Ballroom Dancing Next Challenge for Wheelchair-bound Bodybuilding Champ

Vowing not to let misfortune bring him down, bodybuilder champ Nick Scott transformed himself in just a few years' time from a depressed, out-of-shape victim of a car crash (which left him wheelchair-bound) to a national bodybuilding champion.

Scott achieved his goal and then some, becoming the nation's leading advocate for wheelchair bodybuilding, according to Kansas City Star reporter Edward M. Eveld.

And now Scott's next challenge is to compete in ballroom dancing, which, he says in Eveld's article, "It’s totally different from power lifting and bodybuilding."

Scott and his dancing partner, Aubree Marchione, have already taken first-place awards at the Atlantic Coast Dancesport Championships in Philadelphia and the Heart of America Dancesport Championships in Kansas City, reports Eveld.

Check out Nick and Aubree in these videos from Scott's site: http://www.nickfitness.com/wheelchair_dancing

Read more of Eveld's story on Scott here: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/27/2545038/wheelchair-bodybuilder-champ-nick.html#ixzz19VZEMoKh

See also: Wheelchair Ballroom Dancing gets a Boost

West Coast Dance Championship Dates

The West Coast Championships are set for January 21 & 22, 2011 (Friday and Saturday):

Friday January 21, 2011

Hotel Check in

• All Smooth Divisions
• All International Latin Divisions
• All Smooth Solos and Showcases

Saturday January 22, 2011

• All Standard Divisions
• All Rhythm Divisions
• All Rhythm Solos and Showcases

Awards Banquet

Showcase of Championships featuring Mikhail Zharinov and Galina Detkina

Fred Astaire Look-a-Like

Below is an interesting comparison photograph I ran across. Not bad!


see more Celeb Look-A-Likes

Illinois "Dancing with the Stars" charity benefit

This just in from the Illinois News Tribune:

"Planning has begun for the 2011 edition of Illinois Valley Cellular’s Dancing with the Stars for Charity.
Local charities and high-profile local “stars” can submit requests to participate by emailing Don Grant Zellmer at dongrantzellmer1@yahoo.com and including “Dancing with the Stars ‘11” in the subject line.
The annual event pairs local celebrities with choreographers for months of training and one night of competitive dancing. The 2011 event is scheduled for Sunday, May 22 at Senica’s Oak Ridge, La Salle."

Florence Henderson booked for "Ballroom Dance Celebration at Sea 2012"

Brady Bunch fanatics and fans of Florence Henderson will get a chance to see their favorite celebrities on board a week-long cruise planned for 2012.

The "Ballroom Dance Celebration at Sea 2012" is set to sail January 7-14, 2012, heading out of Miami, Florida on a round trip voyage. "Mrs. Brady" will be along for the trip and will also be hosting a cocktail party. Other Brady Bunch alumni going along on the trip will be Barry Williams (“Greg”) and Susan Olsen (“Cindy”).

According to the news story reporting on the cruise, the dancing on board will feature professional dancer Corky Ballas, holder of several Latin dance championship titles.

See more on the cruise HERE.

Controversy Follows "Dancing with the Stars" 11th Season

All lot of talk has been swirling since last November’s Season 11 finale of Dancing with the Stars. At the center of the controversy has been the apparent edge celebrity dancer Bristol Palin (daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin) received as a result of anonymous email balloting that occurred during the season.

Commenting on professional dancer Derek Hugh, the Green Celebrity Network reported: “Winning with Jennifer Grey against Bristol Palin could not have felt too great – because, bottom line, a loophole in the voting system allowed [for] artificially cast votes done by fictitious and anonymous email to over inflate the votes for Sarah Palin’s daughter, thereby errantly eliminating anyone who could have truly beaten Jennifer in earlier rounds.”

Lori Calabrese, reporting from the national edition of the Examiner website, reported: “Palin's longevity, despite landing at the bottom of the leader board four times this season, was credited to her mom Sarah Palin's political supporters, and it all came to a head when Bristol beat Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy to enter the finals.”

Due in large part to this latest controversy, there is concern now, too, Calabrese reports, that DWTS may be turning into more of a popularity contest than a dancing skills competition, with people flooding the voting lines in support of their favorite celebrity as opposed to the best dancing team. Worse, ABC executives might not necessarily see that as a bad thing.

“The Bristol Palin-fueled Dancing with the Stars Monday night,” Calabrese notes, “posted the strongest results for a Dancing performance finale in six seasons.”

2010 WDC Disney World Open Championship Results (Amateur) - Paris, France

DECEMBER UPDATE: The winners of the 2010 WDC Disney Resort World Open Championship's Amateur Ballroom competition, held on December 10 - 12 in Paris, France are:
1.) Gaetano Iavarone & Emanuela Napolitano (Italy)
2.) Andrey Sirbu & Alexandra Hixson, of (England)
3.) Ben Taylor & Stefani Bossen (England)
4.) Richard Still & Morgan Hemphill (England)

Got the Post-"Dancing with the Stars" Blues?

With Season 11 now in the bag (as of this past November), fans of Dancing with the Stars will have to suffer through yet another long, cold winter before they get to resume their addiction this coming spring, when the hit show begins its 12th Season.

But the harsh winter weeks don't have to all be about living in the "doldrums," as writer Gina Carbone puts it. Carbone, who writes for WetPaint.com, has a few ideas to help keep folks busy as the cold winter season passes between fans' fixes of Dancing. Below are a few of her listed suggestions for passing your time.

1. Take some time to decide once and for all if you are Team Maks or Team Derek.

2. Relive the best and worst routines of Season 11 and mentally prepare yourself for the highs and lows of Season 12.

3. Check out our Season 12 suggestions for DWTS categories like Cutest Old Person and Controversial Figure and suggest your own playlist for Pop Singer, Soap Star, Disney Kid, etc. There are so many "types" to choose from!
....

6. Try to get tickets to watch the show liiiiiiive in the studio audience. Because Derek and Maks are probably even hotter when they're taking their shirts off 10 feet in front of you. We can only imagine. And, oh man, do we imagine...

11. Calculate if any of your relationships lasted longer than the real-life couples of DWTS.

13. See if you even like any of the celebrities who want to be cast next season.

Carbone, who appears to have a soft spot for Maksim Chmerkovskiy, has other ideas, as well. Checkout her entire listing of things to do, here.