Dancing with the Stars week 2 part 1 recap: New York City Night shone bright

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The celebrities on Dancing with the Stars brought the competition to a whole new level, a feat that pretty much everyone noticed last night.

The opening number on last night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, set to “On Broadway,” really should have been the season opening number. With both ballet and tap interludes, a brief interlude set in the subway, and Len Goodman pretending to drive a taxi, it had all the pizzazz that Dancing with the Stars generally brings to the table. Seriously — they brought a professional ballerina in for this.

Apparently, calling in another professional put everyone on notice, with just one 5 given out over all the couples’ dances. (No points for guessing who it went to.)

First, let’s check out that opening number again:

That being carefully analyzed, it’s time to analyze the first part of week 2.

DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold (24: 8, 8, 8)

DeMarcus Ware referred to himself as a “big chocolate piece of steel” in his pre-dance video, and he was perhaps a bit stiff instead of soft in the opening bars of his foxtrot. However, he relaxed, turning out a very smooth foxtrot that was a wonderful contrast to the big, bright number that kicked the show off. Len praised him in particular for his footwork, noting those ever-important heel leads.

Danelle Umstead and Artem Chigvintsev (18: 6, 6, 6)

As she said in her pre-cha cha video, Artem Chigvintsev actually incorporated her cane into this routine, and she had a little opening with the cane that looked great. She did have a few missteps, but as Bruno noted — and praised her for — she got back into the swing of things, pun intended. However, she seemed more at ease in the entire dance.

John Schneider and Emma Slater (23: 8, 7, 8)

Honestly, this dance suited him a lot more than last week’s performance. With a very heavy theater influence, he acquitted himself well, pulled off a lift, and got some wickedly high kicks in there too. “Well, I must say, you’re on the right track,” Len said, before asking for more Charleston in a … Charleston. That’s a common Len criticism, to be sure, but that’s a vote-getting performance if we’ve ever seen one.

Nancy McKeon and Val Chmerkovskiy (21: 7, 7, 7)

This was a smoother dance, although Nancy McKeon’s cha cha did feature a few wrongly placed feet. However, she seemed to really be rocking her costume to get through her fractured foot, and Bruno in particular noted her confidence in this week. This song seemed to suit her (and she was also dancing with Val Chmerkovskiy in a leather jacket … not saying that that was inspiration, but it was probably a little bit of inspiration).

Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten (25: 8, 9, 8)

Argentine tango and Swan Lake don’t seem like they’d go together at first glance, but Alan Bersten rose to the challenge of merging the two in choreography. Even with a slight misstep in tutu removal, Alexis Ren went for all of the complicated lifts and leg movements, showing off a strong degree of flexibility. She may not have gotten the full seductive tone of the dance — but the music didn’t quite lend itself to a full seduction, anyway. Bruno, in particular, was pleased with her work with the music, but it was Len who broke out the first 9 of the season.