Stepping Out

I never watch Dancing with the Stars, but I felt I had to on Tuesday to support Helio Castroneves. He's a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 is the biggest thing in Indianapolis (literally, at 2.5 miles around). All good things that happen to our fair city stem from the 500 and residents need to support it to keep prosperity flowing.

Once when I was on holiday in Toronto, a store clerk asked me where I was from and when I said Indianapolis, he said, "Oh, you have a race too," referring to the Toronto Grand Prix. I replied, "We don't have a race, we have the race."

Helio did a smooth job his first time out, stylishly dancing the foxtrot with his partner, last season's professional winner, Julianne Hough. Helio is from Brazil. Does that give him an advantage with latin and ballroom dancing? The music was the theme from the 60's sitcom Bewitched, which I didn't even recognize because I never heard it performed with lyrics before.

The unexpected surprise was Jennie Garth's partner, Derek Hough. His hip and rear action were saucy and his outfit was tight and alluring. I'm sure some would appreciate his looks but I enjoyed more the pulchritude of the traits below the neck.

I'm hoping that besides the classic dance steps that the show's producers would consider using the Britney MTV video awards dancer routine. Apparently, stars can learn to rumba and tango, but a real test would be to have them do the Britney shuffle. You know, comedy is hard.

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Helio and Julianne: