I rather like the fact that nobody was showing signs of technical brilliance right from the outset because all that leads to is a load of carping about ringers, smugness etc... and that gets pretty old after the first half-dozen or so times you read it.

I prefer to see them all looking a bit rough round the edges to start with because then it is easier to see when they actually improve and it makes for a more enjoyable experience from show to show.

I think this is one of the best starts for potential, but obviously no one was perfect which you wouldn't expect this early.

I loved watching Jay, Georga, Anita, Helen

There were lots of other decent starts too.

I agree. There may not be that one, single, outstanding celebrity this year, but I think the overall standard is much better than usual. The no-hopers are not as terrible as most years, and even this years joke candidate (Ainsley) has some genuine potential.

I'm underwhelmed with most of the male celeb dancers, so far; only Jay and Peter (admitting this through gritted teeth) appear to be any good.

Peter is the only one for me Hound of Love, although I quite like Daniel.

i didn't expect perfection as well, it's week 1.

I Loved watching Anita, Georgia, Jay, Katie ( good for Anton). and i enjoyed Jeremy&Karen's Cha Cha Cha.

but it was a good week with lots of potentially good dancers.

They all seemed to appreciate that its a marathon not a sprint and almost all put in a good first week's work. My standouts were (in order):

Anita
Peter
Katie
Georgia
Kellie
Helen
Jay

I was expecting Kelli to be better, but it was a terrible song for a Tango and Kevin put a LOT of theme into the choreography. It was interesting to hear how she had to relearn how to place her feet.

Ainsley and Natalie. It wasn't a great song for a Tango, but the large injection of themeing into the performance and the no neck posture made it look like a strange Tango. It was a dance where Ainsley had to act a different character and at least his mouth did. Other dances will suit him more. I like him and Natalie and expect they will do well - starting next week.

Helen was another I was expecting to be better, but she is second on the leaderboard.

I would have expected Iwan to be better, but reports are that he only had 3 days training due to work commitments in Japan. He does seem like he has a lot to learn.

Kirsty was another celeb I expected to do better, but it is week one and nerves were a big factor.

I was expecting Carol to be better - or at least look like she can get better. Maybe in Ballroom she will do better.

Otherwise they all did at least as well as I expected - even Jeremy doesn't look hopeless, and I liked the way he committed fully to it. Anita was much better (potentially) than I expected and it was a proper CCC - well done Gleb.

for week 1 I thought they all did well

hated Kellie and Kevins tango - wrong music and wrong "theme" in my opinion and I really dislike short dresses in ballroom, Kellie does show potential tho, just hoping Kevin doesnt go to wacky!

Anita surprised me, cool, calm and confident and a decent cha cha, shame no straight legs tho!

Jay was another one who surprised me, I really didnt think he nerves would hold and my heart sank just a little as Tess announced they would dance first but I neednt have been worried - he was great, good cha cha technique, straight legs and he held his nerve! he just needs to smile a bit more

Carol was the disaster I was expecting - sorry, nothing more to say

Peter I was a little disappointed with, I expected more technique from him (I also expected to see more cha cha but that is Janettes fault, not Peters) he wouldnt have been top of the leader board for me!

Iwan was awful but then again, he hadnt had much training, running in a tango? Lazy choreography from Ola but *shrug*

The rest were just as I had expected

bring on week 2

I feel quite the opposite. I've not been so engaged in a series for some time. I feel my excitement for the Launch and Week 1 peaked just at the right time.

As already said, it was only week 1 & I think the performances ranged - as usual - from good, bad and pretty disastrous!!!!!

As for technique, I think the show has gradually moved away from getting the celebs to perform a technically good dance in favour of being more razz-ma-tazz! Jay's cha, for example, was far more technically correct than Andre's, but the latter was marked higher because he could perform better.

The other problem is some of the pros are not themselves good at technique. For example, Len commented how good Daniel's footwork was, but goodness knows where he learnt it, because did you see Kristina's footwork? It was dire.

Janette is another who doesn't understand ballroom, and, brilliant though she may be at salsa, she isn't that hot on Latin technique either when it comes to the 5 Basic Latin dances.

Technically Anton is brilliant at ballroom technique, but his Latin technique is definitely lacking.