TCA press tour: My evening of dancing is over…

…But my kiss from Derek lingers. Don’t tell me it was wrong; some things can’t be denied.

I digress, however. I first realized my evening with ABC and six professionals from “Dancing With the Stars” might not add up to an intimate little cha cha cha lesson when I saw that a full dance floor had been installed in the middle of one of the Beverly Hilton ballrooms. And that several of my female TV critic colleagues were flitting around in their dancing shoes, the leather-soled kind with a strap that I last wore in tap class.

The “DWTS” pros were all there and mingling: Kym Johnson, Karina Smirnoff and Edyta Sliwinska, all in skimpy dresses; Alec Mazo, Mark Ballas and Derek Hough in jeans. There was time to gulp down a couple of glasses of wine (tequila shots would have been more effective) before Alec and Edyta did a cha cha demonstration — lots of twirling and flipping and leg exposure. Then they lined us up like junior high, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other, for our lesson.

Well. This was no simple, junior high cha cha. We were supposed to learn a routine, adding steps in three stages, then get partners and dance it. I paired up with a guy from ABC who — if possible — was even worse than I was, and I couldn’t get it at all. Rather quickly, I gave up, and most other people filtered off the floor, leaving about a dozen folks who could dance fairly well. The survivors danced their final routine, got applause, and then the music turned to wedding-band tunes that more people got up and danced to.

Derek, who is taller than I thought (Mark is the shortest of the three), was standing around chatting when I left. “I hope this wasn’t too scary for you,” I said. “Of course not; it was really fun,” he lied, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

By the way, none of the professionals would or could say whether they’ll be back next season. Some of them were saying that the cast isn’t chosen until a week or so before. So we’ll know about the same time we learn which celebs will be on. The season premiere date on ABC is Sept. 22.