Hello to all of you,

            As promised in last week's editorial, here's the update on our VIP night at "Dancing with the Stars". Our morning started out with deciding what to wear. We knew we had to wear suits, but what shirt and what tie...decisions, decisions. Anyway, we donned our best formal attire and hit the road to the CBS studios.  With VIP check-in at 3:30, we arrived in L.A. at 1:30, leaving us time to grab a bite to eat. We decided on The Ivy, a quaint restaurant on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills. Since the weather was so nice we opted for the outside patio. Paparazzi lingered outside, waiting to catch the stars entering and exiting this celebrity hotspot. The service was swift. Mike ordered the whitefish and I had the grilled vegetable salad with chicken (I'm not much for warm salads but this was salad was incredible). On a scale of one to ten, the meal and service was a ten.

            After lunch, we were off to the studio. Pulling up to the gates, we where handed our lot pass and directions to the set of the show. Excitement continued to build. We walked up to the VIP entrance where we eventually checked in. Our Cover Girl of talk magazine three weeks ago, Kym Johnson included us on her VIP list.  We were then moved into the line for “the zone".  Later we realized this was the term for center stage. Sitting only three narrow rows up from the dance floor we had the perfect view of the entire show. It was such an awesome feeling to be on a stage with so much talent- not just the dancers and stars of the show, but the Hollywood celebrities in the audience.

            It was about twenty minutes until the live broadcast to the East Coast began. The audience warm up guy started giving direction to the different areas of the stage, left side, right side and the zone. Most of the applauding and screaming had to come from the zone, so of course he had to make us do warm ups. With ten seconds to show time, the excitement had built up to such a climax that the placed roared with applause, whistling and yelling as the show aired.

            It was awesome to be a part of a live audience on a show of this caliber. As the dancers and stars came out one by one, the audience got louder and louder as their favorites were introduced.   Each couple then danced their way through the competition with the audience freely expressing their criticisms of the individual scores presented by the judges. Finally the moment TALK had been waiting for, Kym Johnson and Warren Sapp took the stage (after all, she was our cover so we had to root her on). Their performance was unbelievable. Being the big stocky football player he is, that Warren Sapp could really move! Kym and Warren received the highest score of the night. YAY! We were actually sitting next to Kym's agent and his partner. As the competition came to the end, the regular audience was excused, and the doors were opened to the press.  Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, TV Guide, People Magazine, Inside Edition, ABC News and yes, even Talk Magazine surrounded the stars in the press line. We talked briefly with Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, Cloris Leachmen, Warren Sapp, Kym Johnson, Toni Braxton and Scary Spice. Be sure to check out the photo pages for pictures of all the stars.

            I have to say this was, by far, one of the most fun and exciting events we have covered thus far. Everyone at CBS studios (which is where the ABC program is filmed)  made us feel truly comfortable and welcome. The press line was insane all these big name reporters and correspondents from their respectable TV stations, and there we where- Talk Magazine. We loved it!

            Following the show it was off to dinner we went to a very quaint restaurant on Sunset Blvd where Mike and I discussed the show and how wonderful the night had been. It was then back to the desert.

            We at TALK would like to once again send thanks to Jack Ketsoyan and Bowery Media for their continued support and cooperation.  Thanks also to you readers, whose constant loyalty and interest is allows us to bring you coverage of such great events as "Dancing with the Stars".

            Thanks for all of your support,

Michael A. Gallardo

Editor in Chief

michaelgallardo@talkpublications.com