America's Ballroom Challenge 2007 -- Week 1

Ben Ermis & Shalene Archer-Ermis won the American Smooth round of America's Ballroom Challenge to become the first couple in the finals.

This first week featured the American Smooth category, which includes dances like the Waltz, Tango, Fox Trot, and Viennese Waltz. While the names of the dances may be the same, if you've only seen these dances on Dancing with the Stars, these performances looked very different.

DwtS features the same dances done in the International Standard style -- partners in close contact with infrequent separations. American Smooth is a more open style of dancing more akin to Broadway-style dancing, where partners may dance along side one another instead of in a closed hold.

It makes for very dramatic and energetic performances. Still, it's hard not to hear the voice of Len Goodman screaming about couples breaking hold.

Six couples competed in the American Smooth Category: Ben Ermis & Shalene Archer-Ermis, Kostadin Bidjourov & Carrie Babcock, Steven Dougherty & Eulia Baranovsky, Mazen Hamza & Irina Sarukhanyan, Tomasz Mielnicki & J.T. Damalas, and David Weise & Valentina Weise.

During the first round of competition, all six couples took the floor at the same time and danced to the four above mentioned dances. None of the couples knows in advance what music they'll be dancing to, so they must create their routine as they go -- while simultaneously trying to avoid crashing into the other dancers.

Couples are scored in each dance, and the pair with the lowest overall score wins the group dance round. In this case, Ben Ermis & Shalene Archer-Ermis took the victory.

The second round consists of showdances -- routines couples have prepared in advance to their own music, designed to convey a story. A winner is selected in this round as well.

Some of the highlights from the Week One showdances included a goth/punk Tango from Tomasz Mielnicki & J.T. Damalas, a classic Fox Trot from Ben Ermis & Shalene Archer-Ermis, and a martial arts-inspired routine from Mazen Hamza & Irina Sarukhanyan.

A third place finish in the showdance round, combined with their first place in the group round, earned Ben and Shalene Ermis the overall victory in the American Smooth category. The win was of special significance to the Ermis' as this event was their last before retiring from competitive dancing.