I melt every time I hear her voice. Especially when she’s singing pop songs like Angel. Incredible voice and a stunning beauty. Americans are going to love her on dwts.
On the Red Carpet interviews with the new cast.
I never count the NFL players out, especially someone from a winning team like the Packers. I think Donald Driver has some potential, although Peta is going in with a small fan base, Donald’s may more than make up for it.
Just two more weeks. Here’s some pre-season snark from Entertainment Weekly.
Tonight’s the night.
Just finished reading a book on the sociology of ballroom dancing in preparation for writing something for an arts zine on DWTS. This will no doubt inform my commentary.
The author sees ballroom dancing as being about certain kinds of intimacy and also, for the audience, about the appeal of glamour (okay, I’ll cop to that) and our projection of romance onto the dancers. She was writing in Spring of '10, which was the season of Maks and Erin Andrews, and reading the boards at the DWTS site, where people were, apparently, obsessed with whether or not they were having a relationship. My recollection of the discussion here is that we were not so obsessed, but I could be wrong about that – I’ll track down the thread eventually.
It seems to me that we here are, indeed, obsessed with relationships – but more about whether the pros are treating their stars respectfully [thus the dislike for Mike Balas, who’s too much of a showboater], and not the possibility of a romance there.
I will no doubt be bouncing additional ideas off y’all as the season proceeds – as it will, starting tonight! Woo hoo!
I’ve been following the season 14 cast interviews and tweets. Supposedly, at least 8 of the cast have previous dance training. I’m expecting much better dancing from this season’s cast.
I’m looking forward to seeing tonight’s debut. Somehow, I have to watch the Voice too. Its frustrating that they share the same time slot. Monday nights are crowded.
So far this season is delivering the best opening night dances I’ve seen in a long, long, time. There’s not been anyone that you could point to and say they’re terrible.
That means the voting will break down along fan bases rather than skill. I’m planning to throw my votes towards Katherine Jenkins because she danced so well. She’s not well known here in the US and needs all the support she can get.
I dunno, I thought Gilbert and Navratilova were pretty bad. Of course, that could just be because everyone else was really pretty good.
Is it Anna’s fault or the costumers’ fault that her guys are always dressed as far from sexy as possible? She’s always doing these clunky/nerdy/cute routines that just don’t pop. Which is a shame, because she and Wagner could really burn up the floor, or at least they look like they could!
WTF were those faces Ballas was making all during the dance? The “O” and then the cheesy grin and then the O again? I seriously couldn’t vote for them based solely on that. Yet another season where Ballas’ obnoxiousness undermines a good partner?
I too was surprised to see Maks back. And Gilbert’s costuming was sooo unflattering. It reminded me of his season with Alley and how they kept dressing her like a frumpy Miss Piggy all season.
Roshan’s a bit of a ringer, isn’t he? Holy crap he can move though. It was a bit like having a Jackson on 
Is Sherri Shepherd the cutest thing EVER?? I didn’t stop laughing with pleasure every moment she was on the screen. She got my votes just because she’s ADORABLE!
Peta got a lot luckier with her sport star this year, holy cow!
Martina Navratilova did ok for the typical season debut. But with this cast I think she’ll be gone pretty early. A shame because I’d like to see her stick around awhile. Who would have ever dreamed she’d fix herself up so nice? Her athleticism will help a lot in next weeks jive.
Gavin DeGraw is touring and trying to train. It showed tonight. Compared to the others it wasn’t as good. Gladys is also touring and training with Tristan. But, I liked her dance better than Gavins.
I think we’ll have five or six dancers neck and neck for quite awhile. We may not see any clear front runners emerge until the very end. This is the kind of season I’ve been waiting for. I like this kind of competition. This is shaping up as a really fun season.
I thought Gavin was weak, and I also thought William was week. And I wasn’t as wowed as the judges were by Gladys’s dance.
Overall, a legitimately strong season premiere – but I don’t think they should be giving out 9’s already. Did like Jaleel, though – very strong, unexpected performance from him.
Maria’s weird laugh will get old quick. Derek will earn his pay this season. He’ll dream about that laugh by the third week.
I’ve heard Jack has done a lot of music theater. We’ll probably see a lot of those types of dance from him. The one tonight was pretty good, but not very memorable.
I loved Jaleel and Jack.
When I was watching Val, I was thinking, “Wow, he’s even outmugging Mark!” Then Mark came on, and I remembered how bad it could actually be.
I was only bitten by the DWTS bug last season, so this is just my second, but what is the deal with Mark Ballas? He dances everything like he’s on 5 hits of speed, and he makes these ridiculous faces which completely detract from his partner. I want to kick him in the head.
I was trying to figure out what makes him so dreadful and Derek so good (since they’re virtually brothers and all) and I think that besides not making the stupid faces and overdoing every move Derek is a) is a much better choreographer and b) is very, very good at highlighting his partner. His eyes are on her, his moves direct the eye to her, he knows where the cameras and the lights are and he moves her toward them just so. I love him.
We all love Derek. Loving Derek is a prerequisite for participating in these threads. 
Louis Van Amstel’s Week 1 blog.
I don’t usually go for blonde, thin, or short, but I go for him in a BIG way.
Then Tristan, because of the handsome face and the accent (though he has got to stop sticking his tongue out all the time. It bogues my hottie vibe).
Macks is more my type, and I do think he’s way hot, but sometimes when he’s over-gelled, over-spray-tanned, and overwaxed (like last night) it creeps me out.
I have no idea why I feel compelled to share these thoughts with you all. Perhaps it’s because the only person I ever watch this show with is my husband and he probably wouldn’t appreciate the thought I’ve put into this. 
We’re here for ya, GND. This is where we can share our reality show shame, with no judgments. I even posted on The Bachelor’s thread.
I didn’t expect to like Sherri Shepard at all, but she was just adorable. I’d never heard of Maria Menounos, but ditto. Lots of pleasant personalities this season (apparently) – no Nancy Graces, no Hope Solos; no geriatric statues.
The judges were a bit generous, though. 9’s on Day 1? Not a lot of room for growth there.
You don’t think his 4 chest hairs are a turn-off? 
Sense of humor trumps physical deficiencies.
It was a good season opener, although I think the judges and Bergeron’s memories are faulty. Kristi Yamaguchi got a well deserved triple nine her first week, and didn’t score less than a nine on any dance until week 7, so neither Katherine nor Jaleel performed the best first night dance ever.
I suspect they lured Derek back this season by giving him his choice of partners. On paper his choice looked good, but I suspect that he picked the wrong one. Maria was solidly middle of the pack, and that laugh would drive most people over the edge within a week or so. Still, if anyone can get her into the finals, it’s him. He’s a superlative teacher and choreographer.
I didn’t understand the judge love for Jack and Anna. He struck me as having poor posture, stiff and awkward movement, no heel leads and iffy footwork. If he was ever a hearthrob, I find it puzzling.
Donald, on the other hand, was delightful, and I thought much better than Jack, even though the judges scored him lower. Yes, his exuberance led him to some lack of control, but still… We’ll have to see how he does on ballroom; if he can exercise the control and grace necessary, he’s a potential contender.
I found Gavin to be charming, and less stiff and awkward than Jack. I didn’t understand his low marks.
Roshon has been a tad over-influenced by Michael Jackson. He was tight, precise, and clearly both skilled and talented. If he can shake the hip-hop for real ballroom, he’s a shoe-in for the finals. Chelsie’s a good choice of partner for him.
Sherri was really enjoying herself, and she wasn’t bad. I find her loud enthusiasm a little wearing. Well, more than a little. And apparently not an intellectual giant, although given the existence of Brooke, we already know that there’s no necessary correlation between intelligence and dance ability.
Melissa disappointed me, because she was one of the three “stars” I’d actually heard of. The judges liked her better than I did, and they really didn’t like her all that much. She was better than Martina, but that’s about the best I can say for her. Maks over-danced her, which rarely helps for the female stars (it can help if the pretty female pro dances around a male contestant).
William’s reception puzzled me. Yeah, he’s a good looking guy. But this show has had Jason Taylor, Rick Fox, and Gilles Marini, none of whom had women screaming over them, and all of whom were (to my eye) much better looking. Go figure. His dancing was fine; Cheryl knows how to choreograph to her partner’s advantage.
Martina confirmed what Monica Seles had shown earlier - tennis is not a good background for ballroom dance. The judges were much kinder than I would have been, but then it was evident that she was terrified, so maybe I would have been kind too.
Katherine was lovely. She seemed in tears as the judges spoke to her; was she that nervous, or was it part of her ingenue persona? Unlike some of you, I thought Mark restrained himself pretty well.
Gladys and Tristan were delightful. She’s in her upper sixties, so you don’t expect all that much in the way of technique, but for a woman her age, she had the moves, and she was clearly enjoying herself. She wasn’t cringe-inducing, as so many of the older contestants have been. And heaven knows, she has got to be easier to deal with than Nancy Grace was, so it’s got to be better for young Tristan.
But the big surprise of the evening was Jaleel. He was a younger, lither Donny Osmond, and I mean that in the best way. If he can do Latin any where nearly as well as he can do ballroom, he’s my pick for the season. Kym knows how to choreograph his type, and he’s apparently fit and really agile, as well as just plain good. I was really, really impressed.
So my picks as of the moment for the final are Jaleel, Katherine, and Roshon, with either Sherri or William for the semi-final. No really terrible dancers except Martina, and she won’t be around long. No outright ringers. Looks like a good season.