Season 20 - Week 1

Here is what I found for dances/music:

Michael and Peta – Cha Cha Cha (“Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson) 

Redfoo and Emma – Cha Cha Cha (“Juicy Wiggle” by Redfoo) 
 Rumer and Val – Foxtrot (“Take Me To Church” by Hozier)

Charlotte and Keo – Jive (“Shake a Tail Feather” by The Blues Brothers) 
 Patti and Artem – Foxtrot (“Lady Marmalade” by Patti LaBelle) 
 Willow and Mark – Cha Cha Cha (“Lips Are Movin'” by Megan Trainor) 
 Chris and Witney – Jive (“Footloose” by Kenny Loggins)

Nastia and Derek – Foxtrot
Noah and Sharna – Cha Cha Cha (“I Lived” by One Republic)
Robert and Kym – Cha Cha Cha (“Bills” by Lunch Money Lewis)
Suzanne and Tony – Cha Cha Cha (“Physical” by Olivia Newton-John”)

Riker and Allison – Jive (“What I Like About You” by The Romantics) 
 
As I look through this list, I only recognize 3 of the listed songs - Lady Marmalade, Footloose, and Physical.   Possibly What I Like About You, but I won't be sure until I actually hear the song.  I'm not sure why no song is listed for Nastia/Derek.   

Predictions - All of our jive folks are in trouble, with the possible exception of Riker.  Since I'd read that he has some prior ballroom dance experience, he may be okay if that's one of the songs he did.  At least he's young and presumably fit and can handle it.  Charlotte is the model, and a couple of things I've read sound as if she may belong to the "deceptively unfit" category of that model who was with Alex Mazo.  From what you've all said about Chris, I can't see him doing well with the jive, especially since he's presumably had less time to work on it than the others.

I think all our foxtrot folks will be fine.  I love the foxtrot, but it seems less physically demanding and perhaps a bit easier to learn than the others.  No clue about the folks doing the cha cha cha, although I am looking forward to see Robert Herjavic try it.  Ditto for Suzanne Somers. 

Anyway, a little over 24 hours!  Can't wait!!! 

Bear in mind, I don't know the steps.  My viewing is based on grace and performance.  That being said, it was quite an entertaining evening!  Strangers became pleasant surprises.  My critiques are short.

Willow & Mark - Nice.

Robert & Kym - Fun.  Surprising energy.  Romance in bloom?

Riker & Allison - Good, but his hands are "funny."

Charlotte & Keo - She came off like a blonde bimbo, and the dancing wasn't very good either.

Patti & Artem - Very graceful, and Lady Marmalade is one of my favorite songs.  She was still standing after the dance, but I was afraid the stairs would finish her off.

Chris & Witney - Some of it looked pretty good.  Some of it was awkward.  Made me think that sometimes "clod-kicking" pays off.

Michael & Peta - Pretty darned impressive, but for the frozen nervous smile.  lol.  Carrie noticed, too.

Nastia & Derek - Graceful, beautiful lines.  But the music arrangement sucked.

Redfoo & Emma - Meh.

Noah & Sharna - How do you judge?  Watching what someone has accomplished after catastrophic injury is inspiring, however.....

Suzanne & Tony - Because she's my age, I was hoping for a blowout performance.  Didn't really care for it.  But the way she bounced up those stairs was impressive.  I haven't been able to sprint like that in years.

Rumer & Val - Flowing, graceful, seamless.  Best performance of the night.

OT:  Did anyone catch the Premarin commercial?  Using this cream can cause dementia?  Does this mean that sex won't hurt and your partner can get as much as he wants because you won't remember doing it?  Some of these ads are bizzare.

I didn't see much of the show; was going back and forth with "The Voice."  I thought most of it was about what you'd expect on the first night.  Chris was better than I ever would have expected given the whirlwind of his life recently.  Maybe he will surprise us.  Seems a lot less stiff than Sean Lowe was.

I agree with much of what you wrote, Singly.  Charlotte did come off like a blonde bimbo, but I'm guessing that was not necessarily what she would have wanted.  I did like her attitude, though, and I was impressed that she messed up so badly yet still kept going, still kept smiling, and still had a great attitude when it was over.  (See Lolo Jones for how not to do it right.)  For that reason alone, I'd love to see her get at least another week or two.  Jive is I think the most difficult to have to do the first week.

I was annoyed with Nastia/Derek.  Probably, to be honest, mostly Derek.  I agree she was graceful and had some beautiful lines, but overall I felt like the dance was all about Derek.  Derek is headlining a show in New York, so let's do New York, New York.  Derek dances with the Rockettes, so let's throw that in too.  And really, Derek, a lift in a foxtrot?  Really?  Not to mention the first week?  I'm a bit worried that this will be a repeat of his season with Shawn Johnson where the rules didn't apply to him, and it was all about pleasing the audience (as if it's impossible to please an audience without breaking the rules) as an excuse to just do whatever the heck he wanted.  I really wish he had just stuck to his guns and taken the season off. 

The other thing that struck me as kind of inappropriate was the juxtaposition of Willow and Charlotte.  I am assuming they brought in Willow as an appeal to a younger audience.  So going on that assumption, in what universe was it then appropriate to have Charlotte's intro be the fake naked with the melons?  I know it was a play on that Super Bowl commercial, but this is not the Super Bowl and that commercial only played in part of the country, so the rest of the people have no idea what it was all about anyway.  It just seemed wildly wrong to try to attract a younger audience only to go all sleazy with Charlotte.  Maybe that's just me turning into a crotchety old lady. 

Chris did better than I thought he would, but still just okay for me.  I don't know whether Robert really danced well or not because I was having too much fun watching him have so much fun to really notice.  For entertainment value, though, it was a joy.  I wanted someone to take a pair of scissors to Riker's hair.  And perhaps stick some duct tape over the mouth of whoever told him that mess looked good.  Michael Sam is a doll.  Rumer really was the best of the night but I've heard she tends to be rather intense, so I hope she doesn't go the Lea Thompson route.  We've already heard Val telling her to relax; I hope he stays on top of that.  Redfoo was not as annoying as I expected him to be.

Overall, a very enjoyable night for me.

I, too, was annoyed with the time spent on sleaze, mustang.  TPTB seem to want to appeal to every segment of society.  This season, we got old; we got young; we got disabled; we got rocker; we got the comedian; we got the athletes; and we got the bimbo.  What wish is left to fill?  The scenario they produced for Charlotte made it appear she was more suited to soft porn than DWTS.

Honestly, I didn't notice anything with Derek's number other than the lousy arrangement of the music.  Didn't know he was doing the NY thing himself.  I just don't keep up with the news, I guess.  I stopped resenting him when I realized just how brilliant a dancer he is.  And there's a lot of love/hate with him on the boards.  Don't they love controversy?  Between the Bach franchise and this show, one comes to understand just how producer-driven these shows are.  I'm constantly suspicious of what goes on behind the curtain.  (Shades of paranoia - lol)

Lord, that Sammit T. recap gets in the way!  I keep having to scroll past it to see your post.

I'm with you on Riker's hair.  It's not just long.  It's stringy and looks like bleached straw.  It would be nice to actually see his face.  I wonder if Allison will pull him down with her need to shine, or if she learned her lesson last season.  This number was actually pretty good.

As for Rumer, you may well be right about her similarity to Lea.  Hope it doesn't prove to be the case.

Yeah, singly, that's why Derek was not going to do the show this season.  He's doing the
Rockette's New York Spring Spectacular show - singing, dancing, and he apparently choreographed a lot of it.  So the story goes,  he "jokingly" told the producers that his show was dark on Mondays, so they found him a partner based in New York (Nastia is not the original partner, although I have not heard who that was, but was signed when the original partner couldn't do it because she lives in New York) so they could rehearse in New York during the week and then fly out for the Monday show.  So the whole New York theme with the Rockette-style kicks at the end just made me think the whole number was a vanity thing for Derek.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it struck me the same way as the Singing in the Rain dance last season - all about/for Derek rather than his partner.

I don't deny the Derek is a brilliant dancer, but I do feel as though he's been phoning it in the last few seasons. So much of his choreography feels the same to me these days, and I am beyond tired of the whole "military-precision" stuff.  He's done it with the last 2 or 3 team dances, and he did it with Bethany's free-style as well.  Like he's figured out what works and doesn't really put his heart and soul into it any more unless it's something that he really wants to do - like the Singing in the Rain Gene Kelly recreation.  I truly think he would benefit from a season or two off to regroup and recharge.

I hear you, mustang.  I've been mostly put off the past couple of seasons with all the "hand-dancing."  But I no longer have an aversion to Derek.  That feeling is reserved for Mark and his over-the-top choreo.  I'm curious to see if he'll overdance his partner as he usually does.  Don't care to see any more of his ridiculous costuming.  The judges rave over some of it - like the Mario Brothers number - but I find this shtick distracting.

rkc, I agree about Charlotte and the "sleaze" factor.  I don't know if this is producer-driven for controversy or if this is really what she's like.  I do hope they ease off of it.  Now that opening night is done, we might see if she has any talent.  Women aren't going to vote for a blonde bimbo.