DWTS 16, Week 1 – Power Rankings
And so ends our first post-all-stars episode of DWTS! Gotta say – overall, I think I’m happy. Granted, my standards were pretty low, but I think this season’s cast has a lot of personality and potential – aside from a few low points (D.L., Sean, and Len, who was a complete asshat tonight), there were some pleasant surprises (namely Wynonna & Andy) and some promising contenders (Jacoby, Kellie, Dorothy, and maybe Aly). So let’s break it down, shall we?
1.) Jacoby & Karina – I will be surprised if this guy does not win this season, let me put that out there. I know, I know – some of you think he’s cocky and his footwork is messy. But as I recall, many of our readers said the same thing about Donald in week one of season 14, and he really grew on people as the season wore on – I expect that Jacoby will likely do the same, especially since Karina doesn’t seem like the type to tolerate arrogance, and I think Jacoby has already improved since his initial interviews. He was definitely the most charistmatic one on the floor tonight, for me – absolutely no fear, total attack, and you could tell he was having a blast. Yeah, the routine was a bit chaotic and his feet & posture were pretty bad – but the potential is definitely there, and I daresay he did better with only about a week’s worth of rehearsal than some other couples did with the full 3 weeks. I think Karina was probably wise to make that cha-cha feel like a touchdown dance – if you’re limited on time, stick with what you know will work. She did the same thing with The Situation and managed to get him past week 1 with only a limited amount of practice. These two will be around for awhile, and I’m interested to see how they develop.
2.) Zendaya & Val – For a girl that’s only 16, she dances with a maturity greater than many of the ladies this season – and some of them are old enough to be her mother! She’s probably the most naturally-skilled dancer this season, judging from what we saw tonight – she was fluid, relaxed, comfortable, and really seemed to get in the pocket of the dance. And god bless Val for finally reaching the potential I thought he had back in season 13 – for a pro that doesn’t really know contemporary, that was a great routine, and the emotion was appropriate: it was innocent and casual, and not overwrought with the sexual undertone that so many of his dances with Kelly had. I think this may be the season that we really see him become a contender – maybe the fact that he’s not stuck in the shadow of big bro this time has taken a bit of the weight off his shoulders, and he can really focus on stretching his chops and really making his partner shine. And shine she will – she’s a gorgeous girl, and those legs are a revelation. Definitely a bright spot this season – I just hope that she’ll overcome the Disney curse and get viewers to pick up a phone!
3.) Kellie & Derek – “Tinkerbell” is a pretty apt comparison for Kellie – she’s cute, she’s got a rockin’ bod, she can move, and she’s not afraid to giggle 🙂 Admittedly, I was prepared for her to really grate on my nerves – let’s just say the syrupy drawl and “I’m so backwoods and naïve, I don’t know how to pronounce ‘salmon’!” act on Idol got old really quickly for me back then. But she has definitely matured now, and I think she’s hit a nice stride where she’s comfortable in her own body and more relaxed & organic in her mannerisms. And my god, this woman has a waist that would make Barbie jealous and a torso that appears to be made of rubber! She had no problem gyrating and popping that torso, and certainly has sass to spare. Her legs seemed a bit stiff and straight, but I did see shades of great legwork here and there – definitely something to improve on. Overall, she seemed very comfortable on the floor, and will likely be one to watch this season.
4.) Dorothy & Tristan – Dammit Dorothy, way to make me get all misty while watching the show 😛 The thing I love most about this couple is just how organic and down-to-earth they are – Dorothy may not be the flashiest or sassiest female contestant this season, but she, like Tristan, is just good people and seems thankful for the opportunity and is going to really relish it for all its worth. Some definite nerves tonight, but Miss Hamill has definitely still got some moves from her skating days – lovely legs and arms, and some nice spins and lifts. I’m guessing that contemporary is not really Tristan’s forte, as this seemed like the weakest of the 3 contemporary routines tonight, choreography-wise – but at least they got it out of the way in week one, and hopefully it’s all stuff in Tristan’s wheelhouse from here on out. Overall, I’m hoping that Dorothy can just learn to breathe, let go, and enjoy the experience…because if she can do that, I think she’s going to see her dancing improve drastically.
5.) Aly & Mark – Unfortunately, this was one couple tonight who left me feeling a bit let-down – blame it on all the hype of Mark and ANOTHER OLYMPIC GYMNAST, or the bar being set sky-high by Shawn, but Aly just did ok for me tonight. She was stiffer and shyer than I expected, and her legs seemed like they were stuck to the floor at times – as if she was having a hard time really moving them with impact. I’m gonna chalk a lot of it up to first night jitters, but part of me thinks that Aly may not be as relaxed or laid back as Shawn…and she may unfortunately be doomed to constant comparisons to Shawn this season. I definitely think she has potential, don’t get me wrong – but I’m not seeing the same spark or star quality from her that I did from Shawn. Mark? Maybe it’s the hair, but he seems to have reverted back to season 5 Mark a bit, as he seems to have returned to his more competitive-Latin roots, as opposed to shaved-head, I’m-edgy-and-avant-gard-with-my-choreography Mark. Let’s hope it lasts, because Len seems extra surly this season…and may very well lunge at Mark from across the judges’ table if he tries anything quirky! Yikes.
6.) Andy & Sharna – Revelation of the evening for me – this was the second time I got misty tonight, as this dance was everything I had hoped it would be for Andy: cathartic, fun, redeeming, and hopeful. And really, not too shabby! Granted, the foxtrots were the weakest dances of the evening for me, but I’d say Andy’s was the strongest, in terms of both technique and performance quality – he really went for it, and I was actually really impressed with all the work with the cane, which was a prop that actually worked WITH the routine instead of against it. Gotta give Sharna some props, too – not only is she a new pro, but she probably got the toughest partner this season: a recovering addict that is still early in his sobriety and is pretty emotionally fragile. And as someone who has experienced firsthand the agony of watching a family member go through the same thing – it definitely takes someone who is both strong and sympathetic to help an addict through tough times…and I think Sharna handled it beautifully, and really helped Andy find his strength. I’ve already watched this routine 3 or 4 times, just because it makes me smile to see him look so…light 🙂 Mama Spence gave all her votes to Andy, and I spared a few from Lisa & Gleb for him as well. I really think he has a shot at sticking around now, especially if he continues to improve and embrace the personal growth. Really looking forward to more from this couple.
7.) Wynonna & Tony – Probably the second pleasant surprise for me for the night – I was somewhat expecting “Wy” to come out timid and awkward, a la Wendy Williams, but was happy to see that she was more like a Kirstie: very sassy, fun, and uninhibited. The choreography was pretty basic, and she may not have been a very “big” mover – I’m sure that’s something Tony is going to have to work on with her – but I was very entertained while I was watching her, and still enjoyed her performance overall. Was also pleasantly surprised by her interaction with Tony – these two actually seem really well-matched and on the same page, and Wynonna’s sense of humor seems to be “Kirstie lite”: still cheeky, but in a much more subtle way. I’m intrigued to see what else we’re going to see from these two – and I hope that Wy continues to embrace the experience and have fun, because I think that may be her big strength this season.
8.) Ingo & Kym – Another couple who ended up better than I expected, but unfortunately just felt rather forgettable for me tonight. Their contemporary was neither stunningly gorgeous like Zendaya & Val’s, nor was it natural & heartfelt like Dorothy & Tristan’s – it was pretty and pleasant, but not really special, and seemed a bit lift-heavy and a bit flaily. I guess the good news is that they got it out of the way during a week where there isn’t an elimination, and have a more upbeat, traditional ballroom dance to please Len the asshat with next week. Speaking of which, I have to wonder if Len’s extra grumpy mood was a sort of protest over contemporary being included in the week 1 dance lineup, as his voice just seemed to drip with disdain whenever he was critiquing one of those routines…even if he was trying to praise it! But I digress. I worry a bit that Ingo may be a little too serious, as he seems to answer questions quite literally, as opposed to injecting some humor into his responses like Lisa, Jacoby, or Wynonna. Seems a bit nitpicky and silly of me, I’m sure, but sometimes it can indicate someone who may have trouble letting loose and having fun. I still really like Ingo & Kym as a couple, and I’m hoping that they can really show us what they’re made of, now that they’ve gotten a ho-hum dance out of the way.
9.) Sean & Peta – Well…can’t say anything they did surprised me. Just as predicted, they opted to go the low-brow, slightly tacky/sleazy route, complete with Sean awkwardly gyrating through his foxtrot and Peta throwing in some of her signature punchy/cheerleaderish side-by-side work in the middle of the dance. The end result felt a bit…cheap. As if they really did only have 1 week to rehearse, and this was all they had time to throw together in such a hurry. Peta was flaily and tended to overdance, and Sean seemed a bit off-balance and squatty. Hate to say it, but I’m already seeing my prophecy of these two going the sexy, shirtless dude route this season beginning to come to fruition – I don’t see either one of them having any huge drive to really work hard and really dance, and I think they’ll likely resort to gimmicks like shirtlessness and fauxmance to stick around. Guess I’m just hoping that they either do a complete 180 next week and really wow me, or they get sent packing early…because I’m not really that impressed.
10.) Lisa & Gleb – Poor Lisa – I think she really wanted to do well, but was really, really, REALLY nervous – and maybe Gleb was as well, because their foxtrot felt a bit frantic and wobbly, although parts of it were actually quite nice and showed promise. I partially blame nerves on Lisa’s part, and partially blame Gleb’s choreography – I think he may have tried to throw a bit too much into that routine, and the result was a bit chaotic and hard for her to keep up with. Rookie mistake, and hopefully something Gleb learns from in the coming weeks. I thought Giggy was a nice touch – I believe that’s the first time someone has (successfully) used a live animal in their routine, since Emmitt’s burro got stage fright last season 😛 If I were Lisa, I’d keep playing the Giggy card, because that seems to be the moments in which we see her at her most human: doting on her fur baby 🙂 Hopefully she & Gleb can shake off the nerves and give us something good next week.
11.) Victor & Lindsay – God love Victor, he seems so sweet and happy to be there – like a smiley Rob Kardashian that’s more invested. 🙂 He seems to really be trying, and also seems to be another celeb that was the victim of nerves tonight. Frame got a little loose, and I think I saw him miss a step or two towards the beginning. Lindsay seemed very enthusiastic and upbeat, but I’m afraid that, like Peta & Cheryl, she may be prone to “overdancing” to compensate for her partner’s weaknesses, as I saw Lindsay dancing some pretty energetic circles around a stationary Victor. I’m hoping that was just a rookie mistake, because that can become a bad habit pretty quickly if she’s not careful. It also worries me a bit that they got saddled with the “death spot” – going 2nd is statistically the worst running order position, and the one most likely to get you sent home…which makes me wonder if Victor may be cannon fodder for an early elim, along with Lisa and D.L., and possibly Ingo, who all danced in the first half of the show. I think it’s going to be interesting to see who gets what position next week – it could be a bit of an indicator of who is getting the votes & who isn’t. Really, I do like Victor & Lindsay – they’re well-matched and pleasant to watch – but I think they’re REALLY going to have to make a big impression next week, because they’re running the risk of being forgettable right now.
12.) D.L. & Cheryl – Oh my…ummm, well, what can I really say about this cha-cha? Guess I’m not too surprised at how it turned out – I never really got the impression from their interviews that D.L. or Cheryl was super-duper excited or invested in this season. Guess I am a bit surprised at how lackadaisical it seemed – D.L. barely seemed to move, there was a lot of random “grooving”, and Cheryl danced circles around him (literally) – and I’m a little surprised at how the judges weren’t afraid to really pull out the low paddles. I think Carrie Ann was the one that mentioned that D.L. “needed to practice more”, and since I’ve gotten the impression that the judges do have an idea about how much each couple practices, I’m guessing that D.L. hasn’t exactly been putting in the practice hours at the studio…as if that wasn’t evident by the quality of his cha-cha. The fact that neither D.L. nor Cheryl seemed to be too bummed about their scores tells me that D.L. was probably only in it for the paycheck this season – and maybe Cheryl is looking forward to a short season so she can relax and recharge her batteries. Guess I’m fully expecting these two to pack their bags next Tuesday…because this was pretty bad 🙁
So what did you guys think of tonight’s performances? Who were the highlights…and lowlights? And WTF is up with Len? 😯 Let’s hear it!!!
Great ranking, I actually agree with all positions.
GOOD JOB COURT!!!! My rankings are similar….
Jacoby and Karina – Wow, they blew it out of the park and then some. Just excellent in every way. Awesome hot choreography by Karina too. She’s got another winner here. 10, 10, 10 30
Zendaya and Val – Wow, stunning and exquisite. Creative, theatrical, and light!! Beautiful lifts and romantic. This girl is beyond her years and knows what she’s doing and what she wants. Val’s choreography was out of this world. 9, 9, 9 27
Kym and Ingo – OMG! I LOVE LOVED THEM! They were everything I had hoped for. They brought all the lifts, extensions, heart, and passion we were seeing in pictures in the pre season. I loved his faces!! Just beautiful. I can see now they are going to be one of my fave favorites (and maybe even one of my all time favorites if they keep this up). I feel so good about these two. Wow! I take it back about DWTS adding the Contemporary Dance. I’m loving it. 9, 9 ,9 27
Derek and Kellie – They were sooo cute in their package! They are like the sun and so fun. And what a great dance which executed the same!! I agree that her legs were slow at times, but, other than that, what a way to start to show!! There is lots of potential! I love how quick she is in her turns and Girl can shake and roll and bend out that booty! 8, 8, 8 24
Tristan and Dorothy – Wow, just like in the 70’s when she ice skated, she took my breath away. Her arm movements were sooo pretty. I loved the choreography! Both of them were so full of grace and charm like a Prince and Princess. 8, 8, 8 24
Gleb and Lisa – What a delight these two were!!! I loved her faces, posture, lines, and how she was just having fun out there. She was light on her feet. Yes, she had a stumble and she seemed a little shakey in parts, but, for the most part, what a delightful first dance from the both of them. I loved them!! 6, 7, 7 20
Peta and Sean – Some of the moves were point on and done with some force, but, he was also sluggish, stiff, and off balance at times. 6, 6, 7 19
Andy and Sharna – He had some jerky movements and seemed nervous, but, there was magic out there. He was full of charm, heart, and personality. I think Andy just needs to relax and most of all “BELIEVE” in himself. Clever choreography from Sharna and she looked so pretty! I love these two and hope we get to see more of this journey. 6, 6, 7 19
Aly and Mark – I thought she would be a better dancer and would be more of a force in this competition, but, I didn’t think she was that good tonight. She was sluggish, too tight, and slow. 7,6,6 19
Lindsay and Victor – Awww, he’s so likeable. Even though his arms and legs were stiff and he has a lot of work to do with turning, lifting, and his posture, he has a lot of charm and has a way of sucking you in! I agree, he sparkles! 5, 5, 6 16
Wynonna and Tony – She “had the music in her” and she has a big stage presense that I loved, but, she needed more oopmh and her feet needed to be quicker. 4, 5, 5 14
Cheryl and D.L. – Not knowing D.L., I didn’t realize he had such a hard life. It’s commendable how he turned it inside out and became a comic. With that said, yeah, his dancing needs a lot of work. I can see now why Cheryl was forewarning us in her blog now. 4, 4, 4 12
Can’t wait for Miss Heidi’s numbers post and to read all of your reviews!!!
Jacoby and Karina kicked ass and took names! I have never seen a week 1 reaction like that! That was beyond amazing!!!! I said it from day 1, those are your winners!!!! I also LOVED Kym and Ingo’s routine and thought it was beautiful to watch. Wynonna was hilarious and she made me cry after what she has been thru she owned that dance and I hope shes around for a long time! I agree, Cheryl and DL will be gone, that was a total disaster
I must be missing something here, I thought Jacoby was awful. I thought he acted high on something.
Dorothy was ah-mazing, she truly could be a contender.
Andy was a Surprise! I loved his humor in the opening package, and his Foxtrot put a smile on my face.
Kellie and Derek arelike two peas in a pod.
Wynonna was okay, I fear she will last too long, just like Kirstie.
Agree with all your comments, but I would have had Ingo a tad higher. And maybe Jacoby a tad lower. I think Zendaya will continue the Disney curse, though. She was technically the best dancer, but I still don’t have much interest in her. I can’t explain it, but that’s how I’ve felt about every Disney kid. Maybe it’s that they see a little Stepford wives-ish? They can all sing, dance and act but nothing stands out and grabs you. But maybe others will be won over this time, she was good. And I don’t like Val, but I was impressed by his choreography as well.
I’m with Sandy… Don’t get me wrong, Jacoby has this little “groove-thang” going on that I like a little, but to me the dance just felt like it was TOO much. It was like being in a club with everyone forming a circle around two people while they got down and dance. I’m no expert, nor do I have training in latin or ballroom dancing, but I don’t even think I saw any Cha-Cha (again I could be wrong.. idk). I hope they have a quickstep next week (not sure if they mentioned if they do have one or not) that way we can see more dancing and more technique than full on craziness and wildness.
I agree with everything else you mentioned Courtney. And I too am wondering “wtf is up with Len?!”. Did he have a fight with his wife before coming on the show or what? SHEESH!
I usually agree with you across the board…but I was not impressed by Jacoby…I don’t even know if I can pinpoint exactly what rubbed me wrong….I really thought he would do well. I was disappointed that many of the scores were so close…because I thought the actual ability of some was much less than others and many were in that 18 to 21 point mark. I thought Zendaya was much better than I expected, but some were much worse than I expected…for example I thought Sean was scored way too high and Aly disappointed some or maybe my expectations were too high…I think I won’t have much trouble saying good bye to four or five of the couples…but then it will get tough. As far as DL goes h needs to either get with the program or go home because oh my goodness remember the guy who danced with Chelsea and came out of the dog house…DL should have headed in the dog house and usually I don’t say anything ugly….lol, but oh dear. Well next week I think we begin to separate the men from the boys so to speak with the quick step and jive….should be interesting.
Zendaya that girl was amazing cant wait to see her next week, i dont see the hype with the football player i didnt think he was that good.
Zendaya was awesome! Reminds me of Sabrina back in season 5, but she got eliminated early….TWICE! :O
I liked Jacoby….a little messy, but there is potential and it probably would have been morempolished if he got another 2 weeks.
I’d like to see Dorothy go far, just cause Tristan’s finally got a decent partner.
Liked Aly and Ingo too.
Aly is certainly no Shawn Johnson!!! She was just ok for me. I liked Kellie (although I think she suffered from some nerves some of her rehearsal footage showed her dancing better), I enjoyed Ingo, Zendaya…i thought jacoby danced good…for a club:) it was fun and energetic not sure how he will look doing a v.waltz. Andy is someone I want to root for. DL was brutal and their song was even worse- everyone had top 40 songs and they had something from 10 years ago!
I laughed out loud many times tonight. It was a very enjoyable show and reminded me of the charm of having rookie celebs. I didn’t even dislike the All-Star season like many of the fans did, but I don’t think they will be doing another anytime soon, if ever!
Of the ones that had known abilities that would make them pleasant to watch dance (Zendaya, Dorothy, and Aly) I really enjoyed the first two and not as much the last.
Val did a great job with that contemporary number and she shows so much potential. Hopefully she’ll go more the Kyle and Chelsea route and less the Roshon route of Disney stars. And really excited that we should see a different side of Val’s personality and choreography.
As a huge figure skating fan, love having Dorothy and think Tristan is the perfect partner for her. I am excited to see what she can grow into as a dancer and what he can do with someone a bit more elegant and fit than he has had in the past.
I expected more from Aly. She did show some sass in the dance which was nice, but she wasn’t as sharp as I expected. I expected more from Mark also–the choreo was disappointing for having someone with as much potential as a gymnast. You would figure he would be motivated as ever having someone like Aly after not being competitive in the All-Star season.
I love seeing celebs who have no real dance/choreography experience show so much potential. My favorite of these tonight were Kellie and Ingo and Jacoby.
Kellie already benefits from having a strong teacher and choreographer as a partner but she has so much natural dance ability! I am really excited to see what Derek can do with her. Honestly I think this pairing, not in personalities but in raw ability that might be unexpected, reminds me of him and Brooke. And Kellie is much funnier than Brooke 🙂 so I think they could go far. Apparently Derek is excited for the week 2 dance, so I like hearing things like that!
Ingo has much potential too. I could see it though the contemporary dance but it will be much easier to see after he gets a ballroom dance next week. I just really like this pairing and I want to see more!
I am from Baltimore and a huge football fan, so I am excited to see a Baltimore football player! I really think performance will not be an issue with Jacoby, and as long as he works hard and listens to Karina, I think we will see much more technique come out of him and his dancing will get better and better. I am looking forward to seeing it!
None of the other couples made a huge impression on me in their dancing though many of them have pleasant personalities. I am definitely looking forward to seeing them dance a new style next week to see if they can change my mind.
I am pretty sure Cheryl has never gone home first? I think it is definitely looking like this will be the season…..
Note to producers–I love contemporary and jazz, but not for this show. You need strong dance technique to really give these styles justice IMO and rookie dancers so not have that. But if you MUST do this, don’t do it week 1. I really think the pros and celebs deserve a ballroom dance first in a ballroom competition!
I personally don’t mind the inclusion of contemporary and jazz, especially since the pros know from the beginning of the season that it will be included in the rotation, so they have more time to prepare for it mentally and learn the aspects of the choreo. I thought those numbers were all great and refreshing, especially Zandaya’s – fantastic choreo from Val. But it’s a nice change, I think. Jazz, I may be a little less sold on because I think that might turn into a hot mess. We’ll see.
I also thought Kellie was great and Jacoby is such a natural mover that I couldn’t help but be impressed with his one week of training. It also showed me another reason why Karina is my favorite female – not only is she imo the best dancer on the show, but really knew how to play to his strengths and make it an entertaining piece.
Andy was as touching and heartfelt as I knew he’d be. Sharna’s choreo was also another highlight for me. Hope that continues.
I feel bad for Victor. I think he’s really trying and I want to root for him because he seems like a great guy but I fear he’s in for an early elimination, maybe even before DL if his personality gains him some votes. I hope that’s not the case because I am pretty sure we won’t be seeing much more out of him.
I keep getting astonished at how good looking Gleb is. WOW. Almost too gorgeous. He and Lisa seemed nervous but hopefully they’ll stick around at least a couple weeks.
I would love if Sean and Peta got eliminated first. I don’t think he’s a bad guy at all, but I’m so over her and the show’s propping. Unfortunately he’ll probably stick around for a bit.
Oh Tristan, could he be any more of my dream man? Sigh.
Vogue, I couldn’t disagree more on your assessment of Jacoby. That was nothing close to a 10 on any week. Performance value yes, but his technique and posture was very weak.
It’s that kind of “spell” that football players put under people and i’m kind of tired of them always winning or getting a lot further than their dance talent merits. I wouldn’t have given it any more than a 6.
I feel kind of bad for Ali. Normally, I think she would be compared to Season 8 Shawn – newbie to newbie – but that was 4 years ago. All-Star Season Shawn is what’s fresh in everyone’s minds (some may not even have watched Season 8), so I think that will be the comparison instead. Kudos to one (or more?) of the mods who I think mentioned this on another post. I think it’s spot on.
YOU HAVE DISPLEASED THE CHERYL!!
THE CHERYL WILL COME FOR YOU!!
https://twitter.com/CherylBurke/status/313876757654667265
In all seriousness, I’m a little stunned that those pros even know this board exists…
Jacoby’s posture was not that bad. Watch again. I think people are confusing his posture during the clubby parts with his posture during the Cha-Cha parts.
Also, it was the only damn thing that woke me up tonight. So for that reason, I can understand why he’s number one on Courtney’s list.
Also, I think the list isn’t about just what they did tonight, right? I had always assumed it meant that this what Courtney thinks of how they currently stand, as far as their positioning across the season.
I also agree, Courtney, about the choreography for Dorthy’s dance being the most lackluster of the Contemporarys. It was all a bit too twee! for me. She had nice lines, and I think was capable of a lot more. It was just kind of safe and boring to me. Shame, because from the opening, it had so much potential. I loved the setting, and the way Tristan started it off, but it just never really went anywhere. No meat and potatoes.
It will actually be interesting to watch her in the ballroom dances, because that should be her strong suit, but for the most part, I find Tristan’s choreography for ballroom dances boring. He actually seems to be a stronger latin choreographer (I’ve quite enjoyed quite a few of his latin dances). Will be interesting to see if he steps it up in that realm, since he has someone who is so capable.
Uh oh. Everyone wave to Cheryl. Looks like she’s been reading through our comments and isn’t happy. (Refer to her latest tweet)
Just read my post again, and realized that the “watch again” could come across as kind of curt. I didn’t mean it that way at all. It’s just sometimes you’re typing and rushing, and things can come across totally differently than the way you intended it. Sometimes things look different to me once I watch it again, so perhaps others will feel that way if they rewatch. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a rude, demand, though, lol.
Also, you guys were totally right about the way Cheryl was speaking about DL before the show (Courtney references this as well). It was a total giveaway that DL would suck, so now I’m definitely gonna be paying attention to the way the pros use politically correct ways to say someone sucks in the future.
Dorothy for the win, please, please, please.
Jacoby—very disappointed. Don’t see how his post-surgical knees will hold up to a full-out season.
I really loved the show tonight. A lot of fun.
I was really happy for Andy and Wynonna – the two I had worried about. But they both did really well. I think it’s sweet that Wynonna RTed nice comments about Andy and Kellie.
I’m concerned though that I never got a busy signal voting for Wynonna. I hope she really does have the fanbase I’m assuming she has!
Absolutely loved Dorothy and got very teary, but I didn’t love Jacoby as much as others, I guess. Was let down a bit by Aly, but I think maybe it was just nerves.
Aww.. Sweet 16, Zendaya was wonderful tonight! Love her name. I give the #1spot to her and Val. DL. really wanted this man to do good…Everyone else was okay. Know it’s just the 1st Dane, but really hoping that Zendaya and Val go all the way!!
I loved Dorothy, Andy and Wynona. All three brought tears to my eyes as they danced. I agree with the judges that Wynona needs to dance like she means it though.
I’m with Sandy, Matt and Joey regarding Jacoby. Didn’t see anything special there except that he can groove. Although it’s difficult to compare apples to oranges, I thought Ingo was better than Jacoby. Aly was also underwhelming tonight. I think she has it in her, but she’s tentative.
I have been assuming D.L. would probably go home, but I just realized that I forgot Lisa entirely. That may be a very bad sign – and I actually liked her when she danced.
Oops, just Katarina (long day lol).
Gosh what is the deal with Cheryl…I don’t think the comments are that brutal and mine was probably the ugliest…but all I meant was he should be practicing more…I have never seen a pro address a site before has she never read the comments on the ABC boards…wow I just can’t believe it. Oh well, I guess stress gets to everyone.
The good, bad and the ugly……really ugly!
Zendaya and Val – the best for me this evening.
I think Jacoby can certainly bust a move and has tons of charisma. With only one week to rehearse, I thought he did really well and also thanks to Karina’s choreography.
Kellie – I think she moves so well and I think she’ll make it to the finals. Great personality.
Dorothy and Tristan – Aawwww! Just lovely.
Ingo – I thought he did great and I was worried from earlier rehearsal footage and now he can move on to ballroom dances. Phew!
Aly – She did okay, imo. Not great, not bad.
Wynonna – That’s the Wy I was hoping to see tonight. I’m glad she didn’t let the fear show. Go Wynonna!
Andy – I want him to go far. So endearing and I thought the Woody Allen analogy was spot on.
Sean – Wow! He was worse than I thought he was going to be. I’m actually surprised. I don’t know why. Maybe I hoped Peta was going to prove me wrong in the teacher/choreographer department.
Lisa – Oh I wish she would have danced better. She’s so funny and self-effacing and Gleb has such a sweet nature about him, kind of boyish really and I think he’s around 30. But I’ll take him.
Victor – Such a sweet man and what a tar-jerker of a childhood. He moved terribly, imo but I want to see him do really well. What a good and decent guy.
And then there’s D.L. – I could tell by Cheryl’s heads up that he was going to be bad but my Lord, that was way worse than I could fathom, UGLY! After the judges comments and his scores, he looked like he wished he were voted off right then. He looked like it is going to be torture for him to have to do it again for one more week. Bye bye.
I thought the premiere was filled with pleasant surprises and one unfortunate disaster
Kellie& Derek – Great routine. I loved how it was a bit cheeky. she has fantastic lines and can groove too. I only wish there was less in hold dancing so i could see how she moves by hersel. she has LOADS of potential
Victor&lindsay – super nice guy. ok routine,but didnt stand out and pancake hands (i thought most of the men suffered from that tonight)
Ingo&kym – this was better than i expected. pretty routine and for a big guy his moves were surprisingly graceful.
Lisa&gleb – decent but she seemed SO nervous, and she smacked poor gleb in the face on one of those turns.
DL & Cheryl – what the hell was this?? are u telling me that it took 3 weeks of practice for him to dance like this? i would have hated to have seen what he looked like before. he was giving me master p vibes
Zendaya & Val – WOW!! i dont think val is playing any games with his first ringer
Sean Peta – ok, but why was it so raunchy for a foxtrot? i just hope thats not their theme for the whole show
Aly & Mark- her shaking and sass was great, but her actual dancing was a bit dissapointing. It was ok but just not at the level i expected her to be
Dorothy & Tristan – u just have to love these two…so sweet. I thought it was an organic and lovely routine – although it did look like she was trying to skate into some moves instead of dancing. If she can do latin, tristan has a good shot this season
Wynonna & tony – another pleasant surprise. Not great, but definitely not the timid mess i was expecting. she was cool but still had a bit of rhythym.
andy & sharna – pleasant surprise again. Not bad, not bad at all andy. he did stomp around in places, but he was selling the performance, and just looked to be having fun
Jacoby & karina – karina did a marvelous job choreographing this. im guess in a weeks time he couldnt pick up the cha cha techinique, because what little of it there was, he was terrible at. Luckily karina put so much just groove dancing moments in it, that by the end i just thought it was super entertaining
really interested in keeping track of mark vs derek vs val this season
– i would say val drew first blood tonight, but derek also had a solidly choreographed number. the only one i was dissapointed in was mark. it just seemed like a really basic routine
@Ashley L I was just getting ready to post something very similar to what you just did and will just say I agree with you. I think Jacoby will get better considering he has Katrina for a partner, and only had one week to practice. I think Katrina did what she needed to do because of that. Football players have a huge fan base so I think that will really help him. Not sure how big a fan base Zendaya has on her own, but Val’s may really help her.
I really enjoyed tonight and had some surprises such as Andy as I found him to be endearing as well. I really thought Sean would do better than he did, but just as he surprised you I thought the same thing. For me he didn’t flow at all. I think he will be okay for awhile due to the Bachelor watchers, but would hate to see someone more deserving to stay because Sean gets the votes. Guess I shouldn’t jump the gun as he may come back and surprise me next week. Just wasn’t impressed at all tonight.
Dorthy just warmed my heart and really hope her and Tristan stay around for a long while. Kellie and all the other comments you made about the others I so agree with. 🙂
@Yo Sean Peta – ok, but why was it so raunchy for a foxtrot? i just hope thats not their theme for the whole show.
Just read what you wrote above and that was my thought at well in regards to Sean and Peta’s performance tonight.
Certainly there are going to be constant comparisons between Aly and Shawn, but IMO, to be fair, Aly should be compared to Season EIGHT Shawn (and not Season 15 Shawn, where she already had the benefit of going through the entire competition once before).
So, compared to Shawn in her FIRST season, I thought Aly did well on the first night of dancing. As I expected, she’s not quite as strong in technique as Shawn, but I thought Aly did a better job performance-wise and selling the dance.
Interesting show and some great dances.
Loved Kellie & Derek. Enjoyed Dorothy & Tristan and Dick & Sharna.
Zendaya was great and will be interesting to watch during the ballroom.
Not so high on Jacoby but do understand he only had a week to learn routine – think Karina will need to keep his speaking to a minimum.
Aly & Mark – expected a bit more. Felt bad for Lisa as she seemed very uncomfortable with the dance.
Sean & Peta – as has been said raunchy foxtrot? meh.
My favorites in no particular order are Jacoby, Kellie and Zendaya. Jacoby is the most entertaining, Kellie has a fun personality and Zendaya for the great dancing. As a side note, Sharna could be my new favorite pro, I thought her foxtrot with Andy was the best foxtrot tonight. I’m liking Lisa more than I thought I would be. I found her funnier than Wynonna. And how gorgeous is Gleb?! 😉
Guess I’m in the minority, because I did not think Jacoby did well at all. There was not alot of cha cha in that routine, probably because they had such a short time to prepare….and he did look and act a little spaced out, like someone else mentioned. Loved Kellie (she’s hilarious and who knew she could move like that!) and was surprisingly touched by Andy and his dance. D.L. disappointed me with his talking about how dancing was everything NOT manly and how hard it was to tell his kid to clean his room or something after his kid saw him in cuban heels and tights. I’m sorry, but I hate that attitude. Maks and the other guys on the show look pretty darn manly to me. He should not be on the show if he feels that way. Lisa irritated me with all her fawning over Gleb like a sex-crazed older lady….I really dislike have to watch and listen to that. Gleb is hot, but he is your instructor. Get over it. Zendaya was amazing but I agree with the person who mentioned the disney kids being kind of stepford-wife-ish. Wynonna was a pleasant surprise. Loved Dorothy’s arms of course. She seems like such a sweetheart. Victor seemed like a nice guy too and I liked his routine even though it was just ok. I was surprised at Ingo…he was less stiff than I thought he would be. I actually enjoyed watching that routine (as much as a ballroom girl can enjoy watching contemporary). Mark did good with Aly’s routine but I kept worrying her boobs were going to pop out whenever he dipped her backwards. She is no Shawn, but that is not her fault. Will be interesting to see how she progresses this season. I enjoyed the show very much last night.
I really like almost everyone!
I’m a reluctant Val fan, but that sure was a stunningly gorgeous dance for Zendaya.
I’ll bet both Mark and Derek are happy with where they’re at. Pacing. They and their partners can afford to leave a little on the table this week. Saying that, that Kellie, she’s such a beautiful mover.
I didn’t love Jacoby’s dance but I agree with comments that Karina was very smart to put things in he was comfortable with given the lack of practice time so that he could be hugely entertaining.
Agree with the description of organic with Dorothy and Tristan. I loved that dance.
Andy was a pleasant surprise for me and I though Sharna looked lovely and she appears to be genuinely nurturing and supportive.
For some reason, I just want to root for Victor, even before knowing history. That smile I guess.
I also liked Ingo and Kym, and can’t help but root for Lisa too, hope she gets enough time to get over her nerves.
LOL Cheryl trying to put puredwts on blast on her twitter.
Personally I would switch Wynonna and tony with victor and Lindsay because they did so much better than her! I seen no content of cha cha if I did it was 2 8 counts
I doubt she even reads the site. There are a couple pros (well, okay, maybe ALL the pros) who just listen to what internet trolls – in some cases, their FANS – tell them and just believe it without question. Didn’t yer momma ever tell you to not believe everything you read on the net? Duh!!
But if she IS reading and thinks we’re too negative – um, quit reading?? LOL. Really? Poor thing must not be used to honest opinions. Gotta remember – everyone has one, and a right to one. If you don’t like negative ones, stay off the net.
Why would you be stunned, Steve?? I’m certainly not. 😀 As for the rest of it, well, read my previous comment. If she seriously thinks we take direction from her, she’s got another think coming.
I have to agree that Jacoby was not that good AT ALL. But remember, it’s the power rankings. It’s about a lot more than just dancing.
Who I really look forward to seeing again: Ingo, Kelli, Jacoby, Dorthy and Andy.
Also must admit being slowing turned not a Val fan. I want to see him again, so I guess Zendaya is on that llist too. it was a beautiful dance.
The rest were filler for me. Ally just doesn’t have the personality to excel in my opinion. She was forgettable to me.
Yeah…don’t tell people to “watch again” if they don’t agree with you. Odds are they watched it just fine the first time and just don’t agree with you.
Aly has no rhythm or musicality. Years of gymnastics training have not made this girl graceful, DWTS won’t change any of that. Just watch one of her floor routines – neither does she hear the music nor is she able to stay on beat. Shawn was always light on her feet and had good rhythm. Being successful on DWTS had nothing to do with gymnastics for her – she actually is quite a talented dancer. Aly on the other hand…
It sounds like Cheryl is taking it out on us. Why not criticize the judges for what they said negatively?
I can’t go quite as head to head with Mark, Derek and Val, yo. All three have different disadvantages. Kelly is older than the other two and has no formal training. Zendaya is SO YOUNG that it will almost certainly turn into a liability unless Val stays at his A game EVERY single week. And as for Aly – she’s an Olympic gymnast. She has all the advantages that the other two don’t have. BUT, she’s dancing one season after a brilliant gymnast/dancer in Shawn. What struck me most about her and Mark as that the weren’t really in sync. Regardless of what anyone thought of Shawn’s dances, she and Derek were always perfectly in sync. It was kinda glaring tonight that she wasn’t.
Anyway, I don’t think we can compare the choreo that directly because they all have very different limitations. Oddly, Aly is the one with the least and I think she was number 3 out of three.
Nice idea, Cali, to compare to Season 8 Shawn – but people’s brains don’t work that way. The other Shawn is too recent. Speaking of the general viewing audience, it’s what she’s going to have to deal with.
I’m going to keep this short: I liked everyone BUT D.L. Hughley. Sean made me eat crow. He has potential but still is boring and reminds me of Ken from Toy Story 3.
Sidenote, as for the Cheryl thing. Is it just me or was she checked out as much as D.L. as well?
What’s funny too about Cheryl is she came off “NEGATIVE” in her own BLOG, but, that’s ok I guess. 😕
Other sidenote, Lisa’s dog is growing on me. My dad was watching and goes “Why is the dog wearing clothes” So I told him why. He voted for her just becuase of her dog.
Well that was fun! In the same order as Court’s, my thoughts on the couples
Jacoby and Karina. he’s certainly got the moves, and if he can keep his arrogance in check, should go far. Are they my pick to win? Not yet, but, like Donald, I think he will grow on people.
Zendaya and Val. Really nice to see the choreography from Val. I think he’s got a opportunity to be out from his brother’s shadow this year. She can certainly dance, but she’s 16. How is Val going to handle the heat of a paso doble and not make it look icky with young girl? This will be one couple to watch this season.
Kelly and Derek. First of all, I have waist envy. Mine hasn’t been that small since I was 5! And Court’s tweet was right on. She does look like a young Lori Morgan. I can see them going far. She was having fun, and she’s a natural.
Dorothy and Tristan Loved these two. She’s very graceful, and should do well in the ballroom dances, like waltz as long as she can get over her nerves.
Aly and Mark. Ok, I was expecting more. And didn’t get it. And is it just me or does she look and act like Bristol Palin? That could become a problem for her.
Andy and Sharna. Ok, I cried. I loved this. Not because he was the best dancer, but I thought he did very well. He’s coming from a very fragile place and so far, he’s winning. This was the first time I really thought the judges comments were out of line. Constructive criticism, fine. But there’s no need to be cruel. I also loved the support he got from the rest of the cast when they got up to the skybox.
Wynonna and Tony. I was pleasantly surprised tonight. I think she can move, but she’s got to let go a bit more. She’s also going to have trouble with some of the dances like the jive. However, I’m rooting for her because I’ve was a Judd’s fan for years. I loved seeing Naomi in the audience and how nervous she was for Wy. Wy and her mom haven’t always gotten along so that was nice to see. Wynonna’s had some tough times in her life, so I hope this will be a joyous experience for her regardless of how long she lasts.
Ingo and Kim. The dance was was great, but like Court, I found myself forgetting about them as the evening went on. They just didn’t stand out in my mine. And boo to Grumpy Len.
Sean and Peta. Isn’t this guy’s 15 minutes of fame up yet?
Lisa and Gleb Ok, hes kinda cute and I like her, but she spent more time trying to make sure she wasn’t getting to close to Gleb than she did embracing the dance. Some of that was certainly nerves, but she’s going to have to embrace the sexy and closeness in order to bring it on this season.
Victor and Lyndsay Lyndsay did nothing for me at all in terms of her dancing. Love love love Victor’s smile (I was thinking Hines Ward smile rather than Rob kardashian) and his willingness to go there and give it a shot. But I also kinda forgot about them right after.
DL and Cheryl. Ok. Well. This is the second time I thought the judges were way out of line with their comments. Yeah the dance was a hot mess, but I thought the judges comments were just cruel and unnecessary. At the very least, give him props for getting out there. I do think they will be going home tonight though.
Yeah, Vin…and I think she’s pissed we noticed. 😉
I loved last night!
My rankings would be that while I think Zendaya was just a HAIR better than Kellie, my unbiased opinion is that Kellie was the best last night. She impressed me the most. Now I too am not on the Jacoby band wagon…just yet. I’m going to give him more time but we’ll see. He certainly didn’t stink. I think Sean was better than I expected but he seriously needs some polish and less hair gel 😛 .
Loved Lisa, though it wasn’t the greatest. I really liked Aly too and yes, I think we shouldn’t compare her to Shawn and let her grow but the problem is we can’t help but compare her to Shawn so I really can’t say much but that I did feel she was weaker than I had anticipated but I feel she has a lot of promise.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised last night and a shout out to Andy Dick as well!!!
Loved Ingo and Kym!! There chemistry was fabulous in that dance. I can’t wait to see them develop!!
I really liked Kellie and Dorothy. Kellie was scored too low or the others too high.
I thought Jacoby’s attitide was awful. Was he drunk? Jet lagged?
He is on par with Jerry Rice, and Jason Taylor. Doesn’t have the moves or personality of Emmitt, Donald or Hines. It was exciting because they had fireworks and the crowd got glow sticks.
Kellie, Dorothy and Zendaya are my favorites.
@vin – “Sidenote, as for the Cheryl thing. Is it just me or was she checked out as much as D.L. as well?”
Well she didn’t need D.L. for that, we all know she checked out seasons ago, I don’t why she is still on the show.
I went back and rewatched some of the dances this morning for a new perspective.
Jacoby was just terrible, and almost borderline disrespectful. I think he is arrogant and I don’t care for his personality at all. I will be disappointed if Karina doesn’t beat him into shape and fast.
Dorothy and Tristan were like a fairytale, so elegant and graceful.
Andy and Sharna, I love these two together and her choreography was quite good.
Ingo and Kym, left me feeling underwhelmed, I hope they can make a statement soon.
Kellie and Derek were fantastic.
The rest were just filler.
My favs from the night after watching again were:
Victor and Lindsay…these two were so cute together. Victor did pretty well on his first time out with such a technical dance. They have good chemistry, and the judges comments were good.
Jacoby and Karina…They really got down with that chacha. Looking forward to see how he do in the ballroom dances.
Derek and Kellie…I just really like Kellie and her accent lol she can dance too.
So, overall, a really good show. There were a few moments that marred it, but for the most part, I enjoyed it a lot, and smiled quite a bit.
1)Zendaya & Val – I think she was the best dancer last night. I didn’t enjoy the routine the most, but I can recognize her talent. Val is coming across better than last season, and I’m hoping he continues to – but I was rooting for Kelly and Val last season for the first few weeks, and then the showmance started. So we’ll see. I feel like the judges were pimping her a bit – I’m not sure I thought that was worthy of three 8’s. But overall a nice dance.
2)Kellie and Derek – so much fun, and Kellie can *move*. She’s the best natural dancer (other than Zendaya) on this season. I think if she had gone later in the night, she would have gotten higher scores. The best cha cha of the night.
3)Jacoby & Karina – They had a lot of charisma on the floor, and the dance was fun to watch. I agree that there didn’t seem to be much cha cha content, and that what there was wasn’t well executed. I think Jacoby’s gaining some more respect for dancing, especially after being *so* winded after the cha cha – if he’s that winded now, how is he going to handle quickstep or jive? Of course, he’s had less time to train than the others, and was probably relegated to a pretty low activity level after the surgery.
4)Dorothy and Tristan – It was a lovely dance (though a bit bland as far as choreography), and they’re both so sweet. Dorothy was less timid than I expected, given their rehearsal footage. I’m glad she’s gaining confidence.
5)Aly and Mark – It was a good cha cha, but it wasn’t great in any dimension – choreography, execution, etc. She seems to have fewer inhibitions about shaking stuff than Shawn did, but less dance ability. Also, though she comes across naturally in rehearsal, ask her a question and she answers in such a flat, monotone voice.
6)Andy and Sharna – I thought this was the best foxtrot of the night, and I don’t know what Len’s problem was – it certainly wasn’t the worst of the four. He and Sharna are so great together – I’m really enjoying her as a pro, and I think she pulled some really nice choreography out that suited Andy. My second favorite couple (after Kellie and Derek).
7)Ingo and Kym – this was nice, but forgettable. It was a bit clunky in places, but had some really nice lifts. I think they’re great together, but I think Ingo may need to loosen up a tad.
8)Wynonna and Tony – She was better than I expected. I thought she’d be stiffer and more timid. Nothing inspired, but a nice dance.
9)Sean and Peta – Please, can they go (right after DL)? Peta’s gotten stuck in this sexy/raunchy rut. I’m realizing more and more that when I thought I was enjoying Donald and Pete in season 14, I was just enjoying Donald. The dance was a bit stompy, and Carrie Ann’s fawning over it was to be expected.
10)Victor and Lindsay – Really cute together, and I think that overall the choreography was nice. I didn’t really notice her dancing around him while I was watching the show, but looking back, I can see it a bit. Hopefully just a rookie mistake. It will be interesting to see her choreography develop.
11)Lisa and Gleb – Lisa was charming, and Gleb good-looking, but the package was a little awkward, as was the dance. It felt like she was being dragged around a bit. I agree that Gleb maybe was a little too ambitious in his choreography.
12)DL and Cheryl – This was not good. I hope that people just let him go.
I think all the contemporary dances suffered (at least for me) by the inevitable comparison to the contemporary on SYTYCD, or even Derek’s dance with Allison last season. When you’re used to seeing choreography from world class choreographers, last night’s contemporary comes across as a bit bland. None of the routines really seemed to go anywhere, and none of them moved me to any particular degree. I wish they’d ditch it, and (as I mentioned on another post) if TPTB want some new, add theater arts – it’s a ballroom genre, but has a contemporary type feel, and it would be better than adding contemporary and jazz to the line up.
@Sandy: I thought she was going to be back to normal after last season (she seemed to actually care last season) but wow it was BAD. I think she is going to be not part of the next season.
Oh boohoo, I’m Cheryl and I’m so used to having my ass kissed by the judges no matter what I do, that I lash out irrationally when I actually get called out for an apathetic, sloppy, and just plain bad dance…nevermind the fact that the judges were ten times nastier than anything said here, PureDWTS is to blame for everything. How dare they actually have an opinion of me that isn’t good!!! Waaaaahhhhhh!!!
The fact that she even felt the need to name drop us says more about her than it does about us. Truth hurts, doesn’t it, Cheryl? Thanks for the extra hits 😉 Oh, you’re all about the positive, eh? Here’s a positive: at least you guys will probably get sent home next week, so we won’t even be commenting on you here anymore. See? SILVER LININGS!!! 😀
Funny…not a single Cheryl troll has shown up to defend her. I even checked the spam filter.
I loved Jacoby. He wasn’t perfect but he was really entertaining. People take this show way too seriously. But Jacoby made it fun. Karina as his pro he will get better. This is what has been missing on this show someone that has rhythm and can entertain but has room to improve.
On another subject what is up with Cheryl. Guess the woman is not used to getting criticizism. People are entitled to their opinion and puredwts did not say anything different from what others are saying regarding DL. From reading his twitter I got the impression that he was more interested in promoting his appearances than rehearsing.
Jacoby bothered me because I thought maybe he was high or something. I hope it was just being excited to be on the show. Aly was a bit of a disappointment and I blame Mark for that. He played it safe. Andy and Zendaya were my two surprises of the night.
Quick note on Jacoby: like or hate him or his dance last night, there was a reason he got the pimp spot on premiere night. Keep that in mind.
I know PH, that you don’t really care what Cheryl says but this urkes me and now I am feeling really defensiove of you guys and gals. You work really hard to put a good site together for THE FANS and we have a right to our opinions.
My opinion is that Cheryl is to blame for that mess last night. She basically let D.L. stand there. If there was a reason for it, work around it but seeing if he had an injury or what not seeing how they like to milk those things I highly doubt that.
All they both have is a big case of the IDGASs.
Apparently MAks wasn;t the only one that needed to be “rotated” out.
Someone told me that Andy has jazz next week. Is that true? If it is, I’m actually kinda excited for that one. He did a really nice foxtrot (shoutout to Sharna for that choreography) and I think it might be a good dance for him becuase they can encorporate comedy into it.
Hey Vin, see our Interview wrap up post!! Andy and Sharna speak of their next dance in an interview there. Can’t decide if she said Jazz or Jive?
I really enjoyed the show last night! I think that we were definitley missing a spark with the All-Star season, and it was nice to feel the good vibes again last night!!
I found myself clapping after almost everyone last night!! It was a really great show!! My personal favs:
Zendaya and Val, Andy and Sharna, Dorothy and Tristan, Jacoby and Karina.
I blame Peta for that mess of a foxtrot — sometimes she dances WAY TOO HARD! That dance is supposed to be smooth and fluid, not powerful and choppy. Horrible.
I thought Val delivered some of the best choreography of the night! I’m super excited to see what else he comes up with as the season progresses!
I didn’t find Jacoby to be disrespectful at all. I think he was trying to be funny because he was so tired. He was stumbling around from exhaustion. He’s just EXTREMELY country…there’s a difference between New Orleans country and Nashville country (along with a few cultural differences) and I think it just isn’t appealing to some people. I find him hilarious, but I know not everyone does. 🙂 His technicality was pretty bad, but overall it was the most entertaining of the night. There is definitely room for improvement, but there is also loads of potential. Part of me thinks he might be better suited for ballroom…
Then there is Cheryl. What was she thinking?! If she’s all about spreading positivity, then she needs to rethink the tone of her blog! She started the negativity right there. Luckily for her, she probably only has to write one more post…lol. She should probably stay away from the internet — none of the articles/blogs/recaps had anything nice to say. You guys were pretty tame compared to the things I’ve read today!
Keep up the good work ladies — I appreciate this site and all the hard work that goes into it! Can’t be mad at the truth! 😉
I think that everyone should stop comparing Aly to Shawn. They are two different people just coming from the same place. In season 8 it also took Shawn a week or two to warm up, but I’m sure Aly will get better within the next few weeks. I hope people vote for her and Mark. Kellie and Derek were pretty awesome. I felt like Zendaya should not have been on the show this season. Nothing against her, but it seems that she has dance experience and I know its a different style of dance, but its still dance. I can’t wait to see what they have to bring for us in the next few weeks!
# Sandy, I think your perspective is right on because I really respect Karina and I think she has what it takes to make a dancer out of anyone who is willing to try. We’ll have to see if Jacoby tries at all. I know I’m glad that the season started again and that I don’t miss it when I’m working at DISH because I just watch the next day before I go to work. My DISH Hopper records it and then when I watch it I can skip the commercials, which saves me enough time to watch another show and get more out of my relaxation time.
I am from Baltimore and a huge Ravens fan. People let me explain Jacoby to you. He is NOT AT ALL ARROGANT. What you saw last night is vintage Jacoby Jones. He is and always has been the class clown of the Ravens organization. We here in Baltimore love him mainly because of his personality. He wasnt drunk or high. He was just being Jacoby. That personality and his touchdown dances (which are epic) are te reason he was asked to be on the show, and he wouldnt be Jacoby unles she said yes. I think he will grow on y’all.
Grr. Again… Saying Zendaya shouldn’t have been on the show is like saying Sabrina shouldn’t have been on the show either, yet she was loved by pretty much EVERYONE. And she still got eliminated. Just as Roshon who also is a dancer but pretty much sucked.
It doesn’t matter if they have dance experience or not, it is a whole different type of dancing and even though she is trained to move and to, well, dance, it doesn’t mean that she’s gonna be any good (though I hope she excells). Just because she took the top spot last night with the Contemporary doesn’t mean she’ll be good at the Jive next week or at a Quickstep or Waltz in the next weeks.
PH – agree with your #44/45. I do think it will be hard for people not to compare Aly with All-Star season Shawn, when it should be with Season 8 Shawn or I guess not at all. But while I think Aly’s performance level toward the audience and sass were better than Shawn’s this early in her original season, her timing seemed off with Mark and that surprised me a lot. She will only get better and she’s certainly driven, it will be interesting to see where she goes from here. I’m sure Mark’s choreo will get better too. If Aly never reaches the level of Shawn, (season 8 or season 15) maybe everyone can stop complaining that being a gymnast is too much of an advantage? Maybe Shawn was just a natural? Haha wshful thinking I know….
Reading Annie Barretts recap:
“And look what has become of Troupe member Sasha! Once a dancer, now a pup butler.”
Too funny! 🙂
Some might call that an upgrade 😉 Just sayin’…
I really don’t have anything to add about the rankings that hasn’t already been said. I just wanted to tell Court that # 58 had me literally laughing out loud! I almost rofl when you said you went so far as to even check the spam filter to see if a troll came to defend her. Congrats,guys, on more hits I suppose? lol
I’m going to give my thoughts, using C’s listing…
1) Jacoby and Karina… I give him the benefit of the doubt…. He learned that in one week, and for the amount of time he had, he did great! Plus, he’s dancing on a newly repaired knee, and dancing can be incredibly difficult on things like knees. I can even forgive his posture and footwork, because with the time they had, she may not have had time to do more than teach the choreography.
2) Zendaya and Val… I’m still thinking she’s too young, but I will admit she did quite well, and there is a lot of potential for her. But, she did have a big advantage last night other than age, and it’s the hip hop dancing background… Obviously I know little about it, but in my mind, I would think that hip hop is closer to contemporary than anyone else had with their dance style.
3) Kellie and Derek… Great way to open the show, love their chemistry! After watching their package, and compared to most of the others sob stories, I just wondered why they didn’t focus on that with her? She’s got just as much a sad background as many of the others, and they chose to NOT show hers.
4) Dorothy and Tristan… They’re a good pair, and I like them together. I do love how he used her skating background within the dance, give her something she’s comfortable about to get her used to dancing….
5) Aly and Mark… I really didn’t like her dance as much as Kellie’s, and I said aloud that fact, and also that I predicted that the judges would give her the same or higher than Kellie… I was wrong though, because I really feared they would score her higher. Still hate the spats.
6) Andy and Sharna… Love this pair! Love this guy, I found him very charming and sweet, with a bit of innocence about him! I LOVED how the whole cast swarmed around him with support as soon as they got up to Brookebotmountain. Didn’t like how short Brooke seemed to get shooing everyone away, but I do understand how limited time they had, and she had TPTB screaming at her in her ear.
7) Wynonna and Tony… Man oh Man does she have a dramaqueen Mom? I’m rooting for this pair, and hope to see her let it all loose… She had a great start!
8) Ingo and Kym… I’d hoped for better for them, but maybe I was expecting too much, especially considering contemporary isn’t ballroom. I’ll have to wait until next week before making a decision on them…
9) Sean and Peta… Their package confused me… I was sure that they were supposed to have foxtrot, so seeing her have him grind his hips and telling him to rub and grab himself…. Way too much. I’d love to see a real routine from them, without raunch… thinking too much to ask?
10) Lisa and Gleb… Not sure what to say, they were a bit forgettable I think… She had too much nervousness and that got in the way I think, and not having her dog in her arms still throws her?
11) Victor and Lindsay… Nice, sweet, and that will probably be what does them in.
12) D.L. and Cheryl… Nothing more to say….
Lol Maizie – I got one errant Cheryl worshipper tweeting me about my “personal hatred” of Cheryl. Such a flair for hyperbole, those Cheryl fans – you actually have to care in order to hate someone, and I really just don’t care about Cheryl. But beyond that – not a peep of anyone actually trying to defend her. I think the majority of them are laying low because even they know that cha-cha was bad to the bone.
re les227, what you’re saying rings very true to me, I couldn’t put my finger on it all along, I kept thinking he was just a giant little boy, but yes, EXTREMELY country. Thanks! And Jessica #68, class clown. There’s a way it’s extremely endearing, to me anyway.
I personally loved the stank face Jacoby was giving Len during his critique last night. Was about time that someone threw it back at that grump ol’ coot…
i was surprised Tristan even tweeted something to the effect of the haters…i mean it comes with the territory- you are on a show to be judged. The celebs do well if their pro choreographs a good dance that is fun, has enough technique and focuses on their partner strengths. As for the contemporary- i actually prefer Kym’s choreography last night even if it wasn’t executed as well as Val and Zendaya’s. It looked more like contemporary (maybe a few too many lifts) than Val’s piece. Nonetheless- I enjoyed Val’s choreo as well and i truly believe that he is a better dancer, teacher, and choreographer than Maks. (hence why they didn’t invite him back on the show since there will be new dances that he often complained about). Tristan fell short for me in the choreo dept and has something to prove to me this season. I will give him the benefit of the doubt previously since he was slightly hindered by some partners but there should be no reason why Dorothy can’t keep up- age and all. He needs to start bringing it. Same for Peta….she does nothing for me as a choreographer…that Foxtrot seemed forced, unnatural, and just awkward…and it wasn’t him- it was more her! I think Sharna did a great job with her choreography. Mark and Aly’s cha cha was very blah for me. She brought the sass and the personality but was lacking the technical skill and dance ability that Shawn has- and yes she will be compared to Shawn- its just the way the cookie crumbles. Shawn’s legs (Season 8 & 15) were much more sharp, strong, and precise. Obviously all of this is my humble opinion…i def need to see more though! Kellie looked and danced amazing- although i think she was stronger in her rehearsal packages..which could be chalked up to nerves, going first, etc…so i expect to see alot more from her.
So happy for Zendaya! I think she’s definitely going to be here for the long haul! She’ll definitely go the route of Cody, Monique, Kyle and Chelsie.
Jacoby and Kellie will probably make it far and in the finals with Zendaya imo.
Wynonna Judd and Andy Dick had a great time on the floor and I wouldn’t mind them for a few weeks.
I think Aly is going to place 4th or 5th. For some reason I don’t think she’s going to be at the level of Shawn especially when there’s another youngster in the mix.
Lisa, DL & Victor are all borrowing time in early eliminations.
Dorothy and Ingo are going to be the wildcards of the season. I can see one of them being the “surprise” elimination and the other placing somewhere in the top 6. One will definitely get lost in the shuffle.
Sean Lowe, ehh he’s alright and will probably tap out in 7th or 8th place.
Loved Dorothy and Tristan! Maybe a little safe, but lovely, and could Tristan get any cuter? No! I hope they stay for a while.
Kellie was a surprise. Who knew she had such flexibility and dance ability?
Like some other posters, I don’t get Jacoby at all, but we all have different opinions. He kinda looked like a dancing bear. (Sorry , I know he’s a Raven, 🙂
I’m surprised that I like Andy Dick. I really don’t know that much about him, but evidently he’s had some addiction problems. I wish him well.
The lady with the dog I’m not familiar with, but just don’t think the ballroom is a place for pets. I love dogs, but, really, clothes and a dog nanny? If all the celebs start bringing their pets, this could be a disaster. See, all I remember is the dog, couldn’t even tell you what she danced.
Wynonna is Kirstie part deux. She does have a fanbase, and her dancing was ok. Just hope Tony doesn’t try to lift her when they do contemporary.
I thought Zendaya and Val were the best of the night. Yes, she has had dance training, but she’s not the first. Her youth is an advantage over the older celebs, but as we’ve said before, parity is not possible on this show. And DWTS will pimp their ABC people. Val choreographed a stunning routine, and I hope to see more of them. He’s not just a little brother anymore.
I was a little disappointed in Aly and Mark. Just didn’t enjoy watching them. My expectations were too high, I guess.
Len has gotten grumpier. 🙁
I just saw the post. I think she said jazz.
I guess because if I were in their position I’d never even *look* at the internet, Heidi. Why would I want to see all the hate and idiocy?
The internet population can destroy anything. If I were a DWTS pro I’d never even go near it. No matter what I did, there’d be hate and noise and nonsense. Even Kym the kind gets ragged on for ‘looking old’ and having had ‘too many facelifts’. I’d just stay away.
(Disclaimer because some folks are sensitive: I am *not* saying the people on this board are hateful idiots. I’m saying the internet as a whole is full of hateful idiocy.)
I think this may have been the first season I haven’t voted. Usually, I have a clear-cut favorite, but this season I was conflicted because some of the stars (Kellie and Zendaya) show great potential as dancers, some are sentimental favorites (Dorothy), and some have backstories that make me just want to root for them (Victor and Andy).
I agree with a number of comments that previous posters have made. First, I found Aly’s outfit to be very distracting. All I could think about when she was dancing was that there was going to be a a wardrobe malfunction in that dress. The dress didn’t look like it was doing its job when she was standing, never mind bouncing around the floor. Also, I found her to be somewhat stiff on the dance floor. I don’t remember Shawn being like this her first season on DWTS, but then I was a huge fan of hers, so perhaps I overlooked Shawn’s moments of awkwardness.
Second, Kellie’s performance should have received a higher score based on the dances that came after her. The only dance that arguably could have been considered better was Val and Zendaya’s.
Third, Jacoby’s dance kind of reminded me of Carson Kressley’s “Moves Like Jagger” routine. You watched it knowing that the technique was awful, but that they were having so much fun on the dance floor they were forgiven.
All I can say about D.L. and Cheryl is that they were so bad, they were good T.V.
My favorite dance from last night was Zendaya and Val’s contemporary dance. I thought they did a great job and I’m really looking forward to seeing them next week.
I have to admit that I was kind of disappointed with Aly and Mark’s cha cha. It just didn’t stand out to me and I couldn’t help but compare her to Shawn. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing their dance next week as well.
Andy wasn’t the best of the night, but his rehearsal package moved me. I think his foxtrot was better than what people expected.
Cheryl and D.L. were the worst of the night. Neither seem to be interested in dancing this season. I think they’ll be eliminated first next week.
Last night was fun. Except for DL, I’m glad we’re we’ll see them all again before one of them is sent packing.
I wish Len hadn’t turned into a jerk. I know his “role” on the panel is the cranky ballroom judge, but he’s overdoing it and his personal biases are badly influencing his comments and scores.
For me the women are much stronger dancers than the men. I expect to enjoy their performances a lot more than the guys’ this season.
Here’s how I rank the couples in a very unscientific combination of how they danced last night, how I felt about their partnership, and just the general “vibe” I got while watching them perform.
1 Kellie & Derek
2 Zendaya & Val
3 Dorothy & Tristan
4 Alexandra & Mark
5 Ingo & Kym
6 Jacoby & Karina
7 Andy & Sharna
8 Victor & Lindsay
9 Lisa & Gleb
10 Sean & Peta
11 Wynonna & Tony
12 D.L. & Cheryl
My favorites are still Dorothy/Tristan and Kellie/Derek. Just love ’em both.
Andy and Sharna were delightful. So pleased for them even though the marks weren’t great. Hope they won over a lot of viewers.
Jacoby still doesn’t impress me (neither his personality nor his dance skills), but I’m giving Karina another week to convince me there’s something there.
DL and Cheryl need to go. If there’s any justice in the ballroom, they’ll be eliminated next week.
Let’s see….my thoughts?…Kellie looked amazing…can’t wait to see what else she can do….Aly?…was disappointed…..not comparing her to Shawn…just in comparison to others last night…..thought she would have more and she didn’t…..of course, maybe that disappointment comes from pre-show rankings where I thought she would be…???……don’t think Mark’s routine was the best to showcase her either…..Sean and Peta??…felt bad for him….he does seem stiff….on his sister’s blog she said he is NOT a dancer at all…doesn’t even go to clubs and dance…..hence the stiffness….BUT Peta’s routine was awful….and she is just going to try and use sex instead of really teaching him to dance…..Cheryl?…I have read through everyone of these comments….nothing on here is as bad as what the judges said last night…..it was a general I DON’T CARE ROUTINE from DL and Cheryl…so therefore you get what you get guys…….not a big Val fan in general…he and Kellie last year turned me off…..but I thought his routine with Zendaya was really good…..and he has a fine line to walk this year with her at age 16….if last night is any indication, I’m looking forward to it….Jacoby???….well, I’m going to try and not form too strong of an opinion at the moment…???….I don’t get his personality…just looks like attitude to me…..and while the routine last night was fun…it was also a mess….just don’t know how he is going to translate over to some of the ballroom dances….so going to reserve judgement on him…see what he can show me……the scores???….I think they could have spread the scores out even more….too many bunched together score wise…when there really was a bit more distinct difference….looking forward to next week!!!
Aly — I was disappointed in ABC’s rehearsal package of her. I think in some of her recent interviews she’s shown much more personality than viewers are used to, and even some of the other rehearsal footage that’s been out has looked better of her. She came across very bland, like the dance, until she was performing. The dance… Musicality clearly isn’t her forte yet, but Mark is no idiot. Yes, surprises happen during elimination, but I think Mark clearly knows she has a pretty solid fan base. I don’t think the choreography has to be “innovative” yet, and it may be better to play it safe for now; this way the judges can make technical remarks rather than harassing them for choreography they don’t like. I’d say playing it safe gives her time to work on the technique before they bring the big choreography guns out.
Dorothy– I can’t figure out why everyone is raving about it. Her story was sentimental, but I expected more of a former figure skater. Lines weren’t bad, but the choreography didn’t impress me. It also just looked very sloppy. Contemporary should have been saved for later weeks when they’ve had more experience dancing.
Ingo– Forgettable. That’s really all I remember about it. I really don’t think Mr. Pancake hands will get very far.
Victor– I really want to like him as a dancer. He’s so charming. He’s someone who could have used a more experienced pro, like Chelsie or Cheryl. Lindsay’s choreography didn’t impress me, but I’ll give her a chance to grow on the show. I can see him being a darkhorse like Rob Kardashian was. I think if you can see improvements in him week after week & he continues to be so sweet/show that he’s working he can make it a lot longer than people expect.
Sean– What a hot mess. I really wanted to like him, but I couldn’t as soon as I saw the cheesy theme. He better get shirtless and quick if he wants the votes. I think he could have benefitted from a more seasoned pro, like Anna, who wouldn’t be a push over. He seemed a lot more fun in rehearsals than he looked in the live performance. Who knows, maybe it was first time jitters, but I wouldn’t be mad about seing him go far if he can improve.
Andy– I really wanted to hate him like I did when I heard he was part of the cast, but I just couldn’t. He reminds me of a Steve Wozniak: not the greatest dancer, but clearly wanting to try their hardest and enjoy the experience. Sharna’s choreography was BEAUTIFUL. He’s another person I’d like to give another chance like Sean & Victor.
Wynonna– Eh. Tony has another girl who can’t particularly dance. The routine was forgettable; the only thing I remember about the performance are the Judd’s in the audience making the telephone hand signals. At least you got your one rigged win with Melissa. Aside from that, I am disappointed Tony never gets anyone with real dancer potential. He became one of my favorite male pros last season when he actually got to showcase his choreography. Maybe next season.
DL– Well, Cheryl looked good.
Lisa– Oh Lisa, what a hot mess. I really want to like her though based on her rehearsal footage. I unfortunately think she will be gone soon. Gleb doesn’t seem to have a strong enough personality for teaching. He just seemed to fade into the background. He’s cute, but I would rather someone with a personality like Maks or Louis back. Guess we’ll see if he steps out more next week.
Jacoby– He’s another one I’m inclined to hate because I hate the Ravens, but he’s so charming when he dances. Karina has become one of my favorite female pros since she appears to lose her diva tendencies while still keeping her partners in check. I have no complaints about his dance; it was entertaining & put a smile on my face. So what if it wasn’t all chacha (like Shawn’s was’t all samba)? The parts that were were not bad for the first week. I’m interested to see how Karina will challenge him and keep his ego in check.
Kellie– I think being with Derek is going to kill her chances. Like others have said if Shawn couldn’t win when she should have since people think it’s not fair for Derek to win, Kellie won’t. It was a good opening number, and I think she has a great place to start from. She appears to be flexible and have really nice lines. She’s someone who I look forward to seeing grow, and I expect to see great choreography out of Derek.
Zendaya– Ugh. Where to start. If being a cheerleader & gymnast put you at an advantage, a hip hop dancer certainly does. I’ve extensively trained in all styles of dance since I was three (no ballroom), but have taken ballroom classes on occasion at a master class. It’s extremely easy to pick up having this background. Don’t let her fool you when she says it’s not. Yell at me all you want, but I don’t think she should be a contestant when she identifies herself as a “hip hop dancer.” I think she’s in for an early out, because I don’t see her connecting with the audience well since she’s so young/not really in the target demographic’s age range. Yes, there have been other Disney Stars to do well, but none of them were THAT young.I don’t see them making the finals.
It was definitely the best contemporary of the night, and Val appears to be coming out of Maks’ shadow. I was glad to see that it wasn’t completely full of lifts like Kym’s was.
On another note…the producers need to get rid of those stupid spotlights. Ugh anyone else get angry last night when you couldn’t see a whole dance they were so bright shining on the couple?
So after careful consideration these were my rankings with my score for each :
1)Zendaya and Val (9)
2)Dorothy and Tristan (8)
3)Kellie and Derek(8)
4)Jacoby and Karina (7)
5)Ingo and Kym (7)
6)Wynonna and Tony(7)
7)Victor and Lindsay(7)
8)Aly and Mark(7)
9)Lisa and Gleb(7)
10)Andy and Sharna(7)
11)Sean and Peta(7)
12)D.L. and Cheryl (2)
Wow, I think I saw a different show :S!
My ranking is:
1) Kellie – Not only because I’m a Derek’s fan freak, but daamn that girl can bust a move! Her legs, the flexibility, the way she flirted and got the connection with Derek impressed me a lot. I was hoping to be good but not that good. Though she needs to work on her leg pace, I bit rough and slow in some times.
2) Zendaya – I’m giving her the number two spot just because I didn’t like the choreography. I love watching contemporary dances on Youtube, and that was close but not enough. I think the fact that Zendaya is 16 took the “let’ get wild and intense” card to Val. Anyway, it’s obvious the dancing experience and it’s good to have this kind of contestants, in order to get higher standars.
3) Dorothy – Ohh man, Love me some Team Dorothy. Her elegance and smoothness combined with the humbleness and delightful smile of Tristan make this team a pleasure to watch. I hope Tristan can develop the potential that we know Dorothy has.
4) Andy – Man, he’s a train-wreck in person but I LOVED how he tackle the choreography and injected his personality into it. Sharna looked BEAUTIFUL (weird, I just cannot remember how Sharna was in the Troupe. I blame Oksana’s hair for that). I’m so waiting to see him dance the Jive, I don’t know why I think he will rock it.
5) Jacoby – I, as many others, think that Jacoby was a bit messy in the footwork. The posture he had was AWFUL. Although his potential is crystal clear, I think he needs to lower down a bit the energy and the cockiness. Let’s hope that Karina’s attitude doesn’t get twisted as Peta’s in the All-Stars.
5) Alexandria – I might get slammed by this comment, but I HATE Aly’s body. She’s so muscular and tough. And that costume was not the right one, she looked… well, I can’t even find a word… Just bad. Now, the potential of a gymnast is out of question; she’s a but stiff and I’m missing the smoothness of a cha-cha. I agree with Courtney about the “new/old” Mark, it’s like he’s the competitive and “let’s forget about the fans” Mark. I’m missing the creativity and craziness.
7) Ingo – Great strength, great body, great partner. I think that know is Kym’s turn to take this three characteristics and develop a dancer. I liked the contemporary, I was kinda agree with Len about Kym been all over the air and not on the floor. But as whole it was good.
8) Wynona – I would love to place Wy higher, but I think it’s a good start. I was hoping some Wendy Williams or Kate Gosling. And then, she came out and had so much fun that I wanted to be on the dance floor with her! The sassiness and the presence she had in the routine was GREAT. Give the woman a glass of wine and/or a tequila shot and she’ll be as smooth as butter and will be a tornado on the dancefloor.
9) Victor – He’s good, but he needs to be better. Lindsay needs to step up with the choreography, it was obvious she’s the new one. I cannot remember much of their dance.
10) Sean – Kinda expected. Kinda boring. Next. Sorry for Peta.
11) Lisa – God! Can she PLEASE get her sh*t together and dance?! I want to see Gleb for a good time in this season, he’s hooot! That’s all I can say about her.
12) D.L. – Can I say that D.L. is the Master-P from this season. He says he’s ready to give it all, but he gave NOTHING. And Cheryl… Man, she WAS my favorite Pro-Dancer, then she became obsessed with herself and with taking the shirt of her partner. I thought that she was a bit heavy (as in not as smooth as we know she is, please don’t take my comment in another way). This dance was a pain to watch.
That’s my ranking :). Greetings from México!
#65 & #68
Correct! He wasn’t high or being disrepectful. He’s a goofball. I wouldn’t compare him to Donald or Hines, I’d compare him to Warren Sapp. He’s very “country”. Did anyone see his sweet mama? Does that look like someone going to town after her son signed a fb contract?
On Karina’s fb page, she has acknowledged that she is aware that there are negative comments about his “cockiness” or his “attitude”. She said he is attentive and they laugh a lot. She knows he needs to act like he’s in a ballroom and not the locker room.
I also think they didn’t rush getting practice in after his surgery because let’s face it, his fans probably won’t let him go home after the first 2 dances so why risk tweaking the knee? She had JR hurt his ankle, Ralph hurt his knee, etc. Probably being careful.
Jacoby is very charitable! He loves kids and he is very “in touch” with his fans. Someone said he didn’t do an interview because he promised a live chat with his fans after and to do a video diary for them.
I think Gavin had an “odd” sense of humor too. But I ended up thinking he was a sweetheart.
It’s only week 1 🙂
I found Lindsay to be very green, hopefully she improves a lot by the end of their run. I think Gleb is kinda….creppy. Oh Cheryl Cheryl Cheryl what people are saying about you is found in about 90% of non-ABC boards, not just here.
Overall it was a good season opener. I hope Zendaya sticks around she may be the best Disney kid they’ve had on the show.
My ranking…
1) Zendaya and Val
If they keep it up, they will be tough to beat 😀
My finals prediction: Zendaya, Kellie, and Jacoby(or Aly).
Zendaya and Kellie are a lock, imo.
While I agree with everyone that Zendaya’s dance was the best of the night, I sure am glad for her that she’s an hip hop and not modern dancer: her feet are just ugly (sorry, but there’s no gentle way of putting it) and she could barely point them, although I give her props for at least trying.
Kellie on the other hand…that’s one lady who could have done very well as a dancer if she had started studying at a young age. She definitely has the body type advantage. Unfortunately, I too think she’s doomed by Derek not having to win again for many people, but I see her doing the finals!
Aly: and there I was last year thinking that there just couldn’t be anything worse than that cheer leading costume they put Sabrina in. I was so very wrong! I do think she has potential though. I hope the comparison with allstar season Shawn doesn’t hurt her.
Doroty: love her. I just hope people won’t compare her too much with Kristie Yamaguchi, who must have been some 20 years younger than her when she was on the show. That wouldn’t be fair.
Victor: maybe not the greatest dancer, but what a sweetheart. I hope he sticks around for a while.
Sean: meh. I’m really starting to question Peta’s taste. I think those were some weird choises for a foxtrot.
Andy: Unlike Peta, Sharna dedinitely knows how to choreograph a charming foxtrot. I also think Andy did a good job and was in character with the dance.
Jacoby: I ended up really liking his personality! Very charming. The only thing is I couldn’t always understand everything he was saying (probably because I’m a foreigner). I can see Len’s point, but I don’t see why he had to be so harsh. Karina is a great, great dancer and choreographer, but once again I get the feeling they don’t appreciate her enough. Pity.
DL was all kinds of awful, but I have this bad feeling he might not be the first one eliminated. Unfortunately I think Courtney might have been right at picking Lisa as the first one out. Shame for Gleb.
Wooo!! I love that the new season is up and going! It was a great night, I thought! Thanks Court for the Power Rankings!
Kellie & Derek: Yeah, officially one of my favorites. Kellie has got the moves!! I was actually hopping for a bit of a higher score for these two, but 21 is a very good starting score. I like how Derek even knows that he’s most likely going to get 21 the first week. lol One criticism I would have about this dance is that it almost seems like it was an amped up version of Maria’s… Call me crazy, but I flashed back to Maria’s cha-cha while watching this one. Still a good dance though!
Victor & Lindsay: I was kind of expecting an 18 for these two, if not something lower. I thought it was a little (okay a lot) rough at the very beginning. But he picked it up nicely as the dance went on. I would have to agree with Court when she said that he’s a bit like Rob Kardashian. I hope Victor can improve! Lindsay looked absolutely gorgeous, I thought. I hope she doesn’t dance around Victor like Chelsie did in her beginning stages though.
Ingo & Kym: Yeah… I still can’t get into these two. Their dance is a blur to me, and I can only remember the lighting of the stage… He’ll probably get further than I’d like him to, but I can’t deny he did dance better than I expected him to.
Lisa & Gleb: I have to say, I kind of liked Lisa’s performance! In my opinion, she’s seems like a very grounded, likable reality star. Never once did I get a bit of snobbish attitude from her, like I kind of get with other reality stars *cough*Kendra*cough*. Anyway, I think Gleb did stuff that dance with EVERYTHING he could think of. It seemed like a very ambitious routine, and Lisa pulled it off to some degree.
D.L. & Cheryl: This is like, Cheryl’s lowest score right? Well, I can say it was totally deserved. I didn’t like these two. At. All. It’s about time reality smacked Cheryl in the face. These two need to be the first out.
Zendaya & Val: Is it tacky for me to say “Zendayuummm”? If it is, I said it anyway. lol. And that’s exactly what I have to say about this dance. I’ll admit, I was a bit worried about this contemporary, but I’m glad she got it out of the way first, and that she actually managed to dance it with an almost effortless ease. Court worded it perfectly: “Stunningly gorgeous.” Good job Val. I daresay Val is more creative than Maks can ever hope to be. I really hope these two can go far.
Sean & Peta: My mom was not happy with him. And I have to back her up. I liked Peta with Donald. And that’s about it. I don’t think she did Sean any favors with this Foxtrot, because it was, again as Court said, very tacky.
Aly & Mark: Yeah, she wasn’t as good as everyone thought she was going to be, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Aly’s got a lot of potential. I thought the dance was fun, age appropriate, and very enjoyable. Throw an annoyingly catchy 1D song in, and I’d call this one of my favorite routines too. Not number one, but I still liked it. And is it just me, or did that dress of hers make her look a little heavy?
Dorothy & Tristan: No doubt America’s sentimental favorite. I would almost go as far to say she has the potential to be the next Jennifer Grey, if she can just believe that she can dance. You could definitely tell Tristan was out of his comfort zone with the contemporary, but he did the best he could, and Dorothy really pulled it off well.
Wynonna & Tony: Sorry, but I have to say that this was more of a “Walk Walk Walk” than a Cha-Cha-Cha. I agree with the judges: Wy can definitely move more than that. I do think she’s got the fan base to stick around, for sure, but if the dancing’s not up to snuff, then I can’t say she would deserve to make it far.
Andy & Sharna: First off, I have to point out that I’m loving Sharna. She looked gorgeous last night, and her choreography was absolutely stunning. I felt like the cane kind of got in the way, but Andy managed to work with the cane well. And yeah, he was a revelation, for sure. And Len was just nasty with his comments. I didn’t think Andy deserved that 5, no way. I might have to keep my eyes on these two.
Jacoby & Karina: Forget Len!! I LOVED this dance! Karina strikes again! Wildly fun, incredibly entertaining, it was a winner for me. Yeah, I did notice him hunching sometimes, and I wasn’t really looking at his feet, so I can’t say much about that, but I did enjoy this dance. He’s probably going to dominate this competition, no doubt about that.
Steve, after seeing what is said to Derek on a daily basis on Twitter, I would agree wholeheartedly that they should stay away. *I* should stay away because it insults my intelligence on a regular basis – the extreme levels of idiocy and stupidity, not to mention the hate.
Who knows what made her look here – but like I said, some of the pros just believe their sycophants without question. Those people are themselves often haters and idiots. I think you’re better off reading the blog (and ignoring the comments) than you are listening to sycophants.
The timing of it makes me think that Mark probably pointed the blog out to her. After his interview with John and interactions with you guys on Twitter.
On the, I think everyone should stop comparing Aly to Shawn opinion…… I still have the same impression of Aly on her own. She comes across as a bowl of oatmeal to me, albeit on occasion with maybe a teaspoon of brown sugar and a sprinkle of berries but still a bowl of oatmeal for me. Nothing to do with Shawn. I didn’t think her dance was bad or great, just okay, imo.
And I have to say, I am liking Sharna a lot so far. I didn’t warm to her so much in the troupe. But seeing her choreography last night and the maturity, understanding and warmth in which she relates to Andy is impressive. Now Sharna knows how to teach.
I am a Ravens fan and DWTS fan but I’ve never had a reason to comment about a contestant until now.
The #68 comment by Jessica is 100% correct! What you see is Jacoby being Jacoby, a class clown. I can see how his way of talking and demeanor could be a turn off, but at the end of the day he is a competitor and I believe he will rise to the occassion and become a better dancer with more time and training. Once you get a better feel for his personality, you will realize that he’s a sweetheart who will give his all and have fun with the experience.
As for the knee surgery, it was minor cleanup as reported in the local paper.
Ivan: “Sharna looked BEAUTIFUL (weird, I just cannot remember how Sharna was in the Troupe. I blame Oksana’s hair for that).”
LOL! She (Sharna) kind of reminds me a little of Ashly Del Grosso, at least in last night’s dance.
I’ve watched Ingo and Kym’s dance a couple times more and I really like it. Perhaps that reflects my lack of knowledge about dance, but I thought the lifts weren’t just lifts for the sake of lifts but actually had some beautiful lines and compositions between the 2 of them, and there seemed to be flow between the lifts.
Also I feel like a traitor saying this, and I do still wish they hadn’t added the 2 new dances, but I think the contemporary is more attention grabbing than cha cha, perhaps just due to cha cha fatigue vs novelty. At any rate, down the line, when it matters more because weaker contestants are gone, Dorothy, Ingo, and Zendaya are going to be stuck doing the cha cha when Kellie and Aly are going to have more chance for wowing the audience with contemporary. (I know that I don’t know who will have what dance when, just throwing that out as an example.)
Jacoby seemed to be poking fun at himself a bit too for being so out of breath – “no NFL play is 1 minute, 30 seconds long.” I personally thought he was kind of funny. I also figure he’s a good deal younger than the recent NFLers (Kurt, Hines, Donald), so doesn’t seem to have the maturity and polish of those guys.
Jacoby & Karina – Len is a jerk. Jacoby was by no means a perfect technician, but if anyone remembers Team Call Me Maybe, Melissa’s technique/foot placement was just as bad and he said NOTHING. Regardless…I don’t know what it was, but I haven’t seen Karina have fun like that since JR.
Zendaya and Val – Val is a perv, LOL “you’re beautiful – how old are you?” “16.” “OH, I take that back!” funny how he actually made a grabbing motion and stuffed air back in his mouth. Anyway, it didn’t look much like contemporary to me, but I LOVED the choreo and Z’s dress was just gorgeous, and she executed everything beautifully. She can really act, huh? SO talented.
Kellie & Derek – this girl is just so stinkin cute and she can actually MOVE! I was amazed! Her lines were beautiful and she really connected, which is usually so hard for people to do in week 1. Great match.
Dorothy & Tristan – Dorothy is absolutely gorgeous. But this choreo underwhelmed me, and she didn’t really connect emotionally – but that could be because of the choreo. The only time Tristan has ever impressed me was when he did that Dark Waltz with Karina…and I don’t even think it was because of him that I was impressed :/
Aly & Mark – wonder why they chose to go with her full name. I didn’t notice much other than that horrible dress (thanks, Mark) and how she seemed to be really projecting one second and then shrinking back the next. And yes, to the mod who said that Mark seemed to be back to the Latin roots, I noticed that too. Another thing I wondered the reason for.
And to the person that said they hate Aly’s body – THAT’S WHAT DANCER BODIES LOOK LIKE.
Andy & Sharna – aww, I like him. He’s trying really hard. And Sharna was just striking. Loved seeing a less rough side of her, and the whole package was just so elegant, what with the whole dance’s atmosphere and the choreo. But how nasty Len was to him, when he’s invested and trying SO hard, was just uncalled for.
Wynonna & Tony – I liked that she was enjoying herself and getting all into it! But her movements were so tiny that I didn’t see much of a reason at all for me to even be watching her. If she learns to dance bigger, she could be awesome to watch.
Ingo & Kim – All I remember is them being on the floor with the lights looking like the sunset was coming down 2 feet in front of them.
Sean & Peta – loved her dress, but this girl is so predictable it’s ridiculous. His shirt is coming off next week, I’ll bet 5 bucks. Because Carrie Ann already started.
Lisa & Gleb – oh, but he is a STRAPPING young thing…this pairing is hilarious to me, because he just thinks it’s so funny how she, as a respectable married woman, gets all flustered having to make any sort of contact with him. That said, I loved the routine (definitely would have been better with someone younger though) and mostly, I already love Gleb as a dancer – he’s so beautiful and graceful, but has SUCH a powerful presence! He reminds me of Stefano di Filippo (who Dasha Chesnokova is dancing pro with now, and they’re a GREAT match)! Anyway, Gleb and Lisa, I juts get a huge kick out of.
Victor & Lindsay – HOW SWEET IS HE. I loved Lindsay’s hair…he was a bit cumbersome and didn’t move very much, but it’ll get better, I’m sure.
DL & Cheryl – ok, first of all, WHAT was going on with that dress? ACK. And DAMN, Cheryl just seems like she hates everything about her life, because it’s so obvious she just does not care anymore. And I don’t even know why DL is there. Though he was funny.
I think we shall be in for a very interesting season.
To sum it up: Cheryl is worried about the wrong thing.
Cher, I really appreciate those that feel the need to defend us – I really do. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to though. Especially since my reaction to Cheryl’s tweet was outright laughter. Then I bragged around the office that our blog has an impact to the point the pros are bitching. Wez must be important. 😉
We don’t DO this for the pros – we do it because we’re fans of the show and we like talking about it with other people. We don’t treat some of the pros like the superstars they clearly feel they are and there are some who can’t hang with that. I had one person tell me on twitter the other day that if I can’t say anything nice about the pros and respect them, then I shouldn’t say anything at all. Hello, these are just people with faults just like the rest of us. And it’s pretty ballsy to tell me to not say anything bad after you called ME a hater. LOL. Besides -most of them are in show business – we are WAY nicer than your average TV/movie critic. Ya gotta learn to deal.
Plain and simple. If peeps don’t like what we have to say, the thing to do is walk away. Cuz we ain’t likely to start a koolaide only diet any time soon.
I thought Cheryl’s tweet was good advertisement for the site.
Great post Court!! I’m loving everybody’s comments. My faves were Kellie/Derek and Dorothy/Tristan. Kellie was so beautiful, moved amazingly well, even with her slightly stiff legs, and related so sweetly to Derek, although I agree with the poster who said the choreo looked a little like a ramped up version of Maria’s dance. With Dorothy, I loved her beautiful lines, grace, elegance and flow. Such a classy star, and I hope she goes far in the competition. Wynona was a pleasantly entertaining surprise with her working the crowd and feeling the music, and I enjoyed her performance, whatever it was, even though it wasn’t much of a cha-cha-cha. Andy was also a pleasant surprise for me, and he moves well and is musical; I won’t mind watching more of his dances. Aly/Mark were a huge disappointment. Geez,those spats again! Really, Mark? Although I loved his longer hair; it is very flattering. But poor little Ali has neither the personality, musicality or crisp attack that I wouold have expected. Plus that costume was all wrong: too long, too much fringe for her height and too much pushed-up boobage; I was waiting for a wardrobe malfuntion. I enjoyed Jacoby’s dance just for the entertainment factor; he has really quick feet. The rest of the pairs I could take or leave…nothing that inspired or entertained me. And as for D.L.- I had to change the channel, it was so painful to watch that hot mess!
I”m going to keep saying this until people like Leslie hear it and admit it to themselves. Tony has had capable partners before. Just cuz you got eliminated early doesn’t mean you didn’t have a capable partner. I can name two without even looking – Audrina and Chynna. And those aren’t the only two. Fer the love of God, people – please TRY to remember the past history of this show. This goes hand in glove with people who say Derek “Always get the athlete” or always gets the young hotties or never gets the out of shape people. Come on.
One of my friends said the following today: “D.L. made Kenny Mayne look good since at least Kenny put effort into it.” when we were having a debate over the worst dancer ever on the show (my vote still is the worst was Tucker Carlson) but it goes to show how people are already viewing D.L. on the show.
Indeed it was, jess! I did notice a slight spike in Twitter hits today 😉
I just find it funny that Cheryl felt the need to even respond to what she read here – must have really rattled her cage, since pretty much every other entertainment site was saying the exact same thing we were…or worse. Perhaps it’s because she knows this is a 100% fan-run site and is usually a good indicator of how the fans are really feeling. None of us are in the “industry” and don’t have any political obligations to paint the show/pros/celebs in a certain light – we say what we want, when we want, and how we want it, and they can’t stop us, no matter how much they may want to. We’re rogue like that. 😉
But yeah, apparently Cheryl doesn’t appreciate being told that “Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, and nothing we said was any worse than what the judges said. Either grow up or don’t read critiques of yourself.” because she blocked me. Darn…this is my not caring face 😀 Wasn’t even following her to begin with. Go ahead and add her to my “in memoriam” wall of people who’ve blocked me because they can’t handle the truth…I’ll put her name right between @carrieanninaba & @pajamajeans 😛
Well, Mark is another one who believes his sycophants without question. LOL. Mama never taught him the dangers of the internets.
Yes, Jess, it was that too. 😉
Hey Heidi, are you going to have time for a numbers post? Or are you skipping that since there’s not an elimination this week? I can run the numbers myself but I always enjoy the commentary/perspective that you give with them. My post show ritual: wait impatiently for Courtney’s power rankings and then wait impatiently on Monday afternoon for the numbers post.
Thanks to D.L. for being clearly at the bottom and irritating so I don’t feel sorry for him. And the nervous, heavily-preserved Housewife’s dog is the best part of her act. I adore Zendaya, and Pickler has Derek going for her, but I gave all my votes to Dorothy and Andy, because their vulnerability and dances moved me. Others have potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing more.
After watching the show, my favorites are Dorothy/Tristan and Kellie/Derek. I enjoyed their dances. Both of them were nervous, but they did a great job and I can only hope the nerves will subside and they will get better each week. I can see each pair making it to the finals. The couples I don’t like are, first, DL/Cheryl. That dance was a train wreck. I know there are people cheering for him, and that’s great, but it was a mess. As a side note, I don’t like Cheryl’s haircut at all. It makes her face look chubby. I also don’t like Lisa/Gleb. Please, please get rid of the dog! I really don’t want to see that dog dressed up and part of the dance every week. It’s not cute. I know everyone is going to say Zandaya is wonderful, but I’m not sold on her yet. Her dance was good, and hey, Val kept his shirt on! That’s something. I’m reserving my opinion of Jacoby until he dances more. Didn’t care for him last night, but I’m going to wait and see. Did not like Wynona or Sean. Aly was what I expected. She was very stiff when talking to Brooke and it sounded like she had memorized everything she said. She needs to relax. Ingo and Victor kind of faded into the woodwork for me. I had two surprises. One was Andy/Lisa. When he was announced as part of the cast, I was not happy. I thought there had to be someone, anyone, they could have had other than him. But that’s changed. I thought for his first dance it was good. He really wants to do well on the show. No, he doesn’t have a chance of winning, but his attitude is great and I hope he sticks around a while. The second surprise were the judges and their scoring. Yes, Len was being his usual self, but the scores were what they should be for the first week. No 9’s or perfect 10’s. DL/Cheryl deserved the 12 they received. He should be the first to leave. If not him, then Lisa.
Cheryl says “positivity is where it’s at.” I agree, her Cha-Cha was positively the worst dance of the nite lol.
I hope that the Vanderpump woman goes first. Dragging that poor dog out there was ridiculous as was her overly treated face. It says a lot if I want her out before Andy Dick.
I enjoyed Aly and Dorothy. Aly and Mark were just adorable and Dorothy looks great.
And Wynonna is clearly this season’s Kirstie, the overweight woman who the judges are afraid to score fairly.
Wonderful read. Boxing would seem more like dancing than football, but the football players clearly do well. Pretty solid sample by now. Would like to see other sports representatives, hockey, baseball, go with recently retired pros. Time for a fourth judge or new judges? Freshen it up.
My early favorites are Jacoby, Andy and Kellie. I’m undecided but positively inclined towards Zendaya, Aly, Dorothy and Ingo. I don’t really give a rat’s ass about the rest.
I really enjoyed Dorothy & Tristan’s dance (though I thought Tristan’s costume was horrid), as well as Ingo & Kym’s. I didn’t see a problem with the lifts; I thought it show-cased Ingo’s athleticism.
And I’m sorry, but with Jacoby, all I saw was asshatted arrogance. I didn’t like him before, I despise him now. I know he’ll probably go far into the competition, but puh-leeze. 😯
When I saw Andy’s meltdown, I thought of Kendra… I guess maybe I’m in the minority opinion there, too. 😉
The most surprising routine for me last night was Wynona & Tony. Loved it! I didn’t expect Wy to shake her tailfeathers like that – it was great!
Last but not least, last night showed me that Kellie & Derek are going to go a long way. I think they’ll make the finale, and have a shot (I know, I know) of actually winning it.
ABJ! (Anyone But Jacoby) 😀
I’m doing the numbers, Jess…just later in the day than normal since there is no elimination tonight.
Ph (107) When I think about Tony’s capable partners, Stacy Kiebler comes to mind. IMO, Stacy lost ’cause Tony blew the freestlye choreo…
Okay I’m not saying that Derek is not an amazing dancer and teacher cause he is… i don’t believe brooke could have won with anyone else cause i don’t really think she is THAT good of a dancer but it was Derek who really showcased her brilliantly and all her strengths and hid the weaknesses…. BUT there is something to be said about partnering him up with really capable girls… i mean the worst he had was Shannon Elizabeth and that says something… we can’t argue that producers are not giving him good partners because they want him around cause the fans love him and i believe that to be the case…. he is good but he also does get a kind treatment from the producers… i mean facts are facts… he would never get stuck with Palin or Kim Kardashian or Kendra Wilson nor Wendy Williams nor Cloris Leachman… Lil Kim was wacky but moved great… Jennifer Grey had injuries but had amazing talent and experience… Nicole… enough said… and Of course Shawn as well even Jennie Garth was a very good natural dancer even though that was his first season and i’m not sure they hand picked her for him…. the producers want Derek far into the competition because this after all is a TV show and they know he is loved! but i really REALLY enjoyed him with Joanna Krupa and Ricki Lake… because Joanna again was not a good dancer and Ricki was different than all the others in the fact that she was his first real size woman no model type partner and i enjoyed seeing him dealing with those two and prevail… so i’m not saying that derek only does well cause he gets usually good dancers but i’m not saying that he doesn’t usually get good dancers as well…… i just reread my post and it got me confused hahahaha, but i think you will get my point
This Season… it is too early but i enjoyed Zendaya alot… i’m yet to see her in ballroom though…. cause i still wanna see if she will pull the hip movement and the high kicks in the latin dances… i have a feeling she will be good in the standard ballroom ones though
Omar, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Remember Maria Menounos? That would have been DISASTROUS had it been any other pro, that girl was clumsyyyyy. And I don’t think Derek gets “kind treatment” from the producers where he’s the only one that gets so many points taken off from EVERY judge anytime he breaks a rule. Anyone else does it, the judges either don’t call it out or take one point off total. When D does it, he ends up getting docked at least a total of three. It’s BECAUSE he’s so beloved that the judges are harsher on him.
Why do I have the feeling that if Derek had gotten Kate Goslin and they had won their season we would still hear the argument Derek gets all the ringers?
Oh good, thanks PH.
Seems like Jacoby and Karina have “Jazz” next week… am I the only one who’s worried?
Not to be a downer, but not sure he’ll do so well in a Jazz…
Well, we’ll see what happens.
@CC
I disagree with you; I think jazz could be right up his alley depending how they approach it. At dance competitions, jazz is typically always a fun & upbeat & can be sexy number, so if he and Karina go that way, it could certainly work to his strengths. On the other hand, if they have to do something stupid like Karina and Apolo did, then I can see him being in trouble.
Blah blah blah Derek gets the ringers Blah blah blah.
I can’t fucking believe that Mark gets his third Olympian (another Shawn type), Tristan has an Olympian who is an icon with a massive fanbase (a Jennifer type), and Val get a super ringer (A Nicole type) who is a very likable girl and people are still bitching about Derek!! It boggles the mind.
NO, Omar, I don’t get your point. AT ALL. You have no valid point. AT ALL.
Jesus Christ, it’s enough to make one want a sedative to insulate from the idiocy.
“the worst he had was Shannon Elizabeth”
Uh, Omar? I don’t know if you watched that season, but that girl was awful. No hips, shoulders constantly going up (meaning bad posture), and honestly? Her arms were worse than a lot of the football players’ now. At least, in week one they were. By week five she was tolerable. Same with Joanna Krupa–stiff, bad arms in earlier weeks, better in later weeks. You’re also forgetting Lil’ Kim, who wasn’t innately graceful and had just gotten out of prison at the time. People were sure she was going to be a train-wreck, but people ended up loving her.
After the first dance last night, I decided to mute the sound while the judges critiqued the dancers. It was wonderful. Did not want to hear them talk. I still have not decided my favorite team. Enjoyed Kellie, Zendaya and Jacoby. Kind of liked Andy’s awkward moves. Have a soft spot for Dorothy and Tristan. I have to say, a lot of the show was forgettable until I just watched the replay tonight.
my point is Kristie Allie or Cloris Leachman or Monica Seles or Priscilla Presley. or George Clooney’s ex girlfriend or Bristol Palin or Kate Gosslin for the love of god!!!… fact is all the other male professionals had the occasional BAD DANCERS!!! like the really BAD DANCERS not the acceptably Bad Dancers!!! course they had the good dancers as well. but Derek was never given someone who can’t move… Joanna was bad… and Shannon was his worst but compared to the names mentioned above…. they were acceptable. i’m sure anyone in their right mind will partner up with either one of those ladies than Palin or Gosslin.
Lil Kim again was a decent dancer in comparison.
and i apologize for forgetting Maria… yeah she would have faired worse with another partner but was she as bad as Gosslin or Clooney’s ex. who was dreadful attitude wise and dance wise
I’m sorry but i feel what i’m saying is pretty fair and i say that and i’m an avid Derek fan… hell I’ve been a fan since season 5. not only is he a good dancer he seems like a very decent person compared to Maks whom i’ve hears is nice in life but still i saw what i saw and poor soccer player lady.
you just can’t argue with the fact that Derek never got a nasty piece of a dead weight anything but a dancer for a partner cause he DID NOT!!! period. he might have had some bad ones but not to the extent of the names mentioned above.
Does that mean he is not as good… hell to the NO!!! i’d kill to get him to teach me… he is my dancing Idol… from this generation that is.
that is all i said… i never said anything else or never tried to insinuate anything… i believe derek deserved all his wins.. i voted for him and brooke and him and Nicole and i didn’t watch Jennifer’s season live but i re-watched all their dances.
All i did was look at all the names i mentioned and look at all the partners Derek had and tried to find one of them who was worse than the unfortunate “dancers” i mentioned and i couldn’t find one. that is all. his girls are much better dancers when compared to the curve.
I’m all for Zendaya this season and I love Kellie Pickler ever since she was on idol and tortured by Simon so i really want her to do well as well…. and i think it will be very interesting to see a Mark, Derek and Val finale… since they come from competing against each other.
One more thing…. i want to reassure i just said what i saw as a fact. but i never wanted to make conclusions or anything… i want Derek to win a fourth time… and i sure as hell want Kellie to win… i also wouldn’t mind if Zendaya took it unless she proves a disappointment in the future.
I thought Andy deserved a much higher score than a 17. just something about that dance and to see someone trying to overcome his demons… who couldn’t relate. and i really love the stars who seem to care for the dancing and who are not just there for the publicity or the money and he seems to really care and looking at this to be his chance to redeem himself… so him i liked all together.
but those are the three that spoke to me the most last night… kellie was fun and much better than i expected…. of course that is why she was given to derek (just kidding… just kidding) the first thing i actually thought was that she asked for Derek cause she is friends with Julianne… but that is just me speculating
but their dance very good and promising.
Zendaya just shocked me since she kinda dances like… i don’t weird on her show… like a weird disney version of hip hop… but she IMPRESSED!!! GIRL CAN DANCE!
and Andy again… just wanna see him do well.
and i just thought about my Derek theory and maybe the better way to phrase is not that “he always gets the ringers” cause he doesn’t!!!!! but is to say “he doesn’t gets the hopeless ones” cause he doesn’t!
Hm, I wouldn’t necessarily agree about that either, Omar. The thing is, you’re looking at all of his partners in retrospect. At the time, Ricki Lake was predicted to be a really bad dancer (usual complaints: she’s old, she’s overweight, she won’t keep up). With Maria, Derek himself predicted she’d be out in week four. Not to mention there used to be this model “curse” that models never made it past week two. Of course, Brooke broke that stereotype in week one, but prior to seeing her dance, most people predicted her to be a dud.
You should also look retrospectively at some of the other pros. A lot of the pros have had the same “type” of partners–young, pretty, some natural grace–and they haven’t done nearly as well overall. Tony had Stacy Kiebler, Sara Evans, Jane Seymour, Melissa Rycroft, Audrina Patridge, and Chynna Phillips. I feel like I should also throw Marissa Winokur into the mix because that girl, despite being heavier than those listed above, was full of energy and could dance. Also, I personally thought Kathy Ireland was a very elegant dancer–she was just boring as a person. Of all these partners, Tony only made it to the finals three times, and two of those freestyles were extremely underwhelming.
Do I think Tony’s a bad choreographer? Absolutely not. I think he’s the most patient of all the pros as a teacher. Maybe too patient. Personally, I think his partners could benefit from a bit of tough love, but hey, that’s just me.
What I’m trying to say is, people like to say, “Derek always gets a good dancer as his partner,” but nobody stops to consider that he’s had a variety of different partners over the seasons (there’s a range of different heights, weights, and ages), but he’s done consistently well regardless of who he’s paired with. Maybe, just MAYBE, it’s not all his partners. MAYBE, he’s actually a good teacher.
@valdaya Uh, I thought I was being polite? I actually really enjoy this discussion.
Ignore valdaya…she’s a notorious troll with a poor command of grammar, spelling, & punctuation.
And for those of you whose comments didn’t make it past moderation – we don’t need your advice on how to run our blog. Don’t like it? Leave. You know who you are.
Well, I missed the first four dances, dang DVR (or a roommate that cancelled the recording), so at some point I’ll have to get on ondemand to watch. Overall I thought it was a good opening night.
Enjoyed Val and Zendaya. Loved his choreography. Hope this is a good year for him..no big bro shadow and no faux-mance with the dance partner..just honest, heartfelt dancing. I think Zendaya has a huge fanbase and although most probably aren’t the DWTS demo, they’re on twitter and probably facebook, so who needs to watch the show..just look at your timeline and vote when she tweets it’s time. I watched their dance 3x. Girl has big feet.
I watched Mark and Aly twice..but not because I thought it was a great dance, just so-so..and yes, safe. I watched again because I didn’t see Mark the first time. Usually I have to make a conscious effort to concentrate on his partner because he’s so flashy and over dances, not this time IMO.
Enjoyed the simplicity and elegance of Dorothy and Tristan, watched 2x as well. Did look a little “ice-skatey-ish” but also realized she was portraying a snow-globe figurine, so it made sense in that respect. Hope Tristan can bring out some “sass” in her when appropriate.
Thought Wynonna and Tony did well. Hope she loosen’s up a bit and can keep up with the music, I thought her feet got behind every once in awhile, may be a stamina issue as well.
Oh Andy..my weakness. He and Sharna did well. Loved the cane, was nervous at first, but he did well with it and it made sense to use. I thought he danced on his heels. Watched this one 2x too.
Sean and Peta – didn’t enjoy. I thought I’d read he was doing well in rehearsals..it seemed awkward to me. Didn’t enjoy the choreo either – I blamed last year on Giles..maybe not, raunch may just be her style.
DL and Cheryl – Nothing positive or constructive, so I’ll move on.
Not impressed with Jacoby at this point. It did look like a minute thirty worth of TD celebration. Will give benefit of the doubt here based on lack of rehearsal time because of knee surgery. I couldn’t figure out when he was talking to TB or in the celebrequarium if he was trying to be funny, actually out of breath, or if the knee hurt and he was trying to cover up.
jazzed (ha!) for the new season!
Hey Court! I got blocked by Katherine Jenkins on twitter because I tweeted her that I thought she ‘faked’ that back injury to get into the finals over Maria..lol. Guess the truth hurts as I STILL say that’s what she did! There would be NO way she had a back spasm and be able to jump up and down the next night. I’ve had back imjuries..It’s slow going for a week.
Anyway, I thought Zendaya and Val did the best dance of the night. Followed by Kellie and Derek and I also think if they would’ve danced in the middle or at the end of the pack, they’d have scored higher.
I was underwhelmed by Aly and Mark. Figured there would be a little more “wow” to their performance and there wasn’t. Same thing with Wynonna..wasn’t impressed at all.
Andy Dick impressed me.
DL Hughley’s dance was a hot mess and I thought Cheryl was basically saying that same thing in her blog. When you’re in the public eye. You are open to criticism. If you don’t like it, Don’t be on tv.
Oh and as far as Jacoby goes. I didn’t think he did all that great. Lots of his moves were off time. Hopefully Karina will whip him into shape. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt because he only had 1 week of rehearsal time.
Omar, Maria would NOT have gotten nearly as far if she hadn’t had Derek as her partner! He does a wonderful job of choreographing to his partner’s strengths and weaknesses. His ONLY ringer was Nicole. The rest well that’s because he’s a good teacher!
Omar, you confuse your opinion with fact – always a mistake.
People always say “Derek never got a Kate” – fact is, there is only ONE Kate and Tony got her. Tony is the ONLY male pro who has been saddled with a seriously horrendous partner besides maybe Jonathan. And Derek did NOT give that partner to Tony, the producers did. Why do you suppose that is, eh? Tony also had extremely capable partners that he failed with. You can’t equate Kate with those others you list. That’s just plain ridiculous and you’re reaching pretty hard to make an argument. Fail.
The problem that you don’t recognize even though you sort of pay lip service to it, is that with a lot of pros Joanna, Lil Kim, Maria, Ricki and Shannon would have been gone a lot sooner than they were. That is thanks to Derek. He has had bad dancers – the people you listed? He’s had the Elizabetta type. As for Kirstie and Bristol – both went to the finals. What’s the problem. They will NEVER put him with a Cloris, that would be ridiculous – and none of the regular pros got her either because of her age. Corky did. Boo fucking hoo.
Now, I have yet again participated in the STUPIDEST discussion – move along. This has been discussed to DEATH.
OH…I always thought Tony got Kate cuz the both live in CT. Ooops
Word Sara. And you even forgot Joanna Krupa. All the fans of other pros were rejoicing when Derek got her because she WAS viewed as being far, far worse than either Kate or Bristol in terms of attitude because of that show Superstars. They were Sooooo happy that Derek got her. Until they started dancing together and not only was she not totally horrible, but Derek actually got her to dance and hid all her flaws. Karma’s a bitch. 🙂 That’s another partner where Derek told his dad they’d be out in week 2.
Hind sight is 20/20 and some fans have a REAL hard time remembering the actual history of what went on (or maybe it’s not convenient to their argument). And what was said about various partners BEFORE they danced. Like Elisabetta – lots were certain that Val got a great partner before the show started.
Well, I’m easy; I liked almost all the performances last night for various reasons, which I can’t say any better than many posters up thread.
It could be that, Valerie. Don’t know for sure. I actually left out a sentence in my post which made it confusing.
They pair people up for lots of reasons – there are lots of people who would be too tall Derek or who ask for one of the pros. Location is part of it. I think Nicole, Jennifer and Kelly asked for Derek. I believe Ricki did as well. Why do they ask for him? I think the answer to that one is obvious.
I guess I give Jacoby a lot more credit than many people for being able to put out an entertaining performance with only a third of the dance rehearsal of everyone else. I’m not blind to his dancing flaws, and Karina will have to work hard to whip him into shape, but I actually thought he was very promising. Just don’t know if he can catch up those lost 2 weeks, that beginning period is so important for laying the groundwork.
I don’t really understand the comments saying he seemed like he was on drugs. Really? I get it if people don’t like his personality, although for me he’s growing on me (when I can understand him). But I really don’t understand those comments. He was winded and making a joke about being winded. He was trying to be funny, but unfortunately I don’t think his humor will work for everyone. Karina needs to keep him quiet during the judging panel.
The real test is if he can do ballroom. Next week’s Jazz I think may be quite iffy, but that’s so different from the rest of his dances it may not portend doom if he struggles with it. If he really struggles with his first ballroom, I don’t think he’ll go to the very end. Very curious (and excited) to see what he can do. If Karina can marry some technique with his natural performance ability, I think he may surprise some people down the road.
Oh gosh, how could I forget Joanna?? Her quickstep was awful, and that was AFTER weeks of training.
And Omar, that’s another point you have to take into consideration: we, the viewers, don’t see the contestants dance until after three weeks of practice. You don’t know how good or bad the contestants are initially–unless, somehow, you were actually in their rehearsals. I honestly doubt Joanna or Shannon were much better than Bristol in their first week of practices.
I will say this, though. Derek’s been lucky to have dedicated partners. They’ve all seemed willing to put in the time and effort, and none of them insisted on flying back to Alaska every week or continuing a reality show about her eight children.
Practice time makes a huge difference. If I remember correctly, Bristol’s week one dance wasn’t too bad. I do think if she’d put more time and effort into it (and ok, maybe had a different mom, but still), and maybe NOT flown back and forth to Alaska throughout the rehearsal week, she would have danced better. Still, like PH said, she made it to the finals, so I don’t see any reason for Mark to complain.
Too bad Cheryl didn’t discover this site when she was paired with William Levy…
Well, I almost skipped the show tonight when I thought they were just replaying what I saw on Monday. But they showed some extra footage which really reinforced my opinion of what I saw on Monday. Hmm, imagine that, ha!
D.L. – Footage just showed he thought the male dancers he’s sharing a show with are all gay because they’re dancers. Uh duh, I mean who doesn’t know that. (sarcasm, of course). What an insecure, little man, trying to make up for his insecurities by insulting men who must be gay and women who are all gold diggers. Good job D.L. Now get the hell off my tv screen.
Sean – GAG! And I quote, “I’m not crazy about the fame. I don’t really like being recognized because I didn’t really appear on The Bachelor because I wanted to be famous. I just wanted to find my future wife.” And the reason you’re on DWTS Stars is…….? Cause you’ve really had a lifelong yearning to dance…..???? Don’t think so.
Oh really, you’re not crazy about the fame because you can’t find a true, meaningful spouse unless you do it on camera in front of a televised audience where you’re getting paid and have to do shots over and over again to get the best light, or angle or do it again because a plane was flying overhead or a bus was going by or someone screwed up the shot. I’m such an idiot, what was I thinking. Of course he isn’t interested in the fame, he really respects women and that’s why he needs 20+ of them to pander to him for his red rose every week.
And Peta to Sean, “I can make anyone dance.” In what, a Chippendales show? I guess I’m really annoyed and disappointed in Peta because she’s not an unattractive girl and she seams like she’s really sweet at times. But I’m bummed that I feel she must be so insecure as a woman that she needs to try and appease anyone, whether it’s a dance audience or men or whoever by thinking she can only get there through the sex sells idea.
Andy, Dorothy, Zendaya, Victor, Ingo, Kellie, Wy: just pleasant, good vibes. All come across as genuine and I like that Val is showing himself to be much more secure and astute in his choices and direction and not pandering to what he thought would sell last season or Kelly told him would sell last season where he came off as cheesy and disingenuous at times (a’la soap operas). I love seeing a genuine, down-to -earth Val who can teach a 16 year-old. And I noticed on two post-show interviews he keeps making sure his shirt is buttoned. 😉
I’m really pleased I have so many people to root for this season, whether because they’re good dancers or just good people with a real story we can all relate to or sympathize for.
I still picture the final three being Kellie, Jacoby and Zendaya at this point.
I think it’s a great mix and I would LOVE to see those three freestyle dances!
And I forgot to say it before, thanks to Courtney, Heidi, Vogue, Lori et all who work SO hard on this blog that they do FOR FUN!! It’s highly entertaining and I’ve learned so much more about the show from reading PureDWTS!!
As a Wynonna fan, I’ve been looking around at the various sites and am not finding a lot of people who say they voted for her. Add to that I didn’t get one busy signal when I voted, and I’m honestly a bit worried. Could there be a major upset?
Did you see the bit where Kellie showed Derek her idea of making her hips do a figure 8?? Freakin’ hilarious!! http://www.purederekhough.com/2013/03/19/kellie-pickler-and-derek-hough-dwts-week-1-cha-cha-with-revised-package/
Thanks, Kelly
I also enjoyed the revised packages (for some of them, at least). I agree with Ashley L that neither DL nor Sean improved with more exposure.
And the figure 8 bit with Kellie was hilarious.
I found it interesting that although Kellie had the same score as Aly and Dorothy, they showed the latter two first, and talked about them being tied, and then went to commercial, saying that they’d look at the leaderboard toppers next (meaning Kellie and Zendaya), and when they came back, Tom again talked about Kellie and Derek being just shy of the leaders – as if they weren’t tied with anyone, and had a higher score than Aly and Dorothy. Perhaps some acknowledgement that Kellie had the second best dance of the night, and would have gotten a higher score if she hadn’t gone first? A couple of the reporters in the post-show interviews told Kellie that she would have gotten a higher score if she hadn’t danced first.
@ButterflyWhirl – Last night just confirmed that DL is a jerk! Thank God he sucked on Monday, hopefully he will be gone this week.
Was anyone bothered by the package with Victor and Lindsay? Did she call him a *baby* not once, but twice? Not feeling these two as a team.
I’m new here thought I’d check cause you seem to know all the latest. Anyway I think it’s harsh to have “new” dances other than the standards in the first weeks especially, and for this cast. Just one latin and one ballroom is a better idea for the audience to judge. I feel many people don’t understand (or don’t like) contempory) so it could really hurt someones chances to do it this early.
Also, a question Why do you think the judges think it’s ok to make disparaging, personal remarks to Andy or DL or anyone really? Do they think the audience likes to hear them tear people down? To say a dance was a mess, frantic or something, ok, but some of the personal comments, not necessary. Also seems some people are fair game and others, off limits? Again, like your site. So informative.
Omar buddy you are not going to win this debate, the facts are just not on your side. See the thing is a really good teacher whether it is in dance, voice or other fine arts knows how to accentuate a student’s strengths and downplay their weaknesses. Not every pro is a good teacher or coach. Frankly, if you pay attention to basketball Coach Cal at UK was able to take 4 years of freshmen teams to the top of the NCAA tourney while with the same kind of recruitment classes the coach before him had mediocre seasons. This year is an anomaly because these freshman were all showboating trying to get big NBA contracts but I digress. On the voice Blake Shelton’s student has won 2 out 3 seasons when clearly Celo probably had the best “voice” on his team last season but he wasn’t as good at showing it. Derek hasn’t had ringers, he is just so good at his craft, and so in tune with his partners, that he looks at them and choreographs to their strengths. He should be applauded for that ability not shorted for it. I think there have definitely been other dancers as bad as Kate, like Kenny Mays…remember that disaster. It is just as much an art to teach as it is to perform…didn’t you ever have a teacher in school who knew their subject but just couldn’t communicate it. Derek is just one of those people who is phenomenal as a dancer and gifted as a teacher, and knows how to use the choreography to make his celeb shine and does it while rarely out dancing his partner. That takes talent and commitment and he should be applauded not dissed.
I’m with you Sandy; I hope DL leaves first. I can’t remember if it was on last night’s show or in one of the post-show interviews – actually, it has to be in one of the post-show interviews – that DL said he set the bar really low on purpose, so that anything else he does will look like genius. I don’t know if he was serious or if he was trying to be funny, but either way I don’t care for him or the comment.
Little update for those interested: Kellie just tweeted that she is actually doing JAZZ next week :O
With her gorgeous lines, and amazing extensions of the legs, I have a feeling she’s gonna top the leaderboard next week. I can sense it haha 😉
Whoa, jazz? That…is surprising. Hm. TPTB, what are you up to now?
Kellie has jazz? I’m finding that…odd, because Derek, in his TV Guide blog, clearly stated that their second dance was jive, and talked about how excited he was about the dance. So I can see this being one of two things: either Kellie got confused between jive and jazz (and as much as I love Kellie, that’s quite possible) and they really have jive, or TPTB pulled a fast one and switched Kellie and Derek’s dance from jive (which Derek was choreographing for already) to jazz. *Why* they would do this, I don’t know. What I don’t think is possible is that Derek was confused about what their second dance was, because he knows the different dances and he knows what he’s choreographing. So it’s going to be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Exactly, Sara. Derek said in his blog they were doing Jive. And now, suddenly, it’s Jazz?? I would suggest maybe his blog had a typo, or someone typed it for him…but I wonder. With these producers it would not surprise me at all to find they had switched it on them…after Derek was excited and had it all choreographed.
I’m leaning towards it *not* being a typo, because Derek’s talking about how it may surprise people and be a little outside the box, and that leads into the “breaking the rules” discussion – and I don’t see how that would fit with jazz, given that there’s not really *any* rules (or objective standards) for jazz or contemporary on this show.
It occurs to me (being very cynical here) that TPTB heard his jive was really amazing, and didn’t want Kellie to show up Zendaya (or someone else that’s doing jive next week), so they switched it.
Even if there is nasty manipulation going on, I doubt Derek is scared of different dance type. He was so disappointed last season when they got stuck with a regular dance while others got new ones. And they are used to the pace of a new dance or 2 or 3 every week, used to choreo and teaching it so I know those 2 will knock which ever one out of the park.
Well, that’s not really the point, Jess. It sounded to me like Derek had the dance choreographed and Kellie was well on her way to having it learned…and suddenly we hear it’s not a Jive, but Jazz. That is patently unfair – beyond the norm. I know they’ve done it before….and I think it was to Derek then as well. DEREK is used to the pace….Kellie is NOT.
Boy, for a guy who is supposedly favored by this show, he sure seems to get screwed by it a lot.
I said no more DWTS after last season….and then Derek Hough came back and I would watch Derek Hough do ANYTHING or nothing for that matter. And they made Sharna a pro and I have been curious about what she could do and Victor Ortiz, Kellie Pickler and Dorothy Hamil interest me. But you can already tell with the scoring and the comments it will be the same old, same old. There should have been more 5’s and 6’s handed out and again trying to subliminally influence viewers by adding negative comments about Andy’s routine(for 1 example) when he actually looked quite good and did excellent work with a prop,in WK 1 !! but holding back on telling WynJ. just HOW lacking her routine was compared to others and the Batchlor guy, too just looks awkward and then Peta running around him wildly YEEESH! And now messing with some of the couples dances at the last minute so to speak !! Yeah, well guess I’m prepared again to get really po’ed but this cast maybe with one exception was close to perfect for them to just judge the dances, not throw in a bunch of crazy stuff and stop messing with this show but they just can’t resist meddling, I guess.
I get what you’re saying PH. Agree it’s not fair if it went down that way. If it was nasty manipulation I doubt he’ll ever tell us about it.
Well that stinks if Derek/Kellie had jive first and now all at once have jazz. I love dance – always have and always will. When Reality TV first started I admit I became obsessed with a lot of these shows, but now I am beginning to think they are all rigged in the name of ratings. Perhaps that is my own fault for being so naive to think that they were all on the up and up and always would be. I always want the best of the best to win on any of these shows. This one is about dancing and I want the best dancer to win. The same goes for singing shows. I admit it makes you not want to watch these shows if they are going to constantly manipulate things so the best one doesn’t necessarily win. It seems that for whatever reason they all have their chosen ones and TPTB will do everything possible to make sure that they get what they want.
@PH I agree with you completely. We hear over and over again that Derek is the favored one and yet to me he does get screwed. Is that fair? Is it fair to his partner? I think NOT. I know we have only completed one week, but I remember last season and what happened. I heard many comments (not here) that Derek had won too many times before and poor Tony had never won so he deserved it. I have already read comments where people don’t think they will let Derek win this season. I get very frustrated when I hear things like that because I have always been of the mind set that the best at anything should win. If Derek is able to take a partner all the way to the end because he is a great teacher and Kellie turns out to be a great student and deserves it at the end I don’t care how many times Derek has won. For me that should not matter. It is not just Derek winning it is the partner that he has taken there. This season it happens to be Kellie, but I would say the same no matter who it is. The best dancer deserves to win at the end.
Is it too much to expect that whoever gets to the end of this season can get there based on their dancing and not the manipulations by the show? Sorry for the vent and JMO.
No, Jess, we’ll never hear about it from Derek. He won’t say anything before Monday because if he complains that it’s not fair and that they’re now at a disadvantage, it could affect Kellie’s confidence. He won’t say anything after Monday because it’s water under the bridge at that point, and he never airs his complaints in the media. If he’s asked about it directly, he’ll find some way to turn the question or make light of it.
No, Gail, it’s not just your opinion….and I think there is a large number of people who think the way you do. I just wonder how the voting numbers are compared to number of voters cause this is what I hear the most..”I watch but don’t vote anymore”.
Sorry…meant voter numbers compared to viewer numbers….
I agree and disagree. I agree about the manipulation, hate it. But I don’t agree that it has to be “the best dancer” who wins. I think all along it’s been about a total package. I’ve often voted for people who I didn’t believe to be the best dancer, especially early in the season. I vote for who I want to see more of. By the end, I do want to see great dancing, but I’ll throw votes to the Carson’s, Ty’s,… a long the way.