Gold, silver, bronze ... Mirrorball?
Another award beckons to Suni Lee, the world-class gymnast who won three medals at this year’s Summer Olympic Games. On Monday night, Lee made her debut on “Dancing with the Stars,” an ABC reality series that will test her mettle, grace and grit -- not to mention her ability to perform complex dance moves for a TV audience.
Viewers in Alabama have a special reason to tune in this season. Lee is a freshman at Auburn University and likely -- we hope! -- to let out a “War Eagle!” on the show from time to time.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Lee, who’s dancing with pro partner Sasha Farber, is one of 15 celebrities competing during Season 30 of DWTS. There’s a long road ahead before the Mirrorball Trophy is within her grasp. She made a promising start on Monday, though, and earned kudos from all four judges: Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
RELATED: ‘Dancing with the Stars’ power rankings: Who will win Season 30?
If you didn’t watch the show this week, here’s what you missed:
Who she is: Lee, 18, is a Minnesota native who became a household name at this year’s Summer Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition, a silver in the team final and a bronze on the uneven bars. It was Lee’s first time as a competitor at the Olympics, which had been postponed from 2020 to 2021 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dancing debut: Lee danced a jive routine with Farber, to the sounds of “Stay” by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber. She wore a sparkly pink costume and a shy smile, executing precise moves and kicks.
What Lee said: “Competing at the Olympics is probably the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever gone through. But coming to ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ I’m freaking out. ... I’m so nervous. I don’t know how to dance. People always assume that I would be a really good dancer, because of gymnastics, but it’s like completely different.”
What Farber said: “Suni is quite timid and I’m really excited to, like, open her up and show America how loud she really is.” (When Farber asked Lee if she had ever held a boy’s hand, her answer was no.)
Judges’ reactions: Basically, they praised Lee’s technique and encouraged her to work on entertainment value. “My golden girl! You can jive, baby,” Tonioli said. “Those kicks and those flicks, the precision, the retraction, the placement. But now, my darling, what you have to do: Don’t look at the floor. Learn to perform. Learn to sell it big, because when you do so, you’re like sunshine, my love.”
From Inaba: “You are incredible. I mean, the skills you have. You are a perfect match for ballroom dancing and Latin dancing. But what I have to tell you is: You have to not prepare, like how you do for a tumbling pass. I see it. You go inward; you’ve got to stay outward.”
Goodman’s thoughts: “Dance, it’s a mix between neat and precise, and then freedom and flair. And when it’s great, that goes together. Now this was neat; it was precise; it was right on the button. It just needed to be a little bit more free. But a lovely job. Well done.”
Hough said: “A little less perfection and a little bit more expression. Just have fun with it, because you already have the technique.”
How she scored: Lee and Farber received 28 out of 40 points from the judges. At the end of the two-hour episode, they emerged in second place, tied with Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten.
Staying or going: Lee and Farber remain in the competition. There was no elimination this week.
In the running: JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson (29/40 points), Lee and Farber (28/40 points), Kloots and Bersten (28/40 points), Melanie C and Gleb Savchenko (27/40 points), Melora Hardin and Artem Chigvintsev (26/40 points), Kendra Moore and Brandon Armstrong (26/40 points), Oliva Jade and Val Chmerkovskiy (25/40 points), Christine Chiu and Pasha Pashkov (25/40 points), Matt James and Lindsay Arnold (24/40 points), Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke (24/40 points), Mike “The Miz” Mizanin and Witney Carson (24/40 points), Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess (24/40 points), Jimmie Allen and Emma Slater (22/40 points), Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach (21/40 points), Martin Kove and Britt Stewart (13/40 points).
Up next: All 15 teams will perform on the Sept. 27 episode. Viewer votes and judges’ scores from the premiere will carry over and be combined with judges’ scores and viewer votes from next week. One couple will be eliminated.
If you watch: “Dancing with the Stars” airs Mondays at 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Tyra Banks hosts the reality series.
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