Dancing With the Stars
We Came to Dance Winter 2016-17
This was my 4th Dancing with the Stars tour (#DWTSTOUR) 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 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: http://lightscmemories.com/vip/dwts-vip-came-dance-tour-2016-17/ and I have also kept track of the cast photos and mingles as I know many of my followers like to guess who will be in their VIP: http://lightscmemories.com/entertainment-blog/dwts-tour-cast-meet-greet/
Cast: Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Sharna Burgess, Laurie Hernandez, Lindsay Arnold, Artem Chigvintsev, Gleb Savchenko, Keo Motsepe, Emma Slater, Alan Bersten, Jenna Johnson and Hayley Erbert!
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!
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. This year’s tour was very fast paced which I loved it seemed to be shorter numbers but, with a lot more content packed in which I absolutely loved.
You will absolutely walk out of the theater feeling like you have truly gotten to know the Pro’s. They open their hearts and souls to us in this tour. 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 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, Twitter or Facebook pages @lightscmemories!
Also thank you and shout out to VIP Host Anthony Jones for continuing to be our rock star, taking truly memorable pictures, always being very organized and truly being invested in the fan experience!
Until next time,
Xoxoxo
Heather
Check out my favorite online shops!
Bebe: http://www.bebe.com/
Nordstrom: http://shop.nordstrom.com/
White House Black Market: https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/
It sounds like this tour will be even more incredible than the last so definitely don’t miss out!
I have been a fan of this show ever since Season 1 and I have to say this season will be a hard one to top. The entire cast truly came in with a great attitude and really put in the effort. It was hard not to fall in love with the personalities and stories of each of our stars this season. There were so many shining stars.
I want to give a huge shout out to the Season 23 Dance Troupe: Brittany Cherry, Alan Bersten, Hayley Erbert, 
On to the finale:
It was too fun to watch Maureen McCormick live her huge fan dream of dancing with Babyface, Ryan, Artem, Keo and Dennis tonight. Maureen was one that I truly felt grew a lot this season. It’s always fun when a star is also a fan of the show because it allows us at home to live it through their eyes.
I loved the friendship that developed between Vanilla Ice and Rick Perry this season. Vanilla’s performance was a fun blast from the past and even though they might not have been the strongest dancers the partnerships between Witney/Vanilla and Emma/Rick were fun to watch all season and both did work hard.
Sharna Burgess & James Hinchcliffe 
The gift that James gave to Sharna of the race suit he wore the first time he raced again after his accident was truly sweet. Sharna truly put together the most amazing piece to close the chapter on James’s survival journey. They performed a fusion dance of Foxtrot & Viennese Waltz. It was absolutely beautiful. James demonstrated all the grace in his movements and it again highlighted the beautiful friendship that developed between them this season. It was stunning.
Calvin & Lindsay 
Calvin & Lindsay did a Jive & Quickstep fusion. Calvin and Lindsay almost developed a big brother/little sister relationship this season. Calvin should be so happy with his journey this season. He grew immensely and I think kept his attitude on the fun this entire season. He was a joy to watch! Their fusion dance was a lot of fun, high energy and again showed off all the great dance qualities that Calvin brought to the floor.
Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy 
Val and Laurie had a Foxtrot & Argentine Tango Fusion dance. Their package was so adorable. It was sad hearing them talk about this season ending. I think Val was a tremendous positive influence on Laurie. Laurie grew so much before our eyes and is truly a remarkable young lady. Their fusion dance was incredible. Laurie had that fire, pure determination and the look of champion in her eyes when they started that fusion dance. I do disagree with those that felt Laurie had an edge this season because of gymnastics. Laurie was the first gymnast that didn’t use the tricks in the dances this season. I can speak from personal experience at a lower level. I was a cheerleader and when I started taking ballroom & latin dance lessons it is totally different and definitely not easy to learn to dance with a partner.
More on the finale…
ce number was also choreographed by the amazing Mandy Moore. This was truly remarkable. It was creative, it was a technical and visual delight the way she was able to bring the story into motion using the special screen to make the young girl’s dream a reality. It truly was an absolute Masterpiece!
Sharna & James and Val & Laurie were the final two couples and truly they were both so good it could have been a tie this season. Each partnership just had that special something. The talent, the creativity of Val & Sharna with their respective partners was just unstoppable this year. I would have been absolutely thrilled if their partnership had won.
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!
I thought both dances were ok. Jana’s seemed to be a bit more refined and had more typical jive in it and I think she is way more comfortable of the two on the dance floor. Babyface just seems like he needs to relax and have fun with the dance. He is good and he has the presence just needs to relax. The jive just seemed stiff hopefully he will have a break out week so where he just let’s go and has a lot of fun. Jana and Gleb won the face off.
Holy super sexy Cha Cha to James and Sharna! James is really good and keeping right up with Sharna’s great creativity in their dances. I will be absolutely shocked if we don’t see them in the final 2 this season. I do see improvement in Ryan each week. I think similar to Babyface he just needs to let it all go one of these weeks and really have fun with it. James and Sharna won the face off.
incredibly graceful. They edged out Sasha and Terra and won the face off.
I had read beforehand people wondering how Laurie would do because the Tango is a sexy dance. I take dance lessons and I don’t totally agree with that. I think it doesn’t have to be sexy if you bring the intensity and get into the character of the dance. It was nice to see that side to Laurie. Laurie is just on the mark every week and continues to grow. I think Marilu is also good but, still needs to do what I was saying with Babyface and Ryan, just relax into it, and remember she is there to have fun too. Val and Laurie won the face off.