Dancing with the Stars

[GeneChing]

Dacascos I could see, but Lidell? Wow.

Newest 'Dancing' celebs announced
Monday, August 17, 2009 | 11:32 AM

NEW YORK -- Former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay will join 15 celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and sports in kicking up their heels on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars.

Other hopefuls include entertainer Donny Osmond; singers Mya, Macy Gray and Aaron Carter; actors Melissa Joan Hart, Debi Mazar and Ashley Hamilton (son of George); models Joanna Krupa and Kathy Ireland; reality stars Kelly Osbourne and Mark Dacascos ("the Chairman" on Food Network's "Iron Chef America"); mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell; professional snowboarder Louie Vito; Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin; former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and the 62-year-old former congressman from Texas.

The contestants were announced on Monday's "Good Morning America" by "Dancing" host Tom Bergeron. He also unveiled a new competitive twist.

"In the middle of our season, over three weeks, we're going to have double eliminations," said Bergeron. "We'll lose about half of our cast within that period. It will be a ballroom bloodbath."

Samantha Harris returns as co-host, with the panel of judges including ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer-choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

The ninth season of the hit ABC show premieres Sept. 21.

...

Mark Dacascos
Famously known as "The Chairman" and host of Food Network's "Iron Chef America," Dacascos is also a trained martial artist as well as actor. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mark's passion for martial arts began at an early age under the tutelage of his parents who are both former national champions and teachers. After being discovered in San Francisco's Chinatown, Mark began to establish a film and television career playing not only martial artists but a wide range of characters before joining "Iron Chef America" in 2005. He has appeared in several feature films including the internationally acclaimed French epic, "Brotherhood of the Wolf," the cult classic "Only the Strong," "Cradle to the Grave," opposite Jet Li, "Only the Brave," "Nomad" and "The Lost Medallion," which is scheduled to be released later this year.

...

Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell is the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the icon of Mixed Martial Arts -- the fastest growing sport in America. In 1998, he won his first UFC Mixed Martial Arts fight. Soon after, Liddell rose through the ranks to become the light-heavyweight champion of the world. In July of 2009, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is tied for the most wins by a UFC fighter with 16, and also holds the most knockout wins with 10. In 2008, Chuck penned his autobiography, "Iceman: My Fighting Life," which quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Chuck earned a BA in Business/Accounting from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he also wrestled.

[Oso]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing...(U.S._season_9)

AND Mark Dacascos...too funny.

[Oso]

******.... i checked all the other forums first....except the pop culture one...

just goes to show how much i pay attention to 'pop culture' ...my girlfriend had to tell me about chuck...and she doesn't know mma...

[Oso]

Dacascos I could see, but Lidell? Wow.

maybe the reference to 'ballroom bloodbath'?

personally, i think it's some scheme further the tired ass argument of 'TMA vs. MMA'


i told my girl that I'd sit through this if she sat through this season of TUF

[GeneChing]

Hate to say it but I might just have to tune in this season.

Chuck Liddell Stops By TMZ (MySpace Exclusive)

[jethro]

Someone had an idea on kungfucinema.com that with Dacascos on the show, how about getting people like Chuck Norris, Seagal, Rothrock... I would be glued to the TV.

[GeneChing]

Now that's reality TV....

DeLay challenges martial arts fighter on 'Dancing with Stars'
By Jordan Fabian - 09/16/09 11:32 AM ET

As House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) seldom backed down from a challenge. He seems to be showing that same attitude with his appearance on "Dancing with the Stars."

DeLay, who is nicknamed "The Hammer," took to Twitter on Wednesday to "dis" mixed martial arts fighter Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, who will compete against DeLay on the ABC reality show:

Hey Twinkle Toes @ChuckLiddell how's the dancing coming along? Cant wait for the Hammer and the Iceman to hit the stage.

This season of "Dancing with the Stars" premiers September 21.

For DeLay's sake, we hope things stay civil:

[Oso]

poor Chuck...if he had only done more forms...

[Oso]

and Dacascos needs to stfu about being a 'fighter'

[GeneChing]

Oh man... there's vid on this link...

2009 Dancing With The Stars cast: Mark Dacascos a kung fu fighter and dancer (video)
September 21, 11:33 PMLA Dancing Examiners Ian Ono and Jana Monji

Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer tried something a little different to show off the Honolulu-born Dacascos' martial arts ability. Dancing the cha cha cha to Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting" Dacascos mixed dancing poses with martial arts stances.

Dacascos was dressed in a black satin tunic and pants with red trim and Schwimmer had on half a red hapi jacket/dress (only one sleeve) with a black sparkling bra top peeking out.

The rebel on the dance floor Schwimmer told Dacascos she wanted the dance to "showcase your strength as a martial artist, but show case that you can dance" as well.

Dacascos had fluid arm motion, good turns and good spotting. He smiled and played to the audience. He has flexibility and some natural dance ability.

Carrie Ann said, "I loved the Asian theme" but she thought the arms were a bit too wu shu and not enough ballroom.

Len as you can imagine was not a great fan of the theatricality or gimicks dance and admonished," I don't want to see kung fu." Len thought Dacascos had good hip action and rhythm, but found the footwork a bit dodgy.

Bruno thought there was some problem with timing. Backstage, Dacascos said Schwimmer "wants me to show my man-boobs" and yes, we want to see them.

His score was 7-7-7 for a total of 21. That would leave him in second before the relay dances.

[doug maverick]

mark should have a natural ability in dancing. martial artist automatically have that fluidity needed to be a good dancer from years of practice. i think going with the kung fu angle was cheesy. should've done something else.

[GeneChing]

'Dancing with the Stars' season 22 cast news 2016: Model, MMA fighter, famous '80s star to dance for Mirror Ball trophy?
Shiena Bernardino REPORTER 02 March 2016

More names had been included in the list of celebrity contestants in "Dancing with the Stars" season 22.


facebook.com/dancingwiththestars

One of the rumored additions to the next lineup of contestants in the long-running reality dance competition is activist/model Nyle DiMarco. The most recent winner of Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model," the deaf activist is rumored to be trading the runway for the ABC dancefloor to join "Fuller House" star Jodie Sweetin in vying for the coveted Mirror Ball trophy.

PureDWTS revealed that the winner of "America's Top Model" cycle 22 will be partnered with pro dancer Peta Murgatroyd. To help them communicate, an interpreter will join DiMarco and Murgatroyd's rehearsals. But speculations claim that the dancing partners will have a great time dancing together because the deaf model works very hard during each dancing session.

Meanwhile, another rumor claims that pro dancer Mark Ballas will attempt to get his third Mirror Ball award with the help of the 5'4" tall mixed martial arts athlete Paige VanZant.

The speculations about VanZant's participation in the dancing competition were fueled by a Twitter post where she revealed that she will be in Los Angeles to attend a series of "training and photo shoots."

Ballas and VanZant could be one of the duos to watch out for in "Dancing with the Stars" season 22 since the dancer and the MMA fighter are known to be very competitive. They could probably be a perfect pair because of Ballas is known to be an avid MMA fan.

Another report claims that "The Facts of Life" and "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Fields will also join "Dancing with the Stars" season 22.

Sources told ET Online about Fields' reported participation on the show. However, there is no word yet about whom Fields will be dancing with when the dance reality show returns.

The official list of celebrities and their pro partners will be revealed on "Good Morning America" on March 8.

We'll know for sure next week.

She seems to have better prospects there than Liddell did.

[GeneChing]

Paige VanZant to appear on 'Dancing with the Stars'


UFC women's strawweight Paige VanZant, 21, will trade in her MMA gloves for dancing shoes when she joins the 22nd season of the hit ABC show. Rod Mar for ESPN
1:10 PM ET
Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer

UFC women's strawweight Paige VanZant will appear as a contestant in the 22nd season of "Dancing with the Stars."

ABC announced the full cast this week. In addition to VanZant, 21, the list includes former and current NFL players in Antonio Brown, Doug Flutie and Von Miller.

The show premieres on March 21 at 10 p.m. ET. VanZant is the third high-profile mixed martial artist to compete on the show. Previous seasons have featured former UFC champions Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell.

VanZant (6-2), who trains with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, signed with the UFC in 2014 and has compiled a 3-1 record in the Octagon. She is a longtime dancer and frequently posts videos of her second passion on social media.

She enters the competition fresh off the first loss of her UFC career in December, a fifth-round submission defeat to Rose Namajunas. She does not currently have a fight scheduled.

Paige is much easier on the eyes than Couture or Liddell, by any measure.

[GeneChing]

Anyone watching? Yea, me neither.

Lost in translation: MMA background hurting Paige VanZant on 'DWTS'
By Andreas Hale
March 23, 2016 6:08 PM
Cagewriter

UFC strawweight contender Paige VanZant made her debut on Season 22 of “Dancing with the Stars” and impressed by finishing in a four-way tie for fourth place with a score of 21. Matched with pro dance partner Mark Ballas, VanZant’s foxtrot earned a trio of 7s from the judges and has seen the odds of her winning the contest improve from 10-1 to 2-1.


Paige VanZant and Dancing with the Stars partner Mark Ballas. (Getty Images)

“I was really nervous,” VanZant told MMA Junkie. “The foxtrot isn’t a dance I was particularly excited about because you’re not allowed to do lifts, you’re not allowed to do certain [other] things. You have to be traditional and be in the frame, with very specific footwork. So we couldn’t be wild and crazy and have a fun routine.”
Next week will find VanZant challenged with the salsa. “We have the salsa, and it’s just an amazing routine so far," VanZant said. "I’m excited to show off the super fun side of things. [Mark] definitely knows I have areas I need to improve on. There are still little things that are hard for me to break, being an MMA fighter.”

Although VanZant is taking an extended hiatus from competing in the Octagon, the Team Alpha Male fighter is staying on top of her training regime and squeezes workouts in during her downtime. Although it can be assumed that her MMA training may assist her in this competition, VanZant said that it doesn’t help much, if at all.

“Not a lot translates over very well,” VanZant said while citing that flexibility and cardio are two small things that help her through practice. "There are a lot of techniques that are completely different [from fighting] – keeping your head up, I’m having a hard time not keeping my shoulders forward. It’s hard to break that fighter’s stance. It’s been a little difficult for me to try to break.”

We’ll see if VanZant can continue to improve when she competes on Monday’s episode.

[GeneChing]

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