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 ?