Dancing With The Stars - Week 2 Commentary

Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars is finally upon us. Each week Syracuse, NY FADS co-owner and award-winning ballroom dancer Natasha Oreshkina will be sharing her thoughts on the competition and giving us her take on which celebrities had the best week on the dance floor and which ones should be getting ready to pack their bags.


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WEEK TWO

[Natasha] Because there was no elimination last week, this week still had eleven couples dancing in the competition. The two dances the teams could choose from were the quickstep and the jive, and it was interesting to look at the couples compete.

1st Place - Ralph Macchio (W1:24 + W2:21 = 45 points)
Ralph and Karina Smirnoff danced the jive. They didn't have the same energy as they had in their first dance, but it was still a high-energy performance. Sometimes Ralph's kicks weren't as sharp as they should be. Still, it was fun to watch.

2ndt Place - Hines Ward (W1:21 + W2:23 = 44 points)
Hines Ward moved into second place with his quickstep performance with partner Kym Johnson. Hines really stepped up this week. Very good choreography and a well done routine. He needs to improve his frame and position, however.

3rd Place - Kirstie Alley (W1:23 + W2:20 = 43 points)
I really loved so much what Kirstie and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy did last week. This week wasn't as enjoyable as last week. Most of the dance was very light on the floor, but she lost energy at the end of the routine. Still, it was high energy, and I also like the connection between Kirstie and Maks.

T-4th Place - Chris Jericho (W1:19 + W2:23 = 42 points)
Chris and his partner Cheryl Burke tied for 4th place with their quickstep. It was an easy and beautiful dance. Chris was smooth, elegant, charming and had a nice smile throughout the performance. Even judge Len Goodman complimented him, which is a hard thing to get from him.


T-4th Place - Romeo (W1:19 + W2:23 = 42 points)
Romeo danced the quickstep with partner Chelsie Hightower. Romeo had a... interesting style. He needs to be more formal. He was a little flat-footed and needs work there. He also lost some energy towards the end of the dance.

6th Place - Chelsea Kane (W1:21 + W2:18 = 39 points)
Chelsea Kane danced the jive with partner Mark Ballas. I cannot say that this was my favorite. There was not much jive in this jive routine. The choreography did not work for her in this performance.

7th Place - Kendra Wilkinson (W1:18 + W2:19 = 37 points)
Kendra Wilkinson and her partner Louis van Amstel danced the quickstep. The biggest thing about this dance was that Kendra messed up her footwork. She couldn't keep up with the choreography. Kendra doesn't have enough confidence in the routine to perform it well.

8th Place - Petra Nemcova (W1:18 + W2:18 = 36 points)
Petra danced the jive with pro partner Dmitry Chaplin. I thought it was a good performance. Petra had some good kicks and flicks. She needs to work on her body position. She's a beautiful lady and I'm always looking for her to do more.

9th Place - Sugar Ray Leonard (W1:17 + W2:17 = 34 points)
Sugar Ray danced the jive with partner Anna Trebunsakaya. [Laughing] He definitely looked like he was boxing out there. The routine was high on energy and low on dancing. He needs better footwork - what he's doing is not good enough.

10th Place - Wendy Williams (W1:14 + W2:17 = 31 points)
Wendy danced the quickstep with partner Tony Dovolani. She was definitely in a better emotional place this time around. She showed more personality in this dance and there was good choreography, but she still needs better movement. Even so, it's a step in the right direction.

11th Place - Mike Catherwood (W1:13 + W2:17 = 30 points)
Mike danced the jive with partner Lacey Schwimmer. Sometimes he looked good, but mostly it did not look nice. He had said earlier it was either "jive time or die time," and he turned out to be correct.

After two weeks one couple was eliminated out of the original eleven, and that was Mike Catherwood. Ralph and Karina are still in first place with their 45 points out of a possible 60. There were some interesting results and they're getting more experience, now, so we'll see what happens next week.

- Natasha Oreshkina

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