by Gina Scarpa

 

We got wrestlers, rappers, talk show hosts, stars of the 80s, and a few people you probably don't recognize or never heard of. Yes, Dancing With The Stars has returned for its 12th installment. 11 pairs of celebs and professional dancers have descended upon Los Angeles to compete for a mirror ball trophy and ballroom bragging rights.

 

On this first night of performances, the pairs are given one of two styles: the foxtrot or the cha-cha. They at least can relax with the knowledge that none of them will be going home this week. That doesn't stop the critiques or the scores, though. Here's how the night went down.

 

Couple: Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 7 + 7+ 7 = 21
You may not know who Chelsea Kane is but your daughter might! She starred in the 2007 Bratz film as well as various Disney Channel Original Movies. I suggest getting to know her though because I'm hoping she stays for a while. She and Mark were absolutely adorable together and made the foxtrot feel young and fresh. In fact, Len said the exact same thing!

 

Couple: Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 5 + 4 + 5 = 14
For someone who claims to be as fierce as Wendy Williams does, I was expecting a lot more from her first performance, especially since it was the cha-cha. It was clunky, it was timid, and she needs to show a lot more if she wants to stick around. As the judges said, we expect more from her!

 

Couple: Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 7 + 7+ 7 = 21
Alright, Hines! Now that's what I'm talking about. He had some hip action goin' and played off of Kym very well. It was a lot of fun and the judges agree. He seems confident and it's only the first week. Being open to learning new styles will only help him grow in the competition. He needs to clean up his technique a bit but that will come with time...

 

Couple: Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18
It's hard to be tough on Petra. She is a survivor of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and is dedicating this week's performance to the people of Japan. Class act. What she has going for her is that she's beautiful and looks very graceful with Dmitry as her partner. What she needs is to learn to fill out her dances and add more to it.

 

Couple: Romeo and Chelsie Hightower
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 7 + 6 + 6 = 19
I think people will be expecting a lot from Romeo and Chelsie this season. They're young, good looking, and a lot of fun! For a first performance, the pair did pretty well. Romeo needs to loosen up a bit and not worry about being "cool" all the time. You know what's cool? Winning Dancing With The Stars! Relax! As Carrie Ann said, there's tons of potential here.

 

Couple: Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 6 + 5 + 6 = 17
Alright, so no one is going to call Sugar Ray Leonard the best dancer in the competition but he brings to Dancing WithThe Stars what he brought to boxing - personality! He has the mindset of a competitor and a champion so I expect him to take this seriously and work to improve. Len was a little tough on the dance, calling it "beer and a pizza" and I think he could've given the guy a 6... but what do I know?

 

Couple: Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18
I love that Kendra is a lot of fun and always full of life! Don't underestimate her, though - this former Playmate is workin' hard to impress the judges. She's able to show off some booty shaking here, but I'm not sure how she'll fare with slower, more classical dances. It was a little clunky but here's hoping she sticks around for a while so that we can see if she improves!

 

Couple: Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 8 + 8 + 8 = 24
First of all, can you believe that the Karate Kid is almost 50?! Bet you feel pretty old right now! Okay, but how cute are Ralph and Karina together? I have a feeling they're going to be hanging around for quite some time this season. If they can come out of the gate with 8s, they're on a pretty good path!. Bruno has my favorite moment of the night when he calls Ralph's hands "creepy" and "weird". Guess he better watch that!

 

Couple: Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 7 + 6 + 6 = 19
I'm fairly confident that Chris Jericho was put on the show so our significant others will tune in and watch a little with us out of curiosity to see how the wrestler does. It doesn't hurt that he's paired with Cheryl Burke, either! She picked a great song and routine for him but it didn't "wow" as much as I had expected.  Carrie Ann wants to see more from him - I think we all do.

 

Couple: Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 5 + 4 + 4 = 13

At least "Psycho Mike" can admit that he's the last famous person in the competition.  You may not know his face, but perhaps you recognize his voice from the uber-famous radio show, "Loveline", with Dr. Drew.  He also can admit that he has no dancing ability... and unfortunately, that's pretty evident in this performance.  It doesn't seem that poor Lacey will be getting to finale a third time.  Their only saving grace is that they have another dance next week before an elimination.  Will it be enough?

 

Couple: Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Style: Cha-Cha-Cha
Scores: 8 + 7 + 8 = 23

Now, if you told me that Kirstie Alley was going to give one of the best performances of the night, according to the judges, I wouldn't have believed you.  But dammit, Kirstie can move... and move pretty well at that!  They picked a great song (Cee-Lo's "Forget You), she's got a big following, and their performance went off seemingly without a hitch.  Personally, I didn't think it was as great as the panel felt, but in comparison to the others?  Sure.

 

Don't miss Dancing With The Stars, next Monday at 8/7c on ABC.

 

(Image courtesy of ABC)

 

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