Las Vegas Weekly

March 22, 2010 · 7:44 PM

DWTS Season 10 debuts! Who soared, who slipped; a big change

By Robin Leach

Dancing With the Stars Season 10 competitors Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough.

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC TV

It looks as if it will be beauty over age and experience from the first round of dances on tonight’s Season 10 premiere of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. Eighty-year-old legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin is so determined to win as the long-shot senior that he didn’t let travel plans to New Zealand interrupt his dance practice with Ashly Costa. He simply took her along on the trip, and they had three workouts Down Under!

But as you will read here later, the dedication didn’t really pay off with highly critical judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and curmudgeon Len Goodman. Instead, they were dazzled by former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who is teamed with Las Vegas’ own Derek Hough, and surprisingly Pamela Anderson showed she’s got great dance moves to go with her shapely body.

SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read any further if you want to watch the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast of Dancing With the Stars. Consider this my one and only friendly warning! But come back after the show to see if you agree with my observations!

For some reason, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who choreographed Le Reve segments at the Wynn, has been dubbed the bad boy of ballroom. He will take a break from practices with ESPN host Erin Andrews to host a party at Tabu Ultra Lounge in MGM this Friday.

One major change this 10th season is that instead of going backstage to the lounge waiting area, the celebrities will remain in full view of the audience in an onstage glass enclosure to await the results. Talk about torture!

By the end of the first night, the leader board was as predicted, with Nicole and Vancouver Winter Olympics figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek up at the top. Here’s the rundown of all of tonight’s dances and the judges’ voting:

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC TV

Dancing With the Stars Season 10 competitors Damian Whitewood and Pamela Anderson.

Nicole grabbed the high score of 25 with her first-ever waltz with Season 7 pro winner Derek. Evan is partnered with Anna Trebunskaya and scored 23 with the Viennese waltz. In the only tie of the night, a very sexy and long-haired Pamela used her best assets to writhe out a vote of 21 from the judges for her cha cha with newcomer Damian Whitewood, while Erin and Maksim also scored 21 for their cha cha.

The Bachelor star Jake Pavelka, with Las Vegas beauty Chelsie Hightower, received 20 points. Actress Shannen Doherty, partnered with Mark Ballas, scored 18 for the Viennese waltz. Reno 911 star and comedienne Niecy Nash danced with a pulled knee muscle and teamed up with Louis Van Amstel to 18 points for their cha cha. Cincinnati Bengals star Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke scored 18 with their cha cha.

Reality TV star Kate Gosselin may well have had winning votes from her eight kids, but the judges said her waltz with Tony Dovolani was worthy of just 16 votes. Bruno taunted her, saying was dancing like a shopping cart being wheeled down the block!

Photo: Chris Chavira/ABC TV

Dancing With the Stars Season 10 competitors Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya.

All My Children star Aiden Turner danced with Edyta Sliwinska, who is the only pro to appear in all 10 seasons of DWTS, but it didn’t help his cha cha, netting just 15 points. The lowest score of the night, regrettably, went to astronaut Buzz, who received 14 points for the cha cha with Ashly.

BTW, all next week, it’s a DWTS edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and DWTS host Tom Bergeron will act as the expert for lifelines. Pro dancers posing DWTS questions to contestants include Cheryl, Mark, Chelsie, Derek and Maksim, plus judges Carrie Ann and Bruno and pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer from previous seasons. The contestants will see clips of memorable dances from Mario Lopez, Drew Lachey, Shannon Elizabeth, our ex-Peepshow star and friend Mel B and Helio Castroneves.

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC TV

Dancing With the Stars Season 10 competitors Buzz Aldrin and Ashly Costa.

Vegas DeLuxe will have the full-action photo gallery tomorrow from tonight’s dance floor, so be sure to check back here for the first official ABC photos.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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