Tue, Jun 16, 2009
Host Marissa Jaret Winokur goes behind the scenes in the search for the twelve contestants who will compete in the inaugural season of the show. The top thirty applicants, who provide a bit of their background and their reasons for wanting to appear on the show, are brought to Hollywood for the final audition to narrow it down to the top twelve. Head choreographer Lisa Ligon goes through a dance routine with each to assess basic dance skills. Marissa introduces the three judges for the season and explains the scoring for the show, before she announces the twelve finalists chosen by choreographer Lisa, judge Lisa Ann Walter and physician Rob Huizenga.
Mon, Jun 29, 2009
The twelve contestants arrive at the house where they will live for the duration of the competition. They are immediately faced with healthy foods versus junk foods in the house, which reflects what they face in real life. The contestants meet their support team, including their individual choreographer/dance partner. For their inaugural dance, each contestant is free to choose whatever dance style to perform, but each is to incorporate his/her signature move. In random order, the first ten contestants to perform for the judges are those with the highest weight loss scores. The bottom two contestants in terms of weight loss dance last and are provided their dance scores last. Before Danny announces his score for the last contestant which will determine who goes home, he offers words of encouragement to whoever is the first contestant to leave the show.
Mon, Jul 6, 2009
With Amanda being the first contestant eliminated after the first dance and weigh-in, the remaining eleven contestants head into disco week. Most are apprehensive about this dance style, which they deem outside of their comfort zone. One person who demonstrates that discomfort and frustration is Alicia, the emotions of the week which she takes out on some furniture and the junk food cabinet in the house. For some, their fears about the dance hold true as reflected by their scores and judges' comments. Others, however, surprise both themselves and the judges by putting on an impressive performance. One contestant who has an extra hurdle is Tara, who was cleared by Dr. Huizenga just prior to the dance night, to perform as she incurred a knee injury earlier in the week. As the bottom two contestants stand in front of the judges, Lisa Ann offers her words of encouragement to the one who is safe and the person eventually eliminated.
Mon, Jul 13, 2009
With Warren being eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are ten contestant remaining. The theme for this week scares many of the contestants for several reasons. That theme is stripper pole. Many fear the overt sexual connotation and exposure associated with stripping. Others fear the flexibility and upper body strength required to do the pole dancing. At Crunch Gym in West Hollywood, they are all instructed on the basic moves in pole dancing. The judges' critiques focus in on the key areas of sexiness, and the use or lack of use of the pole itself. The eliminated contestant is the one who didn't believe in his/her own sexiness and who lacked movement on the pole.
Mon, Jul 20, 2009
With Karla being eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are nine contestants remaining, they who head into Latin week. Many are scared about the dance style because they know the demanding and exacting technical aspects of the dance. However, some feel that their Latin ethnic backgrounds will help in the dance. At the beginning of the week, Marissa provides them with news that disturbs most: it will be a double elimination week. A few see the double elimination as news which will spur them on to work even harder. Some who have not had the greatest weight loss to date focus more on their calorie consumption. Two of the contestants face additional challenges. The first is Shayla, who suffered a sprained ankle in rehearsals during the week. She vows to dance through the pain on performance night. The second is Mara, who has had an on-going battle of wills with her professional dance partner, Paul.
Mon, Jul 27, 2009
With Brandon and Tara's elimination after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are seven contestants remaining, they who enter into movie week. Each contestant learns that they will be assigned a specific movie, a specific song from that movie and a specific dance style. For most, the dance style is outside of their comfort zone, which scares some of the contestants. Some contestants are also worried about their assigned dance not being a "showcase" style. In addition, some of the dance styles are not obvious matches to the song itself. This latter issues causes problems for some, who end up not showing enough of that dance style, while reverting too much to the more obvious moves associated with the song. And Shayla is still nursing a sprained ankle, which adds an extra hurdle for her to overcome.
Mon, Aug 3, 2009
With Miles' elimination after the latest dance and weigh-in, the remaining six contestants head into swing week. They are pushed to work even harder than usual because of a special reward given to the winner of the week: a telephone call home. One contestant's selfless act provides another an extra chance for that call home. The contestants find that another challenge for the week is to find the right amount of bounce to their step in the dance based on whether they are doing the jive, west coast swing or Lindy hop. Mara has an extra obstacle as she incurred a knee injury during the week which may hinder her dance ability. At the end of the night, one contestant does have an emotional telephone call home to find out some important family news.
Mon, Aug 10, 2009
Trice was eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in. The remaining five contestants learn that for the first time they will be dancing two competition numbers, the first being hip hop (for which they are given a special cardio workout) and the second being the tango. Most contestants feel that one of the dances will be their strong dance, while the other will be outside of their comfort zone. One contestant, however, feels that she will nail both dances. The two dance scores will be averaged to determine the week's final dance score. The first dance, the hip hop, will be performed in random order, while the last two to dance the tango will be those with the lowest weight loss score. Beyond the week's competition, the contestants wonder if there is a romantic liaison developing between one of their own and that contestant's respective dance partner.
Mon, Aug 17, 2009
After Mara is eliminated at the latest dance and weigh-in, the final four contestants learn that they are heading into another double dance week, the first being an '80's routine, and the second being a foxtrot. As the contestants begin their weekly rehearsals, they each are unexpectedly joined by two of their loved ones from home. The reunion is especially emotional for Ruben, whose partner John is recovering from cancer. These loved ones end up spending the week, which includes having a luncheon cooked by the four contestants of healthier versions of their favorite foods. Although the reunions may be emotionally satisfying for the contestants, they also end up being a distraction for some from the focus required to have a great performance. As the performances wind down, the weight loss scores announced and dance critiques provided by the judges, Lisa Ann provides unexpected news which affects all the contestants.
Mon, Aug 24, 2009
As no one was eliminated at the last dance and weigh-in, there are four contestants heading into the semi-final week, which will consist of two ballroom dances, the cha cha and Viennese waltz. They receive additional coaching on these dances by 2005 world American ballroom dancing champion Nick Kosovich. The four also head into makeover week for a photo shoot with Life & Style magazine. The experience assists them all with their self confidence. Beyond this boost, Alicia is still having difficulty in accepting how her slimmed down body is affecting her emotional psyche. They also head into green week, where Meg provides them with recyclable shopping bags, and certain costumes for the week are recycled from bits and pieces of previously worn costumes. The top three contestants for the week head into next week's finale.
Mon, Aug 31, 2009
Pinky, Ruben and Shayla - the final three contestants left standing - are unexpectedly joined by all the eliminated contestants. For the first time ever, all the contestants will dance together in a non-competition group number, each wearing the same costume they wore on their first dance to show how much weight they've lost since the beginning of the competition. The final three learn that they will be dancing two competition numbers, the first in a style of their own choice. Pinky chooses hip hop, Ruben chooses country western, and Shayla chooses lyrical jazz. The second competition number is judges' choice. They go all Latin ballroom by choosing the samba for Pinky, the paso doble for Ruben and the rumba for Shayla. Before the competition, the professional dance partner for each of the final three provide their rationale for why their partner deserves the title. Pinky has an extra hurdle to overcome as she sustained an ankle injury early in the week which prevented her from doing any rehearsing from that point onward, but she vows to perform regardless of how the ankle is feeling. The averaged dance scores and the weight loss score will determine who will be Dance Your Ass Off champion for the inaugural season and the winner of $100,000.
Thu, Sep 3, 2009
Five months after Ruben was crowned Dance Your Ass Off champion for season 1, Marissa brings back all the season 1 contestants and judges for a reunion. With never before seen behind-the-scenes footage, the contestants discuss the process they went through over the competition period. They also describe how they've done at home with all the real life issues once again facing them. They answer some viewer questions. They reminisce about their relationship with their respective dance partner/choreographer, which was not always harmonious. The judges discuss their favorite moments from the season, after which the contestants get to confront the judges about the actual scoring. And Marissa announces the winner of the $5,000 on-line fan favorite contestant.