Browsing Tag
Julz Tocker
This season of Dancing with the Stars has the potential to be the best season to date. There is a lot of talent and fun personalities on the cast. I have been watching this show since Season 1 and it continues to improve year after year and it truly is a guilty pleasure of mine. Watching the show and going on the tours inspired me to learn to dance. I recently did a boot camp in NYC and truly had fun and surprised myself. It’s not easy that is for sure, it is great exercise and its fun to challenge yourself.
Opening number was a lot of fun, you could feel the energy through the television screen and it must have been fantastic fun to be in the audience. I hope one day I will be lucky enough to sit in the audience. You have to sign up for a waiting list and then they contact you as tickets become available.
It’s also great to have Len back. He is often tough but, he does provide a lot of great insight in his critiques. Carrie Ann and Bruno are always a pleasure and Bruno just makes me smile every week with his passionate critiques.
Kim Fields and Sasha Farber: First things first, it’s so great to have Sasha back as a Pro. He tru
ly deserves this opportunity and Kim is lucky to have him as a partner. Kim Fields was on Facts of Life, Living Single and Real Housewives of Atlanta. First dance is the Cha-Cha. I thought they did a good job for the first week. The Cha-Cha in my opinion is a difficult dance to learn. Kim showed a lot of personality, charisma and truly looked like she was having a lot of fun out there.
Scores: 7-6-7 (20 out of 30)
Paige Vanzant and Mark Ballas: Paige is a UFC Fighter and Mark is a two time DWTS Champion. Paige is adorable and has a f
un personality. First dance: Foxtrot. I thought Paige did a great job, she was very elegant and seemed to soften up since the practice footage. She had a lot of great lines and a lot of grace. Paige has a lot of potential that is for sure!
Scores: 7-7-7 (21 out of 30)
Doug Flutie and Karina Smirnoff: Karina has one DWTS Mirror Ball Championship. Doug is an NFL Legend. First dance: Foxtrot. Doug s
eems to have a Type A personality and truly seems to have the desire to learn. It’s not easy to try something new that is totally out of your comfort zone. He has a fun energy and truly looked like he was trying. Is he a natural dancer…no but, he gave it his all and I give him a lot of credit for that. I think each week you will see him improve.
Scores: 5-5-5 (15 out of 30)
Jodie Sweetin & Keo Motsepe: I am so glad Keo has a great partner this year. The last few seasons for him have been tough and he is truly talented. Jodie played Stephanie Tanner from Full House and the recent Fuller House series. She has genuin
e excitement which is always fun to watch. She is a perfectionist and it’s hard when you are as you learn to dance because you want everything to be totally correct. Their first dance was a Tango. I found this was a fun dance to learn when I took my lessons. I thought they did a good job. It had a lot of attitude and was great for a week 1 performance. Jodie has a lot of potential to go far this season.
Scores: 7-6-7 (20 out of 30)
Geraldo Rivera and Edyta Sliwinska: It’s great having Edyta back this season after a 12 season break. She is extremely talented and beautiful. Geraldo is best known for his talk show and news reporting. I didn’t realize he was 72 years old. First dance: Cha-Cha. I am trying to find something positive to say about the performance. He literally walked through the entire performance and unless he makes a lot of improvement he could be the first one going home or definitely early to leave in the season.
Scores: 5-4-4 (13 out of 30)
Marla Maples & Tony Dovolani: Tony won the Mirror ball during the All Stars season with Melissa Rycroft. Marla is a Broadway star, TV Host and ex-wife to Donald Trump. I am excited about this match up, it has a ton of potential. Tony is
just so sweet and such an amazing dancer. He has a ton of charisma, as does Marla and it will be fun to watch this pair. First dance: Quickstep. Marla is very elegant, has a fun personality and a lot of potential. I think they will go far this season. . I thought their dance was a lot of fun!
Scores: 7-7-7 (21 out of 30)
Wanya Morris & Lindsay Arnold: Wanya is a singer in the group Boyz II Men. This is Lindsay’s third season. First da
nce: Cha-Cha. Wanya has a fun personality and his charisma shines through the TV screen. He’s going to fun to watch! This pair reminded me so much of Alfonso and Witney. I think he will go far in this competition for sure, so much fun to watch this pair!
Scores: 8-7-8 (23 out of 30)
Ginger Zee and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: Ginger is a new Mom and a meteorologist on GMA. Val won the Mirror Ball with Rumor in Season 20. Full disclosure I am a huge Val supporter, have been since his very first appearance on the show. He has that special gift, a huge heart and he is so sweet to everyone he comes in contact with. Ginger is super cute, she has a lot of spunk 
and a desire to learn. First dance: Jive. This was a challenging first dance. Jive does not look like an easy dance to learn. Val posted a video of his swollen knees on Instagram one night after practice. Ginger really has a dynamic personality and I think this pair has a lot of potential. Val is a great teacher and they will be another fun pair to watch.
Scores: 8-7-8 (23 out of 30)
Mischa Barton and Artem Chigvintsev: Artem is such a gem, what a n
ice person and a true talent. Mischa is well known for being an actress on the OC. First dance: Tango. Mischa is definitely not a natural dancer. She did ok for the first dance and I think she will need to put a lot more work/effort into it to be successful this season especially with this cast. I am sure she was nervous. I also think she will need to relax a bit and let people get to know. Artem is a good teacher, hopefully she will loosen up a bit and take advantage of learning from him.
Scores: 5-5-6 (16 out of 30)
Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd: Nyle is deaf, an actor and winner of America’s Next Top Model. Peta was the Season 14 champion. I am so excited to watch this pair dance! Nyle is gorgeous! First dance: Cha Cha. I have one w
ord after watching their performance: WOW! The fact he is deaf did not stop him at all. He can only feel vibrations if the music is loud enough. Peta did such a fantastic job as a teacher and they truly seemed to be in tune with each other’s bodies. I am so excited to watch this beautiful pair dance this season. Nyle truly shows that you cannot let anything stop you from learning, from giving it your all and truly blew everyone away on night one.
Scores: 8-7-8 (23 out of 30)
Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess: Antonio plays for the Pittsburg Steelers as a wide receiver. This is Sharna’s 7th season and she is just a sweetheart. Loved having her on the Dance All Night tour this year. I
think the combination of their personalities is going to make them a team to watch this season! First dance: Quickstep. Antonio did a great job, he has crazy charism as well and this super fun spunk! I will be really surprised if they don’t go far this season!
Scores: 8-6-7 (21 out of 30)
Von Miller and Witney Carson: Von Miller plays for the Denver Broncos and was the MVP of this year’s Super Bowl. Witney won a Mirror Ball in Season 19 with Alfonso. Witney is a great teacher and a sweet person. I have seen her on a few of the tours
and I am sure she will be an asset to teaching Von. They definitely will be dealing with a major height difference. First dance: Foxtrot. I thought they did well for the first dance. Von is charming and I think just needs to loosen up a bit more.
Scores: 8-6-7 (21 out of 30)
To vote this season you can vote up to one hour after the show at the #’s below and vote on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/dancingwiththestars/app/374212512648812/
Top of the leaderboard this week were:
Wanya & Lindsay
Ginger & Val
Nyle & Peta
Bottom of the leaderboard this week were:
Geraldo & Edyta
Dance Troupe comments: Welcome to the new members. I was bummed to see Brittany wasn’t in the troupe this year. Also wished we had Julz Tocker and Paul Barris in the troupe, they did such a great job on tour this winter.
Final thoughts: What a season this is going to be! I always look forward to Monday nights. Sorry this blog is a bit late this week. I was traveling for business. So many great stars this season. I think from the football player’s night 1 performance Antonio is the one to watch with Von a close second. It’s going to be such a joy watching Nyle this season, I am still blown away by his performance tonight. Ginger and Wanya also have a ton of potential. I think bottom two this week will be Geraldo and either Mischa or Doug. I think first to go home based on performance should be Geraldo but, we all know it comes down to the votes!
Want to see photos from past tours go to: @lightscmemories on instagram & twitter! Also more on my facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Lights-Camera-Memories-935628749847172/?ref=hl
DWTS Tour is taking the summer off but, you absolutely want to get tickets to the Maks & Val Our Way tour! I cannot wait to blog about the show, the amazing VIP pkgs and more! http://www.maksandvaltour.com/
Until next time,
Xoxo
Heather
Dancing With the Stars
Dance All Night Tour 2015-2016
This was my 3rd Dancing with the Stars tour and hands down the BEST one to date! The stage set up with fantastic, great music/dance selection and the cast was filled with not only great talent but, the kindest people.
I went to four shows on this tour and did VIP for each. I will talk more about the VIP portion of the experience in another entry.
The cast included: Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Sharna Burgess, Peta Murgatroyd, Lindsay Arnold, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe, Emma Slater, Alan Bersten, Brittany Cherry, Jenna Johnson, Paul Barris, Julz Tocker and celebrity from Season 21 Alek Skarlatos and Hayes Grier also joined the cast for a handful of shows!
I have been asked by several friends what were your favorite dances. That is just so hard to pick because they were all so good for different reasons. I think the ladies would all agree that the men of DWTS doing the Magic Mike dance to Pony was well let’s just say HOT, anyone else need a cold shower after? I took two videos if you want to check them out. This one I affectionately call Magic Val: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biaVy845yV4
The 2nd video I tried to capture more of the dancers, my seat was a tough angle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gFBdHV-uM0
Val and Peta’s dance to Young and Beautiful was so moving. I loved the Gatsby Swing portion as well. The Around the World & Movie section was filled with so many great performances from Brittany & Paul’s Salsa, Alan and Sharna’s “Godfather,” Artem, Emma, Brittany and Lindsay’s “James Bond,” Peta and Keo’s Samba. Brilliance! Artem and Lindsay did a fantastic Argentine Tango that was excellent. The performance of Val, Lindsay, Jenna and Alan to Wicked Games was one you could feel the emotion in the dance. Brittany and Alan’s contemporary to Jealous was also just stunning. Emma and Julz did the most moving waltz, they truly told a story in their dance and you couldn’t help but be caught up in it.
Every style of dance was perfectly portrayed, you could feel the raw emotion and energy and each performance flew by because it was just that good. I personally loved the audience participation segment. It was fun to watch and for individuals to get to live their dreams of dancing with one of the pros!
One of the most special moments of the night was the section where the Dancers all described why they dance/what dance means to them. So often on #DWTS it’s always focused on the celebrity. It was so special to learn all of their stories and see how it shaped their joy not only in dance but, in life.
The group performances were all absolutely stellar. Ending the show with Andy Grammer’s “Good to Be Alive” was perfection. You couldn’t help but, have that song and that happy energy in your head the rest of the night. The dancers gave it their all every single night of the performances and I cannot say enough what a privilege it was to meet them at the meet and greets, but to sit in the audience and watch their talent and brilliance come to life.
For even more photos please visit my Instagram page @lightscmemories or Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Lights-Camera-Memories-935628749847172/
Until Next Time,
Xoxoxo
Heather
