It is explained here in the last 30 seconds of the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSR9c...8khvHyK1xnd3-g

Week 1 - thoughts...

Erin - I'm undecided. Didn't enjoy the 'direction' (to wring the life out of rivalries and potential showmances *Yawn*), and she has quite a grating voice, but she was lively and quick witted. Maybe a bit hyper. Was Sean taking the mickey out of her with the Dirty Dancing convo or was that for real? So hard to tell with him

Nene Well she can move, but she can't cha cha. Never too keen on Tony and his partnerships, but she may grow on me.

James Has bags of potential, but I didn't like this FT. Lots of flayling and leaping around and horrible music.

Danica A bit hyper and I'm really not sure Val gets her (he seemed to be in permanent, internal eye-roll mode). She was good, but not as good as her alleged ringery-ness might have suggested. If she calms down a bit, I think I'll like her. Didn't enjoy their Foxtrot.

Sean He's a mystery, but I'm finding him funny and intriguing at the moment. I quite liked their routine. Not sure Karina has the measure of him. Yet

Billy Dee Oh, dear. Audience seemed to love him. He's sweet, but I don't need to see him dance . Emma will exhaust herself trying to come up with different distraction themes and dancing for two each week.

Meryl Loving her, not sure about the partnership still. Her spins were fab and it was a good cha cha. Please, Maks, stop being a camera hog and just let Meryl's dancing take all the attention

Candace Thought this was great. Loved Mark's choreo and her performance.

Cody Irritating couple and irritating dance. Flipperty, flopperty legs, not a whole lot of cha cha. They're both so young, I know they're not there for me, but hoped for something charming or sweet. Disappointed

Drew Loved him and liking Cheryl again. Perhaps my fave Foxtrot of the night. He isn't terribly good yet, but I think he'll be enjoyable to watch for a few weeks.

Amy Fabulous effort and maybe my fave cha cha. Feel really confident that Derek will be able to choreograph smartly for her and bring out her best. Great personality and attitude.

Diana Nice woman and this was my second favourite Foxtrot. I hope she stays around long enough to get some good performances under her belt, but she has lots to learn.

Charlie Great partnership. Think it's fair to say Sharna is thrilled . Beautiful, expressive routine and he seems to have a nice personality. I'd say they were hot favourites ... at the moment.

Couple of other things...

[LIST][*]I miss the orchestra, but the band were fine. [*]I like the look of the ballroom with the stage area. [*]Too much hair gel and quiffery from the boys. [*]Too many hideous MC Hammer pants on display in the training room (even on Maks!! ).[*]Much prefer the judges back where they were and return of skybox.[*]I'm no prude, but some of the outfits were tacky. Not sure why Danica had to foxtrot in her bra, for example, or how Emma dancing in her skimpies fit with the Star Wars theme. Soupçon more class required here and there [*]Hope the dances get longer as the series goes on. So short at the mo.[/LIST]

Ahhh. Got it. Thanks (Candace seemed surprised that she'd chosen a rumba )

Afterbuzz Beautiful Gleb on the couch . Julz should have taken his hat off. Anna looks tired (no surprise there )

I'm glad the skybox is back and that I suppose explains why Tom needs a co-host. I found Erin a bit cold, it's going to take a while for me to warm up to her. Although if she doesn't stop going on about Maks as her partner, I'm not sure I ever will! Believe it or not, Erin, the show is about the current contestants, not about you.

Based on the week one dances, for me the ones to watch were Candace, Meryl, Charlie and Amy. I'm looking forward to seeing how my top picks change from week to week.

Amy is incredible. I don't know if she'll be able to do all of the dances as they're supposed to be done, so it'll be interesting to see how they're adapted for her. I can see jive, QS and contemporary being the biggest challenges.

Sean, Danica and James all had potential. Danica wasn't quite as good as I expected for someone who's supposedly a ringer but it may just have been that particular dance didn't suit her; I'm reserving judgement.

Drew was fun and will no doubt continue to be so. I'm not sure how much potential he has but he should get at least mid-way through the season.

Diana was better than I expected. She probably won't ever wow me with her dancing but I can see her doing some very charming dances if this week is anything to go by.

NeNe and Cody didn't really make much of an impression on me - neither good nor bad. I found them both a bit forgettable, although in NeNe's case that could be partly from her going first. When we have the full cast dancing, it's easy to forget the first contestants by the time we get to the last ones.

Billy Dee will probably be first out and if not, Emma's going to have her work cut out for her. The will is there on his part but the physical ability isn't.

Thought the new singers were terrible.

Err, Danica's dress had a full bodice, but in a nude colour. If anyone was in their bra, it was Witney and Amy. As for Emma's costume, it was loosely (VERY loosely!) based on the Princess Leia slave outfit, so it did make sense. For me the worst dress was Peta's - I really thought she was going to fall out of it. It wasn't until they were back in the skybox that I saw Peta's dress had netting at the side, holding everything in place. At least, i think it did, it was a bit hard to tell.

I notice that Camilla Dallerup tweeted she was in the audience. I am assuming she sat close to the judges' table but I could not spot her. She must have made mental notes how different the same basic concept can turn out when producers get ahold of it.

This is an article on prosthetic limbs for dance. I wonder if Amy has something similar to this? I wonder if it gets painful after a certain number of hours and how Amy will cope with long practice days as the competition progresses.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027956/w...llroom-dance#2

And here is what Amy is using.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/20/dwts-d...medium=twitter

Karina tweeted:


‏@Karina_Smirnoff
Here are the twitter rules 4 the switch: Tweet #DWTS + Star’s first name + Karina
Voting opens during DWTS Mar24th ends Mar31st @11:59EST

If they close the voting at the end of Monday, I wonder when they'll announce the new couples You'd think they'd go for maximum drama and announce it during the Week 3 show... Wonder if eliminated pros and the troupe are eligible...

Hmm still not convinced by this, if they swapped permanently, I then think it would be worthwhile. When the interviewers asked the celebs about swapping, they seemed to want to stick with their original pro. If the viewing public have decided on the switches, I then think the new pairings should be those. Otherwise it's just a bit of window dressing for the revamped show.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...ehearsals.html

I'd still love to see Maks get NeNe.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/dwts-..._video_2078237

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-...b_5009929.html

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...=3372937029001

http://instagram.com/p/l0g8mIJiIj/

http://distilleryimage8.ak.instagram...025091e8_8.jpg

http://instagram.com/p/l0o67jj0Qk/

http://distilleryimage6.ak.instagram...47178dfa_8.jpg

http://distilleryimage5.ak.instagram...9d31318d_8.jpg

Had to decided to avoid all spoilers and rumours, so disappointed when started to watch and find no Harold Wheeler. Hope it was his decision to end, and not forced out.

It wasn't Harold's decision, they told him via email. Cold, huh?

Eek! What're 17 seasons between friends, anyway?

Interesting interview with Diana. Love her honesty (and realism ).

She was really upset with her frumpy dress last week and cried about it later .

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Dancing-...e-1079591.aspx

Can understand her being upset, but didn't she have any input from the start, doesn't sound as if she did. I like that she said it, some would just think it and not voice their opinion in the media. They have been known to come up with some 'frock horrors' before, didn't think Diana's did her any favours, a bit matronly. They don't always cater for the fuller figure on DWTS or SCD, unless you have a dancers body, it can be a bit hit and miss.

https://twitter.com/AmyPurdyGurl/sta.../photo/1/large

https://twitter.com/AmyPurdyGurl/sta...366592/photo/1

http://instagram.com/p/l7r_8fxbMI/

http://www.people.com/people/article...799534,00.html

http://www.today.com/entertainment/d...oom-2D79410727

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...ice-packs.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...e-workout.html

http://instagram.com/p/l57iFuOy-z/

http://www.people.com/people/article...799468,00.html

https://twitter.com/Artem_World/stat.../photo/1/large

Yay Artem's on Afterbuzz on 8 April.

You're right about them not always doing the fuller figure any favours, but Diana's in great shape for a woman of her age (of any age ). Hope she gets at least one good frock out of the experience (I fear she could be an early boot - though I'd rather wave bye to Billy, even if it means losing Emma ...)

Ha! didn't think Candace really wanted to do the rumba ...
Viewers may have caught my shocked face at the end of the show during week one, when it was announced that the dance I wanted to do most was the rumba. Um … I honestly didn't think I said that!

I've really wanted to do the Venetian waltz () most, but the camera didn't lie during my at-home interview when I did in fact say the rumba, since it would be so challenging. Grrrrr … I could kick myself! The rumba has definitely proved to be more challenging than I would have preferred for my second week's dance.

Amy showing lots of great attitude in those picks.


Thanks for all the links Karma

Yay! indeed


ETA: seems now that the switch will be in week 4 and the fans (maybe) get to vote the couples back together as well. (Originally they said the slebs would choose). Could be a mess (or fun).

First impressions from England. Meryl and Charlie are ringers (they even have the finely chiselled features that great ballet dancers have), and should provide some great dances, loving Meryl's turns. Derek's contractual clause to win won't be hindered by having a disabled dance partner ; I wish she had different prosthetics, more realistic looking limbs are available, nonetheless the girl can dance. Billy Dee and Diana for the early bath, although Diana can dance a little.

Hi Richwood. If you have a look upthread a little, Lili posted some interesting articles about Amy's prosthetics. Not sure they can do all the things she wants to do with those 'cosmetic' ones. (Not that I have any actual insight into that, you understand - just reading between the lines ). I do think the increased visibility of Paralympians and others on our screens has really helped with a broader view on what 'looks right'. I know that some folk with prosthetics (especially the fancy 'bionic' ones) would rather have the mechanics and electronics on show than use a fake hand or foot, but appreciate there may be situations where it might distract. It will be interesting to see how they approach the costuming for her.

Yes it made me grin, when Candace looked flummoxed at choosing the Rumba! Still just goes to show, what you say can and will be used against you. Not the easiest dance to get but in week two a tough call.

I was been a bit flippant about the 'fuller figure', anything bigger than a dancer's body being 'fuller'!

Billy Dee looks the least enthusiastic of the bunch, but he maybe just hiding it better than the others. Wouldn't like to see Emma go this early on, unless BDW ups his game don't know how long he'll last.