Dancing with the Stars: Athletes week 1 power rankings
DANCING WITH THE STARS: ATHLETES – “Episode 2601” – Sports fans rejoice as one of the most competitive seasons of “Dancing with the Stars” ever fires up the scoreboard and welcomes 10 determined athletes who will take to the ballroom floor for their first dance, on the season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars: Athletes,” MONDAY, APRIL 30 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Kelsey McNeal)
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE, GLEB SAVCHENKO
Middle of the pack
7. Jennie Finch Daigle and Keo Motsepe: 21 (7, 7, 7; foxtrot)
She had her kids out there on the porch of the set! How cute! But in terms of performance, she had the physicality down and a smile on her face, which goes a long way in making a strong impression towards the judges.
“It was really beautiful,” Carrie Ann declared. Len said, “Foxtrot’s hard; you did a good job.” Bruno basically picked up both lines of critique and pointed out that she’ll need some more control if she wants to really improve.
Much like Chris Mazdzer, she made her mark with a solid starting score… and never discount the X-factor of cute kids.
6. Arike Ogunbowale and Gleb Savchenko: 20 (7, 6, 7; salsa)
These are power rankings, not just a scoreboard, and even though that was a lovely foxtrot, Arike Ogunbowale brought her personality and won over the crowd a bit more, so she’ll move into a solid sixth place.
Who needs to dance in heels when you can show you’ve got the moves in sparkly flats? Tom even asked the question. It wasn’t the smoothest of the salsas on display in this first week, but she’s got personality in spades and clearly improved from those first lessons. The crowd felt it too.
“I’m really impressed!” Carrie Ann said. Len asked for hip action, and Bruno added that she had a capacity to “draw him in.” Taking two sevens isn’t to be discounted. Give her a B to start — and here’s hoping her presentation went well!
5. Chris Mazdzer and Witney Carson: 21 (7, 7, 7; salsa)
He’s clearly having fun on the floor, which is a solid half of the battle, but he’ll need to get into the character of the dance a bit more. It got the crowd cheering to start the season off, though, and the shirt was ripped open very quickly.
“I was so impressed with you,” Len said. “As a first dance, very exciting,” Bruno added. Carrie Ann praised the choreography as strong and complex. Sevens across the board is a B-plus in the first week; it means he has potential, but he’ll need to improve if he wants to stay in the game. Like his fellow middle-of-the-packers, he has flashes of greatness and just needs to put work on the other side of things.