Welcome Season 17 of Dancing With The Stars!

It's baaaaaack! Dancing With The Stars premiered last night and we are so excited that ballroom dancing is back on prime time television. Set your DVR for Monday nights at 7 pm because Dancing With The Stars is only on once a week this season. Gone this time are the follow-up results shows that everyone fast-forwarded through anyways. What do we have to look forward to this season? From what I can see, it will be an emotional roller coaster to say the least. I was already in tears last night on day 1 when Valerie Harper came out to perform. She was gorgeous and so inspirational! As a professional dancer, I was touched when she said that she was "glad to be alive, but even happier to be dancing". It was a heart-warming moment and a brave move on her part to live out her "unfulfilled dreams" and learn to ballroom dance.

Beyond Valerie, we get to be inspired this season on Dancing With The Stars by Jack Osbourne, who has MS. He did a fantastic job last night performing a Foxtrot. He was elegant and polished-especially for week 1 in the show. I predict that he will go far against his competitors.

On a lighter note, Amber Riley added a ton of personality and spunk to the evening with her Cha Cha performance with reigning champion Derek Hough. Corbin Bleu also shined on the dance floor in a contemporary piece with Karina Smirnoff. Keep your eye out for these two throughout the season as crowd-pleasers who will surely add to the entertainment value of DTWS.

In the past 17 seasons of DWTS, the benefits of ballroom dancing have been highlighted again and again. For some contestants, dancing has been an untapped passion that they have always wanted to pursue. With an opportunity like this, contestants like Elizabeth Berkly are reigniting their love of dance and "doing something for me". For others, dancing represents overcoming their fears and refining their movements. Snooki is hoping that ballroom dancing will take her farther away from being a "hot mess" in the weeks to come.

Regardless of the contestant, the time and effort put into training to learn to dance everything from the sexy Argentine Tango to the playful Swing will be rewarding in so many ways. From building their confidence to helping them get into shape, dancing is a hobby and skill that is satisfying unlike anything else.

We wish everyone the best in their experience on Dancing With The Stars, Season 17. We will certainly be watching as each star goes from good to great in our favorite Latin, Swing, Country and Ballroom dances.

You don't need to train 8-10 hours/day like your favorite star to be a great dancer. If you live in Phoenix, AZ and want to experience the fun and excitement of social ballroom dancing, check out Dance FX Studios today. We have great introductory offers to get you started learning to dance as soon as this week. It's your turn. Get off the couch and give us a call to begin your journey into ballroom dancing.