Dancing With The Stars Season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro is beyond a fan favorite — I mean, people really love this guy. I know I fangirled out when he and then-partner Witney Carson did the “Carlton” on the show. Since he’s a past winner, you’d assume that Alfonso was there to boogie a little bit, but nope. Alfonso returned to Dancing With The Stars to judge! He’s only here for a week, but it was nice to throw a little fresh and lively life into the show.
That’s right — Carlton himself has graduated from dancing on Dancing With The Stars to critiquing the other dancers on Dancing With The Stars. At first I was doubtful about his credentials to judge the contestants. He hasn’t been in dance for decades like Julianne Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. He hasn’t taken professional classes! But then it dawned on me — Alfonso went to the hardest, most physical dance boot camp ever — Dancing With The Stars. Alfonso is actually the perfect person to judge the show, since he’s had to do exactly what they’re doing right now — dance his face off and attempt to get better and better in front of 30 million people.
So was Alfonso a good judge? On the scale of American Idol judges (perhaps the most ubiquitous judging scale on reality television), Alfonso was somewhere between Randy and Simon. Not a pushover like Paula, Alfonso offered plenty of stern, constructive criticism but also realized how hard this whole thing is. He gave out a few eights and nines (to those dancers who deserved it, of course). Frankly, I’d love Alfonso to be on Dancing With The Stars every week.
Here’s a question, though — how will this extra judge affect the total scores of the contestants? We’re used to seeing only three judges give scores. Will Alfonso’s extra numbers tip any scales in favor of (or away from) a couple? We’ll just have to wait until elimination to see.
Images: Kelsey McNeal/ABC
