Dance Your Ass Off

- Season 1

(2009)

Host Marissa Jaret Winokur goes behind the scenes in the search for the twelve contestants who will compete in the inaugural season of the show. The top thirty applicants, who provide a bit of their background and their reasons for wanting to appear on the show, are brought to Hollywood for the final audition to narrow it down to the top twelve. Head choreographer Lisa Ligon goes through a dance routine with each to assess basic dance skills. Marissa introduces the three judges for the season and explains the scoring for the show, before she announces the twelve finalists chosen by choreographer ...

The twelve contestants arrive at the house where they will live for the duration of the competition. They are immediately faced with healthy foods versus junk foods in the house, which reflects what they face in real life. The contestants meet their support team, including their individual choreographer/dance partner. For their inaugural dance, each contestant is free to choose whatever dance style to perform, but each is to incorporate his/her signature move. In random order, the first ten contestants to perform for the judges are those with the highest weight loss ...

With Amanda being the first contestant eliminated after the first dance and weigh-in, the remaining eleven contestants head into disco week. Most are apprehensive about this dance style, which they deem outside of their comfort zone. One person who demonstrates that discomfort and frustration is Alicia, the emotions of the week which she takes out on some furniture and the junk food cabinet in the house. For some, their fears about the dance hold true as reflected by their scores and judges' comments. Others, however, surprise both themselves and the judges by putting...

With Warren being eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are ten contestant remaining. The theme for this week scares many of the contestants for several reasons. That theme is stripper pole. Many fear the overt sexual connotation and exposure associated with stripping. Others fear the flexibility and upper body strength required to do the pole dancing. At Crunch Gym in West Hollywood, they are all instructed on the basic moves in pole dancing. The judges' critiques focus in on the key areas of sexiness, and the use or lack of use of the pole itself. ...

With Karla being eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are nine contestants remaining, they who head into Latin week. Many are scared about the dance style because they know the demanding and exacting technical aspects of the dance. However, some feel that their Latin ethnic backgrounds will help in the dance. At the beginning of the week, Marissa provides them with news that disturbs most: it will be a double elimination week. A few see the double elimination as news which will spur them on to work even harder. Some who have not had the greatest ...

With Brandon and Tara's elimination after the latest dance and weigh-in, there are seven contestants remaining, they who enter into movie week. Each contestant learns that they will be assigned a specific movie, a specific song from that movie and a specific dance style. For most, the dance style is outside of their comfort zone, which scares some of the contestants. Some contestants are also worried about their assigned dance not being a "showcase" style. In addition, some of the dance styles are not obvious matches to the song itself. This latter issues causes ...

With Miles' elimination after the latest dance and weigh-in, the remaining six contestants head into swing week. They are pushed to work even harder than usual because of a special reward given to the winner of the week: a telephone call home. One contestant's selfless act provides another an extra chance for that call home. The contestants find that another challenge for the week is to find the right amount of bounce to their step in the dance based on whether they are doing the jive, west coast swing or Lindy hop. Mara has an extra obstacle as she incurred a knee ...

Trice was eliminated after the latest dance and weigh-in. The remaining five contestants learn that for the first time they will be dancing two competition numbers, the first being hip hop (for which they are given a special cardio workout) and the second being the tango. Most contestants feel that one of the dances will be their strong dance, while the other will be outside of their comfort zone. One contestant, however, feels that she will nail both dances. The two dance scores will be averaged to determine the week's final dance score. The first dance, the hip hop,...

After Mara is eliminated at the latest dance and weigh-in, the final four contestants learn that they are heading into another double dance week, the first being an '80's routine, and the second being a foxtrot. As the contestants begin their weekly rehearsals, they each are unexpectedly joined by two of their loved ones from home. The reunion is especially emotional for Ruben, whose partner John is recovering from cancer. These loved ones end up spending the week, which includes having a luncheon cooked by the four contestants of healthier versions of their favorite ...

As no one was eliminated at the last dance and weigh-in, there are four contestants heading into the semi-final week, which will consist of two ballroom dances, the cha cha and Viennese waltz. They receive additional coaching on these dances by 2005 world American ballroom dancing champion Nick Kosovich. The four also head into makeover week for a photo shoot with Life & Style magazine. The experience assists them all with their self confidence. Beyond this boost, Alicia is still having difficulty in accepting how her slimmed down body is affecting her emotional psyche. They also ...

Pinky, Ruben and Shayla - the final three contestants left standing - are unexpectedly joined by all the eliminated contestants. For the first time ever, all the contestants will dance together in a non-competition group number, each wearing the same costume they wore on their first dance to show how much weight they've lost since the beginning of the competition. The final three learn that they will be dancing two competition numbers, the first in a style of their own choice. Pinky chooses hip hop, Ruben chooses country western, and Shayla chooses lyrical jazz. The ...

Five months after Ruben was crowned Dance Your Ass Off champion for season 1, Marissa brings back all the season 1 contestants and judges for a reunion. With never before seen behind-the-scenes footage, the contestants discuss the process they went through over the competition period. They also describe how they've done at home with all the real life issues once again facing them. They answer some viewer questions. They reminisce about their relationship with their respective dance partner/choreographer, which was not always harmonious. The judges discuss their ...