Dancing with the Stars – Recap & Review – Week 1

photo: abc

Dancing with the Stars
Week 1

Original Air Date: Sep 20, 2010

Annette: Associate Staff Writer
annette@thetwocentscorp.com

The competition is back on for the coveted mirror ball trophy. Welcome back to Dancing with the Stars – the home of spray tans, lots of skin and of course, some dancing. Twelve celebrities will dance this season for the right to be called the champion. We’ve got reality stars, actors, athletes, singers and a daughter of someone famous (or as she was introduced “teen activist”).

Tonight’s dances were the Viennese Waltz and the Cha Cha. So how did everyone do? Well, the night started out good but…

Audrina Patridge & Tony Dovolani – Cha Cha
19 (6, 7, 6)
Judges’ Comments: Len said she danced with confidence and good technique but needs to be more feisty. Bruno said she needs to be whipped into shape – sexier and sharper. Carrie Ann said she has the right attitude but need to work on more connectedness with her body.
My 2Cents: She looked nervous and while she smiled the whole way through it looked plastered on her face. But for the first dance I thought it was pretty good – and it took guts to start the season off with a solo.

Kurt Warner & Anna Trebunskaya – Viennese Waltz
19 (7,5,7)
Judges’ Comments: Bruno thought he was graceful with natural stagecraft and he sees great potential. Carrie Ann also said she sees potential saying he was natural, graceful and debonair. Crankypants, I mean Len did not like it at all saying he had very little to commend it.
My 2Cents: He’s obviously not the best dancer yet, but he genuinely looked like he was enjoying himself and he showed a connection with Anna which is hard for a lot of dancers to do, especially the first week out. I’d definitely like to see him stick around awhile to see what he can do.

Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer – Cha Cha
23 (8,7,8)
Judges’ Comments: Carrie Ann called Kyle her first crush of Season 11 – she loved it. Bruno told Kyle he was like a naughty little puppy with energy and enthusiasm.
My 2Cents: I admittedly had brushed him off as a young guy who wouldn’t do well and not take this seriously. I’m glad to say I was very wrong. He had tons of energy and great moves. He was fun to watch!

Rock Fox & Cheryl Burke – Viennese Waltz
22 (8,7,7)
Judges’ Comments: Len said the height difference didn’t get in the way – that he danced with great elegance and smoothness and had excellent posture. Carrie Ann said he had ridiculously gorgeous posture and grace and elegance in his lines. She was blown away.
My 2Cents: He is very tall (6’ 7”) but he and Cheryl were able to make it work. He looked graceful and natural out on the floor and he looked like he was enjoying himself also.

Margaret Cho & Louie van Amstel – Viennese Waltz
15 (5, 5, 5)
Judges’ Comments: Bruno wanted to know “What the hell was that?” Carrie Ann asked if all the “mistakes” were on purpose and when they confirmed she called it a very bold choice but said it took away from the waltz. Len said he was encouraged at the start by the hold they began with, but said the waltz is inappropriate for so much comedy.
My 2Cents: I agree with the judges. She was showing good dancing potential and she botched it all up with the comedic stuff. It doesn’t suit the Viennese Waltz and Louie should have known better and worked with her on showing off what she could do.

Brandy & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Viennese Waltz
23 (7, 8, 8)
Carrie Ann called it very beautiful but said she needed to be careful with hitting the spots so hard. Len said she made a fantastic impression. Bruno called it sweeping and electrifying – that she added a little spark in the waltz.
My 2Cents: I spaced out a little while watching her dance (the Waltz is not one of my favorites and three in a row is hard to watch). She did a great job, but it was no less than I expected. I’m not sure why – but I just expected her to be good.

Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas – Cha Cha
18 (6, 6, 6)
Judges’ Comments: Len thought it was a very acceptable performance. Bruno said she shakes her hips like a pro but she needs to work on her performance and focus. Carrie Ann said she was worried it would be boring and not exciting but was glad she was wrong.
My 2Cents: She did certain moves well, but she couldn’t seem to connect them together. She kept having to wait for Mark to direct her where she needed to go. It definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Florence Henderson & Corky Ballas – Cha Cha
18 (6, 6, 6)
Judges’ Comments: Bruno called her spunky, but in all seriousness said she looked insecure about the sequence of steps. Carrie Ann told her she looked as if she was having the time of her life. Len called it great entertainment and complimented Corky for making her look good.
My 2Cents: So Florence is out there as the older dancer to draw in the sentimentality vote. She did about as well as most of the other older dancers have done in the past. She was clearly having a great time, but her dancing left a lot to be desired. Corky was working really hard out there dancing all around her.

Michael Bolton & Chelsie Hightower – Viennese Waltz
16 (6, 5, 5)
Judges’ Comments: Carrie Ann told him he allowed Chelsie to lead too often . Len said he had musicality and moved around the floor well, but he needs to lift the diaphragm and tuck in his butt. Bruno told him to take it easy – to relax and enjoy it.
My 2Cents: I got all distracted by her dress – it was so pretty and flowy. Anyway, Michael did OK. He had moments where he looked good and moments where he looked very awkward. He was obviously nervous and you could see it in his face.

Mike Sorrentino & Karina Smirnoff – Cha Cha
15 (5, 5, 5)
Judges’ Comments: Len told him that he’s got potential, but he’s under-rehearsed so the dance lacked polish (“You’ve got the guns but not the ammunition.”). Bruno said “There’s a spark but only time will tell if you have talent. You’ve got to apply yourself.”
My 2Cents: He was terrible, but he only had 5 days of rehearsal where all the others had 3 weeks, so it’s kind of hard to judge him against the others. But, he’s only got six days of rehearsal between this week and next, so I’m not sure he’s going to get much better.

Jennifer Grey & Derek Hough – Viennese Waltz
24 (8, 8, 8)
Judges’ Comments: Bruno said it was beautifully danced and beautifully acted. Carrie Ann started to cry and said something about her dancing being very profound. Len said it was a dance that suited her and he couldn’t wait to see how she did in the jive next week.
My 2Cents: I’m definitely losing my focus as the night progresses, but she looked like she was doing a good job. She looked lovely

David Hasselhoff & Kym Johnson – Cha Cha
15 (5, 5, 5)
Judges’ Comments: Carrie Ann told him looked like the offspring of Donny Osmond and Jerry Springer. Len’s comment: “It’s never too early to panic.” Bruno called it all madness and no dancing. “A potpourri of insanity disguised as dance.”
My 2Cents: Well, I wanted to claw my eyes out after watching him gyrate his hips. That is something I never need to see again. He’s definitely a showman, but he lacks any real dancing skills.

The first night of dancing is done and I will admit I was not the least bit excited coming into this season. There was no one I was interested in watching. I was pleasantly surprised by Jennifer Grey and Kyle Massey and I’m particularly interested to see how Kyle does in the ballroom dance next week.

Be on the lookout next week for the Jive and the Quick Step. Two very difficult dances and two of my favorites. Let’s see if some of the weaker dancers can step it up next week.

Who was your favorite dancer? Did anyone surprise you? Were you bored (like I was towards the end)? Leave me your two cents!