Swimmer Natalie Coughlin among new “Dancing with the Stars” cast

Natalie Coughlin can do the backstroke and the breastroke in world record time, but can she do the paso doble or tango?

Coughlin, who has made a big splash in the Olympics, will attempt to excel in the ballroom during the upcoming season of ABC’s “DWTS.” She was among the 16 celebrities named to the “Dancing with the Stars” cast, as announced Monday morning. She’ll compete against former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay, pop singer Donny Osmond, and former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin.

Other hopefuls include 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; and professional snowboarder Louie Vito.

The contestants were announced on Monday’s “Good Morning America” by “Dancing” host Tom Bergeron, who 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.”

Coughlin  represented the United States at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2008, she became the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympics.

After taking a break from swimming competition after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Coughlin will be extending that break with time logged on the dance floor. She appears to be in good company on “Dancing” as three Olympians have won the reality show’s coveted title. Speed-skater Apolo Anton Ohno captured the prize in Season 4, while figure skate Kristi Yamaguchi prevailed in Season 6 and gymnast Shawn Johnson won the disco-ball trophy in Season 8.

The ninth season of the hit ABC show premieres Sept. 21 with a three night event.

Update: Natalie will be paired with Alec Mazo on this season of DWTS.

All Girl Beat Freaks: America’s Best Dance Crew?

If you’ve been obsessed with MTV’s reality dance-competition show “America’s Best Dance Crew“ then you know that one of the top two crews this season was the all-female Beat Freaks. The LA ladies came hard with a badass B-girl style and wowed ABDC judges Lil’ Mama, Shane Sparks and JC Chasez with their athleticism and creative choreography.

The female tag became a big thing and there was a lot of hype around the Beat Freaks but there was still the little matter of dancing it out against the other finalist, Quest Crew,  in the live March 5th finale.

A hip-hop dance dream team, the Beat Freaks have won loads of awards and have been featured on numerous television shows, as well as in music videos and tours with such talent as Pink, Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus and Madonna, as well as in movies like You Got Served and Step Up 2.

From the MTV site: ”

We are an all styles crew, so we teach each other” says Out There. Adds Lockn’Key, “This is a well-rounded group of women. We have B- girling, freestyle, hip-hop, popping, locking, house salsa, jazz, ballet, you name it.” Plus, says Rino, “We love to laugh and to have fun.”

With such wide ranging credits and styles, it’s not surprising to see a range of music fueling the crew. The girls go for everything from Hot Chip, M.I.A., Santogold and CSS to OutKast, T.I., Aaliyah and Missy Elliottt to Prince, Zapp and James Brown.

So which crew was voted “America’s Best”? A battle as old as time played out last week as the “guys vs. girls” challenge was enacted.  Guys have won the first two seasons, with women getting as far as second and third in mixed crews (So Real Cru, Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak), and all-girl crews not even close to the top three.

When it came time for the moment of truth, host Mario Lopez milked it for as much drama  as he could.  The all-girl-finalists, who had never even been in the bottom two, faced a crew that was facing elimination only a week before.  

In the end only one group could win, and show producer Randy Jackson awarded the Quest Crew the grand prize of $100,000. A lot of us were  surprised (and a little angry), but anyone who watched the show knew that it would be a tight race. 

What do you think? Did the best crew win?

DWTS: Season 7 welcomes Misty May Treanor

August 25, 2008 – Now that the Olympics are over, let’s get back to REAL life. 

DWTS’ seventh season airs on Sept. 22 and what’s on everyones mind is:  Who will shake a leg on the award-winning reality show in hopes of winning the coveted mirror ball trophy?

Announced today, here’s a rundown of the Dancing with the Stars contestants and their professional dance partners:

• Singer Toni Braxton, 40, and Alec Mazo
• Singer Lance Bass, 29, and Lacey Schwimmer
• Actor Ted McGinley, 50, and Inna Brayer
• Actress Cloris Leachman,82, and Corky Ballas
• Warren Sapp, 35, and Kym Johnson
• Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, 31, and Karina Smirnoff
• TV personality Kim Kardashian, 27, and Mark Ballas
• Track star Maurice Green, 34, and Cheryl Burke
• Beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor, 31, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
• Soap star Susan Lucci,61, and Tony Dovolani
• Comedian Jeffrey Ross, 42, and Edyta Sliwinska
• Actor Cody Linley, 18, and two-time DWTS champ Julianne Hough
• TV personality Brooke Burke, 36, and Derek Hough

Our fave? Beach volleyball player and recent Olympic gold medal winner Misty May-Treanor!  She’ll go straight from Beijing where she and Kerri Walsh won their second gold medal in beach volleyball to the DWTS comp where we hope she’ll follow in the footsteps of another Olympian – last year’s winner Kristi Yamaguchi.

Sports Speak – Cheer

ARCH~
position in which the back is curved.~~

BASE~
bottom person in the stunt who remains in contact with the floor, supporting the mounter in a stunt.~~

BASKET TOSS~
toss involving three or four tossers, two of which have their hands interlocked.~~

CHANT~
short repetitive yell performed continually throughout a game; short routines with words sometimes involving the crowd.~~ Read more

Cheerleading Tips

Can you smile even when your team is losing 48-8 to your biggest rival? Can you belt it out while still bustin’ a move? Do you love to perform? Do you have school spirit? Maybe you have what it takes to become a cheerleader.

Read more

Soccer exercise – dancin’ with the ball

This is a great exercise for both fitness and technical work. And it’s easy – all it takes is you and a soccer ball. Find some open space – a park, a track, or a jogging path. Then turn your iPod on and start dancin’ with the ball.

Begin with a jog but don’t just go in a straight line. Practice your moves, spin around, dance with the ball as you go. A little salsa, a bit of cha cha, a dose of hip hop.

Think about the 88th minute, the game is tied and you have one defender to beat before having a go at goal. Your legs are tired and screaming ‘don’t make me do a double-stepover’.

This is the kind of training that will teach your legs not to talk back! It’s great fitness, but also an exercise that’s fun and that you can do solo. So what are you waiting for? Get out and dance!