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Dancing With The Stars
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (713-248-2299 | philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- March 31, 2010
Dancing With The Stars Review - Season 10, Week 1
Brook Burke joined the show this season as a somewhat mediocre co-host
This batch of "stars" had just 3 weeks of preparation time for their 3/22/2010 debut, so it will be interesting to see how well they perform with so little preparation time.
Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke – Cha Cha
What an "original" name - NOT! Interesting "casual" outfits. Not a fantastic job, but they were in sync and he was somewhat musical. The choreography was suitable for his proficiency level and he handled it well. The man has modest potential. 18 or so points.
Good comments from all 3 judges: 6+6+6 = 18
Shannon Doherty & Mark Ballas – Viennese Waltz
Good timing and good lines. Didn’t look as nervous in performance as she lead us to believe she’d be. Nice natural dance posture. Flekrls are not easy and she did them rather well. She also did quite nice pivots for a beginner, and the "ride" at the end was well executed and a nice lift to finish. Should be 21 or more
Len was spot on, but the other judges were a bit unkind for such a tough routine. 6+6+6 = 18, which was a bit low for that week 1 performance.
Erin Andrews & Maks Chmerkovskiy – Cha Cha
What was with the suspenders? Did he think that suspenders hanging on his butt added something to his outfit? I like her personality. Good timing and quick moves. A strong performance smile and she seems solidly capable of doing her part. Quite a nice and challenging routine but well within her capability. 21?
Very nice comments from the judges: 7+7+7 = 21
Jake Pavelka & Chelsie Hightower – Viennese Waltz
The Bachelor’s Rose was overdone. He's lucky he has good looks because, at this point, he's not very impressive as a dancer. He does have some potential. I do have to remind myself that it's rather unfair to put Viennese Waltz as a week 1 dance, especially for the men. I'd give this one 15 points tops. What’s with Chelsie’s hair? This is HOLLYWOOD, for heaven’s sake! They have hairdressers all over the place!
Bruno was a bit harsh, the other judges were too nice, especially Carrie Ann: 7+6+7 = 20, which is far too high for that performance
Niecy Nash & Louis Van Amestel – Cha Cha
Awkward legs, but fairly strong timing. She did get the "jiggly parts" moving in rhythm. A reasonably good performance, but I'm already over that personality and won't be upset if she leaves early. 17 or so?
Carrie Ann was over the top with praise. Len and Bruno were more honest, though Len was a bit brutal. 7+5+6 = 18. Compared to the others, she was on par, so it is hard to believe they were so happy with Jake and so tough on Niecy.
Evan Lysacek & Ana Trebunskaya – Viennese Waltz
Nice timing, beautiful posture, good lines and very clean turns. Terrific extension of arms and legs. Quite impressive! I'm sure he will be around for several weeks - maybe to the end??? 24?
Carrie Ann noted the lack of pointed toes and lack of connection with the audience. Len noted posture and clumsiness of some movements. Bruno noted lack of connection with audience & partner: 8+7+8 = 23
Note: It's interesting that they pounced on things Evan would have little experience with to criticize him about, and then came down so harshly about them. This is the one area of the show I truly dislike: Instead of offering constructive criticism, the judges often say things in very unkind ways that, in my opinion, add nothing to the show.
Buzz Aldrin & Ashly Costa – Cha Cha
Great attitude!
He did well for an 80-yr-old man who has little or no experience with this type of dancing, but not good enough to make it on this show. He put a lot of heart into it, and it was nice to see, but it always looked like he would miss the next step. Because of who he is, he will probably remain on the show 2-3 weeks longer than he should. 15?
Judges were honest and tried to be fair, but it was difficult for them to speak to his dancing: 5+4+5 = 14
Nicole Sherzinger & Derek Hough – Viennese Waltz
Very graceful arms for a tom-boy. Developed a nice frame. A bit harsh on some arm styling but nice and willowy in many moves. Quite solid timing and lots of potential. 24?
Bruno was very impressed. Carrie Ann was also quite impressed. Len was so out of sync with what happened for a first dance in the first week that it was just unbelievable. If he expects perfection in footwork, arm styling and lyricality on the week 1 show, he needs a reality check! 9+7+9 = 25
Aiden Turner & Edyta Slawinska – Cha Cha
I almost didn't recognize Edyta when she came out all covered up. But, of course, she soon reverted to her normal scantily-clad self. Aiden is definitely not a rhythmic boy. Not much to say about this except that it was energetic and they sort of danced a Cha Cha with only 4 or 5 actual cha-cha-cha chasses in it. 15?
I agree with Carrie Ann – lacked a lot of authenticity. Len and Bruno were pretty spot on with their comments, though they were far too brutal in delivering their sentiment. 5+5+5 = 15. The audience seemed to give him more credit than he deserved.
Kate Gosselin & Tony Dovolani – Viennese Waltz
Looked very much like a novice, though she did produce a few nice arm lines . Her timing and footwork was not good. When she picked her feet up she forgot to point them. In general, she looked like a fish out of water. She'd only get 15 points from me for that routine.
Len noted that she looked nervous. Bruno noted that the technique was terrible. Carrie Ann noted that she is not a performer or an athlete, but she has a long way to go. 6+5+5 = 16
Pamela Anderson and Damion Whitewood – Cha Cha
Her hair! It looked like she’d just rescued someone at the beach on Baywatch and let her hair dry in a convertible with the top down on the way to the DWTS set. She danced OK. Fairly good timing. Used her legs and hips. Put a lot of energy into it and her Aunt Vie should be proud. 21?
Bruno was pleased. Carrie Ann was pleased. Len noted that all the celebs were brilliant. And, after complimenting the confidence displayed in her solo work, said the rest of Pamela’s performance was a mess. 7+6+8 = 21 – not arrived at the way I’d have expected, and I must agree with Michael Schedler that she did not deserve an 8, but it was still a deserved score.
That's a wrap for week 1. We'll see how things progress during the next few weeks, but I'm betting that Buzz will last for 4 or 5 weeks, that Erin, Niecy, Evan, Jake, Nicole and Pamela will be the longest-running contestants. I think the "showdown" will feature Evan, Nicole and either Erin or Niecy. Time will tell.
