(season premiere) We begin the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars with a men's professional routine. As good as all the men are, it's just not as compelling as women's flowing (or non-existent) dresses. Tom and Samantha welcome us to the show and reminds us that there are minor twists, including extra double eliminations. Our first twist is the Relay: basically a rehashed group dance. We welcome the dancers for the first time down the stairs. While the women aren't performing, they descend and sit in the audience. Round 1 Aaron Carter / Karina Smirnoff (Cha-Cha) I'm digging the 180-camera the show is using for introductions. He comes off as the drugged out version of Cody Linley: awkward young male. He continues the boy band trend on this show. We start judging with Len, and he sees the potential in Aaron. Nick and the rest of the Backstreet Boys applaud from the audience. Bruno thinks he dances too sharp and needs control. Score: 22 (7, 8, 7) Chuck Liddell / Anna Trebunskaya (Foxtrot) Anna met Chuck at the gym and he shows her his kickboxing skills. Anna finds him scary, so her big goal is to make sure he smiles. When the music starts, you know it's going downhill when the hat struggles to stay on. Chuck's foxtrot is really robotic and you could see the stress on his face; he was counting while making a sour face when he messed up. Bruno thought the dance was rough and everything basically sucked. Carrie Ann likes the charm, but he needs to work on his movement. Score: 16 (6, 5, 5) Mark Dacascos / Lacey Schwimmer (Cha-Cha) I think I'm going to be happily surprised by Mark. He's genuinely excited to be here. Of course, production gives him "Kung Fu Fighting." The dancing has a lot of potential, and his flexibility will definitely come to his advantage in the future. Carrie Ann sees the potential, but his arms need to be less sharp. Len doesn't like gimmicks, so he's hoping that the kung fu disappears next week. Score: 21 (7, 7, 7) Ashley Hamilton / Edyta Sliwinska (Foxtrot) Edyta finds Ashley to be a little bit of a challenge. He's had several accidents, and his left side isn't as strong. Ashley looked down several times, and his arm extensions need a lot of help. Len thought the basic steps were right, but still rough. Bruno can see the similarities with George Hamilton except that he has no charm. Score: 15 (5, 6, 4) Donny Osmond / Kym Johnson (Foxtrot) Donny reminds us that Marie was third after an insane doll performance. Whenever Kym tries to teach him something intimate, he starts laughing and getting nervous. As the two dance it shows he has the kind of charisma that can b/s his way through a performance. I also think he got an easy song to foxtrot to ("All that Jazz"). Bruno loved the theatrics, but his holds are poor. Carrie Ann agrees and knows he'll survive with America's vote. Score: 20 (7, 6, 7) Louie Vito / Chelsie Hightower (Foxtrot) Louie admitted that he's never actually seen the show before and he's only 5'5". Chelsie is an intense teacher and she tapes his head to the dreaded shoulder bar. There is definitely a minor slip-up in the beginning, but it looks like Louie is having a fun time. Although he constantly licks his lips in nervousness, I thought his timing was decent, until they ended when Chelsie turned after the music was done. Carrie Ann knows he's never danced and he was slipping a little in the shoe. Len dislikes his snowboarder's hair, but his technique was good. Score: 19 (6, 7, 6) Michael Irvin / Anna Demidova (Cha-Cha) Michael admits that he's doing the show to do better than Jerry Rice. Anna gets a hula hoop to unlock Michael's hips. Michael starts off the dance with a little solo work which I think is the loosest he was in the whole performance. He bumbled his way around the floor, seemingly walking into place in several spots. Len thought it wasn't a good opener, and the dance needs more content. Bruno thought that the Cha-Cha was really poor. Score: 13 (5, 4, 4) Tom Delay / Cheryl Burke (Cha-Cha) Tom seems excited about learning, but is quite stiff. I was expecting Tom to dance similarly to Cloris Leachman; he's definitely better with the help of Cheryl using better choreography. Bruno thought the Cha-Cha was decent, but the air guitar was odd. Carrie Ann thought the basic steps were nice and Tom was light on his feet. Score: 16 (6, 5, 5) Round 2 – Relay Dances Group 1: Ashley, Chuck, Donny, Louie – Salsa This is basically the face-off that the show uses in the final three, except there is no group dancing at the end. While all the couples think of different techniques, Donny falls on his ass. Ashley starts off first, and Edyta ramping up her sex appeal definitely helps. Chuck is second and although his arms are awkward, he's smiling the whole time. Donny follows and he definitely shows his showman skills. Louie comes in with a flip like Derek Hough would; the two bring in the youth and spunk. Carrie Ann is convinced that Donny smoked the group, but was also impressed by Chuck. Len thought Ashley failed, but Donny had rhythm. Scores: 1) Donny & Kym - 10 2) Louie & Chelise - 8 3) Chuck & Anna - 6 4) Ashley & Edyta – 4 Group 2: Aaron, Mark, Michael, Tom – Viennese Waltz While the couples practice, Aaron keeps getting dizzy, Mark feels too stiff, Tom wants to be demur, and Michael suffers from tempo issues and posture. Aaron starts and although it seems a little frantic, it's quite good. Mark and Lacey slow it down just a little, but the two seem to lack content. Cheryl knows how to make 30 seconds look longer and Tom fits his mature character better. Michael stays in place for a little too long for me to appreciate a Viennese Waltz, but I'm blaming Anna's choreography. Len thought Tom needed to be smoother, but liked Mark. Bruno liked how Aaron worked the floor, Mark's lines, Michael improved a little. Scores: 1) Aaron & Karina –10 2) Mark & Lacey – 8 3) Michael & Anna – 6 4) Tom & Cheryl – 4 Overall Scores High: Aaron & Karina – 32 Donny & Kym – 30 Mark & Lacey – 29 Louie & Chelsie – 27 Low: Chuck & Anna T.– 22 Tom & Cheryl – 20 Ashley & Edyta– 19 Michael & Anna D. – 19 Who's going home? I don't think Ashley stood out at all. He probably has the smallest fan base versus the other two (Michael and Tom) near the bottom. Although I'd be very disappointed not seeing Edyta for the rest of the season, this gives a little more time for the two Anna's to shine. There's a small chance that Chuck may get the early boot, but I think that the three point difference may be enough to keep him around another week.
canadianman30, ; I'm assuming you like the dancing with stars show. ; I watched it long enough to see Ozzy in the audience. ; He's actually looking pretty good!
Last time the men brought the energy, but this time it was the women's turn to bring their A-game. The show begins with the women's professional routine. Ironically, both Chelsie and Lacey incorporated contemporary moves in their solos. The celebrities make their way down the stairs, and they all still look fresh-faced and happy to be there. We'll see who still looks happy when the stress and the bruises kick in. The women have either the Salsa or Viennese Waltz. In the relay, they either have the Cha-Cha or Foxtrot. Round 1 Debi Mazar / Maksim (Salsa) Debi admits to dancing in the 80s, and they show a hilarious clip negating my image of her from Entourage. Maks seems excited, but dislikes her lack of attention span and her talkative nature. Their opening sequence starts decently until her feet start to slip. I like how Debi attempted several tricks, but she looked down often, and her arm movements were never where they were supposed to be. Len thought that she lacked the correct hip action, but he sees potential. Bruno liked the breast jiggling, but she kept putting the weight on the back, and her timing was bad. Score: 16 (6, 5, 5) Melissa Joan Hart / Mark (Viennese Waltz) Melissa is the oldest of eight kids and has two kids of her own. During training, she suffers from bad posture. The dance had elegance and grace. I loved Melissa's expression of "I'm actually doing this!" Bruno gives Melissa an evil laugh. He called it prim and proper, but it lacked the performance factor. Carrie Ann likes several moments that matched the music, but says she lacked the ability to connect to the beat of the music. Score: 18 (6, 6, 6) Mya / Dmitry (Viennese Waltz) Mya was a tap dancer, but has never done ballroom before. During the practices, she was humbled by how slowly she picked up everything. Their dance is definitely smooth, and her performance skills kicked in immediately. Her arms were quite expressive, and she showed passion in her face. Carrie Ann thought Mya set the bar high. The quality was great, and her musicality definitely helped. Len thought that there wasn't enough hold for the Viennese Waltz. Score: 21 (8, 5, 8) Kathy Ireland / Tony (Salsa) Kathy Ireland gained some baby weight and like every older woman on this show, is probably doing this for all the mothers out there. Even as a model, she's not coordinated and she can't count the beats. Their salsa is a little stiff, but Kathy tried her best. The thing that irked me the most was that she kept having her arms on her waist throughout the performance. Len sees the potential, but it lacked energy and sizzle. Bruno thought she didn't sell the salsa because there was no sex appeal. Score: 16 (6, 5, 5) Natalie Coughlin / Alec (Salsa) Natalie got shadowed by Michael Phelps in the Beijing Olympics. When she concentrates, she makes an angry face. Natalie shows a lot of potential with her flexibility and above average hip motions for week one. Bruno thought she had the right shapes, the problem was that she froze in the middle. Carrie Ann sees her potential, but her musicality is a little off. Score: 19 (7, 6, 6) Macy Gray / Jonathan (Viennese Waltz) Jonathan is totally confused by Macy Gray's eccentricity. The spacey attitude works well for a waltz, so she seems to glide smoothly across the floor. Mysteriously, the dance was pretty to watch. Carrie Ann was fascinated by the dance. The technique was horrible, but her performance was pure. Len loved her charm and would vote for her if he was sitting at home. Score: 15 (6, 4, 5) Joanna Krupa / Derek (Salsa) Joanna took a little bit of dance lessons when she was young, but stopped because of funding issues. Derek has done well with models before, and Joanna hopes she can learn from him. She definitely has potential to dance, and Derek's choreography really helps accentuate her assets. Len finally got his smoking salsa. Bruno loved the sexiness and seductiveness. He applauds Derek's choreography. Score: 24 (8, 8, 8) Kelly Osbourne / Louis (Viennese Waltz) Kelly has a dream of being a little princess. We get a faux-segment from the Osbournes where Ozzy screams for Sharon. I think Louis was invigorated from his time on "So You Think You Can Dance." Kelly was really into the performance. Not only do Ozzy and Sharon approve, so do Latoya and Jermaine Jackson. I love how Sharon became the proud mother in the audience. I personally was blown away by Kelly. Bruno loved how she transformed; she had grace and elegance. Carrie Ann loved it, except that she lifted her foot. Score: 23 (7, 8, 8) Round 2 – Relay Round Group 1: Natalie, Kathy, Joanna, Debi (Foxtrot) The girls all struggle with posture problems, but Debi manages to smack Maks in the face. Natalie starts first, and it's smooth and shows grace. Kathy comes in, and I realize that this may be a hard round to judge. Derek's choreograph comes into play again as Joanna glides across the floor. As Debi finishes, I see that she will be better in ballroom than in Latin. Carrie Ann liked Joanna, Kathy's footwork needs help, and Debi was pushing Maks around. Len liked Natalie and Joanna. Scores: 1) Joanna & Derek - 10 2) Natalie & Alec - 8 3) Debi & Maks - 6 4) Kathy & Tony – 4 Group 2: Macy, Melissa, Mya, Kelly (Cha-Cha) It seems like everyone is nervous about Mya, but everyone struggles in practice. Macy starts off first, and she continues to provide that weird porn dance mouth. She just walks into place most of the time. Melissa starts off really awkward, but when she got into the hold, she got better. Mya comes in all legs; she has the sex appeal down. Kelly comes in and surprises me, she's a lot faster and her legs can really move. She slips right at the end, but has a blast. Len thought that Macy suffered, Melissa was better than her first dance, Mya had great hips, and Kelly had a first-class dance. Bruno thought the timing was better for Macy, Melissa needs to have fun, Mya can hit the beats, and Kelly was surprising to him. Scores: 1) Mya & Dmitry - 10 2) Kelly & Louis - 8 3) Melissa & Mark - 6 4) Macy & Jonathan – 4 Overall Scores: High Joanna & Derek – 34 Mya & Dmitry – 31 Kelly & Louis – 31 Natalie & Alec - 27 Low Melissa & Mark - 24 Debi & Maks - 22 Kathy & Tony - 20 Macy & Jonathan - 19 Who's going home?
Week 1 Result Show Two nights, two eliminations, and a lot of unnecessary crap until the eliminations. Thus is the "Dancing with the Stars" elimination process. Encore performance – Kelly & Louis (Viennese Waltz)One thing that I loved about the performance was the way that they incorporated the dress into the performance. ; After a quick recap of the women's performance the eliminations begin with the men first. The first two couples safe are Louie & Chelsie and Aaron & Karina. Musical Guest: Sean Kingston – "Face Drop" Luckily for Mark & Lacey, Chuck & Anna, and Donnie & Kym, the three are safe to dance another week. Men's Elimination Three contestants remain: Ashley & Edyta, Michael & Anna, and Tom & Cheryl. After awkward waiting, Tom & Cheryl and Michael & Anna are both safe. This means that Ashley & Edyta are eliminated. ; Music Video: Miley Cyrus - "Party in the USA" The women are next, and the first two couples safe are Natalie & Alec and Mya & Dmitry. Macy's Stars of Dance: The Lion King – "Circle of Life" The next three women safe are Melissa & Mark, Joanna & Derek, and Debi & Maks. Tribute – Patrick Swayze We start with "She's Like the Wind" with Dmitry and Chelsie, and he lifts her so gracefully and painlessly. They glide across the floor with such ease. Jonathan and Anna T. dance to "Unchained Melody" which is solid. Tony and Cheryl finish with "(I've Had) The Time of my Life" and the performance basically becomes a reenactment from Dirty Dancing culminating with Cheryl being lifted over Tony. Our final three couples are Kathy & Tony, Macy & Jonathan, and Kelly & Louis. Kelly & Louis are obviously safe. The couple with the lowest total is Macy & Jonathan. While I agree with Ashley going home, I thought Kathy should have gone instead.
