SYTYCD: Crazy Eights

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 8 Performance Show

Before we get to this week's show, I have a complaint from the results last week. Shouldn't the final vote be completely up viewer votes by now? Why are the judges still deciding? In other years, they haven't had a say anymore at this point--that's how we lost Allison, Will, Janette, etc. before the finales. Sometimes we lose good people, but at least the viewers are picking.

• Cat is looking bronzed and wearing an awesome white dress with kind of structural detailing on the sides. Long flowing hair with a braid of hair as a headband.
• Judging panel is Nigel, Mary, Lady Gaga and Rob Marshall

Sasha with Pasha (Jonathan Roberts quick step):

• The featurette: It’s Sasha and Pasha! My dream has come true! 
• The dance: 100 points for Sasha’s weird but awesome costume. 100 more points for the Charleston influences. I’m not sure that Sasha’s got the quick step style down completely, but she’s doing such a great job of selling the style and performance that I don’t care. She and Pasha are both looking awesome. Aces.
• Mary says Sasha had the best body position of anyone this season on the promenade. Nigel says she’s his favorite of the season. Gaga says Sasha’s as shiny on the outside as she is on the inside.

Caitlynn with Ivan (Marty Kudelka hip-hop):

• The featurette: It’s nice to see Ivan again! 
• The dance: There’s kind of a lot of build up before the dancing starts here. Ivan’s very Justin Timberlake-ish in this. Once she actually started moving, Caitlynn looked pretty good. Not the world’s most exciting routine ever, but it’s fairly cute. 
• The judging: Mary can’t contain herself because she hasn’t seen Ivan in so long and he’s just so amazing. She thinks Caitlynn was really good, if not brilliant. Both Mary and Nigel have referenced “sitting in a pocket” and the two of them are so un-hip-hop that it’s hard to know if they have any idea what they’re talking about. Gaga thinks Caitlynn is extremely sexy. Gaga says that lyrical hip-hop is kind of difficult because sometimes it can feel a bit dated. Interesting, is that what my problem with it is? Rob thought this was a beautiful style for her. He thinks she could lose herself a little more in the dance.

Jordan with Ade (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: Uh oh, Jordan's about to get Tyced. 
• The dance: Eew at her silk purple romper. Yeah, we know Jordan can do crazy extensions; I feel like we're all using that as a bit of a crutch now. This routine did nothing for me at all. Ade is still strong and good at lifting girls around though. Tyce has had a haircut. 
• The judging: Nigel thought it was just such a fun routine. Gaga says that Jordan gives her hope because she's short too, and Jordan can do so many awesome positions with her legs. Gaga shows us her crazy shoes. Rob thinks Tyce is just such an amazing choreographer, and I'm not going to give credence to anything else he has to say. Mary gives it a scream, and I'm like, "Really?!" Ok, guys, nothing about Tyce is "bad-ass"! Stop saying it! I think they're over-praising it to try to alleviate the how Tyced she was.

Melanie and Neil (Mandy Moore contemporary):

• The featurette: Ok, Melanie is getting an awful lot of contemporary over the weeks... 
• The dance: Neil's got the white pajama pants/no shirt look going. The flowiness of Mel's dress is pretty. They're dancing it well, but it's kind of familiar looking. There are some MAJOR lifts in this though. Melanie threw herself halfway across the stage at one point and Neil caught her. Neil's hair is looking different; he kind of has bangs. 
• The judging: Standing ovation. Gaga says her hat is off to Melanie, and mercifully, she actually takes off her ugly hat! Melanie's greatest achievement to date! Gaga says she'd hire Melanie tomorrow to dance on her tour. Rob says that watching Melanie is like magic. He said she has amazing technique, but was also able to throw away the technique and play the scene. Mary loves it, and P.S. she loves Neil too. Nigel has already changed his mind--Sasha's not his favorite anymore, Melanie is! Fickle. Cat asks us if we want to see Melanie do the jump-into-Neil thing again, and Neil pops out from backstage and Melanie does it again! Holy moly. 

Ricky with Anya (Jason Gilkison jive):

• The featurette: Anya's leggings were pretty fantastic. 
• The dance: Whoa, nice spinny jump from Ricky in the beginning. Anya's rocking the fringe, as one would expect. Not sure how I feel about this one. I didn't love it, but I don't think it was the fault of the dancers. I think Ricky was actually doing rather well. The "jive" part of it seemed to come and go. There was a rocky lift in the middle there. 
• The judging: Rob says Ricky dances with so much joy. Mary thought he started out a little rocky with the form, but then got better, then there was a labored lift, but then he got right back into it and pulled it off. Nigel thinks Ricky needs to get lower. He says the bungled lift looked like it more belonged "in a meat market" which is a comparison that I'm sure Anya's not loving... Contrarian that she is, Gaga liked that Ricky was high. She thought his style seemed more modern than Anya's.

Jess with Lauren Gottlieb (Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop):

• The featuretteNappyTabs talk for about half as long as usual. 
• The dance: Lauren is stealing the show. Not even sure why Jess went out there with her, actually. 
• The judging: Mary sees progress from Jess every week. She thinks he was really good tonight, and it was one of his most honest performances. Nigel agrees that Jess has matured significantly over this season. Nigel says Jess did not over-play it. Gaga has respect for him coming from a place from Broadway performance. And now I love Gaga because she says there was aspects of the choreography that she didn't like. (The flower was unnecessary.) A good complaint about NappyTabs always wins me over.

Tadd with Lauren Froderman (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The dance: Tadd is kind of Michael Jackson-ish in the beginning. But the music is Queen. Whatever. It's cool to see Lauren F. again. This is supposed to be jazz, right? I'm not sure how much jazz-ing Tadd is really doing here. He's just kinda walking around and being funky. 
• The judging: Nigel never remembers Lauren looking like that (sexy). Oh come on, Nigel, you did nothing but ogle her all season long last year. Nigel thinks Tadd absorbs the styles. Oookay. Gaga thought it was amazing and loved the styling. Gaga's probing the story behind the whole thing. Rob says that Tadd keeps surprising us with every move--the levels keep changing. Mary says he put the "C" on cool. Mary thinks he's going to land himself in the finale, which seems a little premature/optimistic to me, but who knows. If the judges are picking the people in the finale, then I guess he will.

Marko with Allison (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

• The featurette: Well, this should be good. The dance is about how we should be nicer. 
• The dance: Jeff Buckley music--this one's going to pull on the heart strings. Allison is amaaaaaaazing. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not. Marko's doing well too, but this is basically all about Allison. 
• The judging: Another standing O. Gaga's in tears because she's just so proud of Marko. Unfortunately, she's put the hat back on. Gaga: "Number one, number three, number 10, who cares? You've got it." This is the first time Marko's mom has gotten to watch the show live; she just flew in from Guam. Mary says Marko is still her favorite dancer on the show. Nigel says we've just seen a moment that is more than the show. 

Caitlynn and Tadd (Jonathan Robers fox trot):

• The featurette: The most classic of all fox trots. 
• The dance: I like Caitlynn in this. Plus her dress is gorgeous. Her smile/facial expressions are sometimes a bit much though. 
• The judging: Mary says it was a little mixed--some technique was good, some could have used some work. She didn't think it was the most memorable dance of the night. Gaga really loved it. She loved the flower in Caitlynn's hair. She does think Caitlynn can relax her hands a little. Several references tonight to Caitlynn being a "competition dancer," which I don't remember ever hearing about before. 

Ricky and Marko (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

• The featurette: Ooh, interesting pairing, just because this means some of the girls are dancing together too (Sasha and Mel, please!). 
• The dance: Because when you think "Ricky and Marko," you think "hip-hopping janitors." I'm liking Marko a bit better just because he's a little lower, and down-and-dirtier. They did a nice job with the fast section at the end (that was a bit reminiscent of the Twitch/Alex Freaking Wong number last year). 
• The dance: Mary loved it and gives another scream. Nigel can't believe how nasty Marko was. Cat: "He used to be a bad boy." Nigel thought Ricky was still a bit high. Nigel has reservations that Ricky might be in the bottom--well, somebody has to be. There are only four boys. Gaga thought the interpretation of "hip-hop" was a little contrived (I have a feeling it usually is on this show). She's not feeling NappyTabs' props again, and I'm still loving it. Rob says Napoleon and Tabitha are "soooo great" and I stop listening to him again.

Jordan and Jess (Jason Gilkison rumba):

• The featurette: This is the first rumba we've had this season. Not that I'm really complaining about that, because I'm usually not a big fan of them. 
• The dance: I'm not really getting "abusive relationship" from this. This isn't a great showcase for Jess, but I like him in it. His faces seemed appropriate. It was okay. There was a nice back reverse spin lift. 
• The judging: Nigel liked the lift, but he didn't get the chemistry between them at all. He's complaining about someone's swayed back, but I'm not sure who he's talking to. Gaga says there was nothing wrong with it, but she would have interpreted the song differently as an artist. She thinks the dancers did a beautiful job though. Rob thought they brought out the best of each other. Rob points out that they both sing, and he sees big theater careers for both of them. Mary says that lift was one of the best lifts all season. She didn't see the elasticity through the arms that you see in international rumba. Or something. Maybe that's why I never like rumbas on this show. I just thought it was because they're boring ;-)

Sasha and Melanie (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

• The featurette: This is a three-person dream team right here.  
• The dance: Matching mohawks! It's interesting to watch these two together, because they both usually steal the show from their partners. If I had to pick one, I think I'd say I liked Sasha in this better. Just because it seemed more organic to her. But they were both good. This routine/performance was good, but I am a bit letdown. With these two dancers, it could have been unbelievable. 
• The judging: Everyone--including Sonya--is beside themselves. Gaga says in the dance community when you do a good job, you throw your shoe at the stage, so she chucked her giant shoe on the stage, and Sasha scooped it up in jubilation. She says everyone can pack up and go home, because that was the performance of the night. Rob gives props to Sonya. He congratulates Cat on her Emmy nom too and she giggles like a schoolgirl again. She's so cute! Mary thinks that was the best number of the night and the best number Sonya's ever done. Um, "The Garden"?! Cat says it was almost like the "Two Princes" number but for women. They should just let Cat be the host and a judge--she usually comes up with some of the more insightful comments of anyone. Nigel says he can't decide which of the two of them are the best, and he's glad he doesn't have to decide. Sonya unleashed the beasts in them. Gaga gives her other shoe to Sonya. Nigel goes out on a big limb and says that either Sasha or Melanie could be this year's champion. Uh duh. I think we all new that in week one. 

There were several good performances tonight, but I don't think I loved as many of them as I did last week. 

My favorites: 

Marko and Allison's contemporary

Sasha and Pasha's quick step

Melanie and Neil contemporary

Sasha and Melanie's jazz

Bottom four prediction: Caitlynn, Jordan, Tadd and Ricky ?

SYTYCD: A Near Perfect 10

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 10 Performance Show

It's the Top 10 plus All Stars, baby! Wohoo!

• I'll try to get it out of my system now: "PAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHHAAAA!"
• The camera man doesn't know where to point the camera during group shots now that Ryan's gone ;-)
• Cat is wearing a sequin-y black mini dress (silver at the bottom) with short sleeves, paired with long, very straight hair.
• The judging panel: It's Doogie Howser! Neil Patrick Harris will be holding down the fort, along with Nigel and Mary.
• Each of the Top 10 will dance with an All Star and do a solo.

 Marko with Chelsie (Jason Gilkison samba):

• The featurette: It's CHELSIE HIGHTOWER! This is exciting. Lol, Chelsie kicked Marko in the face a few times. 
• The dance: It's going to be hard for Marko to not get completely upstaged by Chelsie here. He's got to make sure it doesn't look like Dancing With the Stars. To that end, they try to give Marko a few little solo sections so we have to pay attention to him, and he did seem to be doing a pretty good job. And he got a kiss from Chelsie in the middle. 
• The judging: Neil says it was amazing and dirty. Neil: "She does that scissor kick around your face; I would have kissed her too by the end of it." Neil says, "Well played." Lol. Mary shrieks that Marko is the real deal, and she's so worked up that her earring fell off. She says his samba action was absolutely amazing. Mary: "Congratulations. You're something else, kid!" Nigel says although Marko wasn't dancing with Melanie, he didn't lose any of his chemistry. Cat: "Chelsie Hightower's like a James Bond villain."

Sasha's solo: To Duffy. Sasha's dancing is cool--it's a little weird and quirky, almost in a slightly Billy Bell kind of way. I like how she doesn't rely completely on spins and splits and the more "trick" style moves.

Jordan with Brandon (Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson contemporary):

• The featurette: It's cool to see Brandon again; I haven't seen much of him lately. This routine is difficult. Jordan's lucky to draw contemporary two weeks in a row. 
• The dance: Brandon is shirtless and wearing some really skinny jeans. And of course Jordan's showing off her superb splits and leg kicks. Honestly, if this were a leg kick competition, she'd have it in the bag. As for the other aspects of the dancing, I think Brandon's got her beat. 
• The judging: Mary says it's so great to see Brandon on the stage. Mary thinks Jordan was fearless tonight and says that Dwight and Desmond played to all her strengths. Nigel says that Jordan doesn't have many weaknesses, so Dwight and Desmond had the freedom to choreograph whatever they wanted. Neil couldn't take his eyes off her.

Jess' solo: Argyle sweater vest and khakis. That tells you about all you need to know. (Aside from the fact that Jess displays an impressive amount of control coming out of his pirouettes.)

Tadd with Comfort (Chuck Maldonado hip-hop):

• The featurette: Hmm, another favorable pairing of dancer and style. Comfort is supposed to be "gutter fabulous" or something. 
• The dance: Not sure they wear tight plaid pants in the gutter. Not to mention the blue hair streaks, but whatever. I've seen hip-hop routines on this show that I liked better, but I've seen worse too. Tadd is doing a good job of keeping up with Comfort; he might be doing the moves better, actually. I'm pretty impressed with him here, actually. 
• The judging: Nigel says it was very, very, very fast. Nigel's impressed that Tadd can pick up and remember choreo as well as he can, since that's not something b-boys usually do. Nigel suggests that Tadd out danced his All Star. Neil agrees that Tadd out hip-hopped Comfort, which is not easy to do. Mary complains that Nigel's been on her case all night, and Cat responds, "He's on the end; just push him off. He's on a wheely chair." Mary says the routine didn't stop, and neither did Tadd.

 Melanie's solo: She's dancing to a really mellow version of "You're the One that I Want," and I never want it to end. It's been a really long time since we've seen her dance solo.


Mitchell with Melody (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

• The featurette: Eesh, Tyce is annoying. It's been a while since I've mentioned that, I think, so I'll go ahead and reiterate it. 
• The dance: This is interesting because I've never seen Melody dance before; I started watching in Season 2. Mitchell's doing a pretty good job of selling this (I'm actually somewhat pleasantly surprised with his performance level), but the choreo/routine is nothing especially wonderful/memorable. 
• The judging: Neil didn't quite get that much at all. He didn't get the airplane-ness of it. He says it was "disjointed" and not incredibly well thought out! HA! NPH must have heard that a sure-fire way to win over SYTYCD fans is to dis Tyce. Mary thought it was fun, but a bit overdone. Nigel thinks Mitchell "over egged the pudding" (like Ryan last week) and should think more about style than about over-smiling and making things too big. Mitchell is classy and compliments Tyce. 

Ricky's solo: He's got (his own) big shoes to fill after last week's dance for his life solo, and he pretty much pulls it off again--very good pirouettes. The biggest problem was that he ran off-stage after the solo, instead of going to stand with Cat to pimp his phone number. She gets him in line though, so it's ok.


Clarice's solo: She's in a bikini top and short-shorts, with a strange hunk of tulle sticking out from her hip. I somewhat liked the dancing though; it was peppy.

Caitlynn with Pasha (Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo Argentine tango):

• The featurette: Oh, Pasha... He's so beautiful. 
• The dance: Props to Caitlynn for even getting me to look at her at all here. I think her tango kicks could be a little crisper, but by and large, she looks pretty good. There are some fancy lifts that she handles very well. 
• The judging: Cat: "No on Blue Steels like Pasha." Mary gives it a standing ovation. Mary says it was the first Argentine tango of the season, and it was really worth the wait. Mary says the passion Caitlynn showed was more real tonight than in any other number--well, no kidding! She was dancing with PASHA! Nigel says that tonight she was a woman and far sexier than ever before. He liked that she didn't over perform. Neil thought it started off a little slow, but then he got totally hooked in. NPH thought the were very in sync with each other, and this is the first time he's ever wanted to learn the Argentine tango.

 Mitchell's solo: White shorts, no shirt. Dancing to a John Legend song that reminds me of The Game. And spent most of the solo trying to remember why the song reminded me of The Game and didn't pay that much attention to Mitchell's dancing. It looked pretty good though.


Sasha with Twitch (Christopher Scott hip-hop):

• The featurette: I think we've missed an great opportunity to do a Sasha/Pasha number, but maybe some other time. Oh, I adore Twitch. He's just so inherently likeable. (And my annual apology: I know it's tWitch, but I can't stand how weird that looks when I type it.) Twitch: "At the beginning, we were lacking love. At the end, we were lacking breakfast." 
• The dance: Wow, Sasha is killing it up on that table. This is a rather slow and groovy hip-hop, but it's awesome. Wow, that routine/performance was so good. Twitch is awesome and Sasha totally was too. 
• The judging: Nigel make a joke about cornflakes that is so off-color that even he can't believe what he said. Nigel thinks this is the first time he's seen her with chemistry with her partner, and she really nailed that routine from beginning to end. Neil thinks it was the best routine so far; it was spectacular. Neil was blown away be how in sync they were. Mary says she needs, for various reasons I won't bother to relay, to call the sheriff, the fire department, and the paramedics (because she's ready to have a "hot attack"). Mary: "As much as I love Twitch, I loved you doing that number."

Jordan's solo: Didn't we already see Jordan's solo? No, I guess I'm thinking about the partner routine. She pulls out some nice pirouettes too, straight into a jump-to-ground, which she landed very lightly and flawlessly. I like how she tried to steer away from the splits and kicks a little, and some Lykke Li never hurt anyone.

Jess with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Kathryn! There are lots of lifts. Kathryn: "He's actually a lot stronger than he looks." Stacey: "Kathryn can practically levitate, so if he can't lift her, we're in trouble." 
• The dance: Ok, Kathryn is extraordinary. I always remember that, but somehow I'm still always surprised by how good she is when I watch her. I guess I'll be going to see Step Up 4. Anyway, Jess does some nice jumps/kicks/flips stuff, which is good because he's in danger of being upstaged by Kathryn, in my opinion anyway. 
• The judging: Neil thinks it was an extraordinarily designed performance by Stacey. Neil thinks that sometimes Jess' face is a little muggy, which turns people off, and that's bad because he's an amazing dancer. Neil liked this one because the routine gave him less opportunity for mugging. Mary thinks it was her favorite piece from Jess this season. Nigel really liked the piece and Jess in it.

Tadd's solo: 10 seconds in, and I'm already way more impressed than I was by his whole elimination night solo last week. Although this one may have petered out a little. Eh, I don't know; I'm not good at rating b-boy solos.

Melanie and Pasha (Jason Gilkison Viennese waltz):

• The featurette: It's a two Pasha night! If only we could always be so lucky!! In this routine, Pasha's given up, but Melanie is encouraging him. 
• The dance: Pasha has given up to such an extent that he can't even bring himself to button up his shirt. Melanie's dress is gorgeous! As is their dancing, of course. Very soft and fluid and lovely. Pure grace. 
• The judging: Pasha looks like he should be on the front of a romance novel in that getup. Mary: "I'm just jealous that he got to dance with him." Mary says that it looked like Melanie's feet never touched the ground and she was just floating across the stage. She says Melanie does lifts like it was something she was doing all her life. Nigel says it was beautiful flow of movement and a master class in lifting and lift technique. Nigel says the reason choreographers keep using her as the rock because she's a solid, fantastic dancer. NPH says Mel looks like she's from that past, but dances like she's from the future. He says she's beautiful and it seems like it comes from the inside as well as the outside. She's easily his favorite dancer on the show. 

Caitlynn's solo: She also has a weird bunch of something coming out of the side of her short-shorts. She sometimes falls out of her pirouettes, so she solves that problem by jumping out of them tonight. Pretty good.

Ricky with Allison (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: Ricky is star struck by Allison, which earns him points in my book. This routine is about a bad dream. There's an easy joke to make here involving Tyce's choreo and a bad dream, but I won't go there. 
• The dance: Allison = awesomeness. Ricky has a weird belt-like thing of red rags around the back of him. The routine is intense, and they're both so good technically that they're doing some pretty impressive stuff with it. I really like it. 
• The judging: Nigel loved this kind of choreo from Tyce. He doesn't think Ricky out-danced his All Star (because Allison is awesome) but he thinks he matched up to her. NPH thinks Tyce went for a bold move here by giving Ricky a mature routine to do, and Ricky pulled it off really well. Mary thought this was ridiculously dark, and she thinks that Ricky really brought it. Raw, reckless and spectacular. 

Marko's solo: Here's another dancer we haven't seen solo in ages. Nice back flip to start things off, plus some nice leaps and pirouettes and things.

Clarice with Robert (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

• The featurette: Robert has to be the Bollywood All Star? I was never the biggest fan of Robert, but I feel a bit sorry him now. Robert looks more manly than in the past, I'd say.
• The dance: My feelings of pity for Robert having to be the Bollywood All Star just grew tenfold when I saw his sparkly purple parachute pants. At least they dunked Rob in some tanner to make him look somewhat Indian. This routine was way better than the Bollywood number that Nick and Iveta had to do earlier this year. And Clarice and Robert did a really good job with it. I do, however, now feel like we're throwing kisses into dances just for the sake of putting kisses in dances. 
• The judging: NPH says he hasn't really connected with Clarice yet this season, but he liked her in this one. Mary says it was fast and intricate and hard. Mary thought it was perfect for Clarice, and she doesn't think she could have done it any better. Nigel agrees that it was perfect fit. Exhilarating.

The wrap-up:

• This was another week where they seemed to put most everyone in a situation where they could excel. Consistent greatness might get a little boring after a while, but tonight I rather enjoyed it.
• There will be a whole new batch of All Stars next week. I like that formula, because that means we'll get to see more dancers, which is exciting because I love so many of them.
• There's a problem with the play back, so Cat has to line all the dancers up on stage and read their names and numbers really fast, which she handles like the pro she is.

My favorites:
Sasha and Twitch's hip-hop
Ricky and Allison's jazz
Melanie and Pasha's waltz

In trouble: Mitchell. Maybe Clarice.

SYTYCD: The Dancing Dozen

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 12 Performance Show

Wow, it's the last week before the Top 10 already! Time's flying.

The intro:

• Cat is wearing a sparkly silver dress with a trim of white feathers at the bottom.
• We get two routines from each couple tonight. Good. That means there will be less time for the judges to babble.
• Speaking of the judges, the panel is Nigel, Mary, Sonya and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family, so this could be interesting. Jesse doesn't strike me as someone who will just sugarcoat everything.
• Mary looks less orange this week, which is a plus.
• Jesse says he has done Broadway and theme parks.
  

Sasha and Alexander (Tony and Meredith paso doble):

• The featurette: This is a nontraditional paso, because it's a battle between the two of them. I guess Tony and Meredith realized that Sasha is too fierce to just be Alexander's cape. Wow, that was a short featurette; we're not wasting any time tonight!
  
• The dance: This is kind of weird. It looks like time they had two guys (AdeChike and Jose) do a paso last year. I don't really feel strongly one way or the other about this one.
  
• The judging: Nigel says that Tony and Meredith recognized Sasha's strength and that Alexander managed to keep up with her. Mary says they deserve an "Ole!" Mary says Alexander had a breakthrough. Jesse says Sasha is a pillar of strength and Alex came up to her level. Sonya loves Sasha's strength. Alex says Mel and Tony dedicated this dance to their friend who is fighting cancer (and there wasn't a head scarf in sight!).

Jordan and Tadd (Travis Wall contemporary):

• The featurette: The dance is a metaphor about women who take advantage of weak men. Travis: "Everything's painful. There's nothing Tweety Bird about this." I'm noticing a trend: Jordan attacked Tadd last week too.
• The dance: Jordan is dressed like a bird. This is cool. Hey, Travis even worked Jordan's patented leg-kick-spin-flash-crotch-to-audience move! That was considerate of him. Kidding aside, Jordan does do some fabulous leg kicks and spins. Nice routine. Tadd snapped her neck at the end; finally a boy makes it through a number without dying ;-)
• The judging: Mary says Travis has outdone himself again. Mary says she's no longer surprised how well Tadd dances and that Jordan "just demolished that, from beginning to end." Jesse liked that take on the classic boy-meets-evil-vulture story we all know so well. Sonya says that dances like this with true conviction are what makes her cry. Nigel calls it the story of Thanksgiving. Nigel raves about Tadd and says they were both terrific.
  

Ricky and Ryan (Spencer Liff contemporary):

• The featurette: Nothing to declare.
  
• The dance: Ryan's dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This dance is taking forever to get going. And it's massively slow. I am, however, enjoying Ricky in this. Wow, he just did a really nice pirouette. I'm on the fence about Ryan. Her performance isn't horrible, but I don't love it.
  
• The judging: Jesse felt like a glass ceiling was on the performance; it felt a little muted to him. Sonya felt like they were questioning it the whole time and letting it simmer too long, but it was okay. Nigel doesn't think the complete Broadway style set comfortably with them. Nigel now admits that BOTH of them have had problems connecting with the audience (in last week's elimination episode he said that Ricky had connection problems). Mary liked the first 30 seconds (when they were standing there doing nothing), but then they lost the style and could have done more with what they were given. Ricky looks kind of ridiculous in that hat, which is not helping matters.
  

Kaitlynn and Mitchell (LXD's Chris Scott hip-hop):

• The featurette: I've been a supporter of Invisible Children for years, so I'm excited to see a routine inspired by a cause close to my heart. The featurette didn't provide much of an explanation of what's going on in Uganda and the Congo, but hopefully people will be inspired to check out the Invisible Children website and learn more.
  
• The dance: If not told the story/inspiration in advance, I wouldn't have gotten it from this routine, however, the dancing is fairly solid. They are having unison problems though.
  
• The judging: Sonya said the lack of unison jumbled the message for her, and I think I agree. Nigel didn't really get the message about the abductees in the Congo from that routine either, and he wanted them to get in front of a mirror and dance together. Mary thinks it was still respectable and strong, but came up just a little, little bit short tonight. Jesse likes the power they dance with. He didn't really see the message in the dance either.

Melanie and Marko (Louie Van Amstel tango):

• The featurette: No story, just tango. Bring it!
  
• The dance: Goodness, Melanie's lacy red backless dress is all kinds of sexy. I don't know what's moving faster: the dancers or the camera that's showing them to us. I feel like I'm going to barf. They did some of the routine rather dangerously close to the edge of the stage. HOLY CRAP that back bend/swing lift thing at the end was stunning! You can tell this style is more foreign to them than anything we've seen them do thus far, but for two non-ballroomers, that was pretty darn good.
  
• The judging: Nigel says they did that routine was tremendously better than they did in the dress run. Mary explains some kinds of tango for us. This was American style tango, which is a combo of everything, and Louie put it all in there. Mary says there were some few awkward shapes, but they did a really good job for non-ballroomers. Jesse thinks they both have "that spark." Sonya says every time she watches them dance, they make her loose her breath because of their conviction, which comes from their souls. She says they're timeless dancers.

Clarice and Jess (Christopher Scott lyrical hip-hop):

• The featurette: The routine is about a woman's insecurities.
  
• The dance: Jess is a painter. He can't really pull off the stocking cap hipster look, unfortunately. This is a little weird because they're hip-hopping really hard to a very slow, melodic song. I think that makes it harder for them to pull the dance off. It would be easier to tell if they were together and on-beat if you could actually hear a beat. It was all right.
• The judging: Mary thinks this number was so cute. Mary thinks they both have a pulse and swag and she loved the performance. Jesse loved it. Jesse wants to marry Clarice even though they both have boyfriends. Sonya thinks they're always adorable and that they slayed this routine. Nigel wasn't sure at first, but then he thinks they found the funk.

Sasha and Alexander (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: Oh, look, it's Tyce. I hadn't been missing him.
  
• The dance: There's a street lamp on stage. Cause that makes so much sense. The music's Aretha Franklin, though, so that's pretty darn cool. Ooh, really nice lift there with Sasha's hands and flexed feet up in the air; very interesting. And another nice spinning lift towards the end too. I actually really liked this one. I love that they just really got to let loose and dance. Something weird happened at the end, and I'm not sure what. I think the lamppost was malfunctioning.
  
• The judging: Jesse thinks this was amazing and his favorite number so far tonight. Sonya keeps wanting to swear. Sonya says that this performance from Alex was what she's been hoping for all season. She was finally watching him too. Nigel says Sasha's carried Alex through a few weeks, but not tonight. Nigel: "The only shaky thing on that stage is that lamppost."

Jordan and Tadd (Spencer Liff Broadway):

• The featurette: Jordan is a princess and has been asleep for 100 years. Jordan doesn't have acro skills apparently.
  
• The dance: Jordan's doing a lot of lying on the table to start this one out. Watching this routine, I feel reminded that Broadway so very rarely works on this show. And that's through no fault of these two, who danced this pretty well. Jordan pulled out a nice pirouette at the end. Spencer's had kind of a rough night.
  
• The judging: Sonya was underwhelmed. She knows their abilities and didn't see them here, but she loves these two dancers. Nigel thought it could have been a little quirkier/sillier. He thought they could have brought more character to it. He thinks it was "okay." They're lucky they had a Travis routine earlier this evening. Mary says she likes cotton candy, but not too much of it. Jesse felt it was a bit of a grab bag of style and music and costumes.

Ryan and Ricky (Louie Van Amstel cha cha):

• The featurette: Holy crap, they're making them do ballroom! I never thought I'd see the day! Ricky's excited because this is out of their comfort zone and it's hot.
  
• The dance: Ok, I know Ryan's got her share of haters, and I'm not trying to pile on, but there is something a bit heavy about the way she steps when she dances. Otherwise, I'm pretty solidly impressed by both of them; I wasn't expecting much from Ryan with ballroom, and Ricky's quite good. The death drop was definitely something.
  
• The judging: Nigel thinks Ricky had great style and class. Nigel thinks Ryan was overselling it--"over egging the pudding"--and was a little bit sloppy. Perhaps Nigel has finally realized that he's not doing Ryan any favors with the relentless praise. Mary says that was the fastest cha cha she's ever seen. She thinks Ryan started good but then got a bit sloppy. But she thinks Ricky was awesome and she puts just him on the Hot Tamale Train. Jesse likes that Ryan was flirting with him during the dance. Jesse says it was his favorite performance from Ricky of the season. Sonya likes that Ricky was basking in the fun of it. She thinks that Ryan gets too tense and stressed and needs to embrace how wonderful she is.

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Travis Wall something--I missed the classification for this one--jazz?):

• The featurette: Caitlynn is a rock star who has just found out that her boyfriend is married, which is one of the more oddly specific concepts we've had in a while.
  
• The dance: But it's an excuse for a little Janis Joplin, so who cares? This is somewhat out of the Travis Wall norm, which is interesting. It included some rather fancy split lifts and stuff.
  
• The judging: Mary thought it was a little dirty and she liked it. She loved the whole thing. Jesse (to Caitlynn): "Only you can prevent forest fires, by not dancing like that in a forest." Jesse thought it was fantastic. Sonya thought it was really hot, esp. Caitlynn. Sonya thinks Mitchell loses his intention when he focuses on the partnering (it looks like work). Nigel doesn't want to say anything to Caitlynn because he'll look like a dirty old man. His one criticism is that she didn't need to play to the crowd, and should have just focused on Mitchell (and smacking him down).

Melanie and Marko (Dee Caspery contemporary):

• The featurette: I'd usually call BS on a contemporary couple drawing contemporary again, but I don't care--I want to see these two dance contemporary again! It's a nice swan song for them as a couple.
  
• The dance: So freaking beautiful. The light bulb thing was a nice concept, but it didn't get in the way of the dancing.
  
• The judging: Jesse has lost the ability to be coherent. He thought it was brilliant and it's his new favorite from them. Sonya is so grateful that this is the future of dance. She thanks them and hopes they stay humble and true. Nigel's excited about next week, except for breaking these two up because there's something magical about them together. Nigel's favorite style of choreo is when it flows and doesn't just look like a series of steps put together, and this flowed magically. Mary says Dee's work was amazing and relevant. The connections, transitions and everything else were flawless.

Clarice and Jess (Tony and Melanie jive):

• The featurette: Really? We're closing the show with a jive? That's ballsy. Jess says, "You name it, it's in this jive."
  
• The dance: Now Clarice has a feather-trimmed dress too. I'm not sure I like jive with this pop-style music, but the dancers seem to be doing a pretty good job with the jive style. Clarice almost fell over after a series of spins at the end, but otherwise I thought it was good.
  
• The judging: Cat: "Glad to see you got the memo on the frock." Sonya love, love, love, loves it. Nigel thought the footwork was good, but would have liked a little more energy in parts. Mary agrees that Jess' leg kicks were fabulous. She thought Jess lost some steam as it went on and didn't quite see the jive joy from him. But she thought Clarice had it and kept it up the whole time. Jesse thought it was fun.

The wrap-up:

• Jesse scores major points from me by saying that Emmy noms come out tomorrow and Cat deserves to be recognized because she is one of the most fabulous reality show hosts. Amen, brother! Cat turns bright red and looks rather embarrassed about being singled out, but she needs to hear the truth!
• Tomorrow they're announcing the All Stars! WOHOO!!!
• Nigel encourages us to vote for whoever we like, which is the point after all.
• Marko scores points with me by pretending to stomp on Jess while they're dancing during the end credits.
  

My favorites:
Melanie and Marko's contemporary
Sasha and Alexander's jazz
Jordan and Tadd's contemporary

**I couldn't remember exactly which two boys did the paso doble last season, so I went back in my blog archives to check and noticed that I was so much meaner last year! I'm going to have to bring the snark back out for the rest of the season!

SYTYCD: Fabulous Fourteen

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 14 Performance Show

• Not quite sure how to describe Cat's dress tonight. It's kind of blue and kind of kimono inspired and there are some flowers on it. She's paired it with a high, curly ponytail and some big earrings.
• Yeeeaaaaaa for "the stunning" Travis Wall. He does look serious and grown up this evening. Very professional hairdo.
• I'd forgotten that Carmen Electra is a dancer.
• I hope Travis brings the truth tonight.
• This is the first time a former contestant is serving as a judge, I'm assuming. I can't remember any other instances anyway. Awesome sauce.
  
• Ok, so we're clearly going to compensate for the fewer dances tonight by having immensely long commercial breaks?
  

Top 7 boys (Justin Giles contemporary): The first-time SYTYCD choreographer has created a strong, masculine dance depicting the seven stages of grief. Lol, the boys acting out the seven stages in practice was pretty funny. Well, a little Damien Rice to go with your contemporary never hurt anyone... Not sure I get the seven stages out of this, but I'm liking the dance. Some of the synchronization was pretty off during the unison part in the middle though.

Marko has to make a quick stop at wardrobe and come right back. Luckily, he's only wearing half an outfit right now, so it shouldn't take too long to change...

Marko and Melanie (Ray Leeper jazz):

• The featurette: Is it wrong that I want these two to have to mambo or waltz or krump or something? I know they can do jazz and contemporary. I have a suspicion that they can do everything, but I want to see it! Marko is from Guam. He worked in a drag queen show on a cruise ship, but he wasn't the drag queen. Melanie's boyfriend came to the show last week and saw her kiss Marko in the hip-hop. Oops... This dance is the story of a young Latin couple...played by a guy from Guam and a white girl.
  
• The dance: Marko's not wearing a shirt for this one either. Melanie's dress is weird. Mel's pirouette in the middle was to die for. I wasn't totally sold at first, but the longer it goes, the more I like it. Very fun.
  
• The judging: Cat thinks Marko looks like a sexy firefighter who has forgotten his shirt. Travis has been taking Ray's class since he was 9 years old. Travis seems to have thought about what he's going to say (which is impressive because he only found out he was judging yesterday). Travis says that Mel is "by far" his favorite dancer in this comp. I didn't pay attention to anything Carmen just said. Mary says they have the passion. Mary liked the pirouette too. Mary is looking far, far, far too tan. Nigel says their technique matches their performance.

Sasha and Alexander (Shaun Evaristo hip-hop):

• The featurette: We already know Sasha's family or at least we know Natalia. Sasha's family is Trinidadian. Alex started dancing because he didn't want to do P.E. I do not find that shocking. Alex's dad was an actor in the '70s. Wow, we've got a whole bunch of different choreographers tonight. They are trying to teach Alex swag, but it's not taking.
  
• The dance: You know what, Alex is not bad. Better than I was expecting anyway. Sasha's good, but that's less surprising. And there's suddenly a random tree on the set. It's not the hardest-hitting hip-hop choreo we've ever had, but it was fun enough.
  
• The judging: Carmen said she loved Sasha and didn't really watch Alex. Mary didn't see the swag. Whoa, now she just called the performance "lacking." She didn't think they connected with the piece and she didn't connect with them. I guess it needed some Nappy-Tabs "ripped form the movies" plot line. Nigel thought it seemed like Hip-Hop 101. Travis didn't hate it as much as the other judges did. Travis says they do need to work on their shading and musicality. And spews out whole bunch of actual things they can work on instead of just saying some general mumbo jumbo. I love Travis...

Jordan and Tadd (Toni Redpath smooth waltz):

• The featurette: OMG, Jordan is from Chino! Suddenly things make sense... Ok, her Chino looks a lot nicer than Ryan Atwood's. Didn't these two just waltz? Enough with the waltz. Tadd is here to represent the Filipino community. In this routine, Jordan is a siren who seduces Tadd and then kills him.
  
• The dance: I actually like these hair extensions on Jordan. The smoke, however, is out of control. How can we see their dancing, if the smoke is up to their knees? Jordan seems more focused on seducing the audience than Tadd during most of this. Otherwise, it was fine.
  
• The judging: Cat: "If the kiss doesn't get him, the smoke will!" LOL. Mary gives us a nice little history lesson on the waltz. Thanks, Mary! That was actually constructive! She says it was dreamy and romantic and especially liked the beginning. I agree that Jordan's "floor sweep" was nice. Nigel thinks Toni's choreo was clever. Nigel's thinks Tadd's arms were fantastic. As were his "progressive twinkles." Travis thought it was beautiful, but, "Could it have been a little smoother? Yes." LOL! He thinks they should have flowed the moves together better. And gives Jordan a tip on her extensions! TRAVIS WALL FOR THE WIN!! Carmen says she doesn't know much about the waltz, and we're all shocked. I hereby propose a judging panel with Travis Wall only!!!

Clarice and Jess (Justin Giles contemporary)

• The featurette: Jess' dad was an actor too. This is a contemporary piece about a couple that has been through a very intense love that is coming to an end. Shock. Couples are so rarely happy in contemporary pieces...
  
• The dance: Why would Clarice have ever been in an intense love relationship with Jess in the first place? Ok, ok, I'm going to focus now. Really nice side-by-side unison moment there towards the beginning. I'm liking Clarice in this. And I'm liking that Jess is being rather understated.
  
• The judging: Travis' favorite routine from them this season. First time he felt their chemistry was honest. He loves it and still gives Clarice a practical tip on her supporting leg! Nigel loves Justin's work in both of his routines tonight. Nigel liked the jerky movements in this one and really felt the anger. Carmen really believed the story. Mary thinks this partnership has been growing every single week. Mary liked the synchronization section too. (I'm starting to get concerned that Mary and I keep liking the same things tonight...)

Ashley and Chris (Liz Lira salsa):

• The featurette: Salsa is kind of a rough draw for a couple that was in the bottom three last week. Ashley dreams of hosting her own cooking show. Chris comes from a huge Texas family. "There's always something to do and always something to clean." He suffered from severe dyslexia. This is one of the most difficult salsa routines that Liz has ever choreographed. There are lots of crazy lifts and swings. Godspeed, kids.
  
• The dance: Bless poor Chris for going out there in those white pants and looking all Saturday Night Fever. Ash has kind of a nice salsa flair at times. Her dress and shoes are fantastic. Chris is certainly giving it a solid try, but it's not working all that well for him. The flashy ending was nice though.
  
• The judging: Travis says it started out really hopefully and the lifts were good. When they broke apart it started to get iffy. He thinks their chemistry with each other has been better. And, oh my gosh, the audience is booing Travis! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?! And Chris says, "You're so mean! I love you!" LOL. Carmen thinks it was ok but that something wasn't quite there. Mary doesn't think this was as hot as their week 2 number. She did think there were moments where Ash was on fire, but she didn't maintain her Latin swagger the whole time. Mary could tell Chris felt awkward, but does commend his partnering work. Nigel agrees that the lifts were quite good. Nigel says he feel uncomfortable talking about Chris' hips, but he didn't have the right feel.

Ryan and Ricky (Chucky Klapow jazz):

• The featurette: Sooooo many Californians... Ryan gushes about Mia a lot. Ricky loves the beach. Ricky moved to Tampa and ended up cheerleading. He seems to have rather enjoyed the experience. This dance is about fashion people who follow the fads and end up dead. Or something to that effect. Whatever it is, it's heck of a lot more interesting than the usual.
  
• The dance: Actually this concept and choreo reminds me of Wade's "Sexy Back" group number in Season 2. And that is not a bad thing whatsoever. Ironic that Travis is on the judging panel. I'm liking this routine all around, but I think Ricky is rather out-dancing Ryan (and not just when she fell out of the pirouette at the end).
  
• The judging: Carmen loved it--the music choice, the energy, etc. Mary says it was an experiment of movement down on the quirky side, and she likes a little bit of quirkiness in her life. She thinks Ricky was as good as ever and that Ryan went "full-tilt zombie." She gives it a scream. Nigel says he is the quirk in Mary's life. He calls it "zombie Zoolander." He loved their togetherness. And Nigel says it reminded him of Wade's "Ramalama." Travis: "We killed 'Ramalama,' and you killed this too." Ok, but guys, this was obviously "Ramalama" plus "Sexy Back." I miss Season 2...
  

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Mandy Moore contemporary):

• The featurette: Caitlynn's dad works overseas and only comes home every other month. Mitchell's dad died when he was 2. He and his mom were homeless and lived in a car for a while when he was a kid. For this piece, they are in love.
  
• The dance: The song is Celine Dion and not something from the '80s! Huh. Cait shows off some nice extensions. I don't know if they're in love, but Caitlynn is rocking the dancing to the extent of being almost Kathryn-esque. And Mitchell doesn't get much attention here, but he's doing a good job with the lifts and supports.
  
• The judging: I think Cat just said: "It was almost like Joshua and I at the Fourth of July barbecue, but not quite." Lol, what?! That was Mary's favorite number of the night. She's all crying and flustered. She says Mitchell is injured. Mary thinks this is their time! Nigel says the emotion grabbed us all. He liked the leaps and lifts. The whole routine took his breath away. Travis liked the unexpected partnering and agrees that this is their time and they should seize it. Carmen picks her last opportunity to offer her most legit sounding comment, which was something about dance taking you out of yourself.

Top 7 Girls (Ray Leeper jazz): The story is about seven girlfriends whose mission is to rid the world of evil men. These girls have done an awful lot of killing this season! Sasha says acting evil comes surprisingly naturally to her. Ha. The costumes are pretty awesome, especially the hats. Very slick, very sexy, very well-danced. (I wonder if the other girls mind that Ryan, Melanie and Sasha are always front and center in the group numbers.)

So after a couple weeks of me not being super impressed with anything, tonight I've got four favorites:

Clarice and Jess' contemporary
Melanie and Marko's jazz
Ryan and Ricky's jazz
Caitlynn and Mitchell's contemporary

I can't help but think that tonight's inspired choreography is connected to the amount of new blood among the choreographers. Since eventually the work of almost every choreographer starts to all look similar, it's probably best to cast a wide net with the talent.

Nigel says Season 6's lovely Kathryn has just gotten a "fabulous part in Step Up 4" (which begs the question if there are really any fabulous parts in Step Up 4... and also reminds me that I need to get Step Up 3 from Netflix. I wanna see tWitch!). Yea Kathryn!