Scores from Week 1 of DWTS 11

The eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars has kicked off among a cloud of glitter, feathers and pearly white smiles.

I have high hopes for this season, we'll see if it can be even better than last!

Here are the scores with some initial thoughts:

• Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani - 19 - A nice performance from Audrina, I felt she deserved a higher score.  It's always hard to go first, but she seemed very comfortable on the floor.
• Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya - 19 - Kurt was nervous to start but pulled off some nice moves.  Wasn't as good as Audrina.
• Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer - 23 - I have to admit I had Kyle down as one of the first to leave, but after this performance it'd be a real shame if he did get booted off.  He's a real performer.
• Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke - 22 - Rick was pretty good and they overcame the height difference pretty well.  I think dances like the jive might be harder for him.
• Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel - 15 - Margaret started really well, and then messed it up trying to be funny.  It's a shame - I like her!
• Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - 23 - Brandy showed why she was one of the favorites with a technically good dance with some emotion in it.
• Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas - 18 - Bristol was better than I expected.  She was obviously nervous, but seemed to actually try to enjoy herself.  If Mark can get the entertainer out, she could last a while.
• Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower - 16 -  Michael didn't seem as though he was enjoying it and he was very stiff.
• Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas - 18 - Now Florence DID enjoy herself.  She forgot the steps occasionally, but she gave an enjoyable performance.
• Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff - 15 - If your factor in the fact that he only had five days of practice this was a pretty good performance - unfortunately it doesn't work that way!  Assuming he stays, I think he will improve rapidly.
• Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough - 24 - A lovely performance with the choreography you've come to expect from Derek.  Jennifer had her heart on her sleeve dancing to a song from Dirty Dancing.  Unfortunately, the show tried to play it up a bit too much.
• David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson - 15 - Oh dear.  The Hoff was enjoying himself, but he just can't dance.

Just another observation - Brooke Burke seemed to be asking questions that were being served to her, rather than coming up with her own.  She seemed a lot like Samantha.  She was like this at the beginning of last season but loosened up - I hope she does this time too!

Overall, I'm very encouraged!

Dancing with the Stars Gets Back to What It Does Best

A tremendous night on Dancing with the Stars - excitement, controversial judging, bad dancing (you know you love it), great dancing and not too many couples.

The producers have made a number of changes from last season, here are the main ones:

The Good

• 16 couples was too many - I had forgotten who had dancing at the start by the end.  11 is just right.
• A good cast selection - a couple of ringers (Evan and Nicole), a couple of stars with no real chance (Buzz and Kate), some with potential (Aiden and Niecy) and a maverick (Pam)

The Bad

• New scoreboard graphics - I think the paddles are enough!
• The Sky Box - first off, it's not very high and secondly it seems a bit clumsy to make the couple walk across the floor and up some stairs

Undecided

• Brooke Burke. I thought having a new co-host would give the opportunity to do things slightly differently (better).  Brooke was OK, but no different from what Samantha did really.  (Comment from a friend - "Hey!  That woman's got Samantha Harris' wig and dress on!")

Overall, the night was an improvement (although I enjoyed season 9) and gave a lot of hope for the season as a whole.

The performances:

Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke - Cha Cha - 18.  I think they must put a "middle of the pack" dancer on first so they have a base score to compare the others against.  Chad was pretty good, allowing some of his personality to come through, but not as much as I expected.  A solid start.

Shannen Doherty & Mark Ballas - Viennese Waltz - 18.  Some good choreography from Mark, and Shannen gave a good performance, bolstered by the presence of her ailing father in the audience.  I was surprised at the number of tweets along the lines of "I liked Shannen and I didn't expect to". Perhaps the tweeters didn't realize she isn't the same person as they saw in 90210.

Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Cha Cha - 21.  Erin seemed to be a pre-season favorite but I didn't really know why people thought that.  However, her long legs and the presence of Maks made her one of the favorites to be around for a while.

Jake Pavelka & Chelsie Hightower - Viennese Waltz - 20.  Jake did very well, but was a little stiff at times.

Niecy Nash & Louis van Amstel - Cha Cha - 18.  Niecy dedicated her dance to thick girls everywhere.  As always, Louis got the best out of his partner and Niecy did very well for someone with no real experience.

Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya - Viennese Waltz - 23.  A very graceful performance as you would expect.  Evan must be one of the favorites.

Buzz Aldrin & Ashly Costa - Cha Cha - 14.  Got through the routine, kept to the beat.  He is 80 years old though, and no Cloris Leachman.

Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough - Viennese Waltz - 25.  One of the favorites, a ringer and currently the best dancer.  The choreography showed her best aspects.  I did agree with Len that her footwork looked awkward at times.

Aiden Turner & Edyta Sliwinska - Cha Cha - 15.  Aiden was stiff, and Edyta did her normal thing of dancing around her partner.  I do think he has potential (just as Ty Murray had a bad first dance, but stayed around for a while).

Kate Gosselin & Tony Dovolani - Viennese Waltz - 16.  Live by reality, die by reality.  I don't know why Kate has so many detractors, she tried her best, was nervous and didn't do too bad.  She actually has potential I think, it's whether she has viewer votes.

Pamela Anderson & Damian Whitewood - Cha Cha - 21.  That woman is a performer!  And very, very flexible!  It was an electrifying performance that made you miss the fact she missed the beat quite often, and her feet only occasionally seemed to be in the right place.  She can only get better at dancing technique, the key is whether she can build up a viewer following.

Overall, I think Buzz and Kate are most at risk, but we have seen very different performances in the second week, and of course who can really say who the viewers will vote for?
Who was your favorite?