Reflections: Dancing queen

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Amber Riley is still floating on Cloud 9 — and probably Cloud 10 as well — as a result of winning the Mirror Ball Trophy on “Dancing With The Stars.”

The “Glee” star’s winning is significant for a number of reasons.

For one, she is plus-sized but was able to not let that hinder her in any way. She can really move! Secondly, she is the first Black woman to win on “Dancing With The Stars.” Several African-American males — Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward and Donald Driver, all football players! — have won.

Riley’s partner was the amazing, Emmy-winning dancer/choreographer Derek Hough. He has taken home the Mirror Ball Trophy a record-breaking five times. No other professional on the show even comes close to that. Hough always knows exactly how to get the best out of his partners, building their natural abilities. As one journalist put it, Riley received “ginormous help” from Hough.

Amber Riley is proof that size and ethnicity need not hold anyone back. The person might have to work a little harder, but victory can be theirs.

SPEAKING OF outstanding performances, Joe Morton is exceptionally good on “Scandal,” in which he has been portraying the evil and downright scary Rowan Pope, father of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), head of a crisis management company who goes with the married president of the United States!

Morton has appeared in a long and impressive string of hit television shows and movies. He is one of those actors who can be counted on to give a great performance, every time.

The actor, who started out in theater and is in his mid-sixties, is also very smart.

“If you have the skills, you can move as you age,” said Morton. “If there’s no craft, once the looks go, there goes your career.”

LISA BONET has not been seen or heard from much in recent years, but Bonet, who was Denise Huxtable on the long-running, history-making “The Cosby Show,” has taped four episodes of a drama program titled “The Red Road” that airs on the Sundance channel.

It is interesting how the former “Cosby kids” have gotten older. Bonet is 46, Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo) is 43, Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa) is 40, Keisha Knight Pulliam (Rudy) is 34, and Sabrina Le Beaf (Sondra) is 55.

Beyoncé Knowles just seems to be a money magnet. At the time of this writing, her “Mrs. Carter” worldwide tour had taken in $100 million in ticket sales. Knowles’ personal worth is estimated to be a whopping $350 million. The wise businesswoman said, “I’ve invested my money and I don’t have to make any more.” (But, of course, she will!)

Fortunately, the love­ly singer-songwriter-actress finds ways to give back. For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Houston area, Knowles contributed $250,000 to help those who found themselves in dire straits.

Kelly Rowland recently got engaged to her manager, Tim Witherspoon. She was previously engaged to former professional football player Roy Williams, but that went sour for a number of reasons. They broke up two months before the wedding. Perhaps Rowland had Williams in mind when she decided to title her latest album “Talk a Good Game.”

This a repeat quote from the late, legendary R&B star Solomon Burke, but it is a great one that many people relate to: “I don’t believe in organized religion. I believe in free religion. Just believe in what’s real and makes you feel good. Whatever moves you, go there. The only commandment Jesus Christ ever gave was ‘Love each other.’”

BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, have been married for 49 years — and that Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds were married for two weeks!

MEMORIES: “Don’t Let Go” (Isaac Hayes), “Please Return Your Love to Me” (the Temptations), “Early in the Morning” (the Gap Band), “I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying” (the Miracles), “Only the Strong Survive” (Jerry Butler), “Stayin’ Alive” (the Bee Gees), “Stop Your Weeping” (the Dramatics), “Exodus” (Bob Marley & the Wailers), “Every Little Bit Hurts” (Brenda Holloway), “I’m Still in Love With You” (Al Green).

BLESSINGS to Ivan Cotman, Kathleen Smith, Eddie Allen, Tyrone Mills, Fannie Tyler, Delores Wyatt, Eric K. Hunter, Celia Stevenson, Mattie Richardson, Diane Perkins and Thomas A. Wilson.

WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Alan Cohen: “You just need to discover what about your life is not who you are and let those things go.”

Let the music play!

Steve Holsey can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.

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