DWTS Season 14 Premiere

As Dancing with the Stars Season 14 premiered last night, I prepared myself for sub par dancing and inflated judges scores, ridiculously skimpy costumes and poor music choices.  After seeing some great dancing at the MIT Open this past weekend I knew it wouldn't be an easy task but I had some of my DWTS fanatic friends over to help me get in the mood and forget for at least a few hours what real ballroom looks like.

So without further ado, here were my thoughts on how the show progressed last night!

Maria Menounos & Derek Hough
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)
Judges' Scores:  21 (trip 7's) 

Unfortunately for them, they had the very tough position of going first for the night and it certainly did them no favors.  There was essentially no Cha Cha to be found in this routine, that might have been one lock step there, but who is even sure?  She also had what may have been the largest side chasses ever seen by man; getting her to close her feet together was clearly not Derek's priority.  I quickly got bored with the performance but my friends were happily impressed with all the poses thrown in there.  The judges also noted they moved from picture to picture without much in between but they didn't seem to mind and gave them some of the most inflated scores of the night.

Jack Wagner & Anna Trebunskaya
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  Sugar Town
Judges' Scores:  23 (8's for Bruno and CA, a 7 from Len) 

Next up, Jack and Anna had a sort of 50s picnic themed foxtrot complete with fake grass.  Coming off of Maria and Derek's performance I was actually quite impressed to see some actual foxtrot.  Was that a feather, three step they started with?!   Yes, in fact it was!  I was just so happy to see someone attempting to dance the actual dance they were given that I was feeling lenient about technique, frame, and pretty much everything.  Len did note the technique was poor, but at least their was something to judge the technique of! Now you might think their scores are a little high, but given the night started with a 21 it had to go somewhere.

Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  Dedication to my Ex (Miss That)
Judges' Scores:  21 (trip 7's) 

This season's male athlete, with incredibly skinny legs as noted by Peta, kicked his dancing debut off with an entertaining Cha Cha.  It was hard not to be distracted by Peta extremely shiny and barely there gold costume but maybe that was part of her strategy because I don't have much bad to say about this one.  There were a lot of non-Cha moves and the actually steps weren't that great but the whole thing was pretty entertaining.  He has some natural rhythm and movement and he should definitely be around for awhile.  The judges must have been distracted by Peta's costume in a bad way because the fact that he was left tied with Derek and Maria was completely ridiculous.

Gavin DeGraw & Karina Smirnoff
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  I Run to You
Judges' Scores:  20 (7's for Bruno and CA, a 6 from Len) 

Last season's pro winner Karina may be setting her sights a little high looking for another win with partner Gavin but their dancing wasn't terrible.  There was some genuine effort but there were some really awkward moments complete with some truly awful pivots and scary side by side stuff.  Compared to Jack and Anna's foxtrot it clearly wasn't as good, but most of the judges didn't really acknowledge that.  They did however mark them lower than Derek & Maria which I can understand but still it seems a little unfair since they did try and dance the foxtrot.  I wouldn't be surprised if Gavin sticks around for a little while but I'd be absolutely floored if he made it to the finale.

Roshon Fegan & Chelsea Hightower
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  Glad You Came
Judges' Scores:  23  (8's for Bruno and CA, a 7 from Len) 

So there were some attempted basic steps, props for that.  What the real take away is though is that the kid spins pretty well, in that Michael Jackson sort of way, so we'll probably be seeing a whole lot more of that in weeks to come.  That said, he may fancy himself a mini-MJ a bit too much.  He's certainly no MJ, or even Usher, but the judges went along with it.  Only time will tell if his "background" as a hip hop dancer will help or harm him but its safe to say he has at least some natural movement.  If we're comparing, and of course I am, I didn't like his "natural movement" any better than Donald's and I found Donald much more entertaining but the judges disagreed.

Sherri Shepherd & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  Sherry
Judges' Scores:  23 (8's for Bruno and CA, a 7 from Len) 

Now I have to admit I remember more about the practice footage of Sherri and Val than their actual dance; she is this season's comedienne after all.  She did express her worry about being elegant.  I'm not entirely sure she reached elegance but it wasn't awkward and really what more can you hope for with foxtrot in the first week?  It's still a little weird watching Val doing standard but overall I enjoyed their performance.  The judges loved that she was having so much fun with it and honestly so did I.  Backstage she apologized to every former DWTS contestant she ever criticized on The View, noting how hard it truly is to get out there.  I think she'll be getting out there for at least a few more weeks, if for nothing else to keep everyone entertained.

Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Judges' Scores:  20  (7's for Bruno and CA, a 6 from Len) 

Writing this the next day I can honestly, and surprisingly say, this was probably the least memorable performance of the night.  Now I have to say this was definitely a Cha Cha.  Maks put in a lot of real Cha Cha choreography and it was not an easy routine.  In the end it probably should have been a bit easier so she had a chance to sell it because over all it was a bit boring.  Maks seemed a little off his game and slipped a few times so maybe it just wasn't their week.  Given Maks' fan base I'm sure they'll have a few more chances at it but thus far she isn't looking to be a favorite (based on dancing ability or personal appeal).

William Levy & Cheryl Burke
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  International Love
Judges' Scores:  24 (trip 8's)  

Well, what can I say other than they are definitely in the running for the prize of most inflated scores of the week (they may have just beat out Derek and Maria for that title).  The only explanation I can really give is that the judges reward people they think are hot and since Bruno declared them something like the "hottest package of the season", I don't think I'm far off.  Now they did have one week less of rehearsal than everyone else because of his schedule (really?! he's the busiest "star" on this show?!) but I'm not sure he even moved that much.  I could have just been distracted by Cheryl's dancing, which was over the top, but he really wasn't anything great.

Martina Navratilova & Tony Dovolani
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby
Judges' Scores:  20 (7's for Bruno and CA, a 6 from Len) 

I don't even want to write this but this was sadly the worst performance of the night.  Now it was nowhere near awful but Martina was just too nervous and awkward to really be able to pull off the foxtrot like some of the others.  She was better than I expected her to be but I wasn't expecting her to be good.  As a true tennis superstar, I just didn't see that translating well for her and it didn't.  Unless he can pull off a true dancing miracle, this will be another season of no Mirror Ball for Tony.  I'd love to see her stick around for at least a few weeks to watch her improve, because I'm sure she will.  She may be the least natural dancer on the show but that means there is only room to go up from here.

Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  The Show
Judges' Scores:  26 (9's for Bruno and CA, an 8 from Len)  

Admission:  I was totally sold on their performance before it even started.  I had no idea who she was before the show started but their backstage footage hooked me (maybe its the accent), she's just so cute.  Anyway, I really enjoyed their foxtrot.  Sure, she's a little awkward in frame, but Mark made sure there wasn't much of that.  She moved so comfortably and finally(!) there is someone on this show without incredibly awkward and stiff arms.  I know she doesn't have a huge American fan base, but I really hope she can stick around cause she could legitimately be pretty good!  She definitely seems willing to put in the work, she was so happy with the judges' remarks she was nearly in tears.

Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus
Dance:  Cha Cha
Song:  Best of My Love
Judges' Scores:  23 (8's for Bruno and CA, a 7 from Len)
 
Speaking of adorable accents, Tristan was up next with the "Empress of Soul."  Gladys mentioned she was never allowed to dance with the Pips but she definitely showed them what they were missing with her Cha Cha performance.  There were some mistakes, but she had a good time and she definitely sold it!  And it should be noted, she did do actual Cha Cha steps (Ahem!  I'm looking at you again Derek and Maria).  Moving forward she could use some help with closing her legs and feet but over all it was an enjoyable performance.

Jaleel White & Kym Johnson
Dance:  Foxtrot
Song:  The Way You Look Tonight
Judges' Scores:  26 (9's for Bruno and CA, an 8 from Len) 

Ending the night were the early favorites (if there can be a favorite before the show even begins) Jaleel and Kym.  I have to say, I can see why they were the early favorites.  He seems very comfortable dancing and performing, even when he is making mistakes.  His arms are a little uncomfortable (point for Katherine Jenkins) but he definitely has confidence on the floor with choreography both separate and together.  The judges tied them with Katherine and Mark but if it were up to me to break the tie they'd be a close first place (with the edge to natural movement over grace).  I'd love to see them do a Latin dance because I think he could really excel there, but I'm not worried about not seeing that cause I expect them to be around for awhile.

What do you think?  First place performance?

Now for the overall rankings.  As I've said the judges, the judges definitely gave inflated ratings and way too many ties.  So I shall attempt to break some of the ties but as always the placements in the middle are tough to separate so forgive me if I'm totally off base!

     Judges' Rankings                                                 My Rankings

Place	Couple	Points		Place	Couple
1	Jaleel & Kym	26		1	Jaleel & Kym
1	Katherine & Mark	26		2	Katherine & Mark
3	William & Cheryl	24		3	Gladys & Tristan
4	Sherri & Val	23		4	Donald & Peta
4	Ronshon & Chelsie	23		5	Ronshon & Chelsie
4	Jack & Anna	23		6	William & Cheryl
4	Gladys & Tristan	23		7	Sherri & Val
8	Donald & Peta	21		8	Jack & Anna
8	Derek & Maria	21		9	Melissa & Maks
10	Melissa & Maks	20		10	Derek & Maria
10	Gavin & Karina	20		11	Gavin & Karina
10	Tony & Martina	20		12	Tony & Martina

Well that's all folks!  The judges seemed to think that this was the best premiere show in Dancing history.  What do you think?