A bad landing may have kept "So You Think You Can Dance” competitor Russell Ferguson from performing in part of the show's finale this week, but the frustration later faded when the young krumper discovered he had won the viewers' hearts.

Still, he said, it was a bummer to find he wouldn’t be able to dance in front of his parents, who had traveled from Boston to see him perform. Ferguson told Show Tracker in a conference call that “I came down on my leg wrong and something shifted over my ankle, and it caused it to swell up and it was really tight.... It was very stressful because I couldn’t do the final performance.”

As fluid and simple a concept as dancing might seem – it only involves you, the ground, and perhaps a decent pair of heels – it can be a risky sport. Here's some guidance from New York University’s Harkness Center on common injuries and how to avoid them. 

-- Amina Khan

Photo credit: Mathieu Young / Fox

The sport (art?) of ballroom dance isn't a foreign concept anymore, thanks to the phenomenal success of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," which has brought copious couples into dance classes ... mostly heterosexual couples, that is. So where would a same-sex couple go if they wanted to perfect the jive or learn the finer points of a waltz?

They'd head to Plummer Park in West Hollywood, where ballroom dance champion Christopher Beroiz teaches Gay Ballroom, a six-week program in which students learn two dances in 90-minute sessions (the current series that just kicked off features tango and rumba).

The idea was cooked up by publicist Steve Valentine, who competed in disco-era dance competitions and later learned ballroom. "Being a gay man," he says, "I wanted to learn how to transfer what I learned to dancing with a male partner, and I wanted it to look good. I wanted to make sure that if I did it, I did it the right way."

He met Beroiz at a dance studio, the two teamed up (along with co-producer Lisa Marie Belsanti), and classes began in January. They're done in conjunction with the city of West Hollywood, and singles and straight couples are welcome.

Beroiz solved the who's-going-to-lead-and-who's-going-to-follow dilemma by simply asking gay couples in which role they felt more comfortable. "They can switch at any time," he says. "Nothing is locked in stone."

Needless to say, ballroom is great exercise, terrific for toning muscles, improving posture and developing good cardiovascular health. Even beginners will start learning steps immediately, promises Beroiz. "They may not master it, but they sure as heck will move."

-Jeannine Stein

Photo by Dave Schwep