Why was the ABC show Dancing With the Stars, which pulled over 22.4 million viewers for its final episode, so popular?

Star power was one reason.

From suave thespian George Hamilton, long-legged pro wrestler Stacy Keibler, and soap opera actress Lisa Rinna to NFL great Jerry Rice, rap mogul Master P and the winner, entertainer Drew Lachey, the show’s celebrity quotient was high.

Pairing celebs to train and dance with world class ballroom dancers in front of a studio audience was a novel idea playing off the allure of competition and the reality show craze.

Another reason the program is a hit is audience interaction, as with American Idol. The show’s judges have a say, but audience votes via telephone were worth half of the votes.

Executive producer Conrad Green, quoted on ABC’s 20/20, identified yet another basis for the high ratings: “People love to see partner’s dancing.”

The surge in swing dancing since the ‘90s is proof that Green’s claim is true. Couples swirling, twirling and swinging in tandem to music reprises a duet as old as Adam and Eve.

The 2004 film Shall We Dance?, starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez added fuel to current dance vogue, and the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom (2005), which follows a group of New York City students as they compete for a dancing title, helped people across the nation become aware of this wonderful art. On April 7, 2006 New Line Cinema releases Take the Lead, a dramatization of the same story as the documentary, starring Alfre Woodard, and Antonio Banderas in the role of ballroom instructor and competitor Pierre Dulaine.

Perhaps parents witnessing their children dancing solo to today’s popular music released nostalgia for truly social dancing as with the ballroom and Latin American styles featured on Dancing With the Stars and the films above. This is true not just in the United States; the North American version of the series was based on the BBC’s international smash, Strictly Come Dancing.

(more…)

Tired of dead-end date nights? Is you sweetheart’s idea of an exciting Friday night date a pizza and watching satellite television? I’m not suggesting spending time at home alone together can’t be romantic. But, come on; let’s be honest. I doubt if having remnants of tomato sauce on the corners of one’s mouth or the sound of advertisements for deodorant in the background will lead to anything but a headache and indigestion.

If you’ve been married for awhile, it’s understandable that quite a few Friday nights might be spent going to the supermarket. But, let’s start concentrating on doing something more creative to unleash the “romantic” side of your relationship. If you don’t start putting some creative romantic ideas into the relationship, it could soon end up in the recycling bin.

From time to time, all of us need a few suggestions on how to “warm up” our love life. With the pressures of everyday life upon us, we need to reserve some special time with our sweetheart to promote good mental, physical and emotional well-being.

Do you want to surprise your sweetheart? Do you want to bring back those great Friday night dates you once had when you first met? Try writing a note designating the coming Friday as your “date” night. Leave it in their car before they go to work in the morning. In the note you tell them you have “reserved” this night to have dinner out in a nice restaurant (no take out). Cancellations are not aloud; no movies, no television. Drive somewhere safe and quiet (of course, this could be hard depending where you live) but make an attempt anyway. Just park the car and start holding hands. Try cuddling and start talking softly to each about intimate things. Don’t talk about work, the kids (if you have them) and all the other typical problems you share each and every day. Forget everything for the moment and go back to the time when you had your first date together, without the anxiety of course. Then, let “romance” take its course. Where it leads can certainly heat up any dwindling flame. Do it for your sweetheart. They’ll thank you for it many, many times.

(more…)

When your world is filled with many wonderful opportunities, it can feel difficult if you feel you must choose between them, and it’s equally rough if you have a hard time saying no to people. Yet saying yes to everything can lead to both over-commitment and resentment, which can erode your relationships, whether at work or home or in your community.

Many people feel the symptoms of this without realizing what, exactly, is going on. See if you recognize yourself in any of these symptoms:

- feeling conflicted in what you “should” do versus what you “want” to do,

- feeling exhausted,

- feeling guilty because you are afraid you are letting others down,

- not having enough time,

- feeling resentful, and

- feeling as if the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders.

If you have any of these feelings, it’s time to take your life back. It’s time to collect your personal energy and redistribute it according to your priorities. Take your power back from the invisible tyrannies of a material culture that says, “More-more, faster-faster is a better way of life.”

The solution is something we call “selfing,” neither selfish nor selfless, but the perfect balance between the two. Selfing is the skill of being true to yourself and making commitments to others only when it does not involve sacrifice. (In this context, sacrifice means doing something you don’t want to do because you fear what might happen if you don’t.

(more…)

Have you ever noticed how enthusiasm and affection between two people can dwindle as time goes on? Whether it’s a romance, friendship, or work relationship, sometimes the air goes right out of your sails, seemingly for no reason.

But usually, it’s not without cause. It’s most often due to the emotional cancer of resentment. However mild or intense, resentment can erode a relationship. Because it is so subtle in the beginning, you hardly notice as it slowly destroys intimacy and trust and, finally, love.

What causes the cancer to spread? It’s sacrifice, doing something for someone else that you don’t really want to do, which is driven by the fear of what will happen if you don’t do it.

In general, our culture confuses sacrifice with love, teaching us the virtue of loving others more than ourselves. So we attempt to demonstrate or prove love with sacrifice, and we get upset or feel unloved if others won’t sacrifice for us. Yet sacrifice is a wheel that crushes everyone who gets on it. It goes like this:

1. When you sacrifice (do something you don’t really want to do for fear of what will happen if you don’t) you have …

2. An unspoken expectation (e.g., they will sacrifice for you later or regard you in a particular way or love you more) that creates hidden agendas, but, you get …

(more…)

Can you say “I love you” too many times? Well, if you don’t really mean it of course you can. Or maybe it’s the unimaginative ways we express it that compel us to stop using the words “I love you” altogether.

Love is not just an emotion or feeling. Love is something we must see with our eyes, not just feel with our heart. In order to keep the word love from being common place we must keep it alive with the things we do for that special person in our life. Be it a soft burning, sweet smelling candle lighting a dark room with a delicious dinner for two on the table, and the soothing sound of music in the background; surprising your sweetheart with something romantic is a great way of showing them how much you love and care for them.

Too many times we think it is enough just to say “I love you” to our sweetheart. We are then off the hook to really work at keeping the relationship fresh and exciting. If you are clueless as what would put the “sparkle” back in your relationship, try a few if these simple things:

Give your sweetheart a wonderful back rub, gently telling them to relax and unwind from their day at work or with the kids, etc. While you are both relaxed, this is a good time to tell them you love them and that they mean the world to you. When you take the time to give them your time and attention without expecting something in return, this makes the word “love” more meaningful.

(more…)