Dancing with the Stars Week 1 Recap: Welcome Back, Sequins!
Who took the top spot this week on Dancing with the Stars?
Once more, Dancing with the Stars was live from Hollywood after a big opening number at the Griffith Observatory to kick off its 23rd season. Ten dancers walked in, but some were simply better than others. With our regular recapper stuck in a Monday Night Football market and unable to watch, this week won’t be a full breakdown of every number and how the contestants did. Instead, here are our picks for the top two celebs of the week, and the bottom of the barrel.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention that someone in the audience rushed Ryan Lochte during his critiques. However, it appears that no one reached him.
Note: Julianne Hough returned as a judge. The scoring breakdown is as follows: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough, and Bruno Tonioli.
Best of the week: Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy
The Olympic gymnast got the cha cha for her first week’s performance. Her only real ding came from a slight lack of hip action. The judges told her she only needs minor improvements, which is to be expected considering her gymnastics background. In fact, she had some great chemistry with Val. And she didn’t even need gymnastics to put on a show — this was straight cha cha, just like Len said.
Score: 31 (8, 8, 7, 8)
Second-best of the week: James Hinchcliffe & Sharna Burgess
The Indycar driver took on the foxtrot this week. Smoothness was the name of the game with him. Sharna and he pulled off some great chemistry, and he even kept up with her, which is always a concern on week 1. Criticism stemmed from his hold and posture. Feet too were a slight problem, but only slight. (Since his job mostly entails pushing pedals down with his feet, that’s not surprising.) We liked his charming answer about driving versus dancing, too.
Score: 31 (8, 8, 7, 8)
Worst of the week: Rick Perry & Emma Slater
The former Texas governor, perhaps best-known for his 2012 ‘oops’ moment in the primaries, got to take on the cha cha as well. To put it succinctly, he danced like a white guy. (He wants to learn to dance for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, though, which we will not make fun of.) To put it in more descriptive terms, he was stiff, a touch flat-footed, and behind on his steps. He did enjoy himself, though, which is half the battle. At least he likes dancing more than he does campaigning!
Score: 20 (5, 5, 5, 5)
Complete Week 1 Scoreboard
- Laurie Hernandez & Val Chmerkovskiy: 31 (8, 8, 7, 8; cha cha)
- James Hinchcliffe & Sharna Burgess: 31 (8, 8, 7, 8; foxtrot)
- Marilu Henner & Derek Hough: 27 (7, 7, 6, 7; jive)
- Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko: 27 (7, 6, 6, 8; Viennese waltz)
- Calvin Johnson Jr. & Lindsay Arnold: 26 (7, 6, 6, 7; cha cha)
- Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds & Allison Holker: 26 (7, 6, 6, 7; foxtrot)
- Vanilla Ice & Witney Carson: 25 (7, 5, 6, 7; cha cha)
- Terra Jolé & Sasha Farber: 25 (7, 6, 6, 6; jive)
- Amber Rose & Maksim Chmerkovsky: 24 (6, 6, 6, 6; foxtrot)
- Ryan Lochte & Cheryl Burke: 24 (6, 6, 6, 6; foxtrot)
- Maureen McCormick & Artem Chigvintsev: 22 (6, 5, 5, 6; Viennese waltz)
- Jake T. Austin & Jenna Johnson: 22 (5, 6, 5, 6; jive)
- Rick Perry & Emma Slater: 20 (5, 5, 5, 5; cha cha)
Next: BBC fails to renew Great British Bake Off contract
This week, all couples will make it through to week 2 of the competition. However, starting next week, all bets are off. Will Rick Perry get enough votes and pull his scores up to make it through? Or will someone like Ryan Lochte get the boot instead?