Now! Now! JJ, don't be so fussy. Everyone knows the "Stars" are taught a quick 1 minute routine,& given a pretty dress. You are wrong, I tape it, because my lessons last until 9:00/4 nights a week! In 21 months, I have missed 3 classes, 1 for spine surgery complication,& twice we left after the 1:30. My hubby of 25 years, was called to do surgery,to remove coins, from toddlers tummies! I would NEVER miss a class for DWTS.
DWTS maybe "flash & trash", to some, but can lead to so much for others. DWTS made"us" Ballroom & Latin crazy!!
24/7 we carry, 520GB hard drives, loaded w/$7K of Dancevision videos, so we can hook up anywhere, any time to learn new things!
Apparently you need a good laugh- so think about the way a Dr. looks in surgery. Now, one day in the surgical suite, a cha-cha song came on, so my hubby took the time to practice his Cuban motion, while he was doing the paperwork. A nurse walked in and ask,
"Hey, Scotty Boy do you need to go to the "little boys" room!" Everyone busted out laughing, & said No, he was just ballroom dancing!
So, don't be so fussy, I know you like just getting people all stirred up! ScottyBoysDoll

Yes, DWTS does spark more interest in dancing, just like the recent Olympics has more young girls wanting to try gymnastics. And many people just starting out in ballroom dancing find out quickly that it is not easy, especially if you don't practice much, which is what happens to people with busy lives. But that is the other thing I find interesting about this show. The "stars" from various entertainment industries, especially sports, are usually pretty quick to say this is the toughest thing they've ever tried. So, this season, for example, it will be interesting to see how Misty May-Treanor fares on a dance floor after years of super stardom in beach volleyball. I just heard her say on a TV program that indoor volleyball killed her knees. She may find the dance floor can be tough on those joints as well. But she's a pretty intense competitor, so we'll see how it plays out.

I disagree with the erroneous comment about Julianne. Julianne's singing is NOT mediocre. She has an excellent voice and her songs are GOOD. She did not decide to become a country singer after becoming a dancer..she has said singing is her first love. The show is much better than "reality" shows. Stars who go out of their safety net are an inspiration for others. As for the hosts, Tom B. is funny and the judges are hilarious.

Erroneous?

Here's a link to a video of her singing:Julianne Hough "singing" . She produces the same generic, nasal, electronically enhanced sound that comes out of 95% of the women in popular music. If you didn't know that this is Julianne, you'd never be able to guess.

Julianne may sound OK next to your average girl in the street. However, compare her to a real singer - such as K D Lang or Lee Ann Rimes - and she's nothing but a cute young woman with a microphone.

As for inspiration, most of the "stars" on this show are has-beens who would sell both kidneys to get back in the spotlight.

jj

When I was a little girl I used to watch the ballroom competitions on television. I loved the dancers and the way they glued their hair to their heads, and the feather and sequins and everything about it. It just seemed entirely out of my grasp. An impossible glorious dream.

Then fast forward to today...or a couple of years ago anyway...I missed the entire first season of dancing with the stars, but one day I was cutting out a wool coat and I turned on the television and there was this marathon of the entire season in one day. So I watched. I didn't know any better and I thought...cool...that looks so great. I also thought...cool...I could learn this. The following Monday I found a dance studio.

So I'm a convert and I'm not the best dancer in the world but I'm not terrible either. It is hard, but isn't everything in this world that is worth doing? We in America are a bunch of whiners who want to be bottle fed and instantly glorious at everything we put our hands to, and even with talent ballroom dancing can be excruciating and frustrating. Its worth it that first time when you transcend past; Where are my feet? to, Oh my gosh I'm flying!

I now groan along with all of you as they get rid of the talent and super praise the abysmal and Carrie Ann cries over nothing once or twice for good measure. I do appreciate an occasional intelligent comment from Len.

It has its place and I'm glad that Ballroom is no longer entirely relegated to PBS.

By the way television generally panders to those in the middle to lower ranges of intelligence, what more can you expect?