Page 31 - atoday oct 1

PEOPLE & ARTS A31
‘Dancing with the Stars’ requires grit, pain tolerance
LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
“Dancing with the Stars”
brings to mind words and
phrases including “waltz,”
‘’paso doble” and “that’s
a star?”
Then there’s this one:
“Ouch.”
There have been so many
injuries and health woes
over so many seasons of
ABC’s dance contest that it
could be renamed “Triage
with the Stars.” Even Olym-
pians have been felled by
the seriously grueling de-
mands of competitive ball-
room dancing.
This season’s first casualty
was Kim Zolciak Biermann
of “Real Housewives of At-
lanta” fame, whose crisis
came off the dance floor.
She was flying home from
Los Angeles after work-
ing on the show last week
when she suffered a so-
called mini-stroke that put
her in the hospital. She
helpfully posted a sickbed
snapshot.
Zolciak Biermann has re-
ported a full recovery but
was dropped under series’
rules because she missed a
performance. She’s cam-
paigning to get back on
the series airing 8 p.m. EDT
Monday, proof of its addic-
Mobile ticket app TodayTix broadens its American reach
MARK KENNEDY
AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — TodayTix,
the mobile app for theater
tickets, has already gotten
applause in New York and
London. Now it plans to
open in some key U.S. cities,
as part of what its founders
say is a “pretty aggressive
roadmap over the next
couple of years.”
Founders Merritt Baer and
Brian Fenty on Tuesday
rolled out the app to San
Francisco and Los Ange-
les, and hope to move
into Washington, D.C., and
Chicago by the end of the
year.
“We’re really excited to be
rolling out to these four cit- younger than the average
ies because they represent
the second and third larg-
est theatrical cities in Amer- pick up their tickets at the
In this Sept. 22, 2015 photo released by ABC, Tony Dovolani, left, and Kim Zolciak Biermann per-
form on the celebrity dance competition series, “Dancing with the Stars,” in Los Angeles.
tive nature.
There’s more than bragging
rights at stake. “Dancing
with the Stars” has helped
contestants rev up their
careers and even reshape
their images, as happened
when Jerry Springer, the
king of rowdy TV talk shows,
waltzed his way to a more
lovable public persona.
But the earliest years of
the show seemed to carry
less risk, with scant physical er. As a testament to their
ica alongside two major
theatrical landmark cities,”
Baer said.
The free app for Apple and
Android phones lets users
see all the various shows
being offered up to one
week in advance, select
a seat, pay the best price
available at the time and
then receive proof of the
ticket purchase — all in less
than a minute.
TodayTix searches for the
best prices — whether it’s a
steep discount or full price
for a hit show — and passes
them along, with a $5 con-
venience fee. It has some
650,000 users; the typical
user is 32 years old, 12 years ies, great deals during pre-
Broadway theatergoer.
Ticket buyers can either
fallout on the books. Is the
quest for the mirror ball tro- of the 200-plus contestants
phy becoming more com-
petitive? Or are American
celebrities, along with the
rest of America, becom-
ing less fit? Nah, impossible, season five, citing winded-
with zero still the preferred
dress size in Hollywood.
Here’s a tally of the more
seriously afflicted since the
show’s 2005 debut, includ-
ing one professional danc-
box offices that have part-
nered with TodayTix or be
greeted outside the the-
ater by a TodayTix repre-
sentative wearing in a red
T-shirt or sweatshirt. The so- growth plans,” Fenty said. lowing since independent
called concierge service
costs another $5.
The app launched in 2013
and has tickets available
for 40 Broadway and off-
Broadway shows in New
York City and, three months
after launching in London,
has more than 40 shows
in the West End. The com-
pany said it accounts for 10
percent of ticket sales on
Broadway and also gives
users access to ticket lotter-
views and even inaugurat-
ed the first barcode-read
mobile tickets in London.
“We have very ambitious
Thursday 1 October 2015
Misty May-Treanor leaves
the show in season seven
after tearing her Achilles
Associated Press tendon in rehearsal.
— Former House Majority
dedication, only a handful Leader Tom DeLay drops
out of season nine because
to date have withdrawn of foot problems.
because of health prob- — Jewel (tibia fractures
lems. in both legs) and Nancy
— Marie Osmond faints in O’Dell (a torn meniscus) fail
to make it out of rehearsals
ness from air pollution. in season eight.
— Cristian de la Fuente suf- — Pro dancer Kym Johnson
fers a bicep tendon rupture hurts her neck during sea-
in season six, refuses surgery son 12 rehearsal but ends
and dances on. up a winner with partner
— Two-time Olympic beach Hines Ward.
volleyball gold medalist — Melissa Gilbert gets a
mild concussion and whip-
lash in season 14 after hit-
ting her head on the dance
floor.
— Lisa Vanderpump of
“Real Housewives of Bev-
erly Hills” faints during re-
hearsal in season 16, blam-
ing fatigue, possible flu.
— Olympic figure skating
gold medalist Dorothy Ha-
mill is another season 16
casualty, withdrawing from
the show because of pre-
existing health conditions.
— Bill Nye, aka The Science
Guy, suffers a leg injury in
season 17, then gamely
dances wearing a brace.
— Billy Dee Williams drops
out of season 18 because
of chronic back pain.q
This undated image provided by TodayTix shows company co-
founders Merritt Baer, left, and Brian Fenty.
Associated Press
“We really do think the sky surveys have found that
is the limit in terms of where half of Broadway tickets
we can take this technol- are bought within a week
ogy — across the country of the performance and
and globally.” some 47 percent of people
The app has found a fol- buy their tickets online.q