The season 16 premiere of “Dancing With the Stars” aired on ABC Monday night, March 18 and the star of the evening was also the youngest performer. Paired with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, Zendaya Coleman showed that being a kid doesn’t mean she can’t dance with the big dogs.
As the star of the Disney show “Shake It Up”, Zendaya has already proven she has some great moves, and she cemented that with her Contemporary Dance routine on DWTS Monday night. During a rehearsal interview, Val told her she was very beautiful, then when told she was only 16, said “I take that back.”
Because of her age, Chmerkovskiy seemed to be concerned that he wouldn’t be able to adequately ignite the spark with Coleman that would be needed to score with the dances that demand romance and sex appeal. While this week’s Contemporary dance is probably a bit tame compared to what they’ll face further in the competition, I don’t think Val has anything to worry about – Zendaya had no trouble convincing viewers that she has what it takes without resorting to raunch.
The judges agreed, and gave her the highest score of the evening, 24 points out of 30.
Carrie Ann:
Way to go, Zendaya! That was amazing. You’re a fantastic dancer, with maturity not expected from a 16-year-old.
Bruno:
Sweet 16 and a superb debut on DWTS. I cannot wait to see you doing other dances. It’s so inspiring to see such a young girl doing so well.
He then complimented Val on the choreography.
Len:
(smiling) Three words I never thought I’d say week one. That was great.
It was a joy to watch Zendaya and Val in such a commanding performance week one. At the top of the leaderboard out of the gate, it’s a safe bet that she won’t be eliminated once scores for this week are added to next.
Follow Marie Anne’s talk about TV by clicking subscribe at the top of the page. It’s completely anonymous. Her other columns include Dogs and Crafts.
Comments