces Me that is just breathtaking. Sharna & Val perform a high energy jive that just totally rocks and Sharna performs a steamy tango with Alan that I just loved! Alan and the ladies perform a special number that will leave every man in the room jealous of him. Artem and Gleb heat up the stage in their respective pieces that tell their stories. Lindsay hits all the right notes in her dances too including the one she dedicates to her Dad…Crazy Train. Keo also has some moving pieces to his life story and a rumba with Emma. Jenna and Artem perform a special piece from La La Land that is visually and emotionally stunning. The contemporary numbers that Jenna & Artem and Hayley and Val do are so beautiful and passionate. The number that makes me cry and I get goosebumps every night is Sharna’s story. I don’t want to spoil it for those that have not yet seen it but, it’s a story some can really relate to and will pull at your heart strings for sure. This was just a quick highlight of my thoughts. All of the performances are just amazing!
VIP Shout Out! I was thrilled to see that we have one of VIP Nation’s best hosts Anthony Jones for this tour! He also did the Maks & Val Tour this summer. He is not only a really nice guy, he gets it and works to post pictures as quick as he can (remember we all have to be patient), he checks the photos after he takes them and truly cares about the customers. High-five Anthony when you see him in your city because he really is a rock star for the fan experiences!
Now on to the good stuff! After check in we were directed upstairs. For this venue the layout was a bit odd compared to other venues I have been to but, they have to work with the space the building offers. We didn’t wait very long at all when they started telling Group A to line up. A few minutes later we saw Keo and Alan coming our way, it was their turn to do the Meet & Mingle! It appears that it’s all rotating like last tour (2 in the Meet & Mingle and 4 in the photos with Val & Laurie being consistent ). To give you an idea for our cast photo we had Val, Laurie, Sharna & Gleb. I will update this after each show to give you all an idea:
The photos were wonderful as always, it was my first time meeting Laurie & Gleb and it was so fantastic to see Val & Sharna. Anthony takes great care in taking the photos for us. The staff is also very kind, nobody is yelling at you it’s a pleasant experience. You do have to leave your purse, bags and anything else on you at the table and you cannot ask for autographs etc. at the cast photo portion. This year too it was one professional photo taken by Anthony, no selfie options in the main photo. You could however do selfies with the dancers in the Meet & Mingle. The green screen operator for this city wasn’t the best at taking the shots and they were having issues with the Wi-Fi not being fast enough so the green screen pictures were very hit or miss on if you got them in your email. However, Anthony with VIP Nation being the rock star host that he is, is already on it for us! I noticed today in the photos link there is one for the Meet & Greet pictures and then one for the Photo booth. That was smart thinking to just upload them all vs having issues city to city with Wi-Fi. After the photos were done and the dancers all left to get ready for the show you could go to the merchandise stand and do some crowd free shopping which was also nice.
Please note on the pics: the itinerary says up within to 2 weeks. I know it’s super hard to be patient but, I know Anthony will post as quickly as he can. He is one of the best in speed to get them posted.
You will get to see a few of the best dances of our Mirrorball Champions Val & Laurie and a few other truly amazing performances by the cast from this season. However, my lips are sealed on more details for now so you can be surprised and enjoy the shows in your city.
It sounds like this tour will be even more incredible than the last so definitely don’t miss out!
I absolutely cannot believe we are at the finale already for this truly amazing season! First up welcome back to Len! Tonight one couple will be eliminated and the final 3 will compete tomorrow doing a special dance fusion for the final judge’s scores. Train did a great job on performing their new song and Artem, Cheryl, Keo, Alan performed a fantastic dance. I also loved the special performance of La La Land.
Calvin & Lindsay (Viennese Waltz)
Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko (Tango)
Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy (Paso Doble)
Sharna Burgess & James Hinchcliffe (Foxtrot)
Sharna Burgess & James Hinchcliffe (Argentine Tango)
nce experience you have to trust and just be able to feel everything. I LOVED their Argentine Tango it was sexy, intense, filled with fun content and that hand stand at the end was just so good.
Terra Jole’ & Sasha Farber (Rumba)
ek. Loved Carrie Ann’s quote: “Quality of the movement was like the quality of you, it was untouchable”. Well-deserved PERFECT score…BRAVO!
Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko (Quickstep)
Calvin & Lindsay (Tango)
ink Calvin improved a lot as the season went on but, I am not as engaged in them as a partnership.
Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy (Foxtrot)
Elimination Time: It was so sad to see Terra and Sasha eliminated. They truly have been amazing all season, Terra showed the world nothing should ever hold you back from trying something you want to do. Sasha and Terra seem like they will be forever friends. It was one of those amazing partnerships you see develop on DWTS that you will always remember as truly special and Terra should be very proud of herself for a tremendous job on DWTS!
e the dance with Cheryl, Derek & Maks since they returned to the show and all three had been on the show for a long time so they deserve the extra recognition. However, I think they should have been paired up to dance with the 3 other returning pro’s Emma, Allison & Gleb just to give them some credit and recognition as well.
Artem Chigvintsev and Maureen McCormick
Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko
Rick Perry & Emma Slater
Lindsay Arnold & Calvin Johnson Jr
Amber Rose & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Jake T Austin & Jenna Johnson
Vanilla Ice & Witney Carson
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds & Allison Holker
Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy
Sharna Burgess & James Hinchcliffe
Derek Hough & Marilu Henner 
Ryan Lochte & Cheryl Burke