Dancing With the Stars Premiere Recap: Who Made the Best First Impression of Season 33?

Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Dancin’ in the Country” by Tyler Hubbard)

Hang on a sec… this was sorta excellent? Not perfect, no; some stiff hips here, some floppy hands there. But on the spectrum of Bachelor/ette alumni to perform on this show, I was sure Joey would lean more Joe Amabile than Kaitlyn Bristowe, and he totally surprised me here. With sevens across the board in Week 1, and an easy confidence alongside Jenna, I think we’ll see Joey for many weeks to come.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30

Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko

DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “Piece of Me” by Britney Spears)

Brooks and Gleb’s debut tango was perfectly fine, but let’s be real: A totally different narrative emerged for these two as soon as Brooks acknowledged in rehearsal that she finds Gleb attractive. That led to a capital-S steamy performance, and this eyebrow-raising answer from Brooks when Julianne Hough asked about their chemistry: “We have a lot of fun, and it’s obviously all about dancing… right? That’s what we’re here to do.” Well, OK! Ezra Sosa’s dropped jaw in the background really spoke for all of us.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 out of 30

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain)

Ilona quickly became one of this summer’s most beloved Olympians, so I suspect she’s got a couple weeks to stick around and really find her footing. Technically, this cha-cha with Alan was solid, but there were obvious nerves causing Ilona to make herself small when the choreography demanded otherwise.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 out of 30

Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater

DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men)

Well, in this case, it wasn’t so much Dancing With the Stars as it was Reginald Standing While Emma Twirled and Twirled. And that’s fine! He’s 72! But we can’t deny it’s rare for Bruno Tonioli to politely request, “Moving forward, more steps, please?”

JUDGES’ SCORE: 16 out of 30, a score we can all agree — with love — was very kind

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson

DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “A Bar Song (Tipsy) [Remix]” by Shaboozey and David Guetta)

Perhaps feeling the weight of other NFL wide receivers’ previous success on this show, Danny looked a little tense in his debut tango, though it’s possible he was just taking the ferocity of the style very seriously. Footwork-wise, though, he held his own in a number with quite a few steps for Week 1; let’s file this one under Lots of Potential.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 20 out of 30

Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “Trustfall” by P!nk)

After passing on this Dancing With the Stars gig for all 32 previous seasons (!), Tori feels now is the right time to get on that ballroom floor, due to some personal upheaval she’s going through — and man, she was happy to be there. It’ll be interesting to see how Tori fares with more involved choreography (in this performance’s more complicated moments, she was shaky), but her enthusiasm and self-love were a joy to behold.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 17 out of 30

Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus)

Given the quick turnaround between the Bachelorette season finale and the next-day announcement of Dancing‘s Season 33 cast, I’m fairly certain Jenn got a lot less time to rehearse than the other contestants did — and she still pulled it out! Some nerves got in the way, and Jenn’s feet were a tad frantic at times, but I look forward to seeing what she can do when she gets her bearings.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 19 out of 30

Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong

DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan)

Hmm, have we found our Season 33 champion already? Hard to say. Even though Chandler was transparent about her previous dance experience, Dancing voters have a tendency to turn on contestants who come to the show with a pre-existing skill set — and if Chandler’s getting eights in her very first score, it’s possible she’ll rack up so many perfect 30s during the season that they’re old hat by finale night. But I’m getting ahead of myself: This Week 1 tango was astonishingly well-executed, and Chandler claimed frontrunner status with ease.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 23 out of 30

Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach

DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan)

Looks like lightning might strike twice, after all! Daniella previously won the Mirrorball with NBA player Iman Shumpert, the result of a very particular mixture of Daniella’s choreographing prowess, Iman’s natural charisma and rhythm, and, of course, their Us-themed contemporary routine. But that special alchemy appears to be at work here again; Dwight possessed an Iman-like joy and lightness on his feet in this salsa, and his 6’11” height (!!) has only challenged Daniella to come up with more insane lifts and tricks than the ones she did with Iman.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 22 out of 30

Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger)

Eric was upfront with Britt that a previous car accident and subsequent coma has left the movements on one side of his body slightly delayed — a tough obstacle for any dancer, and certainly an older one. Big ups to Eric for the dedication and gusto he brought to his cha-cha; unfortunately, it did feature a number of mistakes, including a strut-down-the-stairs section that was noticeably fumbled.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 15 out of 30

Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “I’m Every Woman” by Whitney Houston)

I am totally aware it’s sacrilegious to call anything Phaedra does “unmemorable.” But… I’m saying it here! Her debut cha-cha was perfectly proficient and expectedly sassy, but it didn’t do much to set her apart. Here’s hoping she brings Traitors roundtable vibes to her next performance and does too much when others do too little.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 19 out of 30

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold

DANCE STYLE: Jive (to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen)

Man, how delighted do you think Rylee Arnold is to have Stephen as her partner this year, instead of Harry Jowsey? A dream. It takes a special talent to nail a jive in the very first week, and Stephen did just that with a compelling mixture of athleticism and infectious energy.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30

Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa

DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter)

Well, that was weird, huh? Technically speaking, Anna was just fine; no major missteps, though the expression on her face was fairly blank most of the time. But even an adequate performance couldn’t shift the uneasy vibe in the ballroom when Anna performed, prompting Carrie Ann Inaba to urge voters to give her a chance. An understandable sentiment… but when Julianne Hough later asked Anna how she felt about her scores, she answered, “I feel happy that I don’t have to do this dance again,” and you could practically hear the audience’s goodwill slipping away.

JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 out of 30

OK, your turn! Who gave your favorite performance of Tuesday’s premiere? And who should go home in next week’s double elimination? Cast your vote in our poll below, then weigh in on the episode in a comment!