Latest news with #DancingWiththeStars'
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Tom Bergeron on a possible ‘DWTS' return ahead of new shark show
Under the sea. Former 'Dancing With the Stars' host Tom Bergeron, 70, hosts a Shark Week special called 'Dancing With Sharks.' 'I had two reactions,' Bergeron, 70, exclusively told The Post. Advertisement 6 Tom Bergeron on 'Dancing With Sharks.' tombergeron/Instagram 'The first one was, 'What are you smoking?' And the second one was 'Where do I sign?' It was just too much fun an idea to pass up. Plus, as an added incentive, they gave me a little trip to the Bahamas.' He quipped, 'Some of these sharks danced better than some of the humans in the 15 years that I watched couples [on 'Dancing With the Stars']. Sharks don't have stage fright.' Advertisement Airing Sunday, July 20 (8 p.m. ET on Discovery), 'Dancing With Sharks' follows five shark experts as they dance underwater, surrounded by sharks, as Bergeron and a panel of judges (including Allison Holker and comedian Pete Holmes) offer commentary. The Emmy-winning TV host, who also helmed 'Hollywood Squares' from 1998 to 2004 and 'America's Funniest Home Videos' from 2001 to 2015, hosted 'Dancing With the Stars' from 2005 until he was fired from the ABC show in 2020. He was later replaced by Tyra Banks, who hosted just three seasons before her exit. 6 Contestant Jamie Ferguson interacting with a shark in a scene from 'Dancing with Sharks.' AP Advertisement 'I miss the people,' Bergeron said, but he explained that his contract would have taken him to Season 30, 'at which point, I was going to leave on my own timing. So, I only missed two seasons by being fired.' He added, 'Those two seasons, which would have been my final two, all occurred during the pandemic. And I would have hated that, because everything that I loved about the show — the camaraderie, throwing a party for everybody mid-season, hanging out together. You couldn't do any of that.' Looking back on his firing, Bergeron said, 'In hindsight, they kind of did me a favor.' 6 Tom Bergeron on 'Dancing With Sharks.' tombergeron/Instagram Advertisement 6 Tom Bergeron, Tonya Harding, and Sasha Farber on 'Dancing with Sharks.' ABC He added, 'I was able to go out doing the show the way I always did the show. And on that last show. Len [Goodman] and Bruno [Tonioli], Carrie Ann [Inaba] and I had a great time. I have great memories of wrapping it up that way.' Bergeron recalled that he recently had lunch with original 'Dancing with the Stars' showrunner Conrad Green, who is back in that role and is 'the reason the show has righted itself.' On whether he'd ever return, he told The Post: 'At lunch with Conrad, I offered a way that I'd feel comfortable going back for one night. I said, 'I'm not even going to charge you a lot of money. You pay me scale, and then you make a generous contribution to the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and I'll be there.'' 6 Janelle Van Ruiten interacting with a shark in a scene from 'Dancing with Sharks.' AP 6 Tom Bergeron on a 2018 episode of 'Dancing With the Stars.' ABC 'So we'll see. The mirrorball is in their court,' he continued. For now, Bergeron has a newfound interest in sharks. Advertisement 'Don't tell my wife, but now I'm intrigued about at least getting in one of the cages and going underwater and getting up close [with sharks],' he teased. 'The people I've met doing this show have really allayed some of my concerns about doing something like that.' However, he joked, 'It might result in a divorce.'
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Discovery 'Shark Week' has breaching great whites, looks back at 'Jaws' and starts with some dancing
NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years ago, 'Jaws' unlocked dread in millions about man-eating sharks. This summer, that fear may be somewhat reduced as they become contestants on a TV dance show. Former 'Dancing With the Stars' host Tom Bergeron steps up for a marketing masterstroke by Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week' — 'Dancing with Sharks,' where humans and 20-foot-long hammerhead sharks do a little mambo. 'I had a decade and a half experience of hosting a dance show, but this one was different,' Bergeron tells The Associated Press. 'I'd often thought on 'Dancing With the Stars,' wouldn't it be great if we could incorporate another species? And here I've finally got my dream come true.' In the show, five scuba-diving shark handlers use bait to twirl and guide various sharks into mini-waltzes, in what's being billed as 'the world's most dangerous dance competition.' One contestant wraps his arms around a nerf shark and spoons it. Another takes off her air tank and does a double backflip. A third — a hip-hop loving shark handler — does an old school head spin on the ocean floor as sharks swirl. 'These are some of the best shark handlers in the world. These are people who know the nuances of sharks, know how they move, know how to behave, know how to safely move with them, and they're guiding these sharks along as you would a partner,' says Kinga Philipps, a TV correspondent and one of the three judges. 'It is so fluid and beautiful, all they really had to do is put a little bit of music to it and they're actually dancing.' It's a shark-a-thon 'Dancing with Sharks' kicks off the week of programing, which includes shows on how to survive a shark attack, why New Smyrna Beach in Florida has earned the title of 'The Shark Attack Capital of the World' and whether a mysterious dark-skinned shark off the coast of California is a mako, mutant or possibly a mako-and-great white hybrid. The seven nights of new shows — and a related podcast — ends off the Mozambique coast with a once-a-year feeding frenzy that turns into a showdown between the sharks and their massive prey, the giant trevally. One highlight is Paul de Gelder's 'How to Survive a Shark Attack,' which he has intimate knowledge about. He lost his right hand and leg in 2009 during an attack by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. 'If you're in the jaws of a shark, you want to fight for all of your life. You want to go for the soft parts. You want go for the eyeball. You want to go for the gills,' he says. 'But if you're not being attacked by a shark and you're just encountering a shark, then you just want to remain calm.' De Gelder debunks one myth: Punching a charging shark will stop its attack. 'If you really want to hurt your own hand, go ahead,' he says. A better approach is to not thrash about and gently redirect the animal. 'The secret I got taught many years ago was don't act like food and they won't treat you like food.' 'Shark Week' has become a key part of the summer holiday TV schedule, a place where humans safe on land can see ancient apex predators unnervingly glide into view and snap open their jaws. This year's highlights also include the hunt for a 20-foot great white that can leap into the air — 'Air Jaws: The Hunt for Colossus' — and a show about male and female great whites competing in a series of challenges to determine which sex is the superior predator, naturally called 'Great White Sex Battle.' Joseph Schneier, senior vice president of production and development at Discovery, says the shows are born from listening to what the diving and science community is seeing, like pro divers moving artistically with the sharks as they fed them, leading to 'Dancing With Sharks.' 'We realized, well, there's something here that we can go further with,' he says. 'We're lucky that sharks continue to surprise us. Which helps us get kind of new stories and new things to focus on. That's been the mantra for us — the sharks are the stars, not the humans.' As always, there is a deep respect for the creatures and strong science beneath the amusing titles, sharky puns, dramatic music and racy titles like 'Frankenshark' and 'Alien Sharks: Death Down Under.' 'It's like putting your vegetables in a dessert,' says Bergeron. 'You get all the allure of a 'Dancing With Sharks' or other specific shows, but in the midst of that you do learn a lot about sharks and ecology and the importance of sharks in the ecosystem. It's all in your strawberry sundae.' Discovery's 'Shark Week' has a rival — National Geographic's 'SharkFest,' which also has hours of sharky content. There's also the unconnected shark horror comedy 'Hot Spring Shark Attack' and a movie earlier this summer that added a serial killer to a shark movie — 'Dangerous Animals.' Born from 'Jaws' 'Shark Week' was born as a counterpoint for those who developed a fear of sharks after seeing 'Jaws.' It has emerged as a destination for scientists eager to protect an animal older than trees. ''Jaws' helped introduce this country and this world to a predator we're all fascinated with,' says Schneier. 'But we also feel 'Jaws' went too far. These are not creatures that are out to hurt humans by any means, but they have had 50-plus million years of evolution to get to this place where they are just excellent predators. It's fun to celebrate just how good they are at their job.' Kendyl Berna, who co-founded the ecology group Beyond the Reef, and is a veteran on 'Shark Week,' says studying the ancient beasts can teach humans about changes to the planet. 'So much of the programming this year speaks to what's happening with the rest of the world — climate change and how much that affects where sharks are and when they're there and what they're eating,' she says. 'As a keystone apex predator, sharks do set the tone for what's happening.' Bergeron says being a part of 'Shark Week' for the first time and meeting some of the divers who interact with sharks has actually made him braver. 'I don't think I'm at a point where I could go down there with them and have the sharks swirling around me without a cage. But with a cage, I think I am ready to do that,' he says. 'Just don't tell my wife.'
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Discovery ‘Shark Week' has breaching great whites, looks back at ‘Jaws' and starts with some dancing
NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years ago, 'Jaws' unlocked dread in millions about man-eating sharks. This summer, that fear may be somewhat reduced as they become contestants on a TV dance show. Former 'Dancing With the Stars' host Tom Bergeron steps up for a marketing masterstroke by Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week' — 'Dancing with Sharks,' where humans and 20-foot-long hammerhead sharks do a little mambo. 'I had a decade and a half experience of hosting a dance show, but this one was different,' Bergeron tells The Associated Press. 'I'd often thought on 'Dancing With the Stars,' wouldn't it be great if we could incorporate another species? And here I've finally got my dream come true.' In the show, five scuba-diving shark handlers use bait to twirl and guide various sharks into mini-waltzes, in what's being billed as 'the world's most dangerous dance competition.' One contestant wraps his arms around a nerf shark and spoons it. Another takes off her air tank and does a double backflip. A third — a hip-hop loving shark handler — does an old school head spin on the ocean floor as sharks swirl. 'These are some of the best shark handlers in the world. These are people who know the nuances of sharks, know how they move, know how to behave, know how to safely move with them, and they're guiding these sharks along as you would a partner,' says Kinga Philipps, a TV correspondent and one of the three judges. 'It is so fluid and beautiful, all they really had to do is put a little bit of music to it and they're actually dancing.' It's a shark-a-thon 'Dancing with Sharks' kicks off the week of programing, which includes shows on how to survive a shark attack, why New Smyrna Beach in Florida has earned the title of 'The Shark Attack Capital of the World' and whether a mysterious dark-skinned shark off the coast of California is a mako, mutant or possibly a mako-and-great white hybrid. The seven nights of new shows — and a related podcast — ends off the Mozambique coast with a once-a-year feeding frenzy that turns into a showdown between the sharks and their massive prey, the giant trevally. One highlight is Paul de Gelder's 'How to Survive a Shark Attack,' which he has intimate knowledge about. He lost his right hand and leg in 2009 during an attack by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. 'If you're in the jaws of a shark, you want to fight for all of your life. You want to go for the soft parts. You want go for the eyeball. You want to go for the gills,' he says. 'But if you're not being attacked by a shark and you're just encountering a shark, then you just want to remain calm.' De Gelder debunks one myth: Punching a charging shark will stop its attack. 'If you really want to hurt your own hand, go ahead,' he says. A better approach is to not thrash about and gently redirect the animal. 'The secret I got taught many years ago was don't act like food and they won't treat you like food.' 'Shark Week' has become a key part of the summer holiday TV schedule, a place where humans safe on land can see ancient apex predators unnervingly glide into view and snap open their jaws. This year's highlights also include the hunt for a 20-foot great white that can leap into the air — 'Air Jaws: The Hunt for Colossus' — and a show about male and female great whites competing in a series of challenges to determine which sex is the superior predator, naturally called 'Great White Sex Battle.' Joseph Schneier, senior vice president of production and development at Discovery, says the shows are born from listening to what the diving and science community is seeing, like pro divers moving artistically with the sharks as they fed them, leading to 'Dancing With Sharks.' 'We realized, well, there's something here that we can go further with,' he says. 'We're lucky that sharks continue to surprise us. Which helps us get kind of new stories and new things to focus on. That's been the mantra for us — the sharks are the stars, not the humans.' As always, there is a deep respect for the creatures and strong science beneath the amusing titles, sharky puns, dramatic music and racy titles like 'Frankenshark' and 'Alien Sharks: Death Down Under.' 'It's like putting your vegetables in a dessert,' says Bergeron. 'You get all the allure of a 'Dancing With Sharks' or other specific shows, but in the midst of that you do learn a lot about sharks and ecology and the importance of sharks in the ecosystem. It's all in your strawberry sundae.' Discovery's 'Shark Week' has a rival — National Geographic's 'SharkFest,' which also has hours of sharky content. There's also the unconnected shark horror comedy 'Hot Spring Shark Attack' and a movie earlier this summer that added a serial killer to a shark movie — 'Dangerous Animals.' Born from 'Jaws' 'Shark Week' was born as a counterpoint for those who developed a fear of sharks after seeing 'Jaws.' It has emerged as a destination for scientists eager to protect an animal older than trees. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. ''Jaws' helped introduce this country and this world to a predator we're all fascinated with,' says Schneier. 'But we also feel 'Jaws' went too far. These are not creatures that are out to hurt humans by any means, but they have had 50-plus million years of evolution to get to this place where they are just excellent predators. It's fun to celebrate just how good they are at their job.' Kendyl Berna, who co-founded the ecology group Beyond the Reef, and is a veteran on 'Shark Week,' says studying the ancient beasts can teach humans about changes to the planet. 'So much of the programming this year speaks to what's happening with the rest of the world — climate change and how much that affects where sharks are and when they're there and what they're eating,' she says. 'As a keystone apex predator, sharks do set the tone for what's happening.' Bergeron says being a part of 'Shark Week' for the first time and meeting some of the divers who interact with sharks has actually made him braver. 'I don't think I'm at a point where I could go down there with them and have the sharks swirling around me without a cage. But with a cage, I think I am ready to do that,' he says. 'Just don't tell my wife.'
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Dance world mourns Dave Scott, beloved choreographer for ‘dancing with the stars' and ‘so you think you can dance,' dead at 52
The global dance community is in mourning following the death of David Lee Scott Jr., known to millions as Dave Scott , a pioneering choreographer and creative force behind some of television's most iconic dance moments. Scott, who served as choreographer in residence for ' Dancing With the Stars ' season 8 and contributed to ' So You Think You Can Dance ' from its third season onward, died at age 52, his family announced this week. Scott's family shared the news on Instagram , writing, 'Today we have lost an icon, a legend, a father and a dear friend. The weight of this loss will send ripples through time. But his memory and legacy will continue to live on.' The family encouraged fans and colleagues to share memories and support, inviting donations to help with memorial arrangements and to celebrate Scott's life in a fitting tribute. Tributes have poured in from across the entertainment industry. 'Dancing With the Stars' professionals Derek Hough and Edyta Sliwinska expressed their heartbreak, while 'So You Think You Can Dance' choreographer Mia Michaels wrote, 'My Dave. I love you forever. You will never be forgotten.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now ' Glee ' star Harry Shum Jr. recalled, 'You gave me so much confidence as a performer and welcomed me with open arms to your dance world that many were inspired by. Thank you for spreading so much joy with your love of dance. May you rest in peace, brother Dave.' Fellow 'Glee' alum Kevin McHale described Scott as 'like a big brother to so many of us… Watching him dance and teach was a gift'. Comfort Fedoke, a 'So You Think You Can Dance' alum, posted a moving tribute referencing the season 4 routine 'Forever,' which she danced with the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss—another star lost too soon. 'His work moved me before I ever met him… Forever in my spirit. Forever thankful for your talent and our bond. Forever in our hearts,' she wrote. Live Events Scott's influence extended far beyond television. He was celebrated for his choreography in films such as 'Stomp the Yard,' 'Step Up 2: The Streets,' and 'Step Up 3D.' Renowned dancer and director Debbie Allen described him as 'one of the most gifted and influential choreographers and creative directors in the Film, Television, and Hip Hop worlds… His light, laughter, and legacy will forever live in our hearts. We will always speak his name.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Peta Murgatroyd Is Most Likely Done Having Kids With Husband Maks Chmerokovskiy: ‘I Would Feel Guilty'
Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd has a feeling her family is complete. Although her husband, fellow DWTS pro Maksim Chmerokovskiy, told Us Weekly he would love to be a 'girl dad' one day, Murgatroyd, 38, said she 'would feel guilty' if she welcomed another baby into their world, which includes sons Shai, 8, Rio, nearly 2, and Milan, 11 months. 'I think it's fair to say [I'm done], yeah,' Murgatroyd told Us Weekly while promoting her self-tanning line Peta Jane Beauty. 'I think my body, just doing the back-to-back with the two babies, it was a lot — not just physically, but mentally.' Murgatroyd has been open about her struggles with infertility after welcoming Shai in 2017, revealing in 2022 that she suffered three miscarriages over two years. After IVF treatments, they welcomed Rio in June 2023 and then surprisingly got pregnant four months later. They welcomed Milan in July 2024. Peta Murgatroyd Wants to Return as a Pro for 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 34: 'Ready to Go Back' 'I want to be able to give my all to my children and I feel like, right now, I'm struggling to do that with three,' Murgatroyd shared. 'I don't know how to cut myself into three pieces and give it all to them like I did for Shai for six years. He was by himself with us and he got everything of us, and I almost feel guilty that now I've got two younger ones and I need to split my time with everybody and they're not getting what I gave Shai. You know, it's just physically impossible. It just cannot happen that way. Shai was an only child for six years, so he got a lot of us and if I had one more, I would feel guilty that I'm just not being a good enough mom to them all.' Murgatroyd added that her youngest sons 'want to be held' all the time and need her undivided attention at this stage — so, she definitely feels outnumbered. 'And now Rio, my middle child, only wants me to hold him,' she added. 'If I'm in the room, it's only me. So we're trying to just slowly massage this out of him a little bit [because] I have to go to work, I have to drop Shai at school. Like today, he's crying in the morning because I have to leave to drop Shai to school. It's just, it's how it is. I can't be everywhere at once.' The pro dancer, who told Us she'd love to return to DWTS next season if she's asked back, also admitted that Shai definitely noticed a shift in her and Chmerkovskiy's availability after they expanded their brood. 'He's a really sensitive child so he definitely feels everything and does feel, I don't want to say the loss of me, but having me solely on him for six years. I think that he did really feel that, especially when Milan was born. Having three and having to adjust to a 1-year-old and then a fresh newborn baby that I was up all night with, as well. It was really tough on him in the beginning, and now it's much easier. I think now he definitely understands more,' Muragtroyd explained. 'Like, last night, he was saying to me, 'OK Mommy, you know, can you watch this movie with me?' And I said, 'Yes, but you know, I have to go up, put Rio to sleep, then give Milan the bottle, put him to bed and then I'm all yours.' I tell him everything. I'm not going to hide it or sugar coat it. I say what I have to do as a parent, as a mom, because they are so young. I said to him, 'You know, I did all of this with you, baby, all of it. You just have to remember, I have two more now.'' Although life as a working mom of three is chaotic at times, Murgatroyd remains grateful for her family, especially in light of all she went through to get pregnant again. 'When I think back to the pain, the angst, the anger of not being able to keep a baby,' she began, pausing before adding, 'It's funny, I could get pregnant very easily but I kept losing the babies and it was a tragic circumstance because I really thought that I was going to be having one child for the rest of my life and I had to be OK with that. And now that I do have three and it is utter chaos, Maks and I have to find time to be together and we've really had to sit down and say, 'I miss you.' [And], 'I miss you too.' Let's really just connect and make sure that we're seeing each other properly, communicating properly and making sure we're really trying to carve out time for each other.'' Murgatroyd's former DWTS celebrity partner Nick Viall recently shared how she helped him and his wife, Natalie Joy, cope with their recent pregnancy losses — explaining on his podcast 'The Viall Files' last month that they randomly bumped into her at a CVS while Joy was 'actively miscarrying.' 'I really didn't know what to say to Natalie in that moment,' Viall explained as Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy, 45, were guests on the episode. 'But Peta came out to the parking lot to console Natalie and shared some really sentimental things and, honestly, it was a huge help to both of us.' 'It was such a serendipitous moment,' Murgatroyd told Us about the encounter. 'In those moments of loss, nothing anybody could really say to me was helpful. You just feel so alone. You just want it to happen again. You just want to be pregnant again. And when they say, 'Wait, it's OK, you've got time.' It even made me more anxious, more annoyed, more 'I haven't got time.' So I just sat there with her and held her hand and just said, 'Look, nothing I can really say is going to make it better, but just know that you will be pregnant again. You will be, I don't know when but you need to just keep the faith and keep believing that you'll be pregnant and it will happen.' And that's it. Obviously, we talked through other things but I'm not going to say to her, don't cry and all this stuff. I was like, 'No, cry as much as you want. Sit in bed as much as you want. Just let it all out and just do whatever you need to do.'' She continued, 'I had people saying, 'Come on, it's OK. Get up. Don't be in bed all day.' And it was like, 'No, let me grieve how I want to grieve. I am so upset right now.' So it was a great moment and I'm just happy that I could have been there for her.' Pregnant Peta Murgatroyd 'Never Thought This Day at 39 Weeks' Would Arrive After Fertility Struggles In addition to motherhood, Murgatroyd is busy running her company Peta Jane Beauty, an award-winning self-tanning brand, and hopes to be back in the ballroom. Even though she knows it will be hard to teach a celebrity partner to dance and raise three young children at home, she also knows that a mother who feels fulfilled is a better parent all around. 'I've always been an advocate of that, ever since Shai was born,' she said. 'Some people were like, 'Why would you go back [to DWTS]? Why would you leave your son?' And I've always been the person to be like, 'Wait a second. I'm not going 12 hours a day. I'm going four or five hours a day and coming back as a better mom.' Because I have had that outlet to be myself, to have the time away for a second, then come back and I am fully refreshed. I cannot wait to be there. I cannot wait to snuggle them, feed them, bathe them and do all the things [that come with] being a mother. I think that's partially the reason why I never had [postpartum depression] is because I always went back to work after my first, after my second. And I think it helped. It helped me mentally, absolutely.'
