Hey everyone! The Dancing With the Stars 24 pre-season has officially started, and we’re kicking it off with a brand new game! You ever hear of a fantasy football league? Well, this is our fantasy DWTS league!
Each of us bloggers (@dwtsdreams, Bentley, and myself) will have a team of four couples, who will earn us points for their dance scores and escaping elimination each week (more on that below!). We chose our couples using the “snake” method, AKA each of us choosing one couple, then doing so again in the opposite order, and so on until everyone had four couples. We thought this was a fairer way of choosing than going in the same order every time because the person going first would have a bigger advantage. The snake method ensures that the person who gets first pick also gets whoever is left over at the end!
Here are our picks in the order we chose them:
ROUND #1
@dwtsdreams: Normani Kordei & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
I choose Normani and Val for my first pick because of their partnership and passion for the show. Believe it or not I dislike fifth harmony and at first I was a little apprehensive to her at first. At watching their sound bites, Normani seems very hardworking and hungry to win. She seems respectful to Val and very articulate. Normani has dance experience so I think she knows how to take criticism and apply corrections. She is always very aware with her body from dancing which is a key factor. Normani was also on the X Factor which allows her to have an edge over the other contestants because she is use to live performance and the pressure of competitions. She also has an active fan base which will get her and Val lots of votes. Val seems eager to teach her and I think this is overall going to be a great partnership. The only thing I think twill hurt her is her schedule. It worries me that she is doing a WORLD tour in ASIA while training for the show. It is going to be very hard for her to get training time which is a disadvantage. I think she does have a chance to win.
Julia: Simone Biles & Sasha Farber
We’ve been hearing about this team since last summer and it’s so weird to think that it’s finally real! I think Simone and Sasha are a great match for each other and I like their attitude towards the competition. There is obviously going to be a lot of pressure on Simone since previous gymnast contestants have done very well on Dancing With the Stars, and even moreso this season since her Olympic teammate Laurie Hernandez is currently the show’s reigning champion. This also seems to have caused a bit of an anti-gymnast mindset among some viewers. However, I think Simone and Sasha will have a great partnership and will still more than likely get the scores and votes to stick around for awhile (though I do think the judges might end up being harder on them than some of the other couples). While I don’t think they’ll win-and at this point envision them being this season’s Charlie & Sharna/Nastia & Derek/Wanya & Lindsay-I think we’re going to have a lot of fun watching this couple and I just couldn’t not pick them for my team!
P. Bentley: Rashad Jennings & Emma Slater
I chose Rashad as my first choice for my fantasy team because he shows some true promise in terms of dance rhythm and technique. I mean, did you see his warm-up routine on Good Morning America?! Besides the fact that football players more often than not reach relatively far in the competition, he has already shown that he is able to move like the Mirror Ball Trophy is already his! That practically speaks for itself! And now that Emma has probably the best partner she has ever had on the show, I think she is going to pull out the big guns that she has waiting to pull out for years now! I have a strong feeling that Rashad can win it all in the end, and I would be surprised, even looking from such an early standpoint, if he didn’t make it to at least week seven!
ROUND #2
P. Bentley: Nancy Kerrigan & Artem Chigvintsev
Having an Olympic bronze medal figure skater on my fantasy team is awesome! Clearly, this woman can dance...at least on ice! There is no doubt in my mind that she will be able to pull off some amazing routines. Maybe her feet will need some fine tuning, but I’m sure she will be able to adjust quickly to dancing on a more solid surface. I think this can be a really big opportunity for Artem to show us everything that Nancy is capable of, and for the sake of my fantasy team, I hope he takes advantage of it!
Julia: Heather Morris & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Okay, I’ll get this part out of the way first: There is obviously already a lot of controversy surrounding this team, since Heather has danced professionally for years and Dancing With the Stars is generally supposed to be a show about people learning to dance. Some people don’t mind this, while others believe her level of experience to be unfair. Having been a huge Glee fan I’ve gotten to see a lot of what Heather can do over the years and I think she has fantastic moves and stage presence. Heather has said she doesn’t see her experience as an advantage since she doesn’t know ballroom, but in the past people with all kinds of dance training have gone on to do well on this show. While I do think Heather and Maks might suffer in votes to a degree because of this, they may end up forming a great connection to make for a fun partnerships which could help them in that department. Even if this isn’t the case, I think their scores will be pretty high and we’ll hopefully see some great routines from them. So while this couple may be facing some backlash right now, the scores they get from the judges will probably be enough to keep them around for awhile, so that’s why they’re my next choice for my fantasy team.
@dwtsdreams: David Ross & Lindsay Arnold
I am so excited about David Ross. I have been waiting for the moment when a MLB player is on the show ever since I started watching it. I am a huge baseball fan and there was no way I was not going to put him on my team. Since he is fresh off the won from the World Series I definitely think he has the drive to be a competitor. As a result of so many female celebs with dance ability I don't think he will make it to the finals but you never know. Lindsay made Alek into a finalist so…. He also seems super eager to learn and ready for this journey. I am such a big fan of this team and can't wait to watch.
ROUND #3
@dwtsdreams: Bonner Bolton & Sharna Burgess
Bonner Bolton and Sharna Burgess is a match made in dancing heaven according to some dwts super fans. I think they have good chemistry but I don't think it is very strong yet. I love Sharna to death and I believe that she is very hungry to win. I choose them because Bonner seems super pumped to dance with Sharna and is eager to learn. I think Sharna will do everything in her power to get Bonner to the finals and I think that is a capable plan. Bonner is athletic, has a great story, cowboy personality, and GQ called him “ America’s Favorite Cowboy.” Bonner has the whole package and with Sharna’s help I think they can be a kick- ass team. Bonner does seem a tad bit shy but I think he will open up with Sharna as his partner. I am very excited to see where this partnership goes.
Julia: Mr. T and Kym Johnson-Herjavec
When the news first came out that Mr. T was going to be on this season of Dancing With the Stars I was immediately hyped. My dad was a big fan of The A Team and I’d seen a lot of him in other projects over the years (some of which you’ll see in the upcoming blog post dedicated to this couple). It made me sad to see so many people on Twitter get disappointed that one of our female pros was going to get “stuck” with him but I knew they’d come around once they’d gotten to know him a little better, and lo and behold they have! Mr. T is already so likeable and I love that he is doing this show to raise money for a children’s organization! What’s also cool is that the whole reason Kym came back is because they asked if she wanted to dance with Mr. T and she was so excited she couldn’t turn the opportunity down! While I do think Mr. T might have struggle keeping up with some of the more agile movers, I know he has a lot of heart which I’m sure will win over a lot of people! I’m proud to have these two on my team and I can’t wait to watch them on the show!
P. Bentley: Nick Viall & Peta Murgatroyd
I have been seeing a lot of things on Twitter from DWTS fans who are not huge fans of Nick, but what I have realized is that people with a lot of haters also have a whole lot of passionate followers. This guy can get a lot of votes, especially since he’s been part of the Bachelor franchise unteen times! And we all know how former members of The Bachelor tend to get massive votes sent in their way, even when they are not necessarily the best dancers. Plus, with Peta returning from maternity leave, her fans (and there are many of them) are ready to vote now more than ever. Can this Nick guy actually dance, though? I’m not sure. But maybe his supporters’ votes will be the driving force of his progression on the show.
ROUND #4
P. Bentley: Charo & Keoikantse Motsepe
Charo is such a unique character, and that is exactly what makes a person stand out on this show. I mostly picked Charo to be on my team as a wildcard, but if she can impress the audience this season with her whacky and outgoing personality, she can last longer than some might think. Tommy Chong made it to the Semifinals of Season 19 when nearly everyone thought he would be eliminated early, and that was all thanks to his unique character. I’m wondering how her personality is going to match with Keo, though, considering that this is partner like he has never had before. I believe in him, though, especially since he is fresh from the troupe and ready to get the Mirror Ball that always seemed so far away to him.
Julia: Erika Jayne & Gleb Savchenko
I don’t really know much about Erika, even from watching her on GMA and the press soundbites. She just seems very closed off so far, which could be a problem when trying to attract voters. I’ve heard she has some dance experience, though I don’t know how much or what style(s), so that may help her on this show. Gleb seems like a good match for her because he is always very caring and understanding of all his partners. I don’t think she’ll last very long but I she may get some decent scores compared to a few others so I’m hoping she can get my fantasy team some points!
@dwtsdreams: Chris Kattan & Witney Carson
I feel so bad saying this but I definitely think Chris is the weakest link on my team and will go first. I got handed the last person so I have nothing to say about him. Witney is a great dancer and Chris seems funny but that is all I have to say. I really have no words.POINT SYSTEM
Throughout the season, points will be added each week for the following achievements:
+the number of points (out of a possible 40) all remaining couples on a team earn for each dance
+20 points for any couple who survives an elimination (if it is a double elimination without exact placements revealed, 40 points will be added instead of 20)
+20 points for the team including the couple who comes in second place
+40 points for the team including the Mirrorball champions
+any additional points added to couples throughout the competition will be counted towards their team (for example, immunity, dance-offs, etc.)
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