Launched by BBC Television UK, Dancing with the Stars is the reality show that has won not only Great Britain and the United States but many other countries around the globe since 2004. The competing pairs are made of a celebrity and a professional dancer that must teach his/her partner how to dance. The team train for two dances they perform live every week. A panel of judges and the public appreciates the value of the performance that is reflected in the weekly score. The team with the lowest score leaves the competition.
An interesting detail to mention is that two of the judges, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli, weekly commute between Los Angeles and London so as to judge for both the American and the British Dancing with the Stars simultaneously. ABC television is presently broadcasting the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars in the United States. The public voting is mainly run on the ABC web site with watchers being able to express their preferences up to five times after each performance. If the Internet is not an option for you, then, there is an ABC toll-free number to give your vote to the team you support.
Both in Europe and in the United States, the first and second seasons of Dancing with the Stars enjoyed a spectacular audience level being the most-watched show since Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Starting with the production of the third series a moderation in the number of viewers was noticed as the show did not surpass the audience ratings of parallel programs, but it ranked almost the same with CBS’ Survivor: Panama, for instance. Various events marked the history of the show, there were several celebrity withdrawals like that of Sara Evans in the third season who had to quit because of her getting a divorce.
Other topics to hold the front pages of tabloids were the love affairs between some celebrities and their dancing partners. So it happened for Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth as well as for Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez. The Internet offers a vast and interesting collection of videos, pictures and news from the various series of Dancing with the Stars, and even a companion book was written discussing the most popular dances and offering training routine tips. For the moment Dancing with the Stars is on, still enjoying massive public appreciation.
