After the long, record-cold winter, we welcomed in the two-hour Dancing with the Stars season premiere Monday night with wide, warm, open arms! And, so, it began, live from Hollywood: Our favorite ballroom dancing show, now in its 12th season.
I would have never believed who topped this season’s leader board after the debut dance if I had not seen it for myself. Ralph Macchio, the baby-faced 49-year old star of 1984’s The Karate Kid was simply adorable and full of life during his performance of the foxtrot with partner Karina Smirnoff. So much so that he ended the night atop everyone with a total score of 24.
Before he wooed us with his charm on the floor, the actor said he lost his mirror ball in the ’70s and wants to win DWTS to complete his mantle. The duo danced to Dean Martin’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head? The judges loved our beloved Daniel-San with Bruno Tonioli saying: “Great showmanship, fantastic routine, plenty of content!” Carrie Anne Inaba concurred: “Wow, Ralph, that was an amazing surprise!” Carrie Anne continued, “That was truly gorgeous. You have such elegance in your hold.” Len Goodman charged: “Best foxtrot tonight, well done!”
In a close second for the night was Kirstie Alley, who, at 60, surprised the pants off everyone with her sassy and endearing cha cha and ended the show with a bang. It didn’t hurt that she danced opposite the beautiful Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Set to Cee-Lo Green’s Forget You, the duo’s routine brought a smile to everyone’s face. “Look who’s dancing!” cheered Bruno. “I think we are just scratching at the surface at what you can do.” Len said: “It was fun, it was cheeky, it was entertaining.” “It made me feel good, you looked as though you felt good doing it. Well done.” All that adulation scored the pair a total score of 23 and landed them in second place for the night.
In third place was the duo of two-time champ Mark Ballas with Disney star Chelsea Kane. The home-schooled girl who kissed Joe Jonas and said the kiss “did not suck,” admitted her dance with Mark would be her first dance ever with a boy. Their foxtrot to Sara Bareilles’ King Of Anything was youthful and clean. Len said to the pair, “You’re a young, fresh couple, and I thought that routine had a young, fresh feel.” Bruno, who commented that Chelsea started and ended the routine on her back, said there was “one and a half minutes of pure afterglow” in the middle, but that she needed to extend her lines. The couple ended the night with a score of 21.
Tied for third place with a score of 21 is Pittsburgh Steelers standout star Hines Ward who showed us he can work the crowd on the dance floor just as well as on the football field. Set against Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me, and with Kym Johnson at his side, the duo danced “the sparkliest cha cha ever!” per Carrie Ann who also said, “You are exuberant, and your smile lights up the whole stage.” Len said: “It was clean, it was crisp, you were confident.” And then Len went there by complimenting Hines’ tush. “Your bottom’s the top.”
Former WWE champ Chris Jericho may possibly present partner Cheryl Burke with her biggest challenge to date since she usually gets the more graceful partners such as Drew Lachey, Gilles Marini and Emmitt Smith. Oh, never mind, she also had to teach Tom DeLay, so, she and Chris may do just fine. And despite lacking precise, refined movements, Chris looked like he was having a ball on the dance floor doing the cha cha against Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash. And he sure was fun to watch. “It was kind of like a Chippendales cha cha,” remarked Carrie Ann. Len liked the dance saying: “It was really, really good, but I think you need to put a little more content in your dances.” He did comment that Chris’ hips were “allergic to music, because they didn’t seem to work.” Bruno had mixed feelings: “At times messy, but always entertaining.” The duo scored a 19.
Tied at 19 is Romeo who is 10 seasons late for DWTS. Romeo came on the show this season to redeem his father Master P’s dismal performance during season 2. But even Tom Bergeron pointed out that Romeo did much more dancing in 60 seconds than his famous but heavy-footed dad had done in three weeks when he filled in for an injured Romeo on Season 2. Romeo and partner Chelsie Hightower‘s cha cha against, what else, Romeo by Basement Jaxx, was dazzling and Carrie Ann told the 21-year-old Romeo he has “sex-tosterone.” Bruno said Romeo had done “everything to do well in the competition.”
Before she stepped on the dance floor, Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett described herself as a “sexy tomboy” and promised her cha cha with Louis Van Amstel would be “Hot: Not club hot, but classy hot.” The pair danced to David Guetta’s When Love Takes Over and I personally thought she danced much better than her score of 18. Her ex, Hugh Hefner, seemed impressed as well as he cheered her on in the audience.
Supermodel Petra Nemcova looked beautiful and elegant on the dance floor, despite having suffered a broken pelvis in the 2004 Thailand tsunami. Her foxtrot with Dmitry Chaplin set to Norah Jones’ Don’t Know Why was well choreographed and was understandably dedicated to the people of Japan. Len said the routine was charming but Petra needed to work on her posture. Bruno loved the “extreme beauty and sophistication” of the routine but said she needed to sustain her movements better. The duo received a score of 18.
Sugar Ray Leonard may not have had the best score of the night, but he sure was fun to watch in the fox trot with Anna Trebunskaya set to Huey Lewis and the News’ The Power of Love. Sugar Ray looked way more fluid during the interludes in his foxtrot and looked a bit stiff dancing in hold, but it was still an enjoyable number. “You’re obviously going to be a fan favorite,” proclaimed Carrie Ann while chastising him, “but posture, posture, posture!” Len picked up where Carrie Ann left off: “The foxtrot is fine wine and caviar, this was beer and a pizza. Energy level was high, dancing level was low.”
The buxom Wendy Williams labeled herself “too much, too loud, too fast.” So I expected a hurricane of personality on the dance floor. Instead, her cha cha set to Whitney Houston’s I’m Every Woman with Tony Dovolani shockingly lacked attitude and confidence. “You are a sultrous, luscious, gorgeous woman,” Bruno said. “Why are you marking?” Carrie Ann felt and saw fear in Wendy’s eyes and said, “You need to go way more. You are a bigger than life spirit. You need to unleash the beast.” Result? A disappointing score of 14.
And in last place was Mike Catherwood (Psycho Mike), cohost of the radio talk show Loveline. His foxtrot against Mike Posner’s Cooler than Me with Lacey Schwimmer was jerky at best, a hot mess at worst. “Dancing is movement to music. You did move and there was music,” said Len. “But there was very little dance quality about it.” Bruno said the foxtrot is a “smooth dance. It should glide. It should never ever end; it should flow” but said Mike looked “uncoordinated” and “constipated!”
Here’s how the leader board stacked up after the night wrapped up:
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 24
Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 23
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 21
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson: 21
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 19
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 19
Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett & Louis Van Amstel: 18
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 18
Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Trebunskaya: 17
Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani: 14
Mike Catherwood & Lacey Schwimmer: 13
No one will be going home this week as results from this week will be combined with scores from next Monday night’s performances and someone will be sent home next Tuesday.