There were no judges, no
criticism, no complaints. Just a fun,
heartwarming love-fest between the
"Dancing With the Stars - The Tour"
performers and thousands of appreciative
fans.
The Friday night event at HP
Pavilion in San Jose was the second
stop on a 37-city tour featuring
some celebrities and some of the
well-known professional dancers from
the popular ballroom dance contest
show on ABC which recently completed
its fifth season. Though some of the
hottest couples - including this
season's champs, IndyCar driver
Helio Castroneves and dancer
Julianne Hough - didn't perform, the
crowd didn't seem to mind.
At the beginning of the 2
1/2-hour show, with the familiar
series theme song playing, a
roar erupted in the arena when
the announcer introduced Cheryl
Burke, a two-time "Dancing"
champ (seasons 2 and 3) who grew
up in Atherton.
"It feels so good to be home
tonight," she said later in
the show. Burke missed the
first tour stop in Seattle
because of mystery stomach
pains, but she was fine for
Friday's show.
"She wasn't going to
miss San Jose," said
Drew Lachey, her
celebrity partner during
season 2. "Not my
hometown," a proud Burke
added, her family in the
audience.
The other
participants:
celebrities, Sabrina
Byran (season 5) and
Joey Lawrence
(season 3); dancers
Brian Fortuna
(season 4), Derek
Hough (season 5),
Alec Mazo (season 1
champion), Karina
Smirnoff (seasons
3-5) and Louis van
Amstel (seasons
1-3), the
choreographer for
the tour.
Castroneves and
Hough plan to join
the tour for seven
shows starting Jan.
18 in, where else,
Indianapolis, where
Castroneves has won
the Indy 500 -
twice.
At HP Pavilion,
the stage and
dance floor were
set up like the
TV show, but
much larger in
scale. The band
was elevated
above the ground
but below a
giant video
screen that
showed camera
angles of the
dance floor
similar to what
you see each
week from your
living room. The
dancers were
just a few feet
away from the
table seats
surrounding the
floor, but it
seemed oddly
comforting to
watch the
performances on
the big screen.
Other
highlights:
•
Mr. Las
Vegas:
Wayne
Newton,
a season
5
participant,
has been
sidelined
from
dancing
on the
tour
because
of a
heart
ailment.
However,
he put
on a
mini-concert
throughout
the
night,
singing
"Johnny
B.
Goode,"
"Moon
River"
and, of
course,
"Danke
Schoen."
He
wasn't
always
on key,
but
still
was a
treat.
•Spotted
in
the
hallways:
Dancer
Mark
Ballas
-
who
dislocated
his
shoulder
during
the
last
show
of
season
5
while
dancing
with
Sabrina
Bryan
-
was
posing
before
the
show
for
photos
with
fans.
He
later
made
an
appearance
on
the
dance
floor
to
acknowledge
the
crowd
and
hold
hands
with
Bryan,
his
main
squeeze.
• Stole the show: Dancer Derek Hough stood out all night. When he was on the floor, he was riveting. It's very easy to view him as a potential future champ.
• She got voted off?!: Now more svelte than even a month ago on the show, Bryan looked like a professional during all her routines. She danced her well-known cha-cha (to the Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha"), but with Hough, instead of the injured Ballas.
• What a crowd!: The loudest applause came for an amateur couple from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in San Jose - John Sainowski and Michelle Nguyen-Huu - who beat out nine other couples from the studio in a "dance challenge" with local participants.
• We see his future: Drew Lachey and Newton hosted the amateur finale and Lachey held his own with the Vegas legend. Can't wait to see how Lachey does with the upcoming "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" on ABC.
• Music to our ears: The band and singers, led by keyboardist and musical director Will Hollis, were flawless. From blues to pop to disco and hip-hop, they were sharp all night.