Dancing with the Stars – Recap & Review – Week 1

photo: abc

Dancing with the Stars
Week 1

Original Air Date:  Mar 21, 2011

Annette: Associate Staff Writer
annette@thetwocentscorp.com

Season 12 has begun!  Are you ready for the music, the lights, the costumes (and the spray tans)?  Oh yeah, there’s dancing too.  Eleven “celebrities” of the usual persuasion (athletes, realty stars, actors, model) will compete for the mirror ball trophy this season.

So how did the season 12 premiere go?  Surprisingly well, I’d say.  There was a lot of good dancing…

Ralph Macchio Karina Smirnoff – Fox Trot
24 (8, 8, 8 )
Len: Great potential, but a little bit rough around the edges.  Best Fox Trot tonight.
Bruno: I’ve got the feeling you’re a great hit.  Great showmanship – very difficult routine – well executed
Carrie Ann:  An amazing surprise; truly gorgeous
My 2Cents:  Somehow I knew he was going to be good, even though I haven’t seen him do anything except Karate Kid.  His arms were quite wonky at times, but he delivered a great performance.  Total showmanship.  It totally helped that they danced to one of my favorite songs: Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.

Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Cha Cha Cha
23 (8, 7, 8 )
Len:  It was fun, it was cheeky, it was entertaining.  It made me feel good – you looked like you felt good doing it.  We all enjoyed it.
Bruno: I like what I see.  I think we’re just scratching the surface of what you can do.  Your foot placement was the best of the night.
Carrie Ann:  You are working it.  It was refined, it was musical.  Thank you.
My 2Cents:  She was really working it for her Cha Cha.  She may be the oldest of the bunch, but she’s going to be a tough competitor. 

Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas – Fox Trot
21 (7, 7, 7)
Len:  The routine had a young fresh feel to it, but part of the routine “went a bit cranky.”
Carrie Ann:  I like the flair; youthful, elegant, charismatic. 
Bruno:  You have a lot of talent, but you have to lengthen your lines. 
My 2Cents:  She’s a Disney girl, so of course she has talent.  It was a fun flirty dance – Mark did a great job with the choreography and I didn’t see the “cranky” part Len referred to.  I look forward to more of her dancing. 

Hines Ward & Kym Johnson – Cha Cha Cha
21 (7, 7, 7)
Len:  You were clean, crisp, you were confident.  Work on your posture and cleaner footwork for your Quick Step.
Bruno:   So nimble, so light-footed.  Timing was excellent – you have natural performance power.
Carrie Ann:  The sparkliest Cha Cha I’ve ever seen – You’re exuberant!  Nice control – great performance. 
My 2Cents:  His posture is a little funny and he’s just barely got the start of some hip action – but he’s off the charts in performance!  He had a huge smile and he was totally into the dance.  He was so much fun to watch – man these footballers can dance!

Romeo & Chelsie Hightower – Cha Cha Cha
19 (7, 6, 6)
Len: You’ve got plenty of energy – you really attacked the dance.  The performance side you nailed – now work on technique.
Bruno:  So vibrant, playful, energetic – very messy –but very good performance.  You were flat footed and you lost it a couple of times.
Carrie Ann:  You have sex appeal for days, but you didn’t nail posture.  I see tons of potential.
My 2Cents: He can rest assured – he is infinitely better than his father (the infamous Master P of season 2).  Light on his feet – but he’s still stiff and timid with his hips.

Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke – Cha Cha Cha
19 (7, 6, 6)
Len:  Your hips are allergic to music.  I like the energy and fun of it. 
Bruno:  Chris the dancing beast.  Sometimes unsteady, at times messy, but always entertaining.
Carrie Ann:  It was like a chicken dance cha cha.  You have power when you dance – you nail every move, but you need to put more content in the dance.
My 2Cents:  It was definitely rough.  He almost lost his balance and fell at one point.  He did give it his all and it was entertaining to watch.

Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin – Fox Trot
18 (6, 6, 6)
Len:  The whole routine had charm, grace and elegance. Work on posture – especially in hold.
Bruno:  It had moments of extreme beauty & sophistication – have to sustain and lengthen everything better.
Carrie Ann:  There’s something about the way you dance that brings a natural grace from inside out through your movements.  The  long drag had a little lift, but I won’t penalize you. 

My 2Cents:  She looked a bit awkward in her arms.  Every so often it was like she didn’t know what to do with them.  She is beautiful and lovely and graceful – and yes, I saw the lift as well.  I knew Carrie Ann would be watching for it when they started the spin.

Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel  – Cha Cha Cha
18 (6, 6, 6)
Len:  Held my interest from start to finish – but not always for the right reason.  Content was fantastic – you need to straighten your legs.
Bruno:  You can definitely strut your stuff, but it’s not clean.
Carrie Ann:  I love your spunk – it was hard choreography and I don’t think you missed a step.  Work on your spots a little – I think that will help you.
My 2Cents:  It was a little too frantic and I think she had trouble keeping up with the choreography – though she was definitely trying.  It really was much better than I expected it to be.

Sugar Ray Leonard & Ana Trebunskaya – Fox Trot
17 (6, 5, 6)
Len:   Fox Trot is fine wine and caviars – this was beer and a pizza. 
Bruno:  You were really giving it – but in hold you were turning into a ninja turtle.
Carrie Ann:  You are definitely going to be a fan favorite.  Posture, posture, posture.
My 2Cents:  Ana tried to work on his posture during rehearsals, but he still needs to relax his shoulders and he doesn’t know what to do with his arms.  But he was so into it and so happy it was fun to watch.  He won’t be around forever, so enjoy it while you can.

Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani – Cha Cha Cha
14 (5, 4, 5)
Len:  You have to bring your personality out on the floor and you didn’t.
Bruno:  You are sumptuous, luscious, gorgeous – why are you marking?  Show me the fire and personality.  
Carrie Ann:  I saw real fear in your eyes – unleash the beast.
My 2Cents:  She had no hip action at all.  She was definitely just going through the motions.  However, she did keep a smile on her face, and she may have been afraid at first, but it didn’t show in her face while she was dancing.  Hopefully she’ll bring some of the fire she’s known for next week.

Mike Catherwood & Lacey Schwimmer – Fox Trot
13 (5, 4, 4)
Len: There was very little dance quality about it.  Come back next week and do a really good jive.
Bruno:  Fox trot is a smooth dance – you were slightly ungainly and uncoordinated.
Carrie Ann: A little jerky.  Good effort and work a little harder in the jive.
My 2Cents:  His posture was really bad.  I think he got all the steps, but the footwork was weird.  There were some strange awkward moments.

So there you have it.  A few awkward moments, but overall, some impressive dancing.  There’s no elimination this week, so everyone will be back to give it a second go.  There are a few that definitely need to improve greatly if they want to avoid going home first next week.  What did you all think?  Who is your favorite?  Anyone want to take a prediction now at who’s going to snag the trophy?  Leave me your two cents!

Lenism of the night:  To Wendy Williams:  You’ve got your dumplings boiling over.  To Hines Ward: Your bottom is tops.