Can someone explain the "lift" controversy on Dancing with the Stars?

Question:I heard Carrie Ann attempt to explain it last night, but I still don't get it.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I heard Carrie Ann attempt to explain it last night, but I still don't get it.

By the rules of ballroom competition, lifts are not allowed(*). If follower's both feet leave the dance floor while she is supportd by her partner then it's called a lift. At least one follower's foot must be on the floor at all times. It has nothing to do with who supports who's weight or can they perform a move by themselves or not. One foot must be on the floor. Very easy, no controversy here. People get disqualified immediately in a real dance competition which means they place last, no matter how well they dance. On DWTS, they don't want to send a couple home for this because the show will be over too soon, so the professionals are really pushing this rule. I bet if judges were consistent at the beginning and actually discqualified somebody, that would have been a good lesson. But imagine what the star that got sent home for a lift would have said to his/her professional partner then: "#$%j^! why did you put in a lift? Aren't you professional enough to know better?"

(*)Lifts are not allowed because ballroom competition can have 14 couples on the floor at a time. Every couple has their own routine. Couples bump into each other every now and then. I compete myself, and I haven't had a single competition ever in my life when noone bumped into us. Lifts are not safe because they fragile in terms of balance if someone bumps into you. Imagine if you're holding your partner above your head and someone slams into your back. Disaster.
It has nothing to do with beginners not able to do them. It's a safety issue.
Lift are allowed in so called "theatrical arts" because there is only one couple on the floor at any given time.
DWTS have one couple at a time, but they are still not allowed to do lifts because they are supposed to dance regular ballroom, not theatrical art.

Its call "illegal lift". Carrie Ann questioned several of the dancers’ moves and referred to them as illegal lifts. A lift is “a theatrical type of movement in which the follower's body weight is completely supported by the leader and held aloft.” However, Carrie Ann defines a lift as a move that a dancer can’t perform on his or her own.

They are not suppose to do lifts b/c of physically its not fair.( some women stars are to heavy to lift and some male stars are not strong enough to lift their partner) The problem is the definition of a lift. Carrie Ann says it's any move you can't preform yourself. The Dancers say a lift is when both feet leave the ground. Last night on of the guys even gave her the rule book. Some people said she gave him the finger.

Competitive dancers are not allowed to rehearse,
interact, or seduce the audience with sensual moves.
Anything that implies, warm touching, or hugging is
one of the original rules of ballroom competitions. The
implies (is) applies if the couple moves smoothly through
and creates an atmosphere of professional photosnap,
or intimate excitement. The controversey additionally
applies if they excite the audience members. So the
keep dancing theme certainly and only differentiates that
no moves that are privately rehearsed and above the usual.

The rules of the competition allow "show peices" rather than strictly school figures, but there's a prohibition against lifts, and the professionals are pushing the rule to its limit, and sometimes exceeding it. I'd just as soon see them restrict the dancing to school figures, perhaps with a few expressly allowed variations, next season to avoid such controversies, but I suppose that wouldn't be entertaining to people who don't dance ballroom. My thinking is that it would be nice to have the suggestion that the stars might, after a season's over, actually be able to dance a little rather than simply performing a choreographed routine.

What a "lift" is has nothing to do with wether the dancer is supporting his or her own weight...They can hold each other up, but ONE FOOT HAS TO MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH THE FLOOR.
It is a way to maintain safety. No one can be lifted too high that way.

There is a rule against attempting any lifts in your routine. I believe this is a part of the rules because of how difficult it is for a beginning dancer to successfully complete a lift.