Kristi Yamaguchi: Dancing with the Stars

By Jen | Sunday, April 13, 2008 | View Comments

I know some of my fellow 8Asians writers like America’s Next Dance Crew…I know “hip hop” is popular, and break dancing is much more sexier and grittier than ballroom dancing right now, but I’m going to still stick to my favorite TV dance show: Dancing with the Stars! How exciting, that Kristi Yamaguchi is on as a contestant this season.

I wanted to be just like Kristi when I was young, watching her win her gold medal on TV in 1991…and how, I want to be just like her again! She rocks it on the dance floor. The video clip above, is my favorite dance of hers so far, while she has trouble “shakin’ her booty” in rehearsal, she gets over her shyness and brings it on during the performance. Can I also say, dancing with Mark Ballas can’t be too difficult, either! He is a great teacher (getting her to loosen up, making her laugh) and the steps he creates for her are amazing to showcase her ability.

Kristi has been the highest scorer since Week 1 of the season (it is currently going onto Week 5 tomorrow). Co-contestant Jason, finally caught up with her in a tie last week, for a (in my opinion), a too-generous score that made him tie with Kristi this week. (And yes, I know he’s hot). The thing is, in order to win, the public has to vote for Kristi in order to win…which makes people think that a guy will most likely win every season because it is mainly women/gay men who watch the show and vote. Maksim, a pro-dancer from last season, has claimed publicly that a woman cannot win Dancing with the Stars because it is mainly women who vote, and as soon as a male contestant goes topless or shows some skin, it’s all over for the female contestants.

Can we help Kristi win this season? Let’s help support an Asian contestant on the show! Watch tomorrow evening and vote!

Vote for Kristi & Mark!

800-86834-11 (800-VOTE4-11) Text-in code 3411

Do you have trouble shaking your booty on the dance floor? With my ballet training, I admit I have a bit of trouble salsa dancing (but definitely doesn’t stop me from trying!!), but if you have trouble, or if you can definitely shake your thang, share!

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THE_BANANA_REPUBLIC

The teacher out-shines Kristi in the dance.
THE_BANANA_REPUBLIC

The teacher out-shines Kristi in the dance.
http://jenchang.blogspot.com jennifer

i give kristi a little more credit because she’s only been dancing ballroom for 2 months, and mark has been dancing all his life
http://jenchang.blogspot.com jennifer

i give kristi a little more credit because she’s only been dancing ballroom for 2 months, and mark has been dancing all his life
http://www.8asians.com/author/ancientone95131/ jeffat8asians

Penn Jilette joked that she was a cheater because she had danced all her life, only on ice to make it harder. There is some truth to that – she was a pairs junior champion along with Rudy Galindo – IMHO a huge advantage.

I like to root for Kristi because she is from Fremont, California like myself. I also appreciate that she gives back to where she came from with a foundation (http://www.alwaysdream.org/) that has donated to some Asian American causes, has Asian American board members, and is improving Fremont Central park, a place where I have put in a lot of mileage running.

I also remember that she used to do commercials for Union bank during the Japanese times on channel 26. There was some discussion in the past that she did not receive as many commercial endorsements as Nancy Kerrigan, even though she was the Olympic champion, because of her ethnicity.
ancient one

Penn Jilette joked that she was a cheater because she had danced all her life, only on ice to make it harder. There is some truth to that – she was a pairs junior champion along with Rudy Galindo – IMHO a huge advantage.

I like to root for Kristi because she is from Fremont, California like myself. I also appreciate that she gives back to where she came from with a foundation (http://www.alwaysdream.org/) that has donated to some Asian American causes, has Asian American board members, and is improving Fremont Central park, a place where I have put in a lot of mileage running.

I also remember that she used to do commercials for Union bank during the Japanese times on channel 26. There was some discussion in the past that she did not receive as many commercial endorsements as Nancy Kerrigan, even though she was the Olympic champion, because of her ethnicity.
http://jenchang.blogspot.com Jen

I learned to figure skate after 15+ years of dance training and found it VERY difficult and surprisingly little in common (figure skating requires much more brute strength and no turnout in skates). Body awareness, posture, position of arms, etc, (and discipline) are of course, related to dance training….but those are skills you can learn in tennis, football, and definitely, performing on a Broadway stage.

I struggled PLENTY while learning how to figure skate, it certainly wasn’t an easy thing for me to learn, even with my dance training. I do hope people realize how difficult Kristi is working, it gives credit to her work ethic she is doing well in the competition.

I have no doubt Kristi did not receive as many endorsement commercials as Nancy Kerrigan, but I think that’s a topic for another post
http://jenchang.blogspot.com Jen

I learned to figure skate after 15+ years of dance training and found it VERY difficult and surprisingly little in common (figure skating requires much more brute strength and no turnout in skates). Body awareness, posture, position of arms, etc, (and discipline) are of course, related to dance training….but those are skills you can learn in tennis, football, and definitely, performing on a Broadway stage.

I struggled PLENTY while learning how to figure skate, it certainly wasn’t an easy thing for me to learn, even with my dance training. I do hope people realize how difficult Kristi is working, it gives credit to her work ethic she is doing well in the competition.

I have no doubt Kristi did not receive as many endorsement commercials as Nancy Kerrigan, but I think that’s a topic for another post
http://www.8asians.com John

I think it is a no-brainer for Kristi to win – I mean, an Olympic Gold medalist has the physical coordination and skills that I assume match the skills needs to win a dance competition?

I always liked Kristi – great ice skater and quite cute, IMHO!
http://www.8asians.com John

I think it is a no-brainer for Kristi to win – I mean, an Olympic Gold medalist has the physical coordination and skills that I assume match the skills needs to win a dance competition?

I always liked Kristi – great ice skater and quite cute, IMHO!
http://www.8asians.com/author/ancientone95131/ jeffat8asians

Jen, if you had a hard time going from dance to ice, perhaps it was easier for her going the other way! In any case, I think that her experience of working with a partner is a very useful one in this competition. When I started learning salsa, one of the hardest things to get used to is working with a partner and having to lead. Kristi was already used to working with a partner to music – something the Apolo Ohno as a speed skater didn’t have.
ancient one

Jen, if you had a hard time going from dance to ice, perhaps it was easier for her going the other way! In any case, I think that her experience of working with a partner is a very useful one in this competition. When I started learning salsa, one of the hardest things to get used to is working with a partner and having to lead. Kristi was already used to working with a partner to music – something the Apolo Ohno as a speed skater didn’t have.
http://www.woodruffs.com Judy Woodruff

Ok – I’m new to this reality show voting thing but I’m not extremely stupid…or am I?

I can’t seem to be able to actually vote! My daughters are both Chinese Americans and are thrilled to see Kristi and I am thrilled too. I’ve tried the numbers above…last night I got the “the voting in your area is closed!” message and I can’t get the “vote online” interface to load on the ABC site. Can someone please help me, a well meaning voting dim bulb?

thank you!

Judy
http://www.woodruffs.com Judy Woodruff

Ok – I’m new to this reality show voting thing but I’m not extremely stupid…or am I?

I can’t seem to be able to actually vote! My daughters are both Chinese Americans and are thrilled to see Kristi and I am thrilled too. I’ve tried the numbers above…last night I got the “the voting in your area is closed!” message and I can’t get the “vote online” interface to load on the ABC site. Can someone please help me, a well meaning voting dim bulb?

thank you!

Judy
Phil

>something the Apolo Ohno as a speed skater didn’t have.

Nother thing was personality.
Phil

>something the Apolo Ohno as a speed skater didn’t have.

Nother thing was personality.
http://www.8asians.com/2008/11/09/kristi-yamaguchi-in-faces-of-influenza-public-service-announcement/ 8Asians.com » Kristi Yamaguchi in “Faces of Influenza” Public Service Announcement: An Asian American/Asian Canadian Blog

[...] of “Faces of Influenza” PSA’s. Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic Gold medalist and the most recent Dancing with the Stars winner, is the national spokesperson for this year’s American Lung Association Faces of Influenza [...]

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