Apple 2.0

Covering the business that Steve Jobs built

Video: Apple's Woz does the cha-cha

March 10, 2009: 8:00 AM ET

Woz with boa

"The good news is it held my attention throughout," said judge Len Goodman, who pronounced the performance, overall, "a disaster."

"It was like a Teletubby going mad at a Gay Pride parade," was Bruno Tonioli's snarky assessment.

The third judge was kinder. "Steve, I think you are what this competition is all about," said Carrie Ann Inaba. "You make us want to cheer for you."

That Steve, of course, was Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer (AAPL), making his first -- and probably his last -- foray into competitive ballroom dancing, doing a cha-cha to "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" with a wide showman's grin and pink feathered boa.

He may not have wowed the judges -- in fact he came in last on Monday night's edition of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" -- but the audience seemed to appreciate the incongruity of it all. He could still make it to the second round if he garners enough votes from his fans online. To cast your ballot, go here (login required).

Woz is said to have come to practice sessions on his comical Segway, but he clearly took them seriously. One is not born knowing how to do knee spins like that.

"He does 100% at every rehearsal," said his dance partner, Russian ballerina Karina Smirnoff. And what special qualities did she think Woz brought to the dance floor? "You know," she said, "he's honestly the nicest man alive."

And one of the bravest.

Below the fold, until the network gods remove it: the YouTube video of Woz and Karina's cha-cha.

Join the Conversation
About This Author
Philip Elmer-Dewitt
Philip Elmer-Dewitt
Editor, Apple 2.0, Fortune

Philip Elmer-DeWitt has been covering Apple since 1982, first for Time Magazine, and now on the Web for Fortune.com.

Email | @philiped | RSS
Featured Newsletters

Every morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines.

Receive Fortune's newsletter on all the deals that matter, from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road. SUBSCRIBE

Covering the digital giants of Silicon Valley and beyond, an in-depth look at enterprise companies, and the startups disrupting them. Emailed twice weekly.

Anne Fisher answers career-related questions and offers helpful advice for business professionals.

Company Price Change % Change
Bank of America Corp... 7.02 0.04 0.57%
JPMorgan Chase and C... 33.49 -0.44 -1.30%
Oracle Corp 25.61 -0.64 -2.44%
General Electric Co 18.95 0.07 0.37%
Citigroup Inc 26.01 -0.40 -1.51%
Data as of May 18
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 12,369.38 -73.11 -0.59%
Nasdaq 2,778.79 -34.90 -1.24%
S&P 500 1,295.22 -9.64 -0.74%
Treasuries 1.70 0.00 0.00%
Data as of 4:18am ET
Most Popular
Nasdaq 'embarrassed' over Facebook trading issues - Reports
 
Facebook trading sets record IPO volume
 
JPMorgan Chase loss only going to get worse
 
New York penthouse sells for a record $90 million
 
Stocks: Storm clouds continue to gather over Greece
 
Powered by WordPress.com VIP.