Dancing With the Stars

Bruno Tonioli Reveals Top Picks for Dancing with the Stars

By Michelle Tan

Originally posted Monday April 09, 2007 11:55 AM EDT

Ohno and Ali Photo by: JAMES SORENSEN / ABC

Heading into the third round of Dancing with the Stars this week, judge Bruno Tonioli knows one thing for sure: "This year it's so close. There isn't a clear runaway person."

Instead, Tonioli says there are four stand-out dancers commanding his attention this season.

Apolo Ohno, for one, is "a natural," says the Italian dance maestro. "Apolo is a great performer," says Tonioli. "He just lights up the room."

Pro boxer Laila Ali "is just Miss Fascination" in Tonioli's eyes. "She's voluptuous and stunning," he gushes. "She's a real woman and it's wonderful to have someone so beautiful. She should be a role model."

Ian Ziering is "a great performer" and, adds the judge, is "improving every week."

But if it were up to pure entertainment alone, "Joey [Fatone] is great fun," Tonioli says.

So does he predict a four-way tie in the end? "They're almost at the same level. They have to really polish their technique," Tonioli warns. "There is a very little margin so every week if they get the dance wrong, they misjudge a performance, they do some mistakes, everything can change."

As for the weakest performer, Tonioli doesn't think NBA star Clyde "The Glide" Drexler is living up to his nickname on the dance floor after delivering a less-than-scintillating jive last week.

"We love him, [but] he wasn't the best dancer," says Tonioli. "Obviously Clyde is a great man. He has a huge fan base and people would like to see him."

But Tonioli admits that winning over the judges is only half the battle for the dancers. "At the end of the day, it's not just our show, it's the public's show," he says. "It's so unpredictable, but that makes it exciting."