Cloris Leachman: 'Light on Her Feet' Kirstie Alley Will Win 'Dancing'

Hollywood veteran Cloris Leachman is convinced Kirstie Alley will win this season's 'Dancing With the Stars,' telling me she's been pleasantly surprised at how graceful the full-figured actress has been.

"I was surprised how light she is on her feet," Cloris told me on the red carpet at the TV Land Awards on Sunday. "She's going to go much further than I went in the competition and I think she is going to win."

That's high praise from Cloris, who famously shimmied her then 82-year-old body to seventh place in the 2008 season. Three years later, the Oscar winner hasn't stopped dancing.

She glided up and down the red carpet several times before taking the stage to accept an award with her ''Facts of Life' cast, including Charlotte Rae, Geri Jewell, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields.

Busy Cloris is currently starring as Maw Maw in the FOX series 'Raising Hope' and admitted to me she only saw the first couple of episodes of this 'Dancing' season.

So while Cloris believes Kirstie has been graceful, she may change her tune after Monday's performance when the 'Cheers' star temporarily lost her shoe during a routine with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

"I'm not doing a sitcom," Alley told TV Squad after Monday's show. "I'm actually doing a dance show. I'm tired of having to recover. I would just like to do something right. I don't feel like I'm jinxed. I just need to get my [act] together. There's something going on. Our rehearsals are swell. We're bitchin' in rehearsals."

Source Rob Shuter

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Posted in Best Dress 2011 , Cloris Leachman , Dance , dance after age 60 , dance lessons , dance salsa , dance salsacircuit , Dancing With the Stars , Kirstie Alley

Dance Salsa For Great Exercise After Age 60

Dancing is a fun and easy way to exercise and stay in shape and salsa is one of the fastest dances but the nice thing about Salsa is it can be done without a partner. It is also a great way for baby boomers over age 60 to meet new people and get some great exercise.

Dancing is a fun and easy way to exercise and stay in shape and salsa is one of the fastest dances but the nice thing about Salsa is it can be done without a partner.  It is also a great way for baby boomers over age 60 to meet new people and get some great exercise.

Ballroom dancing has become popular again over the last few years and many people have turned to Salsa as an alternative.  The dance name “Salsa” supposedly originated in New York but the steps probably developed from a combination of folk dances in Latin and Afro-American countries. In Mexico, salsa is a dance of flirtation. The woman will encourage her partner to come closer and then push him away, all the while moving her hips.  As the dance progresses, more arm movements are introduced.  Eventually, the male will bring his partner into a full embrace as the woman teases and pushes him away once again.

Children in Mexico are often taught at a very young age to move to the Latin music. They learn the basic salsa steps easily.  The easy count of 1,2,3 pause, 5,6,7 pause in a back and forth or side to side motion is simple to pick up.  Because the music is fast and light, it makes people smile listening to it and before long the feet are moving even without knowing the steps.

Many dance studios now offer beginner salsa lessons.  They encourage single people of all ages to come out and just have fun learning the dance. Even countries without high Latin populations have caught onto the Latin beat. It takes awhile for North Americans to get used to the sexy hip movements. It is a smooth dance where the feet are kept on the floor, rather than a bouncy movement occurring.

There are many exercise benefits to the dance of salsa.  It doesn’t take long to get the heart rate up with the fast beat.  The arm movements quickly firm upper arms and the hip movements are great for slimming down the waist.  Posture is also an important part of the dance.

Many resort areas like Puerto Vallarta and Playa Del Carmen offer lessons for the tourists.  Just google dance lessons to see what is available. The final benefit to taking lessons is the laughter and camaraderie as people of all ages try to learn the steps.

Source: sgerle

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Posted in dance after age 60 , dance lessons , dance salsa , dance steps , exercise after age 60 , latin artists , salsacircuit