Every season, “Dancing with the Stars” invites 12 celebrities to step out of their comfort zone. The dancers do what is, for some of them, a remote talent. ABC premiered season 16 of “Dancing with the Stars” on March 18 at 8pm. The highly rated dance show has brought three new professional dancers and added two new dance styles — contemporary and jazz — to the competition this season. For people who do not know dance forms, all three diverse judges — critical Len Goodman, enthusiastic Bruno Tonioli, and sweetheart Carrie Ann Inaba —ultimately provide the show’s entertainment.
The first night of competition had potential. There were also a lot of dancers who did not have a feel for rhythm and probably will not make it far on the show. It was clear to the audience who the first couple of dancers should be to get eliminated. However, the dancers that received the lowest scores from the judges are not always the ones to get voted off the show. Fans of the dancers will have to vote for their favorite stars if they do not want to see them go home.
Producers of the show make sure to pick a variety of celebrities each season. This season consists of singers, boxers, actors, and athletes. Some of these stars have major potential, such as Zendaya from Disney’s “Shake It Up” and her partner. It is unfair that she comes from a show where she dances all the time; but to give her credit, ballroom dancing is very different from the hip hop Zendaya does on the show. Zendaya and her partner Valentine received the highest score of the night, a 24 out of 30.
On the flip side, some of the contestants did not perform so well. Comedian D.L. Hughley proved dancing is not for everyone on Monday night, after dancing the cha-cha-cha for the first time. The judges were not pleased. He has to really step it up if he wants to stay in the competition. D.L. and his partner Cheryl Burke received the lowest score of the night, a 12 out of 30.
The night was impressive overall, and viewers have a lot to look forward to. If viewers want to see their favorite celebrities keep dancing another week, they are going to have to start voting. Monday, March 25 was the last night the dancers had a chance to arouse the audience before the results show which aired on Tuesday, March 26. As always, building a lot of suspense, they announced the competitors that stay on the show and leave the bottom two at the end.
Week two’s bottom pair was world champion boxer Victor Ortiz and reality star Lisa Vanderpump. Immediately before they were about to announce who was eliminated, one of the contestants, Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill, made an announcement.
“I need to withdraw from the competition,” said Hamill. “I have an injury that could be irreparable: nerve damage. It would be completely unfair for me to stay in this and have any of these people go home. I can’t do what I need to. It’s not that I don’t want to be here, I wish I could give it my all but I can’t.”
Luckily for Victor and Lisa, neither had to go home due to this Hamill’s departure from the show, so they should practice hard to avoid ending up in the bottom two again. With this unusual start, there is no more messing around for Victor and Lisa. The results are in and the judges have their first impressions. Week four of the highly anticipated show returns next week Monday, April 8th and Tuesday, April 9th with more dancing and more goodbyes.
