Bristol Palin: A Rising Star

Due to the excellent work of Tracey Porreca and Kenton Lodwick, the Dance Bristol Dance  Facebook fan page has become a comprehensive source of information about Bristol’s Dancing With the Stars activities and her speaking engagements.  The site is replete with photos,  links to videos such as this one,

Vodpod videos no longer available.

and Bristol news.  There is also a link in the sidebar to Bristol’s official Facebook page, which has additional information and  is edging rapidly toward 6000 followers.  Following are excerpts from some of the articles linked to on Dance Bristol Dance.

Note from the executive director of Lifehouse:

I can not begin to tell you all the great comments that I have heard since you spoke at our Lifehouse Banquet.  I promised anyone who attended that they would leave with a better understanding of Lifehouse and our mission and better understand the hardship and pain that the brave young women make to give life to their child.  You so helped to relay that message from the heart to those in attendance and the young women from Lifehouse who gave their testimonies along side you felt an immediate connnection to you.

From INFORUM:

I am glad The Perry Center of West Fargo has invited Bristol Palin to speak at an Oct. 7 fundraiser. Concerned Women for America of North Dakota supports this work that is so vital in the fight for the unborn children and their families.

I have worked in the pro-life movement for more than 20 years. Been there, done that as far as walked through some of those intense and hard times with women of all ages who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. Life stories – tragic and good, shocking and redeeming – all mixed in with the walk of life on earth we are all engaged in. What does that have to do with Palin visiting Fargo?

I have been hearing rumblings of negativity about Palin’s appearance, from the liberal left, of course, who tremble and lose all their sensibilities when they hear the name Palin. No surprises there – actually expected and even entertaining to be honest. No, it is the criticism from some church folks that really got me to write.

I am deeply impressed with Palin’s courage and strong voice for abstinence and life. She is not even 20 years old, yet she has the courage and strength that most of us may not get until later in life. Her entire life and scars have been laid out for the world to see, yet she is still willing to get out there and share for the good of others. She has turned some really tough circumstances around and is now a single parent, which is no easy feat.

If only more of those who have gone through this experience would come forward and speak – be a testimony of truth and restoration to those in need!

From the Washington Post:

Next stunner was Bristol Palin. The trip to her Alaska home, where Palin introduced her partner, Mark Ballas, to her mother, was utterly beside the point–the real story is that Palin’s dancing continues to fascinate. She is unmanaged and completely charming. Let’s hope she stays that way. Ballas deserves a pot of gold for the yeoman’s work he’s doing — he is perfect for her. Their quickstep was dancing the way it’s supposed to be — you were caught up in it, in the steps, the sweep, the changing dynamics, the human moment — not a bit of blinding razzle-dazzle. The way he swept her around the stage like trailing silk — ladies, don’t we all dream of that?

From Hillbuzz:

Here’s a website that uses a computer dialing system to test how much support contestants receive on shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

The above data table is from that site, and it shows Bristol Palin as the estimated top vote-getter during the telephone voting period of Dancing with the Stars last night.

The computer send signals into the telephone numbers for each contestant, and register the busy tones they get, to determine how many people nationwide are trying to phone in for that contestant that week.

This method has had great success predicting the top vote-getters on American Idol and past seasons of Dancing.

It does not, however, factor in the online voting portion of the vote total…that’s where you can vote for Bristol via your computer at ABC.com, voting up to 11 times for her if you wish.

We have no idea how voting on Dancing with the Stars works, so we’d love a tutorial from you in the comments.  We know that each contestant receives a score from the judges, and last night Bristol’s score was a 22/30…which is incredible for an amateur dancer who’s now only been up on a stage two times as a performer.

From digital spy:

Bristol Palin has said that she felt “calmed” having mom Sarah in the audience at Dancing With The Stars.

The former Alaskan governor sat in the front row at last night’s taping of the ABC competition with daughter Piper to watch Bristol and partner Mark Ballas performing the quickstep.

Speaking to Radar Online backstage, Bristol said: “It felt a lot better having her here.

“I was nervous about the routine but she definitely calmed me down. Just looking over there and seeing my mom cheering me on; I was thankful she was here.”

She added to Us Weekly: “I was so excited that they were able to come. I’m very glad they could be here… She was just so proud of me.”

Bristol scored 22 out of a possible 30 points for her quickstep, with Carrie Ann Inaba calling her “beautiful to watch” and Bruno Tonioli describing it as “fresh and charming”.

From Mark Ballas’s ‘DWTS Journal’ on USA Today:

The Quick Step with Bristol was super fun, and next week we have the Fox Trot. It is also “story” week so we have to come up with a theme for our routine. I have some ideas, and maybe I can share them in my next entry, so you’ll have to check back this weekend. 

It was awesome to have Mama Palin at the show. Not only is she so supportive of Bristol, she’s such a loving mother. Having our moms sitting next to each other in the audience cheering us on was wonderful. Who doesn’t want to make their parents proud? We were glad they were there to take the pressure off of us, which allowed us to kill it on the floor. I was pretty nervous because there was a section in the routine that Bristol just couldn’t get right during rehearsal, but she nailed it on Monday and I’m so proud of her!

 From Snowed In:

In the past week, Ms. Palin’s Facebook page has garnered almost 4000 fans with little fanfare since its creation last Tuesday.  Sure, a lot of that has to do with many people’s support of Sarah Palin, but Bristol has earned that support with her character and her actions.  She has had to deal with situations including the announcement of her pregnancy to the entire world as well as the continued idiotic rantings of people who believe that she is the mother of her little brother, Trig.  (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Andrew Sullivan, and as far as I’m concerned, that is the only time I ever want to mention you in this blog.)  She’s also had to deal with a true publicity hound in the person of her ex, who has sold out her family more times than I can remember.  And in all this, she has maintained a positive attitude in the face of trials.

And to me, that’s what makes Bristol Palin worth my support.  While some of the things that have happened in her life are of her own doing (and she has owned up to those), many things have been thrown at her unfairly just because of who she is and because of who her mother is, and through all that nastiness, she has handled herself with grace and poise (and also the occasional bout of nerves, as DWTS viewers saw in her first dance).  She has stood up for what she believes in speaking out about pregnancy prevention and the value of life.

From The People for Palin:

Sometimes in life we have to hold on tightly to the Lord’s hand and say, “Okay, God, we’re going through some turbulence right now, but pretty soon we’ll have smooth flying.”

Bristol Palin has determined not to let life’s turbulant bumps cause her to stumble. Instead of making those bumps into stumbling blocks, the Alaska-born-and-raised Bristol turned them into stepping-stones and stepped higher and higher until she stood on top of her obstacles. Have you ever known a successful person who didn’t have to overcome some turbulance and even a few roadblocks along the way?

[…]

Refusing to let her past decisions become stumbling blocks to her future, Bristol Palin turned life’s greatest challenges into life’s greatest joy triumphing over many mammoth trials. Desiring to be the young woman and mother God created her to be, she climbed on those blocks, made them stepping-stones and danced right to the top of every mountain.  

From People magazine:

Sarah Palin’s oldest daughter – and red hot cha cha dancer – arrived at Rumrunners in Anchorage with her Dancing with the Stars pro partner Mark Ballas and an ABC camera crew in tow, and was greeted by “a pretty big gaggle of friends,” according to an eyewitness.

Back in her home state to film a segment for the hit dance competition, the 19-year-old wore jeans and a zip-up sweatshirt and “seemed excited,” according to an onlooker. “She hugged everyone when they came in and introduced Mark to everyone. She looked really good, actually, and happy.”

[…]

While in Alaska, the two-time Dancing champ also had a chance to take in the sights and meet one of the state’s most famous residents, Bristol’s mom Sarah.