So You Think You Can Dance: Top 14 Dance
Last week's eliminations: Not too sorry to see Chelsea go, although I did like her solo. I never thought she excelled in the partner dances. I am majorly annoyed that the judges squandered yet another opportunity to spare us from watching any more of Thayne and his huge, scary smile. As I liked Chris, I was sorry to see him go, but I didn't think his solo was that awesome. Kourtni and Matt's solos were great.
Tonight:
Whoa, Cat took her penchant for weird dresses to the next level tonight. That thing is bizarre and not particularly attractive.
Is Kourtni Lind wearing just one sock as a fashion statement, or is it hiding an ankle brace?
WHOA--they're dancing twice tonight?! Sweet! That means the judges won't have to comment on every routine for 15+ minutes.
Jessica and Will--Dance 1 (jive): I still just do not like Jessica, and that definitely stands in the way of me enjoying any dance they do. She always either has a fake smile on her face or a look of dead seriousness/fright. In this routine, they were definitely trying really hard, but something also definitely didn't seem quite right with most of it... Ahh, Mary says there were lots of "missed connections"--that must be it. Nigel suggests that Jessica's "weight was in the wrong place," and I'll concur. I'll also concur that Jessica's going to be in big trouble once she gets separated from Will.
Comfort and Thayne--Dance 1 (Broadway): Hmm, Comfort and Thayne doing Broadway--could this routine be any less appealing to me? Thayne fits into the Broadway dancing mode rather well. I think Comfort's in over her head though. I have to say that the music/choreo made me like this Broadway number more than I usually like the Broadway routines on this show. Ouch, Nigel's being harsh (honest?) tonight--good.
Kourtni and Matt--Dance 1 (hip hop): I don't think Matt's as bad at this as he thinks he is--I'd say he's rather good. I liked this routine, and I thought they danced it well. Wait, there are hip hop competitions? I think Tabitha and Napoleon are just jealous because someone else choreographed a better hip hop routine than they do (I'm not a really big fan of the two of them...Dan needs to come back as the third judge).
Chelsie and Mark--Dance 1 (jazz): Mark is selling it ;-) I like this routine because I can actually see that it is "jazz" as opposed to contemporary. All in all, it was all right--nothing earth-shattering, but definitely enjoyable. These two are definitely consistently one of my favorite overall couples.
Kherington and Twitch--Dance 1 (paso doble): I don't think that Twitch has the paso doble story quite right, but whatever. Dancing with the capes in the beginning made for a dramatic opening, but I enjoyed the post-cape dance much better. This was one of the first times I thought these two really earned their superstar status in this competition. I wish I knew what the moves are that Mary said weren't good--it's not helpful when she uses the correct names for the moves if they don't show us a clip of what she's talking about. Right, Nigel, Travis and Heidi did do a fabulous paso doble in Season 2...everything was better back then.
Katee and Joshua--Dance 1 (contemporary): Another routine from Mia Michaels about a doomed couple...I'm noticing a trend. I wasn't sold on the really slow beginning, but once they really started to dance, I was impressed with both choreo and performance. I think Katee nailed the facial expressions and performance. Quite good. Katee is definitely a find. (And I like her best without the bangs.)
Courtney and Gev--Dance 1 (hip hop): Ahh, thank goodness, someone finally brought back the baggy hip hop clothes--I've missed them. Courtney did pretty great; half the time, I don't think I even notice that Gev was up there with her. Part of the problem might be that you can't see his eyes because of the hat.
Jessica and Will--Dance 2 (lyrical jazz): Lyrical jazz with a big shirt, ok... This routine is kind of '80s-eriffic. Letting Will show off all his muscles is definitely a good strategy. I liked this routine. Jessica bothered me far less in this routine than she usually does. The lifts were really cool, and the pulling-each-other-across-the-floor-by-the-shirt stuff was cool too. Something about the silly faces Will occasionally makes reminds me of Bill Cosby.
Comfort and Thayne--Dance 2 (waltz): I'm going to say it was all right, but not great. Comfort still looks like a hip hop dancer trying to waltz. The long, spinning lift was lovely, however. Hmm, Tabitha thinks something about Thayne looked phony...you don't say.
Kourtni and Matt--Dance 2 (mambo): Matt: "I don't hate the mambo, the mambo hates me." The lift in the beginning was pretty good--and these two don't do a lot of lifts. Well, it wasn't as smooth as a Benji/Heidi mambo, but it didn't suck. I'm not sure these two really can do "down and dirty" all that well; they're both kind of innately classy.
Chelsie and Mark--Dance 2 (fox trot): Wow, that's quite a dress. She looks like Mrs. Peacock in the lounge with a candlestick. A very classy routine and quite enjoyable to watch. You could tell Chelsie knew what she was doing, and Mark did a good job keeping up with her. He brought back his classic movie star look for this routine, and I quite enjoy that look for him.
Kherington and Twitch--Dance 2 (contemporary): Why do I feel like I've seen these two do a contemporary number before? I guess it's because that waltz they did a couple weeks ago had some strong contemporary overtones. Whoa, Mia flat out brought a bed onto the stage...that's gutsy. And rose petals too--she's pulling out all the stops. This routine may go down as a classic, but I'm not completely sold on it. I feel like Kherington was barely in it. It was no bench routine in my book.
Katee and Joshua--Dance 2 (West Coast swing): West Coast swing means one thing: Benji!!! And Lacey! And a dog! (whatever...) I think Benji's toned himself down a bit since last season. Um, that was the slowest West Coast swing (WCS) I've ever seen... Color me disappointed. That was nowhere nearly as good as Pasha and Sarah's WCS last season.
Courtney and Gev--Dance 2 (Broadway): Both of the Broadway routines were better choreographed tonight (in my opinion), but the whole medium still just kind of sucks. I did like Courtney's outfit. Gev did rock his character in this routine, for what that's worth. If you need a dancing dorky tourist, Gev's your guy.
Favorite Routines:
Katee and Joshua's contemporary
Will and Jessica's lyrical jazz
Chelsie and Mark's waltz
Destined for the Bottom:
Comfort and Thayne
Kourtni and Matt (which is unfortunate because I like them)
Courtney and Gev (by process of elimination, even though they were fine tonight)
I'm going to go on record as saying that it's a major problem that there aren't more ballroom dancers on this show this season. (Chelsie is the only one left at this point.) And I think that its especially a problem that there are no male ballroomers left. Dancers like Heidi and Benji and Pasha and Lacey can really make a partner number. Because they have a strong base of knowledge in the waltz and Latin styles, the routines they and their partners do can be more difficult and more interesting. This season, we're left with a lot of contemporary dancers and a few hip hoppers who are trying to do waltzes, Latin dances, and swing routines, so of course it's not going to be as good as the dances we've seen in the past.
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