DWTS Season 17: Week 2 Preview

I hope you all like the photo.

Yes, Henry Byalikov is our guest on Tuesday. Many of you saw the announcement on Twitter earlier this week and you've been eagerly awaiting this post. It's been a busy week, but I finally had a free minute to get this up.

The wonderful thing about having Henry on the show is that it is great timing. He and Sharna Burgess are choreographing the opening number this week, so we will get the inside scoop on how it all came together.

The whole team is expected to be in studio this week: Anna, me, Jake and Suri.

Time to get those questions in! Fire away in the comments section below. We will see you all on Tuesday at 8pm PT on AfterBuzz TV.

DWTS Season 17: Week 1 Preview

We are just days away from the kickoff episode of Season 17 of Dancing With the Stars. It's been a long summer without you, but a big "thanks" to those who joined me and Jake for Season 10 of SYTYCD. We had a blast with some amazing guests. We are hoping to keep that tradition going with this season of DWTS.

The entire crew is back on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. PT this season: me, Suri Serano, Jake DuPree, Anna Trebunskaya...and one small addition: Baby Bump Trebunskaya! We are so excited for our co-host and her exciting new adventure.

Our first guest is locked and ready to go, so get those questions in for Julian Tocker, one of Season 16's troupe members. Questions go in the comments section below.

You can watch the show live here on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT on AfterBuzz TV.

Our guest list is published here so you can mark your calendars for your DWTS favorites.

DWTS Season 17: The End of the Ringer Debate

Don't ever count out athletes like Keyshawn Johnson in this competition.

Since we are only eight days away from the Season 17 launch of Dancing With the Stars. I'd like this to the last time we talk about ringers this season. Last season was filled with talk about the lovely Zendaya and her "ringer" status. It's just a waste of time talking about this since the alleged ringer doesn't always win. Let's talk about dance and choreography and personality--things that matter to the show. There will always be some producer manipulation behind the scenes, but arguing about it is just exhausting.

Yep, that's Snooki during her gymnastic and cheerleading days.

Here's a sample of a few of the contestants who have had dance or movement training prior to joining the cast.

Start by watching the incredible Valerie Harper in this production number. It isn't available for embedding, but it's definitely worth watching.

Elizabeth Berkley:


Amber Riley:


Christina Milian:


Bill Nye, The Science Guy:


Corbin Bleu:


DWTS on AfterBuzz TV premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 17 with me, Anna Trebunskaya, Suri Serano and Jake DuPree at 8 p.m. PT. Watch here. 

Dance Chat With Kristyn Burtt: Episode 1

It's such a big dance week, I couldn't resist! Let's talk DWTS, SYTYCD and Derek Hough! I hit a few hot topics on the two dance shows. Watch the whole show or drop in on your favorite segment. Here's how the show breaks down:

SYTYCD: 00:20
DWTS: 03:32
Derek Hough: 10:05

And the articles I refer to...here are the links:
Christina Milian Instagram ScreenCap: http://bit.ly/15oaAAX
Travis Wall Article: http://bit.ly/136WbLK
Sonya Tayeh Article: http://bit.ly/17vDyTw

Don't forget to join the chat and share your comments below. Let me know if you want me to do these regularly and what hot topics you want to discuss.

Leah Remini & Corbin Bleu Interviews: Get Excited For DWTS Season 17!

Is it Wednesday yet? I'm dying for the ABC reveal of the Season 17 cast for DWTS. As I was going over the rumored cast list, I realized I had two old interviews with possible cast members: Leah Remini and Corbin Bleu. Coincidentally, the red carpet interviews I have with them were both done at the same event. It was the LA opening of the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus back in July 2011.

Both of the interviews were pretty hilarious. Leah misunderstood my question, so watch have the whole thing goes down...over and over...



My interview with Corbin was kind of awesome because I had tickets to see him in Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl as Seaweed J. Stubbs...and yes, the boy can dance. I think both Corbin and Leah are going to add a ton of personality to Season 17. Bring it on!

Are you ready for this season? I sure am!

DWTS Season 17: Initial Cast Thoughts

If my Twitter feed was an indication of what is to come for Season 17 of Dancing With the Stars, I am in for a busy fall. TMZ leaked a few of the celeb names today: Valerie Harper, Leah Remini, Elizabeth Berkeley, Snooki, Amber Riley, and Christina Milian. I've said it before and I will say it again, TMZ is pretty good about fact checking, so this list should be your six female celebs for the season.

Once it was revealed that Tristan MacManus was paired with Valerie, the tweets began. Many of the tweets were people who were angry that he was matched with a 74-year-old woman battling terminal brain cancer. Really? Doctors told her she would be dead by June and miraculously, she's still with us and is tackling DWTS. I don't know about you, but that's kind of awesome...and inspirational.

Re: Tristan--The gift of working with someone bravely fighting a terminal illness is greater than a mirrored ball trophy. #DWTS
— Kristyn Burtt (@KristynBurtt) August 28, 2013

Look, I get it: We all love Tristan and we want to see him win. It was disappointing to see him have to drop out in Season 16 when Dorothy Hamill was injured. Then it was a bummer to see him injured during the finale and he couldn't have one last dance with her. (Bravo to Henry Byalikov for stepping in!)

I'm just not going to get my panties in a bunch over this. I'm going to look at it from the Sharna Burgess School of Opportunity. I love what she did with Andy Dick last season, it was fun and moving to watch his journey. I'm going to take that same approach with Tristan and Valerie. I have a lot of faith in his talent, don't you?

So let's kick off this season on a positive note. I know you guys won't always agree with me, but I love to hear your opinions as long as it's handled with mutual respect. I love a good dance debate!

Here's to a great Season 17. I'm excited by the cast so far and we've already booked our first guest for DWTS on AfterBuzz TV. Hooray!

I would love to hear from you....hit me up with your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Finale Preview

I cannot believe we are here.  10 weeks, thousands of comments, and millions of controversies later, it's time for our last show for Season 16 of DWTS on AfterBuzz TV.

There is so much to say, but I'm going to save that for Wednesday night. So, here are our confirmed guests for the last show.

She started our season and she's going to end our season. With one of the best storylines of the season with her partner Andy Dick, it's Sharna Burgess!

Our second guest also joined DWTS as a pro this season. We had her partner and now we finally get to hear from her, it's Lindsay Arnold!

Watch us LIVE tomorrow night on AfterBuzz TV at 9pm PT. Link is here. 

Now, get those comments and questions in, please put them in the comments below!

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS: Henry Byalikov

This was such a fun show. I'm so glad we had Henry Byalikov back on this season for a second time so he was able to give us the inside scoop on his work with Baz Lurhmann on Gatsby.  He's always a great guest and we all know his fans are legendary.

Catch our pre-show Vine video here.

It was our last show with Anna Trebunskaya and we are going to miss her next week. She's been a great addition to the show this season on AfterBuzz TV. However, we do have two pros currently confirmed for next week's show. Be sure to come back here on Tuesday to find out who it is. I am really excited to end the season in a big way. It will be an awesome finish to a fascinating season.

I wanted to list everyone's Top 4 predictions for next week. I think our answers shocked a few of you and none of us had the same answer. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below. See you all next week!

Predictions:

Suri                        Anna
1st: Jacoby              1st/2nd: Kellie/Jacoby (She couldn't decide.)
2nd:  Kellie              3rd: Aly
3rd: Zendaya           4th: Zendaya
4th: Aly

Henry                     Jake:
1st: Kellie                1st: Kellie
2nd: Jacoby            2nd: Zendaya
3rd:  Aly                  3rd: Jacoby
4th: Zendaya           4th: Aly

Kristyn
1st: Kellie
2nd: Jacoby
3rd: Zendaya
4th: Aly

If you missed the show, you can watch below.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Week 9 Preview

We are welcoming back a return guest for us this week on AfterBuzz TV, in honor of the release of the Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby, it's Henry Byalikov. We will have the opportunity to ask him about the film and what it was like working with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, so get those questions in now!  Remember, add them to the comments below.

You can find the AfterBuzz TV DWTS show here, Wednesday at 9pm PT.

Suri, Jake and I are definitely back this week. We are waiting for confirmation from Anna. UPDATE: Anna will be joining us. Hooray!

It's semifinals week and you KNOW we have a lot to say!

DWTS: It's Time To End The Zendaya Debate

Enough with Zendaya.

She's not a ringer, she's a girl who has had Hip Hop classes. I might take this debate more seriously if she were a trained ballet dancer or ballroom dancer, but it's time to stop.  Here are my reasons for ending the Zendaya discussion on DWTS:

1. It's a TV show: Having great dancers and bad dancers all lumped into one variety show is fun. I cheered on Andy Dick as much as I have cheered Zendaya and Kellie Pickler this season.  I did make fun of Sean Lowe's dancing a bit, but it made for some interesting topics of discussion on our AfterBuzz TV show.
    And guess what? By constantly debating that "Zendaya is a ringer" and "Kellie is being underscored"(Although the "7" from Len was ridiculous, it also made for good TV.) topics, you are playing into exactly what ABC wants...controversy.  It makes for good television and it gets us all watching each week.
    One other argument is that ABC wants to promote its own network stars. If you look at the statistics, this is a bad argument.  Let's look at the ABC stars who have won DWTS:  Season 1 Kelly Monaco, General Hospital. That's it, kids.  You could argue Melissa Rycroft from Season 15 as she is a former ABC employee with The Bachelor franchise/former GMA & Bachelor Pad host, but ABC has not used her in that capacity since April 2012. If there were a series of ABC winners, I would agree with you. 1 winner out of 15 does not make for an ABC push for a winner.
 
Supplemental reading: Carrie Ann Inaba talks Kellie Pickler 

2.  Zendaya Hears You:  If you think this 16-year-old doesn't hear your criticism, she does...and she takes it personally.  If you read her Access Hollywood blog, she knows exactly what is going on in the forums.  I feel badly for her because I remember being 16 and we don't need to help anyone's teen insecurities along.

Supplemental reading: Zendaya's blog

Even with dance training, Zendaya doesn't have lines like Kellie does. Beautiful!

3.  Twitter followers:  Yep, Zendaya has more followers than anyone, but she's also of a generation that is more tuned into social media than say...Wynonna's fans.  Different generations, different demographics, different use of social media.
      I know many of you are upset that Zendaya got Hip Hop this week. She asked for it, the fans gave it to her. Aly asked for Afro-Jazz, Kellie asked for Flamenco, everyone got the exact dance they wanted. While Flamenco might be harder for Kellie than Hip Hop is for Zendaya, it is Derek who wanted this dance. He has something in mind choreographically just the same way Mark wanted to try Afro-Jazz on Aly.  They know their partner's strengths.
      Also, ABC is trying to keep up with the times and keep this show as interactive as possible for all of the fans.  Twitter is social media site that keeps growing while Facebook's growth has stagnated over the last two years, that's why they are using it for voting.  While not every experiment on DWTS works, I like that they are trying to keep current and relevant.

Supplemental reading: Carrie Ann Inaba names best DWTS dancer ever

Honestly, I would rather talk about the great dancing we are seeing from Zendaya and Kellie this season and how much I've enjoyed watching them each week.  Val and Derek have both stepped up their game choreographically and it's been a treat for the viewers.  With two weeks left, let's end the debate and see who's going to come out on top.  Remember last year, we all thought Shawn Johnson was going to win.

Let's end the debate. You are missing some good dancing.

Okay, your turn to comment. Please post in the comments below...

UPDATE:  Thanks for all of your responses so far. While some of you agree with me, I want to address those that don't agree with me...of course, I respect your opinion. However, hurling insults my way weakens your case. Instead, why don't you comment below and give me some facts to back up your argument.  I am totally up for rational discussions. It's refreshing to hear a different perspective when it's done with respect.  

The other thing you must remember is that I compliment both Zendaya and Kellie in this post. I like them both. I haven't chosen sides.  

I also want to disclose I have interviewed Zendaya many times, so I was very familiar with her work pre-DWTS. If you want to see some of that coverage, go here and here. 

Anyway, thanks for all of your feedback. I appreciate it!   

Preview: AfterBuzz TV DWTS, Week 8

Okay, I know a lot of you have been asking who are guests are this week. My answer...I don't know yet. Jake is working hard on it back in LA, so hopefully we will have a guest this week. If not, you all know we have plenty to talk about with Len's "7", Sean's elimination, and Kellie and Derek were in jeopardy-ish this week.

UPDATE:  Our guests tomorrow night are Sasha Farber and Emma Slater...get those questions in!

DOUBLE UPDATE: Tristan MacManus is coming, too! #PartyTime

TRIPLE UPDATE:  No Anna tonight. She's performing in Vancouver.

So...if you have been following my tweets, I am not in LA. I am working in Houston this week.  In addition, Suri is not in LA this week either. She's starting the ProGym Challenge in Pennsylvania. It will air on ESPN2 in two weeks.  We will both be joining the discussion via the phone while Jake and Anna hold down the fort in LA.

I will be LIVE tweeting tomorrow night again like I did back in March when I was out of town for work.  Remember to use the official hashtag to talk with me and Suri:  #ABTVDance.

I am still collecting questions for Anna here on my site, so make sure to leave all of your comments and questions below.  Can you believe we only have 2 weeks left?

If you are a fan of SYTYCD, I will be starting the AfterBuzz show next week with my co-host AJ Gibson. I will have more details on time and date soon.

AfterBuzz TV Dancing With the Stars, Week 7 Preview

We did let one of our guest's names slip on last week's show. We had her on last year and she provided a tremendous amount of insight, commentary, and opinions on Season 15. It's going to be great to hear what she has to say about Season 16.

Wednesday night's guest is...Shirley Ballas!  Joining her will be professional dancer Yegor Novikov who has had incredible success in competition.  Of course, Anna will also be in the house, so start sending in your questions. Post them in the comments below.

Don't forget to watch the show on AfterBuzz TV at 9pm PT. Link is here.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS, Week 6 Preview

This is when it gets tougher and tougher to book guests because the rehearsals become more demanding with group dances and the competition gets even stiffer. Everyone wants to win.

We had two great guests for you, but they had to pull out late last night due to rehearsal. We are hoping to have them on later in the season.

However, we still have the amazing Anna Trebunskaya with us this week and she choreographed two numbers while Stevie Wonder sang live.  I have to admit, I am pretty jealous because it was an incredible opportunity for the pros and celebs to work with a living legend.

So, here's the week to ask Anna your questions about choreography, about how the show is run, how the contestants feel at this stage of the game, etc.  Ask away! Use the comments section below to ask your questions. The comments section will be the ONLY place I will take questions for tonight's show.

A couple of things I want to note:
   1. Voting:  We talked a lot about it this week on Twitter. Some of you are having issues, but this is probably not a topic we will address on AfterBuzz since there are so many dance topics to discuss. Technology is not perfect, so there are often glitches in the online voting system. As @DWTSGossip pointed out, voting is NOT run by ABC. It is run by an outside firm to adhere to broadcast standards and practices.  If you have complaints about the system, contact ABC here. There is also a People magazine article about it here. (If there is time, we will try to address Twitter voting tonight. That topic makes more sense for this week's team dances/results.)

2.  Autograph Requests:  Thanks for watching the show and supporting us, we really appreciate it. Many of you have asked for photos/autographs from the AfterBuzz crew. We are happy to do it, but here's the process:

A. Print up a photo of your choice at this Pinterest page.
B. Send a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope and Photo to:
   Kristyn Burtt
   c/o M4PR
   11684 Ventura Blvd.
   Suite 213
   Studio City, CA 91604
   USA

Let me know if you have any questions. You can always find the contact information here, too. 

See you tonight at 9pm PT on AfterBuzz TV! Watch here.

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS, Week 5: Witney Carson

I personally had more fun on this show versus any other episode we have done so far. Anna and our awesome guest, Witney Carson, did a great job of giving us more inside information than we have ever seen. From learning about Anna's time spent with Zendaya to get her ready for the Tango to Aly's mindset after hearing about the tragic Boston events earlier in the day, Witney and Anna both delivered.

The other thing that has been fun guessing is where Witney will turn up this summer. Most of you seem to think she will be a SYTYCD All-Star on Fox. It's a great guess and it makes a lot of sense.

Finally, we addressed the Zendaya "ringer" comment that has been coming up so much. We discussed it at length. You are welcome to add your thoughts in the comments below and I will definitely respond if you have more to add to the discussion.  Otherwise, I think we have exhausted the topic on the show, but let me know if you think we missed something during our debate.

Thank you all for your fan questions. We are trying to incorporate them as much as possible into the show whether it is on the red carpet, via a phone call, or from my blog, I think you all have added so much to our show.  It's really amazing!

If you missed the show, you can download it here on iTunes or watch it below.

See you next week!

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS Week 5 Preview

I know you have all been waiting for the announcement of the guests for tonight's Dancing with the Stars show on AfterBuzz TV.  This week was such a busy week for all of the dancers, so we had to wait a bit to hear back from their contact person. However, I think this is going to be a fun ladies' night. (Jake DuPree is going to be surrounded by lots of girls tonight!)

Since we will be talking about Len's Side by Side Challenge, we will have our resident expert, Anna Trebunskaya, who performed three numbers this week plus...

New troupe member Witney Carson, fresh off of last season's So You Think You Can Dance....

She's going to try and bring another familiar face with her...new pro, Victor Ortiz's partner, and fellow SYTYCD contestant, Lindsay Arnold. (Witney is confirmed, Lindsay will appear if her schedule allows.)

So don't forget to watch tonight at 9pm PT LIVE on AfterBuzz TV. Link is here.

If you have questions for Anna, Witney, or Lindsay, post them in the comments below.  This is the official place to submit questions.  

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Victor Ortiz

I'm dramatically talking about Ingo and Kym's Viennese Waltz.

Okay, what a week it was!  We started off the night with a bit of a disappointment that Sean Lowe and Peta Murgatroyd were tied up (again!) at another taping and they couldn't make it to our set. However, Victor Ortiz was in the house and he couldn't have been a better guest. We really appreciated the fact that he showed up because he came from a long day at the gym and rehearsal to join our show.

As you can see, he was a fun and lively guest who gave us some inside scoop on the personalities of the guests:  Sean is a good guy who obeys the rules, Jacoby is a jokester, and DL is serious on set.  I also appreciated Victor's honesty about his developing friendship with his pro partner Lindsay Arnold. He also dispels the dating rumor about the two. 

Oh...and how about the caller, Patty, who talked about wanting more new pros versus old pros?  I thought Anna was going to faint right there in the studio. 

Also, this is my favorite Jake DuPree moment (above) last night when he was talking about Sean's solo. Don't miss this moment.

I also posed the question at the end of the show about DWTS being about talent or improvement.  It was brought up in an article by Rebecca Martin of Wetpaint, so I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Read the article here and then post your thoughts in the comments below.

I don't have any guests to announce for next week...yet. Stay tuned on that topic.

If you want to see our group shot with Victor, head on over to my Facebook page.

Watch this week's AfterBuzz TV show for DWTS below:

AfterBuzz TV Week 4 DWTS Preview

What did you guys think of last night's DWTS show?  The competition is definitely stepping it up! Suri and I appreciate all of your comments, so we made a fun little video addressing some of your feedback from Week 3. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it below:



There is one thing I want to address that was not in the video...placement of the guests in the studio.  We have added to our panel and Jake DuPree and Anna Trebunskaya have done a tremendous job with their thoughts and opinions. It is nice to have an uncensored pro who tells it like it is and who can explain why certain things happened they way they did.  With four of us on the panel, that means our guests are on the couch.  It is set up like Howard Stern's show. Click here to see an example.

It is not a slight, it is designed to give the guests maximum exposure while we interview them and it creates a clean camera angle for the crew to shoot them.  Please understand that while we are the faces of the AfterBuzz TV show, there are many who work tirelessly behind the camera to make this show happen.  We want to make it the best show possible for all of you. If you have feedback that I cannot address or you want to take it to the executive producer level, email here: info@afterbuzztv.com

If you missed last week's show, watch it here.
California DWTS fans, click here to read about a DWTS ticket opportunity.


We will see you on Wednesday at 9pm PT on AfterBuzzTV.com
with Anna Trebunskaya, Sean Lowe, Peta Murgatroyd, and Victor Ortiz. (Reminder: Schedules announced guests are subject to change.)

Don't forget to put your questions for Peta, Sean, and Victor in the comments below. We might read your question on the air!

For DWTS California Fans: Ticket Alert

Hey California Dancing with the Stars fans, I have a ticket opportunity for you! You are going to have to act quickly on these. I am not giving the tickets away, they are being handled by On-Camera Audiences. I am just passing along the information to you. You will have to direct any questions to On-Camera Audiences.

Let me know if you go to The Exes, be sure to say "hi" to my friend, Kelly Stables!

Read the instructions below:

Fans that attend a special promotional taping of The Exes will receive PRIORITY tickets to a live taping of Dancing with the Stars in 2013! You must be 18 years of age or older to take advantage of this offer.

Here is how it works:

1. Use the link below to print tickets to attend The Exes this Wednesday, April 10th. YOU MUST write DWS PROMO DEAL on your printed ticket.

2. Attend the show. When you arrive, please let the OCA Audience Coordinator know that you are part of the DWS PROMO DEAL and they will collect your ticket.

3. Have fun at the show! It's hilarious and the cast includes some of T.V.'s best comedic actors of the last two decades (Seinfeld, Scrubs, 3rd Rock)

4. You will be able to attend a live performance taping in Aprilthrough this promotion. Dates include April 15th, 22nd, or 29th. After you attend The Exes this Wednesday you will receive an email on Friday confirming your priority tickets to Dancing with the Stars and allowing you to choose your preferred date.

To print a ticket to attend The Exes and take advantage of this offer, please CLICK HERE.

Dancing with the Stars Show: Tristan MacManus, Henry Byalikov

Whoa! What a show, right? It was a cast of thousands in the studio last night with Tristan MacManus, Henry Byalikov, and Anna Trebunskaya at AfterBuzz TV. Thank you so much for all of your questions and to Grant for calling in.  You will see how much fun we had because we could not stop laughing throughout the show. What you didn't see was that Maria Menounos was with us before the show started. So, the photo up top proves she was in the building last night!

Me and Henry

We will be back next week with even more exciting guests...are you ready to hear who will be in our studio?

Guests: Peta Murgatroyd, Sean Lowe, and Victor Ortiz....and yes, Anna Trebunskaya will be back!

As always, put the questions and comments below for next week and spread the word about next week's show!

Thank you for your support!  We love you guys. xoxo

If you want to download the podcast, go here.

Me, Tristan, and Suri

AfterBuzz TV: Dancing with the Stars Guest Announcement, Week 3

We our bringing back one of our most popular guests this week. We had him on at the tail end of last season, so I hope you will all join us tomorrow night when DWTS troupe member Henry Byalikov stops on by. It's a great week to have him since there are four numbers this week including one with Demi Lovato.

Here are all of the details:

Where: AfterBuzz TV link

When: 9pm PT (Link will be up by Thursday morning if you miss the show. Check on my site for the show.)

Who: DWTS Troupe member Henry Byalikov

If you have any questions for Henry, please leave them below in the comments section. The comments section will be the ONLY place to submit official questions.  

See you tomorrow night!

If you missed Henry's appearance from Season 15, watch it here. 

UPDATED, April 3rd:  We have one additional guest joining us tonight for an epic episode of AfterBuzz TV's DWTS....our guest is...

Tristan MacManus