TVSquad

With another week of dances in the books, it's time to check in with our favorite professional dancer. This week Jonathan once again gives us his perspective on all of the couple's performances. Then we make our way through some of the reader questions.

Along the way we learn about his past with Cheryl, Edyta, and Alec. He also touches on the difficulty of balancing what the judges want in a dance with what the viewers want. It probably won't mean the end of the questions, but Jonathan does his best to try and answer the age old DWTS puzzler, how the heck does the lift rule work anyway? And... Jonathan on waxing. All that, and more, after the jump.

With only a few days until the premiere of Dancing With The Stars, it's time to start picking favorites. Brett already gave you his analysis of the ladies, and now it's the men's turn to be evaluated. This season we have an athlete, a comedian, a recording artist, a magician, a Latin heartthrob, and an 80's film star--a little something for everybody. So, who's a front runner and who has an uphill climb ahead of them? Read on to find out!

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: The Men

(S04E16) We've reached the (thankfully) Cyrus-free semifinals, and it looks like tomorrow's elimination will be a nail-biter. There was absolutely no dead weight on the dance floor, a fact that made for an exciting evening of performances. There were perfect scores, pelvic thrusts, and the phrase "Yours is bigger." What's not to like?

Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough (Quickstep) - This week the contestants got to pick their favorite Ballroom and Latin dance styles. For the Ballroom round, Apolo and Julianne chose the Quickstep. Revealing his competitive spirit, Apolo set quite a few goals for himself. He wanted tens for his Ballroom round, and he wanted perfect scores for both dances.

If you have been following Dancing with the Stars this season you probably know that Mario Lopez emerged as the favorite to win it all early on. He's lived up to that throughout the season, right up until now. As they get ready for the big, three dance, showdown this coming week the odds are changing. The online sportsbook at pinnaclesports.com has now made Emmitt Smith the favorite to win it all. That decision came after they received several $300 max limit bets on Emmitt. $300 bets on DWTS? The mind boggles.

Our dear, dear friends over at AOL Television have an exclusive interview with Cheryl Burke. You're probably scratching your heads at this point, wondering who the heck Cheryl Burke is. Well, you may not know her by name, but you certainly know her by her moves, especially if you are fan of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Over the last two seasons Cheryl has shimmied across the dance floor with celebrity performers. Last year she was paired with Drew Lachey and this time around she is partnered with Emmitt Smith.

In the interview, Cheryl breaks the news of an upcoming Dancing tour. While there is nothing confirmed as of yet, Burke says there will be at least six celebrities and their professional dance partners on tour. Additional dancers will be hired to fill spots in the two-hour show where the celebrities are not performing. On the subject of celebrity partners, Cheryl says she has had great luck with the people she has been paired with and let's us know what the differences are between Lachey and Smith (While Emmitt has more rhythm, dancing came easier to Drew, who had a musical background).

Also discussed during the interview is the recent flare-up between former Dancing contestant Shanna Moakler and Paris Hilton. For the unaware (or the uncaring), Hilton alleges Moakler attacked her at a L.A. nightclub after she found Paris with her estranged husband, Travis Barker of the band Blink 182. Burke says it wasn't true. In reality it was Stavros Niarchos, Hilton's ex, who pushed Moakler down some stairs and threatened to hit her. Got all of that? There will be a quiz later.

The full interview with Cheryl can be found at this link.