Dancing With The Stars has an official front runner: James Van Der Beek. The actor made sure to dance with his children before he took the stage with his partner, and he's put all of his energy into his first dance, showing the rest of his competitors that he is not one to be messed with.
The new cast of season 28 of Dancing With The Stars had hardly been released before the whirlwind of comments from fans occurred. Some viewers were outraged that the franchise and the network had decided to cast former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, the show also had an injury before the premiere episode, and it seemed that bad news was going to upstage the premiere before it even got underway.
The surprises started from the moment the introductions started. While the news broke earlier in the week that Christie Brinkley would not be performing as a contestant due to shattering her arm, her daughter Sailor Brinkley-Cook took over the role dancing to "Up Town Girl" by Brinkley’s ex-husband, Billy Joel. The news of Brinkley having to drop out did not sour the premiere episode, which aired on September 16.
It was Dawson’s Creek alum, James Van Der Beek, that stole the evening with his dance with partner Emma Slater. The couple danced to "Whatever it Takes" in a sultry tango which floored judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Len Goodman. The judges felt that Van Der Beek did an outstanding job of staying in character and keeping control. The couple scored a 21 out of 30, making that the best score of the entire evening. Even though Van Der Beek was the last contestant to perform, Dancing With The Stars saved the best for last.
Now that all the contestants have gotten their first dance out of the way, fans have a better knowledge to make a bid on who will take the Mirror Ball Trophy home this season. The whole cast seemed to have worked very hard in their dance camp, leaving it open for any one of them to go all the way. Among all, the judges seemed hopeful, which should be remembered as the season progresses and they get a bit meaner with their feedback. It is still too soon to say if Van Der Beek will cha-cha his way to the championship, but fans can hope.
Dancing With The Stars airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Us Weekly