Dancing With The Croatian Citizens?

The TV show maybe titled Dancing with the stars, but more and more Croatians tuning in on a Saturday night just after 8pm are left asking which of the two dancers is the “star”.

The international series, which became the world’s most popular television program among all genres in 2006 and 2007, pairs a number of “supposed” well-known celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, who each week compete by performing one or more choreographed routines. The dancers are then scored by a panel of judges and viewers votes. After weeks of eliminations one couple is declared the champion.

The line-up for the 2012 season, which kicked off on 3 November on Croatian television, has made many viewers raise their eyebrows.

Actors Frano Domitrovic, Darko Janes, Mirna Medakovic, Ana Begic and Barbara Radulovic, journalist Blazenka Leib, car racer Niko Pulic, former skier Nika Fleiss, and singers Davor Radolfi and Sasa Lozar are not exactly household names in Croatia.

“I turned the TV on and I had to ask my husband who was the star and who was the professional dancer. Maybe I don’t follow celebrities but to me even some of the dancers were more well-known, maybe because they have been on the show for a few years,” said one viewer, raising the question, should the show be renamed to Dancing with the Croatian citizens?