Wozniak tackles Dancing With the Stars

If Steve Wozniak's goal last night on Dancing With the Stars (video below) was to show that nerds can dance, alas, he didn't quite prove the point. But he did show that nerds aren't afraid to move out of their comfort zone and have fun, even at things they're not naturally talented at, and even if it opens them up to potential ridicule. And that was even more impressive.

He remembered all the steps in the cha-cha, I'll give him that. As for the execution, well, let's just say it didn't quite have the lines and flair and grace one might hope. But so what? He seemed to be enjoying the experience and was able to laugh about it. That's a skill even more valuable than dance -- especially considering that several of his competitors looked nearly terrified.

Wozniak was at a clear disadvantage among the "stars" paired with professional dancers on ABC's popular reality show. All the other "non pros" were performers in some way. Many garnered their "fame" from well-honed bodies; and while I'd agree that being a professional football player or rodeo cowboy doesn't  necessarily translate into a natural feeling for dance, don't try to tell me that being, say, an Olympic gymnast is quite as divorced from dance as designing a revolutionary computer.

While judges score each dance team, the decision on who gets eliminated also depends in part on audience votes. It was fun yesterday seeing Woz fans rally on the Internet trying to drum up votes for Wozniak and partner Karina Smirnoff. In fact, Wozniak wrote that there should be an iPhone app soon that will help fans vote to keep him on the show another week. He also said that thousands were cheering "vote for Woz" at last week's FIRST high school student robotics competition in Boston.

I've never even seen Dancing With the Stars before, much less cast a vote. But last night, I logged in for Woz. He deserves to last a few more rounds.