Premier of Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars: the male celebrities perform
The new season of Dancing With The Stars started tonight with the first of a three day season premier. Sixteen celebrities are competing this season to win the coveted mirror ball trophy. For the first time, the couples will have to perform two dances this week – one from the Ballroom styles and one from the Latin styles. On Wednesday the male and female celebrities with the lowest scores will be sent home. The night opened with a group number by the male pros (since tonight it was the male celebrities who would dance). They did a great Jive to “The Boys are Back in Town.” I wouldn’t have minded just watching them all night long.
Up first were Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff. Their first dance was a Cha Cha Cha and it wasn’t too bad. All three of the judges commented that he has great potential, and Bruno said he has to control his energy so he doesn’t get out of control. For their first dance they got a score of 22 out of 30, not too bad since Len gave them an 8. That’s an accomplishment, I think, to get this high of a score from the cranky head judge in week 1. On a side note, I thought Karina’s pants looked like the pants she was wearing last night during her performance at the Emmy awards show.
Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya. They performed second this week, and their first performance was the Foxtrot. Chuck is a really big, muscular, UFC champion. I liked him right away. He is truly a celebrity out of his element, which is the purpose of the show (or at least I thought it was). His dance was really rough, but he is so charming and likeable. The judges were harsh, but not mean – well, all but Bruno. Bruno gave him a laundry list of all the problems and mistakes he saw. He called him a gentle Neanderthal, which I think is a cruel nickname. Carrie Ann said it wasn’t graceful but that Chuck was smooth and very likeable to the audience, which is very important. Len said it was much better than he thought it would be. He called the dance aggressive and said that Chuck needs to get in touch with his feminine side. They got a score of 16 out of 30 for this dance.
Mark Decascos and Lacey Schwimmer. Without seeing Mark dance even one step I’m rooting for him. I love him on Iron Chef America so I hope his performance is awesome. I thought his performance of a Cha Cha Cha was really good – not great, not awesome but there is so much potential there. Mark is very humble and respects Lacey and her knowledge and as he says he knows how to work hard and understands discipline and focus from his years in competing in Kung Fu. The judges thought he had potential but the performance was lacking at times. Len warned him that he didn’t want to see a Kung Fu theme in every dance (even though he was performing to Kung Fu Fighting tonight) and as Tom Bergeron reminded Len this was the first dance. Carrie Ann said he has a lot of potential. Bruno told him the talent is there but he needs to work on his arms, timing and footwork. They scored 21 out of 30. And as a side note, I think Mark has some mighty fine man boobs.
Ashley Hamilton and Edyta Sliwinska were the next couple to perform, doing the Foxtrot. He’s lucky to even be walking, let alone dancing, since he had a very serious motorcycle accident that put him in a wheelchair for more than a year. That being said, there’s a lot to admire about this man. However….I found his performance to be boring. I thought maybe it was just me, that I didn’t know very much about him so he didn’t appeal to me, but Bruno went as far as to say that he didn’t like the performance, he had a total lack of showmanship, and the performance was dead to him. Ouch. Len said the performance had a roughness to it, while Carrie Ann said she didn’t see anything that separated him from all the other celebrities. They got 15 out of 30 for their score.
Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson performed next. Their first dance was the Foxtrot and there is no one so far that can touch his performance quality. He turned it on when he hit the dance floor and gave an awesome performance. He has the showmanship and the acting ability to really sell a dance. The judges all applauded his performance – Carrie Ann said that he is going to be tough to beat in the performance department – but criticized the dancing. Carrie Ann said she wants to see Ballroom dancing. Bruno said that the dance was not as good as his theatricality. Len said it was too theatrical and too much “razzmatazz” for his taste and the performance needed more ballroom. They got a score of 20 out of 30.
Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower performed their Foxtrot next. I had never heard of Louie before tonight, and he is a champion snowboarder who is training for the 2010 Olympic Games. That being said, without even watching his performance I think he is a contender. Any Olympic caliber athlete is a threat – they know how to succeed, they are not afraid of hard work, and they will do whatever is necessary to meet their goals. Their Foxtrot was charming. He had never danced before, and that was obvious, but there was this really likeable quality about him. Carrie Ann said she was a little surprised at his performance, but liked the fact that he respected the dance. Len complained about his hair, saying it is not what you would have expected to see and he questioned the fact that he was even able to hear the music through it. That being said, Len told Louie he enjoyed his performance and thought it was well done. Bruno said he was a cute dancing little Hobbit. Whatever that means. They got 19 out of 20.
Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova. Michael is obsessed with Jerry Rice (season 2 runner up) saying that this will be the only arena where he can beat him. He went as far as to say that Jerry got 21 on his Cha Cha Cha, so all he needed to do was get a 22 and he would be happy. Jerry doesn’t need to worry. Michael has a killer smile and his presence is energetic, but the dancing was not as good. The judges criticized Anna for her choreography, saying there was a lack of content in the performance. Len said it wasn’t a great first dance. Bruno said he was a great crowd pleaser but the dance was poor. Carrie Ann said he beat Jerry Rice in terms of charisma in a first performance, but said the lack of content hurt him. She said that when he had something to do he did it pretty well. They got a score of 13 out of 30.
Tom Delay and Cheryl Burke. A Cha Cha Cha for the former Republican congressman? Is this ok? Just kidding. I’m hoping that the producers aren’t “punishing” her for having such a great partner last season (Gilles Marini). Carrie Ann described the performance as surreal. That’s pretty accurate to describe how I felt. Len and Bruno said what little Cha Cha Cha he did was very good. Carrie Ann commented on his natural grace and said he was rockin’ it for the older crowd. But it was funny when Bruno said he was crazier than Sarah Palin. They got a score of 16 out of 30. The scary thing is that they didn’t have the lowest score of this round.
The relay dances were next. I’m wondering where the heck the producers came up with this idea. I guess that in every season there is some new twist and this must be one of the twists for this season. The judges would rank the couples from 1 to 4, with the top couple getting 10 points added to their score; 8 points for second place; 6 points for third place; and 4 points for last place.
The first one was a Salsa and it was danced by Donny and Kym, Louie and Chelsie, Chuck and Anna and Ashley and Edyta. It was kind of hard to follow – I would have rather seen a full dance for each of the couples. All the judges thought Donny was the best performer, while they said Ashley has to work on his rhythm. Len went so far as to say that it was a dance that only a father could love. Donny ranked first; Louie second; Chuck third and Ashley fourth.
The second relay dance was a Viennese Waltz and featured Aaron and Karina, Mark and Lacey, Michael and Anna and Tom and Cheryl. Again, I had the same issue with trying to watch the performance – too crazy, too rushed, too frenetic. The judges thought Aaron and Mark had great lines (Carrie Ann said Mark had the potential to be fantastic) and that Michael did a much better job with this dance. They thought Tom’s performance was kind of skippy. Aaron finished first; Mark second; Michael third; and Tom fourth.
Tomorrow night the female celebrities and their partners compete, with elimination Wednesday night. Two couples will be eliminated – the lowest scoring male and female celebrities. If tonight is any indication, tomorrow night should be great as well.
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