DWTS Week 1, Part 1: Crazy

And here we are. "Dancing With The Stars" is back for its 11th season. Tonight's premiere was...OK, to be frank, I'm still not quite sure what to think of it. But as I've learned through watching "DWTS" ever since season 2 (me and my family missed its inaugural season completely), first impressions can be quite off. So even if this was a somewhat underwhelming first night, I'm pretty confident the season can get better...as I wrote in my parting live tweet after the show, "There's still lots of dancing to come. So nowhere to go but up..." And with that, let's waltz into recapping the DWTS premiere...

• Audrina & Tony (19/30, cha cha cha): Not being a viewer of "The Hills," I wasn't very familiar with Audrina before tonight (knew the name, barely knew the face, but that's basically where my knowledge ends), and wasn't expecting much. She exceeded my expectations with a respectable cha cha cha...not too dirty, not too stiff, and not too boring. It was nice, fun, and she showed some potential. In addition, her personality was pleasant (though a bit boring, which could be a liability in the long run). That said...she was first out of the gate. I can't imagine her having many built-in fans. And she received pretty good, but not amazing scores. As we learned from the sad case of Shannen Doherty last season (and other first-week eliminations strewn across "DWTS" history), these qualities can easily add up to an early exit. Audrina's days might be numbered, but I hope they're not. I kind of like her (even though I didn't vote for her), and I think the best is yet to come in terms of her dancing.
• Kurt & Anna (19/30, Viennese waltz): The likable Audrina was followed by the even more likable Kurt Warner, a former Cardinals (yeah, Cardinals!!!!) player who turned in a just as respectable show on the dance floor. Given the fact that he's a bit more interesting personality-wise (a large, cute family helps :) ), and that his long football career (he helped the Cards reach the Super Bowl in '08! Sorry, but as you can tell, can't help my inner Cardinals fanboy from popping out...) gives him a pretty large fanbase from the beginning, he's probably going to stay a while no matter how well he dances going forward. So it's good that he gave a promising start, and with the always-dependable Anna as a partner, he could really grow and improve as the season progresses.
• Kyle & Lacey (23/30, cha cha cha): The artist formerly known as Cory Baxter has never been a favorite of mine, so bear that in mind whenever I type about him, but...I wasn't completely a fan of his and Lacey's cha cha cha tonight, or his personality (but then again, that's something I've never really cared for). He danced well, but Lacey's choreography seemed to rely a bit more on sex than it should have, and seeing as Kyle's 19 (and looks a bit younger), that didn't quite sit well with me as a viewer. And maybe it's my inner Len speaking out, but the opening with the locker was incredibly pointless. Still, Kyle seems to be yet another celebrity to form an easy partnership with the adventurous Lacey (her line asking him if he was staring at her cleavage during rehearsal had me laughing profusely), and there could be worse people to go far in the competition (cough cough, Situation and the Hoff...I'll get to you both later...). And I bet all the people who were going "Who the heck is Kyle Massey?" pre-season are probably totally bowled over that he's suddenly become a favorite, which should make things interesting. :)
• Rick & Cheryl (22/30, Viennese waltz): As you probably were able to gather if you read my pre-season "let's meet the cast" posts, I wasn't too excited about Rick Fox. I'd never heard of him, he looked like the kind of dancer who would rely on looks rather than talent (which is pretty much 80% of the show's past male contestant population, sigh...), and I don't know, I just didn't really care for him upon first impression. After viewing the rehearsal footage and seeing how dang tall he is, my expectations stayed pretty low...and then I saw his Viennese waltz, and I was in for quite a surprise. Against all odds, I really liked it. He was incredibly graceful, not just for someone approaching 7 feet tall, but for someone dancing in general, and the dance was just classy and nice to watch. I'm not quite elevated to "fan" territory yet, but count Rick as probably giving the best first impression both personality and talent-wise (in my eyes) of the male dancers this season.
• Margaret & Louis (15/30, Viennese waltz): As is often the case with me and the resident comedians of "DWTS," I really like Margaret. She's fun, the family atmosphere of "DWTS" enables us to watch a slightly toned-down version of her humor (the same was the case with Kathy Griffin on "Celebrity Mole: Hawaii" years ago...I loved her on that show, but I generally veer away from whatever she's done after it, because her raunchy humor really isn't my cup of tea), and the sentiments she expressed during rehearsal that she wanted to feel beautiful and accepted were really sweet. All this means...dang it about her dance, and her score. The first quarter of it started off great--and then it veered into uneasy comedy territory, and by the time she had gotten tangled up in her cape and then intentionally made a few stumbles, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. The problem was rather Louis choreographing more around her comedic persona than the dancing skill she probably is able to demonstrate (he did this a lot with Niecy last season, admittedly in a more effective way). He played for laughs rather than for the "she really CAN dance!" factor, and thus the scores suffered. I hope Margaret doesn't get knocked off early tomorrow, and that the genuine charm she showed in her rehearsal footage and (most of) her dance is enough to carry her into next week. If so, she and Louis better bring their A-game next week. If not, then this season might be a little less fun to watch.
• Brandy & Maks (23/30, Viennese waltz): And here's one of the best dances of the night. It wasn't exactly Nicole-last-season-first-dance good (I eventually made my peace with Nicole last season, was glad she won, and in retrospect see her as an incredibly good dancer), or Kristi-in-season-6-holy-crap-she's-going-to-win-this-whole-thing-ain't-she-first-dance good (:D), but it was classy, elegant, and the lines were beautiful. Brandy (who, as I have previously stated, have fond memories of from the excellent 1997 Wonderful World of Disney production of "Cinderella") also showed much more interesting of a personality than I thought she would have in rehearsal footage, becoming a brilliant foil to Maks (who amusingly and strangely proclaimed he would be more of a softie this season, then proceeded to sort of abandon this) by being tough on herself, and pushing him to push her and work her hard. They're fun to watch (I think Denise Richards has been the only person that's NOT been fun to watch with Maks), it's the makings of a great partnership, and I think Brandy is bound to go far in this competition, much like that other singularly-named 90s singer back in season 9 (cough cough, Mya, cough cough). (You know me and my comparisons. I can't help but make 'em.)

That's all for Part I (Part II coming up hopefully right after this one, but it might be delayed until tomorrow morning in a worst-case scenario). See you in a bit for the next 6 dancers' recap (here's a teaser: I actually like Bristol Palin, and I don't know why!), and for now, viva la DWTS! :)