Entertainment

These Two Want to Dance with Stars

by Kenya Foy

This is something that's grated my nerves with Dancing With the Stars for a while now and I'll probably get a lot of flack for it but here goes: I'd really rather not see any more professionally trained dancers appear on this show as contestants. So, it is with slight annoyance that I broach news of Olympic ice skating darlings Meryl Davis and Charlie White wanting to compete on DWTS .

I get it, really, I do. Their appeal is irresistible. They're obviously super talented and dedicated athletes. Davis looks like a Disney princess and the couple's undeniable, infectious chemistry leaves us feeling all squishy inside, kind of what the sensation of a twizzle must be like. They have the entirety of America eating out of the palm of their pretty little hands.

But... they're dancers. Gold-medal winning ice dancers at that. As lovely a couple as they may be, please let's not forget the emphasis on the word dancers. It may not be traditional dancing, which generally doesn't require one to balance on a blade while sliding across a frozen surface. But they still have professional training, some of which came from DWTS coach Derek Hough, who choreographed one of their Olympic routines.

So yeah... no.

To be fair, there have been other trained dancers who appeared on the show, like singer Mýa, Spice Girls' Mel B and Joey Fatone, who despite being very acquainted with choreography beforehand, still didn't take home the trophy. So no, prior dance experience doesn't necessarily guarantee a win. It just takes some of the fun out of it.

In 2010, Pussy Cat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger beat out an Olympic gold medal ice skater. I love her to pieces but who didn't see that win coming from a mile away? Sure, viewers would rather not suffer through an hour or longer of performances that only feature contestants with two left feet. But what intrigues me most about the show is watching people who aren't necessarily associated with their ability to bust a move develop into awesome dancers, like season 11's runner-up Disney star Kyle Massey, who lost to actress Jennifer Grey (also a professionally trained dancer). If Davis and White join the show, they would be in the company of fellow ice skating Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, who won the show with Mark Ballas in 2008. The major difference is they'd be competing against one another which I suppose would offer a refreshing perspective, seeing as how we've grown accustomed to seeing them joined at the hip.In the end, I totally get that the show's mostly about the comeback for some celebrities, where for others it's strictly about their appeal, but seeing a star who's already known for dancing take part in a dancing competition just makes the show appear a little dim.