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Dancing With The Stars S31 Power Rankings (Round 1)

Sep 26, 2022 by PowerRankings101

I’m so excited that Dancing is back AND without commercials. I’m hype. Let’s rank these first performances from an incredibly talented bunch of stars. A reminder, I will be giving my own personal score, but my dance training is strictly in musical theatre and not ballroom, so I can’t say that I’m 100% an expert. But alas, here we go.

16. Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd- Oh this was bad. Rarely do America get it right on the first go, but they definitely chose the right bottom 2 (resulting in the right elimination on the judges part). The worst part of this dance wasn’t even the lack of technique or missed steps…it was the lack of any enthusiasm whatsoever. Vinny getting the worst score for having a BLAST when this guy walked around like a zombie just wasn’t the right call. I like the guy, but he ain’t a dancer, and unfortunately, we won’t get to see any sort of potential there may have been. My Score: 3

15. Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov- Poor Pasha was the second boot two seasons in a row (Carole Baskin, then Christine Chiu. I hope the same doesn’t happen here, but honestly…it may be likely. She clearly tried her best, but it definitely felt VERY disoriented and way too simple. Please give Pasha a great partner next year, please! My Score: 4

14. Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki- I’ll admit, I may have blinders on because I grew up with Jersey Shore (both the show and the place), but this was NOT the worst of the night. Sure, it lacked some technique and there were moments Vinny seemingly forgot what he was doing. BUT, you could tell he definitely had a presence and was clearly having a good time. For the first week of dancing, this is about what I expected for Vinny. I hope he improves, because his fan base should keep him around for at least a few weeks. My Score: 4

13. Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvinstev- I don’t know much about the D’Amelio sisters, but I certainly don’t know anything about their mom. Heidi did a fine job, hitting most of the steps and showing a good confidence. But everything felt just a bit tame and restrained. Maybe it was the tempo of the song, but I just felt like it lacked some oomph. My Score: 5

12. Cheryl Laad and Louis Van Amstel- Not gonna lie, it made me emotional to see Louis back. Cheryl is 71, but you’d NEVER know. She moves so well, and way better than even some of the younger competitors in this competition. It was pretty slow, but given her age and her experience, she hit a lot of the technique with some great precision and gave one of the cleanest cha-cha-chas of the night. How she’ll do with a faster dance, I’m not so sure, but this is a much better start than I expected. My Score: 5

11. Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten- I don’t know much about Jessie’s work, but I do think she’s already poised to do well given the appeal to Southern voters and country fans (something we’ve seen in recent years of American Idol as well, country stars go a long way). Whereas I thought Heidi’s and Cheryl’s songs seemed a tad under tempo, this one seemed way too fast, so her technique went out the window often. But I thought she did a good job performance wise. Nothing spectacular, but she clearly shows sparks of something promising. She needs a bit more restraint and she could be a real contender. My Score: 5

10. Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke- I immediately pegged this guy for the first boot of the season just looking at the cast announcement. And I’m happy to say I was wrong, because Sam is a delight. The steps weren’t all there (the arms even more so), but the pure joy and grace on the dance floor was so pleasant to see. I expected stormy weather, but instead, I got a soft breeze on a sunny day. My Score: 5 5 10

9. Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater- Given how freaking terrified this guy was, I was happy to say that he did a fairly good job! The quickstep is not a dance anyone should get on the first night, and he actually kept up really well. Did he need some refinement and a little less terror on his face? Yes. But this was technically one of the hardest dances of the night, and I think he brought his best self to it. My Score: 6

8. Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach- “You may also know my father Arnold Schwarzenegger” LOL, hmm I may have heard of him. If anyone can transform Joseph into a ballroom dancer, it’s Daniella. Her track record is amazing, with Nelly making the finals and Iman winning it all. This wasn’t the BEST first dance as it was a tad too heavy (expected given his muscle mass), but I think she could really transform him if given the time and imagination (and votes), because the actual pacing and energy is there. My Score: 6

7. Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong- I am so excited to see Jordin dance, since her season of American Idol was the first I had ever watched! There was a little bit of flow missing between steps here, but ultimately, I really enjoyed Jordin’s first dance. She had a great confidence on the dance floor, and the actual cha cha steps were very clean and noticeable. A solid start, despite not being completely wowed. My Score: 6 8 14

6. Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart- I am blown away. Sure, some of the moves were a little choppy (the Frankenstein I call it), but given his deafness and this being the first dance…I am blown away. I cannot wait to see him grow. This starting score may be low, but that just shows how much room he has to grow (which is so exciting). My Score: 6

5. Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy- Aw this was sweet. I love Gabby and I’m glad to see her have some fun after two very stressful seasons of Bachelor and Bachelorette. I love her technique, but I do think for the jive specifically, she needed a tad more bounce as this was surprisingly a tad too grounded. But that’s just a nitpick. As for precision, this was as precise as it came and left me beaming the entire time. My Score: 7

4. Wayne Brady and Witney Carson- Wayne was my pre-season winner pick, and yep, I’m pretty happy with that. Wayne killed this first dance. His Broadway experience may be the reason he’s such a natural, but the theatre world is certainly a big difference from ballroom. Luckily, Wayne is already showing glimpses of brilliance in transition. I’d probably give this an 8 as an overall dance, but the actual cha-cha content was a tad hidden by some other moments. My Score: 7

3. Shangela and Gleb Savchenko- I thought this was an INCREDIBLE start for Shangela. Bravo for Gleb for making history here on the ballroom again. This had precision, oomph, power, and TECHNIQUE! But ultimately, it also never lost sight of entertainment. I honestly don’t have many complaints aside from the fact that it needed a tad more refinement despite nailing a lot of the sequencing and showomanship. My Score: 8

2. Selma Blair and Sasha Farber- I was a weepy mess after this dance. Week one, and Selma is already delivering SO much grace and dignity. The footwork was great, the extensions in both arms and legs so beautiful. She is a true fighting spirit, and proves that ANYONE can dance at any point in their life in any way, shape, or form. That final move on the floor was the best of the night, wow. It was a truly special moment, and I cannot applaud her enough. My Score: 8

1. Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas- I do think I’m going to be a bit harder on Charli this season because she has built her fame on dancing (TikTok is different than ballroom, but still…). That being said, even with the expectations, she STILL blew me away. She not only showed great charisma and power, but from the very first moment and that turn, she showed she had actual technical ability that exceeded the TikTok stratosphere. I am so excited to see how she evolves, though this is a VERY high starting point. Easily the best dance of the night from a sheer technical standpoint, and I can’t help but put it at the top. My Score: 8

This was tough to rank considering how many promising dancers we have, but it seems that my top 5 is lock step with the judges with Charli, Selma, Wayne, Gabby, and Shangela at the top. Right behind are Jordin and Daniel. I think any of those 7 have the potential to take it all, but as last season proved, there are definitely dark horses that could come through and surprise. As for who goes home next, the obvious pick is Teresa given she was in the bottom again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a faster dance style puts someone like Sam or Cheryl in the bottom as well. I still lean Teresa.

MY PREDICTIONS:

Going Home- Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov

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Dancing With The Stars S31 Power Rankings (Round 1)

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