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Dancing With The Stars - Week 1
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- March 24, 2011
Dancing With The Stars
Season 12 Premier, 3/21/2011
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas – Foxtrot
In all of Hollywood, Mark could not find a razor? Nice and lively entrance. Her personality is bubbly. She has good entertainment skills. Surprisingly musical in her performance. Good awareness of her body. Not very good with Foxtrot technique, but a very entertaining and well-rehearsed performance. Lots of potential. 20?
Len – liked some, didn’t like some; Bruno – Lots of talent, but needs to extend lines; Carrie Ann – Agreed with Len & Bruno and watch shoulders. 7+7+7 = 21
Tony Dovolani & Wendy Williams – Cha Cha
Crying already? It’s too much? Fears she can’t do Cha Cha??? She may be right! She has next to no rhythm, but did try to keep up with that rather basic routine that was performed adequately but not with much pizzazz. First time out, I try to cut them some slack. This time??? She won’t last. 15 or so.
Bruno – just marking the time. Technique can improve, but you’ve GOT to perform; Carrie Ann – Need to unleash the beast (Wendy didn’t know they would show the bit with her crying? Has she never watched this show?); Len – Thought it would be something special. Needs to bring her personality into the dancing. 5+4+5 = 14
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson - Cha Cha
Seems like a fun person and seems to have some body rhythm. Pretty good body action and looked fairly natural on the floor. A casual masculinity that was well represented in the choreography. Very nice rhythm Not always “true” Cha Cha, but a VERY good first showing. 21+
Carrie Ann – the sparkliest Cha Cha, a great performance; Len – Clean & crisp. Needs to work on posture; Bruno – nimble & light-footed and great timing. (& Bruno just HAD to show that “piston” action) 7+7+7 = 21
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin – Foxtrot
Petra has limited flexibility because of pelvic fractures, so Dmitry decides to stretch her out?? Why bother? She probably won't make it to week 4. Some solo actions that were nice. Bad posture and rather choppy movements. Bad footwork. Not very entertaining. 18?
Len – Routine had charm, grace & elegance. Movement was good (Is he blind?); Bruno – some moments of brilliance, but not sewn together very well; Carrie Ann – An inner beauty that shows in the dancing. (I didn’t see that, so will watch more closely if I get another chance) 6+6+6 = 18
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower – Cha Cha
He has good timing but is too uptight about being a "macho man" to do rhythmic body actions. Posture was really bad. Footwork was not so good. He did the moves and kept the timing, but didn’t really sell the performance. Given time, he could develop into a better dancer, though not a DWTS champion. 18 max.
Bruno – Good performance. Lost it a couple of times, but does have potential; Carrie Ann – he has sex appeal? Posture was bad, but he has tons of potential??? Len – Attacked the dance, but it was too care free. Gotta work on technique. 7+6+6 = 19. (Carrie Ann is “hot” for him, so gave him an unrealistic score)
Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Treybunskaya – Foxtrot
A whiner. I guess they can’t produce this show without a whiner. Terrible posture, but a winning smile. Some nice solo work with good rhythm and good timing. Needs to work on lines and movement. 16-18
Carrie Ann – Lights up the dance floor. Needs better posture; Len – High energy & performance level, but technique was missing; Bruno – Good in solo, but bad in partner hold. 6+5+6 = 17
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel – Cha Cha
Louis couldn’t find a razor either? Lots of worry about being “hot”. I thought this gal would have better rhythm and timing. She was choppy and all over the place with no balance. Almost pulled Louis off his feet a time or two. I was surprised at how nervous she appeared and how heavy she looked. Her movements were VERY unrefined. 18
Len – content was fantastic, but legs need attention; Bruno – she can strut herself, but must work on leg action; Carrie Ann – got all the steps, but needs to work on lots of things. 6+6+6 = 18
Ralph Machio & Karina Smirnoff – Foxtrot
A “fun” personality. More polish than I expected and his timing was really quite good. Used some very clean “old time” styling. Needs more finesse with true foxtrot steps, but had a LOT of pizzazz in the open work and really made some nice lines. He really sold this very difficult routine and looked in control. 22+
Bruno – great showmanship; Carrie Ann – An amazing surprise that was truly elegant; A bit rough, but best foxtrot of the night so far. 8 + 8 + 8 = 24
What is with Brook’s dress? That thing looks like it needs surgery to have a tumor removed!
Chris Jerico & Cheryl Burke – Cha Cha
What suckola outfits some of these guys wear to practice in! Well...after a spectacular leap off the stage into a knee slide, his performance waned into a stiff and barely on time meander through some sort of collection of disjointed moves that vaguely resembled Cha Cha. Not impressed at all! 16-18
Carrie Ann – nailed every move and didn’t miss anything, but lacked content; Len – his hips seemed allergic to music; Bruno – the dancing beast. Unsteady and messy, but entertaining; 7+6+6 = 19 (Carrie Ann is just “taken” with those sexy boys, ya know?)
Mike Catherwood & Lacy Schwimmer – Foxtrot
A bit of flair. Needs a lot of work on technique and posture, but has some timing and I see potuential. He is just too uptight in partnership position. Why did Lacy re-use that Corey In the House ballerina pitter-patter in this foxtrot? Michael Schedler noted that this was painful to watch and questioned the choreography that some of the pros put in these routines that “newbies” are doing. 18?
Len – little dance quality; Bruno – somewhat ungainly, especially in closed hold; Carrie Ann – Kept up, even though he was not very smooth. 5+4+4 = 13.
Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Cha Cha
Well poised on the floor and definitely not scared of an audience. Quite light on her feet and able to move that big ole body in a very rhythmic and sexy way. By far the best female Cha Cha. She really did a fine performance – especially for a 60-yr-old gal. 22-24.
Bruno – foot placement in Cha Cha was the best of the night; Carrie Ann – musical, had sizzle. Way to go; Len – Entertaining and had the “feel good” factor. 8+7+8 = 23
Well, there is potential in several of these people and downright “showbiz” in others. My pick to leave would be either Wendy or Petra with Kendra in the “get gone” rankings. I was a bit surprised that Mike got such low scores, but there ya go. We'll see how this all plays out.
