Well, this latest installment was exhausting AND full of sexual harassment. What has gotten into these people? There were wanton kisses and buckness sightings–a real circus. We’d like to never see Nigel and Mary making out again. No, not ever. That was awful. Aside from all the tongue swabbing, there’s a lot of dancing to discuss.
Let’s get to it.
It appears that someone has been working with the kids on their intro solos — they’re getting a bit better! Gotta milk every second for all it’s worth, right? After they show their stuff, Cat comes out in a full 1920’s Flapper ensemble. It’s spangly, sparkly, and we love it. This is the Cat we love to see, and the curled hair — very cute.
We’re off to the judges’ introduction — there’s Nigel and Mary, of course — and okay here’s Little C who we just know will be offering up a scintillating combination of veritable word salad for the next two hours…can’t wait for that. (No, not really. We’re positively perturbed by his word porridge.) And who else…hey, it looks like 30% of Pamela Anderson is sitting at the judge’s table. Did one of her boobs go missing? Oh, no, silly us. That’s Kristen Chenoweth, star of stage and Glee cameos. Well, isn’t that nice. Is it just me or would we love to have Debbie Allen or Adam Shankman back?
In an unexpected turn, Cat announces that there will be two group dance performances tonight! Wait, what? Well, that’s new. I kind of feel like this is a bribe for making that stupid decision last week to kick off four dancers. NO, NIGEL, WE WON’T BE BOUGHT! Okay, maybe we can be bought, but this first thing with Tyce Diorio and chairs better be good.
Eh, it was okay. Danced to “Hit the Road, Jack” by Ray Charles but there wasn’t much here that you didn’t expect just from the set up. Tyce wasn’t reaching too deep into the choreography well. I dunno, but I’m actually starting to miss some of Mia’s elaborate work from the past. That’s not good. Don’t make me miss Mia. I bet she’s sitting home watching this and snickering. So much Mia snicker.
And here we go with the introductory vignettes….again. We still don’t care! Why do they think we care? Okay, there are baby pictures in this one. Awww, okay now on with the dancing!
Dancers: Sasha & Alexander
Dance Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Dee Caspery
Concept: Love story revisited
Music: Belong, Cary Brothers
Performance: Beautifully danced. Sasha has such control, power, and leg extension. You can feel her breathe with each movement. She’s a consummate dancer and professional. There was a small bobble when Alex placed her on the piano, but she covered it perfectly. Alex has to be careful now since he has such a powerful partner that he doesn’t become overshadowed, which is what may have happened here. I wasn’t a fan of the end. Something about her being in a box with disembodied hands coming through was a bit creepy for the beauty of the piece. And also…so much Contemporary of these two. I need to see another side to them.
Judges:
Nigel: Good start. I love the idea. Beautiful princess of dance. I really feel your movement, Sasha. Alex, you need to work a little harder with connecting the emotion to the audience.
Mary: Loved the love story. Brilliant concept. Both strong dancers. Alex, you need to dig deeper. Sasha, you’re a powerful presence.
Condensed Little C: Effortlessly. Perfection.
Kristen: My whole life my dance teacher told me I make too much noise. Sasha, I never hear you make a sound and that is such a big feat. You’re amazing. Alex, I think you did show the emotion. Some other babble about hair extensions and big feet. Everybody = Comedian.
Spirit Fingers: Sasha is my absolute favorite. Could watch her dance to names being read from the phone book.
Dancers: Caitlynn & Mitchell
Dance Style: Samba
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Genereux
Concept: Hot and Spicy
Music: Put it in a love song, Alicia Keys and Beyonce
Performance: Uh, Mitchell has some assets and he used them to his advantage here tonight. And Cat agrees and says Bootylicious! Ha! The routine was clean, and we didn’t see too much of the effort. They both handled the ballroom like pros. Was it spectacular? No. But it was a more than decent showing for two contemporary dancers, but above all, they got the characters, and acted with their faces which helped sell the performance.
Judges:
Nigel: Jean-Marc exposed Wadi’s weaknesses last week (Nice cut at an eliminated dancer there Nigel) and this week he exposed your strengths. Mitchell, you are the Chris Rock of SYTYCD. (What does this mean?)
Mary: Spectacular. Both of you were really in it and living it. Amazing foot action. You guys were so loose. Mitchell, you nailed it. And it didn’t look cheesy.
Condensed Little C: Bass and ballroom buckness. (okay)
Kristen: SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR. And then she goes too far with this joke.
Spirit Fingers: One of the better ballroom performances we’ve seen thus far. Keep up the good work Mitchell and Caitlynn. Let’s hope it’s memorable enough for voters.
Dancers: Robert & Miranda
Dance Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Concept: Working girl and groovy cat
Music: It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing, Sophisticated Ladies
Performance: Robert’s movements were too tight and not nearly fluid enough for the music. It looked like he was trying too hard, and wasn’t comfortable handling the dance. His shoulders were too high and he wasn’t feeling the grove of the music. Miranda definitely out danced Robert in this, but some of his awkwardness, especially doing the lifts, brought her performance down a notch.
Judges:
Nigel: Miranda you’ve grown in technique. Robert you’ve come a long way. You’re improving, and if given the opportunity you’ll take it.
Mary: Two of you are great together. Incredible transformation. Robert, I think you’re a star and it’s getting shinier every week.
Condensed Little C: Awe. Planets perfect alignment when you were born…something, something else, random….whatever.
Kristen: I know I’m actually supposed to critique, but I’ve got nothing. I bought it. Amazing. Nothing bad to say.
Spirit Fingers: I’ll be the Russian judge…I didn’t like it. Just flat out thought it was sub par.
Dancers: Melanie & Marko
Dance Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: NappyTabs
Concept: Best friends who fall in love….basically the last scene from Some Kind of Wonderful
Music: I Got You, Leona Lewis
Performance: High spirited and light on its feet. It was a nice bit of acting fun as well. Totally believable character portrayal. The dancing was sharp and clean, and also emotional with depth. It’s a credit to the dancers who made the whole piece look effortless, as if we actually did walk in on this one nice section from a movie. A job well done.
Judges:
Nigel: Can’t judge you individually, because there is some much togetherness. You are the couple to beat.
Mary: You keep knocking out a special performance every week. Such powerful emotion from Marko, and Melanie your layered nuances were right in the pocket. What was it like to kiss Marko….oh, holy monkeys Nigel and Mary are kissing. We’re grossed out. Yikes.
Condensed Little C: You guys are a power couple. Buck, crispy, clean and beefy. Beefy? Yes, beefy.
Kristen: You are the epitome of the dance. As an actor who sings and dances…I want to be in your play. I was very moved and very touched. And now everyone is kissing everyone else because this is CRAZY BONKERS NIGHT ON SYTYCD.
Spirit Fingers: The dancing was fantastic….everything else…what the hell?
Dancers: Ashley & Chris
Dance Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh (Urgh.)
Concept: Grave like Beetlejuice Something Whatever
Music: Lights Go Down, Telepathe
Performance: Weirdness, cabbage patch clothing, dance performed to a tribal beat and the same staccato movements Sonya always does. Where was the creepy? Where was the Beetlejuice? This didn’t really work, and it’s a shame because after last week’s jail routine this looks like a first episode kind of performance and I blame the choreographer.
Judges:
Nigel: I didn’t connect with the music. I wanted more overt characters. There was too much concentration with the dancing.
Mary: Pulled off the synchronization. It was clean. You’ve both come a long way on this journey. Chris, I believe in you.
Condensed Little C: Ashley you’re the sleeper cell. You’re amazing. Keep being a silent assassin. Chris, I see you, Buckness or Hush Puppies. I don’t know what he said.
Kristen: I’m sitting in amazement and I don’t mean to be the Paula Abdul of SYTYCD. HA! But you are, Kristen, you are.
Spirit Fingers: Again, Sonya Tayeh. Next!
Dancers: Clarice & Jess
Dance Style: Fox Trot
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Genereux
Concept: Frank Sinatra! Crooning, lounge singer thing
Music: Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra
Performance: It was smooth and well executed. Clarice was stunning. Her movement, the way the dress fell, even the lines she created with her back. And this was definitely Jess’ style. He took to the character and seemed to be much more comfortable this week. And it seems that having some lifts on his shoes helped some of the height issues as well.
Judges:
Nigel: Wonderful dress. My favorite style. Jess this is your style.
Mary: Gliding. Sophisticated. Lines were beautiful. Clarice it looked like you’ve done this for a lot longer and Jess, no other dancer could have done what you did.
Condensed Little C: Phenom. Buck alley. (What?)
Kristen: Favorite performance of the night. Every move you make means something. You guys are magic.
Spirit Fingers: Much improved. Finally, a reason to think Jess belongs in the competition.
Dancers: Ryan & Ricky
Dance Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Concept: Relationship is ending but they are still tied together
Music: With Every Heartbeat, Robyn
Performance: Beautifully done. It was emotional and resplendent. The use of the tether prop was amazing in its execution. Thinking someone only as talented as Ricky could pull of doing a leap over his tethered arm. That was awesome. This is the kind of routine that you expect from SYTYCD. Some of the others can seem a bit fluffy, but the show at its core is about the staid emotion and the risks that the choreographers and the dancers take.
Judges:
Nigel: You speak the right language. Ryan, we’re so glad we kept you. Ricky, I couldn’t take my eyes off you.
Mary: You may have been lucky to draw contemporary. Gorgeous working with the prop. I loved every second of this.
Condensed Little C: Power couple in the competition. You only get seven hours to rehearse. Buckness. Bubkiss. Again, I don’t know.
Kristen: I’d give anything for your turnout, Ricky. The piece speaks.
Spirit Fingers: This is a Sonya hit for me. I’d just like there to be less misses.
Dancers: Jordan & Tadd
Dance Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: NappyTabs
Concept: Night after a one night stand
Music: Memories, David Guetta, Kid Cudi
Performance: Cute routine, and they were the right couple to get it. And it was also cute that they were both a little shy about performing it. The characters were fun and the concept was topical enough, even though there was no way they could work in a safe sex PSA, right? Right? Yes, I’m old. Anyway, it was a good way to end the show, and of course the two dancers could handle the material. Good job.
Judges:
Nigel: It brought back so many memories. Yuck. The story overwhelmed the dance, but it was still great. You’ll be here for weeks to come.
Mary: Both wonderful. Put the whammy on all of us.
Condensed Little C: Loved the concept and execution. Dance all the way through the movement.
Kristen: SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR. Didn’t we go through this? That was a dessert and I liked every bite
Spirit Fingers: Cute kids, cute routine. It’s a winner.
Group Performance!
Poison all up in your body! Dee Caspery has thought up a Medieval yarn about the women poisoning the men. And the whole routine is about the push me/pull me of being poisoned. You can see why the dude’s are upset, yes? Well, it was well done. It’s the kind of routine that we like in a group performance, especially given the creativity involved.
So what do you think? Who’s going home? Did Kristen Chenoweth annoy you? She annoyed me! We need more choreographers…these guys are getting stale, right? Talk to me in the comments.
