By Olivia Harrison
Staff Writer
Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars” opened up to a fantastic start on Sept. 17, with new celebrities and familiar professional dancers again hitting the stage. Hosted by Alfonso Ribero and Julianne Hough, fans tuned in to see their favorite celebrities kick it on the dance floor.
This season, thirteen pairs of pro dancers and star-studded celebrities are venturing into the ballroom. However, only one pair will remain at the end of the season, hoping to receive the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. This season’s most featured stars include Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, Joey Graziadie (Season 20 of “The Bachelor"), Jennifer “Jenn” Tran (Season 21 of “The Bachelorette”) and actress Chandler Kinney.
In addition, veteran dancers Sasha Farber, Rylee Arnold, Ezra Sosa and Emma Slater have returned to help win the trophy. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Dereck Hough return as mainstage judges.
The stars lit up the stage, dancing to popular songs like “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. Each star got to choose to dance to a song that they considered “a self-proclaimed anthem.” After performing, the pairs are then judged in order to see who advances in the competition.
For a pair to advance, the panel of judges will give each pair a score from 1 to 10. After the judges’ verdict, a live audience can cast their own vote, influencing the score and giving contestants up to 30 points in total. According to the Today Show, fans get up to 10 votes and can change their votes until the voting window closes. The pair with the fewest votes will be eliminated.
Fortunately for the premiere, no couples were eliminated. However, the judges announced that the second episode would feature a double elimination. Kinney and her dancing partner Brandon Armstrong were leading with the most points after night one (28 out of 30 points), while Roberts and his partner Britt Stewart received the lowest score of the night (15 out of 20 points).
Nedoroscik and Arnold, Tran and Farber, and Graziadei and Johnson were other pairs that wowed fans and left judges wanting more. Nedoroscik brought enthusiasm to his routine and focused on his gymnastics background to give a stellar performance. Tran, who had the least time to train (because of “The Bachelorette’s” finale), tore the stage apart. Finally, Graziadei charmed the crowd with a country-themed tango. All of the stars brought their all to the floor, including their charisma.
Although there was no elimination this week, the competition is off to a high-energy start. Fans can tune in for more on Monday nights at 8 pm on ABC or stream on Hulu. In addition, fans are also encouraged to vote at https://dwtsvote.abc.com/ during the show.
