“Dancing Stars”: Celebrities, blood and mishaps at the start of season 15

At the start of the 15th season of the ORF “Dancing Stars” on Friday evening, not only a 45-minute delay – caused by the men’s descent in Aspen – required patience from celebrities, professionals and the public. Due to a technical glitch, the opening of Falco’s “Amadeus” had to be repeated. The TV audience did not notice the sound problems due to a delayed broadcast.

The bumpy start did not dampen the atmosphere in the well-attended ballroom; The jury evaluation in the first show produced two pairs of favourites. Actress Lilian Klebow and ex-racing driver Corinna Kamper convinced with 22 points each. There were 21 for the musician Lucas Fendrich. This time none of the ten couples was voted out, the audience votes will be taken into the next week. Guest juror Barbara Meier, Viennese by choice and Germany’s Top Model winner, was extremely positive and charming towards all participants.

Boos for Balázs Ekker

Things didn’t go very well for the ballerina: Karina Sarkissova, who was still a strict juror in the last season, gave a quite respectable quick step with Dimitar Stefanin. Her appearance had been awaited with particular excitement, but she seemed physically and mentally battered. The Russian professionally covered up an amusing whoop: Stefanin lost his shoe, but continued to dance undeterred in his colorful socks. She was hit hard by the scathing criticism from ex-juror colleague Balázs Ekker. “I would have expected a lot more from you.” Then there were 20 points.

Ekker received boos for his rating of the Cha-Cha-Cha from ex-ski trainer Alexander Pointner with Manuela Stöckl (2 out of 10 points). On the other hand, the Hungarian was positively surprised by the musician Lucas Fendrich, whose chemistry with Lenka Pohoralek in the Slowfox was convincing. Result: 21 points.

Unexcited “fun dolls”

The “Gaudipuppn”, as influencer Michael Buchinger called himself and dance partner Herbert Stanonik, put a passable Paso Doble on the floor for Madonna’s “Frozen”. “I’m surprised how little excited I was before the show,” Buchinger said in an APA interview. He praised the good mood of the participants and the team spirit and raved about his visit to the Opera Ball.

He has already lost ten kilos, said ex-Sturm president Hannes Kartnig, who did a slow waltz to the James Bond song “Skyfall” with Catharina Malek. “Fast suits me better” said the oldest participant of this season, who insisted with a wink that there should be “no shenanigans” when awarding points. Mimin Lilian Klebow has visibly found “joy in dancing again” with Florian Gschaider. Their Viennese waltz brought the duo not only the highest rating but also intermittent applause.

Bloody finish

The Samba received a lot of sympathy but few points (11) from author Omar Khir Alanam and Katrin Kallus. “There’s a lot of room for improvement,” said juror Maria Angelini-Santner. Restaurateur Eveline Eselböck and her partner Peter Erlbeck had particular support for her tango: British Oscar winner Emma Thompson, who she met at an Italian course in Venice, keeps her fingers crossed.

Ex-racing driver Corinna Kamper and Danilo Campisi gave a moment of shock at the end: A slipped earring caused a few drops of blood. But the presenter is tough: “I’ve had a concussion before.” Juror Ekker liked her “very, very feminine charisma”. Result: Ex aequo pole position with Lilian Kleberow with 22 points each.

Good odds

The first show had 765,000 viewers, giving a market share of 33 percent – the best value for the opening show since 2012, as the ORF announced on Saturday. The “Dancing Stars” also aroused interest among young people: the market share among 12 to 29 year olds was 30 percent, according to the broadcaster the best value in this target group for the opening show since 2008.

Mirjam Weichselbraun and “Dancing Stars” newcomer Andi Knoll led through the show. Until the final on May 12, the “Dancing Stars” can be seen on ORF 1 every Friday at 8:15 p.m. Next week a couple has to leave the competition for the first time.