Congrats to Ruben, the 43-year-old Las Vegas wardrobe designer who last night became the first winner of the popular Oxygen network show Dance Your Ass Off. I wasn’t able to tune in every week, but whenever I did, I loved this guy, and so am not surprised he won.
Contestants were judged on their dance skills (they performed a different dance, with a pro partner, every week) as well as their weight loss. Ruben wasn’t “the biggest loser” weight-wise, but that person — Alicia — was invited back for the finale to be recognized, and given an award, for losing the most weight — 18.71 percent of her body weight — throughout the course of the show.
Here is my friend Marie’s review of the finale, for the Ballroom Dance Channel.
The show is a superb idea of course — what better way to lose weight than to dance it off? I’ve received several emails and comments on prior posts asking how to become a contestant on the show and I’m looking into it and will certainly let you know when I do!
Also, if you missed out on any of the season, there will be a first-cast reunion broadcast on Monday, September 7th.
Update: You can put your name on a list to be notified of any upcoming casting calls for the next season. Go here to do that.