SYTYCD: Putting on Boogie Shoes

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 7 Performance Show

• Umm, now where's Ashley?! Come ON!
• Cat is wearing a slamming multi-colored artistic print dress with a purposefully messy side fishtail braid.
• After rehearsals on Monday, Ash was taking to the hospital with severe rib pain. She has been advised not to dance tonight. Oy vey! At this point, the winner is going to be the one who can make it the longest without getting injured.
• Same rules apply to Ashley that applied to Alex. (Is this the first time ever on SYTYCD that the same rules apply to different contestants? Just kidding.)
• Alex had surgery on Monday and it seems to have gone well.
• Anya's doing some double duty this week. Which is odd, because they have lots of boy contestants to go around.
• A gold star means Dominic? Lol. So, Dom's going to remind us what a good b-boy looks like?

Lauren with Mark (Tiana's Tahitian dance):

• The featurette: Hmm, Tahitian dance sounds interesting. Mark certainly is the man for the job.
• The dance: OMG, Mark's wearing a loin cloth. I don't really know what I should be watching for, but Lauren is good at wiggling her butt, which is about 90% of what she's being called on to do. Mark looks like a natural; I wonder if he ever did similar dancing in Hawaii before.
• The judging: Nigel doesn't know what to say. Adam says Lauren's hips don't lie. Nigel is rather flustered. Mia says it was absolutely fascinating and it looked like a duck in heat. Mia can't believe they were able to do this in the amount of time they were giving. Adam: "Mark, who are you?!" (Mark: "Why do all you judges love me so much now, but you weren't nice to me at all when I was actually on the show?" Ok, he didn't really say that.) Cat hands the mic to Lauren, and she gives a speech like she just won an Oscar.

AdeChike with Anya (Liz Lira salsa):

• The featurette: The dance is fast, it's intricate, and there are death-defying stunts. The dance drew blood in practice.
• The dance: Wow, AdeChike's outfit is tragic. Anya's is really, really neon. I think maybe they should have focused more on teaching AdeChike the proper salsa technique and less on the stunts, because something doesn't look right about his general performance. All of the lifts/twist/general-flinging-around-of-Anya, however, was quite good. The opening throw-twist thing was insane.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Liz Lira is a crazy person. Nigel says salsa is a totally alien subject for a contemporary dancer like AdeChike, but he totally pulled it off. (Really?) Mia thought the choreo was great and that the tricks were awesome. She saw some little bumps though. And she thought his hips were a little awkward, but thinks he got through it. Anya says this routine was truly competition style. Adam commends AdeChike fighting through the "hard-ass choreography" and never showing a sign of weakness. So I guess the judges are going for the old "when we are mean to you, you get lots of votes, so we're going to be fairly nice to you in hopes that people don't think they have to vote for you."

Jose with Courtney (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: Joey's being a lot nicer to Jose than she usually is to the dancers. They seem to be focusing entirely on working on Jose's sad face, when I'm thinking they should be doing a little more dancing.
• The dance: Well, Jose's doing a fairly good job, but this routine is also ridiculously slow. Oh, it's the "Mr. Cellophane" song that Curt sang on the Glee pilot! As for the routine, I didn't have a giant problem with it, but I wasn't impressed either.
• The judging: Nigel thinks the routine took Jose's happy personality from him, which took away his greatest asset, leaving you to see only his dancing, which isn't very good. Ouch, Nigel! How many weeks in, you finally realize he's not a great dancer? Mia wants to say something harsh, but she's having a hard time saying it to Jose because he looks so sad. Mia says there was no hope in the performance and he didn't have technique to back up the performance. Adam says Jose needs more extension in his moves. Nigel cuts in to say that Jose needs dance lessons. Adam says Jose's bell kick was "neither here nor there." Courtney tries to stick up for Jose a bit. Cat says Courtney's going to put the showgirl outfit back in Adam's dressing room now.

Robert with Allison (Travis Wall contemporary):

• The featurette: Allison's all better! Yea! Travis says this routine is about his mom, who just had major surgery. Robert can relate because his mother has had similar experiences. Ok, the footage of the three of them doing the moves together was exceptional! Travis should do the routine with them!
• The dance: Ok, I love that to play Travis, they put Robert in cargo shorts and a partially undone button-down shirt. Wow, son of a gun, Robert is totally holding his own next to Allison in the side-by-side section! Color me surprised and impressed. Ok, that routine was good. That was like a moderately less emotionally-exploitative version of the cancer dance.
• The judging: The judges give it a standing O. Robert and Allison (and Cat) are fighting tears. So is Travis. Nigel compares it to Mia's "Addiction" and Tyce's cancer dance. Nigel says if the audience doesn't support Robert this week, we're crazy. He calls Allison one of the "greatest dancers we've ever had on SYTYCD." Mia's crying too, because the dance reminded her of the week before her mom passed away. Mia thinks that dance was bigger than the show and that our moms are everything. She thinks it was the best Robert has danced this season. Adam says if Travis doesn't get an Emmy nomination for that, there's no God. Personally, I wouldn't tie God to Emmy nominations, because those things are notoriously ridiculous. Adam thinks it was one of the performances of the season.

Cat plugs the Season 7 tour, but, seriously, at this rate who is going to be healthy enough to perform in it?

Billy with Anya (Louis van Amstel jive):

• The featurette: Poor Anya is the hardest working girl in show business tonight. Anya's presence makes Billy laugh awkwardly.
• The dance: I'm going to call this one of the best jive's we've seen in a while. Billy certainly kept the energy level very high, and I actually believed him in the rock-and-roll, I-want-to-sleep-with-Anya character.
• The judging: Nigel thought Billy worked harder at a connection with his partner this week than other weeks. Nigel thinks he needed to "get down" a little bit on the jive technique but thought it was pretty good overall. Mia thought it was a great performance. Mia thought his technique and training were everything in that piece. Cat tries to ask Billy a question about Anya being a "sex bomb" and Billy can't understand what she's trying to say at all. He thinks she's saying "sex bum" and can't for the life of him understand what she means. It's hilarious. Adam thinks Billy was totally in control during the routine. And Nigel cuts in again to try to make yet another reference to the World Cup.

Kent with Neil (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

• The featurette: It's the wholesome (and somewhat cheesy) combo of Kent and Neil. The dance has a baseball theme.
• The dance: This would be better if there were a few more baseball player dancers on stand up there with them. It's just a little bizarre with only two guys. Baseball isn't a partner sport. They both did a good job though. Very high-energy and athletic performances.
• The judging: Nigel says Tyce threw every trick in the book. Nigel says he went to see the All-Star Game last night. He says Kent was the MVP tonight and said that Kent was out-dancing All-Star Neil. Mia says she loves boys so much. She enjoyed the strong male dancing. Adam tells Tyce that the routine was so awesome. He thinks Kent has a huge future in Broadway. He liked how effortlessly they made it look. The judges keep raving about Kent, but Neil looks better in the baseball uniform at least.

Lauren and Billy (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: Billy tells us that Lauren eats like a squirrel. Lauren says that Billy is obsessed with soda. The concept of the dance is that two shoes meet up and want to boogie. Um, ok.
• The dance: Whoa! The boogie shoes are sparkly! I'm loving Billy in this. Like hardcore loving him. He just looks like so much fun! Lauren's doing well too. Her dress could be better though. To me, this routine for Billy was like the hip hop routine for Alex: it's the moment where you realize that not only is he an awesome dancer, but he's also legitimately fun to watch.
• The judging: Nigel says it was absolutely adorable. Nigel says Billy was again really connecting with his partner and that the jazz style suited him well. Nigel tells Lauren: "Don't go clicking your heels three times, dear, because you're not going home yet." Mia says the choreo and performance was "completely in the pocket." Not sure I know what that means, but it reminds me of when P.J. said "The lotion is in the basket" on My Boys. Mia thinks it was quirky and groovy at the same time. Adam says Billy finally got lost in a dance. Adam thinks Lauren could get way up there in the standings.

Jose with Dominic (Napoleon and Tabitha b-boy routine):

• The featurette: Cat says Jose "randomly picked" the gold star. Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. Dominic says that Jose has to put toilet paper on the seat every time he goes to the bathroom. Dom says they have different b-boy styles (Jose is more on the ground and flowy; Dom is more up in the air on his hands).
• The dance: Choreographing breaking too much just seems weird. In the side-by-side regular hip hop steps, Jose wasn't matching up to Dom. His breaking stuff seemed ok, but I don't think he's at the level of a Legacy or a Hok, although I'm certainly no breaking expert. At the end, Jose pulls a sword out of a rock in the middle of the stage.
• The judging: Nigel doesn't want Jose to hold the sword while he critiques him. Cat and Dom fight over the sword. Nigel says that Jose redeemed himself. And Jose starts crying again. Nigel says no other dancer on the show could have done that routine. Well, yeah, but Jose couldn't have done any of the other routines as well as any of the other dancers. Mia thought the beginning was amazing, but she still wants more training and strength, strength, strength from Jose. Adam says the criticism earlier really hurt Jose, and he still managed to come out and "school" us. Oy vey. If Jose is such a delicate little flower that he can't stand to hear honest statements about how his dancing is not up to the level of other dancers on the show, then he needs to start improving his dancing really fast, because he is just not up to the level of the other dancers on the show.

AdeChike and Kent (Dee Caspery contemporary):

• The featurette: AdeChike really likes food and wants to become a chef. AdeChike says Kent has a crush on Lauren (the non-Gottlieb Lauren).
• The dancing: I kinda missed the explanation about what the chairs mean, so I'm a little lost, but the routine itself is quite good. Lots of "strong male dancing" as Mia would say. This is a good week for Kent. AdeChike was good too, especially when he leaped over Kent.
• The judging: Nigel thought it was very good. Nigel liked AdeChike's leap. He liked that Kent underplayed it instead of being all "Hi! I'm Kent!" Nigel says that Kent stands a remarkable chance of being this year's champion. Well, duh. I could have told you that during Vegas week. Or earlier. Mia thinks Kent was great. She liked having two male dancers bringing strength but also vulnerability. Mia says it was a great week for AdeChike. She liked his lines and power. Adam says that they just taught America that a super athlete can be a super artist. He says they were both brilliant.

Robert with Kathryn (Doriana Sanchez disco):

• The featurette: Kathryn is filling in for Ashley. Robert says Ashley is in love with him. Ashley says Robert laughs really loudly.
• The dance: So how many days did Robert and Kathryn have to practice this routine together? If Ash got hurt on Monday, I guess they had like two days. Kathryn's outfit is a little bit scandalous. I can't believe they're closing such a good show with a disco. Even well-performed discos are kind of eh. They did a good enough job.
• The judging: Nigel says that back in the day, they'd do a hard disco routine and then go throw up. Thanks for that anecdote. Nigel thinks Robert gave lines and strength. He thought it was tremendous for this style. Mia says she loves Robert, but hopes she never has to see him do this again. Mia didn't think he was masculine enough to sell the routine. Adam thinks he sold fun, which is the point of disco. Adam says it's hard to look masculine when you're doing the silly disco moves. Robert's lucky he had Travis' contemporary routine to balance out this disco.

HA! I just realized who Billy reminded me of in that boogie shoes jazz number. It was Sheldon Cooper! I probably should have kept that to myself.

My favorites:
Billy and Lauren's jazz
Robert and Allison's contemporary
Kent and AdeChike's contemporary

SYTYCD: To the Nines

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 9 Performance Show

Cat is wearing a shiny one-shoulder mini dress. Hair down. Again seems a bit drunk...

Tonight we've got:

• Lauren with Neil
• Melinda with Pasha--again?!?
• Billy with Kathryn
• Ashley with Ade
• Robert with Courtney--again?!?
• Jose with Anya--ha
• Kent with Allison--yea!
• Adechicke with Lauren
• Alex with TWITCH--yeah! Ha ha ha.

They've gotta get Twitch on the show somehow, I guess. But, seriously, it's the third week and we're already rehashing two partnerships? Does anyone really want to see more ballroom from Melinda?

Adechike with Lauren (Dave Scott hip hop routine):

• The featurette: Adechike was inspired by Desmond Richardson. Adechike and Lauren are "muscles and cushions."
• The dance: More personality from Adechike in the first 4 seconds of this dance than in his two whole routines to date. Ok, and now they're just stripping. It was a fun routine, but I'm not sure it was anything especially difficult or earth-shaking. It didn't seem like a wow-they're-so-amazing-because-that-was-so-hard moment.
• The judging: Nigel says Dave Scott brought out a different Adechike than we've seen before. Mia says welcome to Mr. Personality. Mia says it was a solid performance. Adam tries to give a Mary Murphy-esque shriek and then gives Adechike a standing O in an early bid to win Overreaction of the Night.

Ashley with Ade (Dee Caspery contemporary):

• The featurette: Ashley is inspired by her dance teacher. Ok, ok, ok: so Nigel was complaining that Ashley's jazz last week was too similar to her contemporary in week one, so they have her do contemporary again?!
• The dance: Ashley is supposed to have no backbone, and Ade's lifting/pulling her around a lot. This routine is lovely and has some very cool moments. Well danced by Ashley and Ade. I'm liking Dee Caspery right now; more please.
• The judging: Nigel acknowledges that we're seeing more of the same, basically, but says she looked like a different dancer and moved fluidly from one move to another. He thought it was beautifully smooth. Mia says it was like a hurricane and a summer breeze. Mia thinks Ashley is a cut above the other female dancers (all two of them). Adam's beside himself again. Mr. Hyperbole says it was one of the best female contemporary performances of any season. Oh puh-LEEEze.

I'm interrupting the flow here to say that I HATE it when the contestants start talking in the middle of the judging. I realize the judges are just spewing out a whole lot of nonsense, but shut up. Contestants shouldn't get to sway voters with chit chat. You get the featurette and the dance--and that's all I want to hear from you, personally. Especially since 90% of the things the contestants say during the judging is worthless and cliche.

Billy's solo: There's something spidery about his legs in this solo. Rather cool.

Robert with Courtney (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

• The featurette: Robert is inspired by his mom (and lists an array of horrible things that have happened to his mom). Sonya's goal is to show the world how good Robert is. Hey, brilliant! Shouldn't that always be a goal of the choreographer: showcasing the contestant well?
• The dance: Ok, no one's going to pay attention to Robert now that Courtney's in those weird pants (sparkly, different color patches down the legs, sparkly and sheer-looking at the butt). See, I just spent the entire dance describing Courtney's pants and didn't really see anything in the dance that distracted me from the pants.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Sonya's choreo suits Robert like it suits Mark. Sorry, Nigel, just because Robert looks vaguely like Mark, it doesn't make him Mark. Hey, speaking of Mark, it's not cool that he's not dancing tonight! Mia wants Robert to take ballet, which will give his movement weight and solidity and take him to another level. Adam says it was the most wonderful thing he's ever seen in all his life. Just kidding, but you totally believed me. Seriously, Adam's tip is to not "jump down" which seems like a good lesson for us all.

Best news I've heard all night: Courtney G. tweeted that she and Mark might be dancing "The Garden" again tomorrow! Oh please let it be so!

Jose's solo: A little "Super Bad" by James Brown. Remember the time Will dressed up like James Brown for her solo? That was great. Anyway...this routine opens with a long head spin, but then he works in some other holds and other b-boy stuff. It's was ok but not the best b-boy moves I've ever seen on the show.

Melinda with Pasha (Fabian Sanchez salsa):

• The featurette: Melinda is inspired by Dr. Harold Cromer. Yes, we know, Melinda. Everything she tells us in her featurettes is old news. Melinda is Colombian, so she's used to doing the salsa at parties.
• The dance: Um, if Melinda's used to doing the salsa at parties, this should be a little better. There's something weird about her footwork--leading with her heal instead of her toe maybe? Whoa, Pasha just kind of jumped over her, took her head with him on the way down, and she ended up in a back bend. (It was intentional.)
• The judging: Well, Cat and Nigel think she looks amazing. That's the nicest thing they've come up with to say, I guess. Nigel doesn't see fluidity in her movements. Mia thinks she danced as hard as she could and her shakes and shimmies were on-target, but there were moments where it looked like she had bricks on her feet and was sinking in water. Mia thought there were moments that made her regret that they sent Christina home last week. And Adam says after he watched last week's show again, he thought they'd made a mistake too. Well, DUH. That's what most of us thought last week. (And that's why America keeps putting Melinda in the bottom three.) Please try to keep up, Mia and Adam. Geez. Or just let America pick who goes home. Either way, there's no use talking about it now.

Kent's solo: Kent does a nice leap and a nice tumbling series, but he needs to come up with some more impressive things to do in his solos in the future.

Alex's solo: Dancing to music from the Planet of the Apes soundtrack, Alex, meanwhile, has plenty of firepower in his repertoire, but could stand to relate to the audience more. Does a cool leap series straight into rolling on the ground.

Lauren with Neil (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: Lauren is inspired by her Student Council advisor.
• The dance: Neil's really selling his reading-the-paper intro acting. Lol at Neil's knickers and socks--that outfit is just as distracting as Courtney's pants were. Whoa--the strap of Lauren's dress totally broke, but the top of her dress managed to stay up and she kept on going! Eeesh. I guess the top of the dress was fortunately taped on to her, because I don't know how else it was staying up. Anyway, aside from the clothing, I thought the dance was good, but it seemed like it was just missing a little something, although I'm not sure what.
• The judging: Nigel: "Needless to say, I enjoyed that tremendously." Mia: "I'm sure you did." Ha. Neil's being sweet and trying to help keep Lauren's dress up while they're listening to the judging. Mia wants Lauren to dance a little more sexily. Adam thought she was great.

Ashley's solo: Wastes too much time in the beginning just kind of standing there, but then picks it up and does a pretty cool solo with some nice moves and good musical interpretation.

Billy with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Billy was inspired by Legacy when he saw him in a show when Billy was 12! That's cool.
• The dance: Billy's doing a good job of holding his own in this one and not just letting Kathryn steal the show, which she is apt to do. The routine is very well constituted in that it gives both dancers moments to shine. Legacy's in the audience and he looks like he's in tears!
• The judging: Nigel doesn't think Billy partners that well and needs to work on connecting to his partners. Nigel says Billy is a sensational dancer though. Mia thinks that sometimes Billy gets too caught up in his lines and we lose him. Adam thinks that Billy's "going to see it all in playback." STOP SAYING THAT! If the only critique is that the dancers should watch themselves on tape and they'll see what was wrong, then why do we need judges? Just sit the dancers in a room, having them watch the tape and tell us what they think. Anyhow, that critique was a bit harsh. Billy looked mad.

Robert's solo: I think it's better than the one he did last week, but I'm not blown away. Something about it reminded me of Huck Finn. And the best part was that he didn't do the old fake-barf-and-flash-the-number-of-fingers thing.

Jose and Anya (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

• The featurette: Jose was inspired by Bruce Lee and has supposedly applied Bruce Lee's philosophy to breaking. DMITRY! Just let Dmitry and Anya do the dang samba!
• The dance: Anya is fierce and Jose is..trying. And they are using the table to try to hide Jose's lack of skill, I think. He's not completely terrible anyway. He was certainly trying. Bruce Lee's daughter is in the audience.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Dmitry brought out the man in Jose. Nigel says Jose is not the best dancer, but that he has a charisma that no one can teach and he brings it to all his routines. Mia says he's not a great dancer in the different genres, but he gets away with it because he brings humbleness and joyfulness. He just makes them happy and not care about the flaws. Adam has forsaken full sentences and just lists works like "joy" and "ego-free." And it's time like these where we miss Mary Murphy because she at least knew what ballroom technique should be and usually pointed out what was right/wrong.

Melinda's solo: Tapping to "Empire State of Mind." It seems like she's trying to tap too fast for the slowness of the music. So that might have hammered home Nigel's point about her maybe not feeling the music.

Kent and Allison (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: Oops, I was out of the room and missed what Kent said inspires him. I'm sure whatever he said, it was adorable.
• The dance: Well, this is probably the most boring Allison's looked so far this year...but she's still awesome. Well, the dance was fine. Kent's shirt situation is weird--he's got suspenders twisted around the front of him or something. The whole thing was just kind of unremarkable, really, which is annoying because the Kent/Allison pairing had a lot of potential.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Kent's expressions are starting to get a little fake. Nigel thought he was playing to the audience instead of playing to his partner. Mia thinks Kent gets caught up in the television personality of it instead of the integrity of the dance. She thought the way he translated the dance was a little green. Adam says Kent has to lose the "hungry jazz face" because he's better than that. And he'll "see that in playback." Argh, Shankman!

Adechike's solo: Wearing camo cargo shorts. He's doing a good job of interestingly interpreting the music, but he didn't get much floor coverage or do many "wow" moves. Kinda looked like a martial arts display at times.

Lauren's solo: Lol at Lauren holding a strange opening position during Cat's whole intro. Lovely little routine to a slow "Unchained Melody" cover. Not a ton of playing to the audience, though, which the judges would probably pounce on.

And now on to the main event...

Alex and Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

• The featurette: Alex was inspired by Edward Villella of the Miami Ballet. Alex's biggest problem is not going to be hip hop or dancing with Twitch...it's going to be dancing a NappyTabs routine.
• The dance: Ha, Twitch is Alex's therapist. Lots of couch dancing at first. Once they get off the couch, I gotta say, Alex did a pretty darn good job of matching Twitch. And, holy crap, most hip hop dancers can't do extensions like that. Oh, that dance was fun! Go Alex. He had so much personality in that dance, but in his solo it was like meh. But the best part was that the routine wasn't 'lyrical'! The audience loses it.
• The judging: Nigel says it was the best NappyTabs routine ever on the show. I think Nigel just said that a ballet dancer just did "the most incredible hip hop ever" and that the routine should be nominated for an Emmy. That was a last-ditch attempt to take the Overstatement of the Night title away from Adam, no doubt. I mean, best hip hop ever? Perhaps I misheard. Mia says Alex has defied everything about the ballet world. Mia says Alex held his own next to Twitch, the best in the business. Adam's finally found a routine worthy of his hysterics and he's going all out.

My favorite routines of the night:

Partners:
Alex and Twitch's hip hop
Billy and Kathryn's contemporary
Ashley and Ade's contemporary

Solos:
Billy, Ashley

SYTYCD: Addiction, Unplanned Pregnancy & Thievery

So You Think You Can Dance: "Top 12 Performance Show"

The opening:

• Ohhh, each couple is going to dance twice. I was wondering how we were going to fill the time tonight (because Lord knows it's been a struggle the last few weeks...).
• I think Kupono did more in this 5-second intro than he did in his entire solo last week.
• Cat is looking very prim and proper (but still kind of sultry and stunning) in a fitted, cap-sleeved black dress. Her makeup is rather bold, however. Her diamond bracelets are great though.
• Oh nooooooooooooooooooo, it's Tyce. (Well, on the bright side, I guess this means we won't have to watch any of his Broadway routines tonight.)

Melissa and Ade (Doriana Sanchez disco):

• The featurette: Can some please steal that comb away from Ade?
• The dance: I feel like this is one of the few times we've actually going to see Ade do any dancing other than just lifting Melissa around. He's kind of dancing circles around her in this style, IMO. Not that you can really fault her too much since she spent literally 60% of that routine being spun around and around and around in lift after lift.
• The judging: At least the two routines per couple tonight will mean that the judges will have to keep their critiques somewhat shorter. Or not--Mary's been babbling on for quite awhile.

Kayla and Kupono (Mia Michaels contemporary):

• The featurette: Um, yeah, the producers want these two to make it through the week--they're stacking the deck by giving them a Mia routine. Especially if it makes Kup cry during the featurette. But didn't these two just do contemporary last week?! I seem to remember something about vampires. Come on, people! This is ridiculous.
• The dance: Kayla's doing a lot of throwing herself around the stage--some of it looked pretty painful. I like Kupono's smug face. I'm not sure if I loooooooooooooooved the routine though. There was a lot of them standing in the same place and tangling up.
• The judging: Nigel says Kayla has too much hair. Kupono looks more like a vampire this week than he did last week. I'm not sure that the judges got the message that their constant over-hype of these two is not helping them out any in this competition (since they did one of the best routines last week and still landed in the bottom 3). Tyce calls Kayla "a beast" and it's meant to be a good thing. Cat thinks this routine is going to be one to remember from this season, but I beg to differ.

Caitlin and Jason (Tony Meredith and Melanie fox trot):

• The featurette: So Kup and Kayla get contemporary for the second week in a row, and these two poor kids get a fox trot?! Oy vey.
• The dance: I like Cailtin's sparkly dress with a flowy green skirt. This is a nice jazzy fox trot, but at times is seemed really, really slow. And then it went a little lift-crazy. Jason and Caitlin brought good presentation to it, however. Personally, I think there's been a collective overlooking so far this season of how good Jason actually is.
• The judging: Nigel thinks this is Caitlin's style: smooth, cool and elegant. Mary thinks it was "tremendous" too, but her tone is just a little lackluster. Tyce thinks they could have glided more.

Jeanine and Phillip (Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko Russian folk dance):

• The featurette: I'm not sure how I feel about the Russian folk dance being brought back. It was fun when Twitch and Joshua did one during last year's finale, but I don't know if I need to see another one. (Especially one performed by two people who can't jump as high as Josh.)
• The dance: Why do I feel like Jeanine's going to win this "dance battle" handily? Phillip sure is smiling awfully big though. To his credit, Chbeeb does pull off some impressive squat-kicks. There was an odd moment at the end when the music was at a fever pitch and they were both standing basically still, preparing to do a pot-stir. (I kind of wish they'd sent Nina, the girl from auditions who could do that awesome pot-stir, through just for this very moment).
• The judging: Nigel's not sure they should have made a couple do this. Well, duh, it wasn't my idea to make them dance in a folk style. I'm not one of the producers. Nigel thinks we needed more vodka to watch that. Mary really believed that Jeanine was a Russian folk dancer for a second. Tyce does enunciate his words very well.

Randi and Evan (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

• The featurette: Oh, geez, this routine's about a young couple who finds out they're going to have a baby. I feel like we're running out of material here. It's about time these two got hip hop though.
• The dance: This looks soooooooo much like the Nappy-Tabs routine from last year that Mark and Chelsie did, just minus the briefcase and plus some more stomach-touching. If she's supposed to be pregnant, should she being doing so many lifts? In any event, I think they danced it fairly well; but I was kind of distracted.
• The judging: Nigel expresses chagrin at a routine showing a pregnancy preceding an engagement ring. And he also wonders whether Randi should have been doing the lifts in "her condition."

It's beginning to seem like this show has a theme along the lines of "the problems of young people" or "the challenges of growing up" or something, since we've focused on addiction and now unplanned pregnancy. What's next? A lyrical jazz routine about getting busted for underage drinking? A fox trot about bombing the SATs?

Brandon and Janette (Leonardo and Miriam Argentine tango):

• The dance: Let's see if these two can out-tango Chbeeb...so far, so good. Janette's leg movements are spectacular. Like, all I could look at during the entire dance was her legs. The lifts were great too.
• The judging: After a dramatic pause, Nigel gives the couple a standing ovation and is joined by Mary and Tyce. Nigel says, for a ballroom routine, that was about as close to perfection as we've seen on this show ever. For once, I'm pretty much on board with his hyperbole. Mary puts them on the Hot Tamale Train and spends the next 60 seconds screaming uncontrollably. Tyce uses a very extended, bizarre metaphor about an orange and a juicer. I'm at a loss.

Yes! Next week, we're breaking up the couples! Bring it on.

Melissa and Ade (Ron Montez waltz)

• The featurette: Melissa seems much more distressed about the breakup of the couple than Ade does. Now Ade has to do that waltz? Eesh--when will this guy get a chance to do something other than carry this chick around the stage? Give the boy a hip hop routine, darn it! BTW, why has Melissa never had to do hip hop? Seems like she's also getting a lot of very favorable dance selections (like Kupono and Kayla).
• The dance: I'm not loving Ade's jacket-without-sleeves. The flowy skirt of Melissa's dress is definitely stealing the show here. Hey, look, Ade just did an impressive series of pirouettes! So he can do things other than just picking Melissa up and making her look good.
• The judging: Nigel would have liked some more rise and fall from Ade, and Mary says his "twinkles" didn't have enough power. I'm serious; that's what she said. Nigel asks if he gets a break from Mary next week and Mary says, "NO! Pipe down, English muffin!" Tyce doesn't think that Melissa quite rose to the occasion of dancing to a song like "Natural Woman."

Why hasn't anyone had to krump this season?

Kayla and Kupono (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: Pono says what he'll miss most about Kayla is "her sweating hands and feet." Lol, ouch. I love how Joey torments all the dancers.
• The dance: They're kind of waltzing too, to begin the number. But it turns out to be music from West Side Story. There's something distractingly weird about Kup's pants--I think they're too short. The dance was decent--it seemed like there was something slightly off through most of it, like Pono was constantly on the verge of a big mess-up or a face-plant or something.
• The judging: Nigel didn't think they captured the right tension and style. Mary still thinks that these two are great though (eye roll). Tyce also thinks they could have dug in more, but that they'll still be around for awhile.

Caitlin and Jason (Mandy Moore lyrical jazz):

• The featurette: Jason is still super chill and collected. Jason points out that this is the first week they've gotten the chance to showcase their lines and their technique.
• The dance: Jason also gets to showcase his bare chest. Caitlin looks stunning in these lifts. She can strike positions just as beautiful as the super-hyped Kayla and Melissa. The routine was good. I'm not sure that it was the tour de force routine that they probably needed to keep them in this competition though.
• The judging: Nigel says he doesn't always see chemistry between them, but says--in a very subdued manner--that they danced it very well. Mary says she loved the piece, but that they didn't bring "magic" to it. Mary thinks it was really good, but not memorable. Tyce thinks they did a great job, but could have taken it further. This is like the night of mixed-message critiques. Everything is "very good" but "not memorable" or "not taken far enough."

Jeanine and Phillip (Tony and Melanie jive):

• The featurette: Wait, Chbeeb and Jeanine aren't going to do another Nappy-Tabs hip hop for us this week? The jive? I'm confused. Phillip: "We have a few booty-grabs and chest-shimmies-in-the-faces."
• The dance: Ok, you know what, Phillip is not that bad at the jive. I'm sure he's not nailing the finer points, and he did almost fall over at one point, but he's got the general idea and he's doing a good job of selling it. Jeanine's looking very good. She's turned out to be very versatile. That was a fun routine.
• The judging: Nigel says the choreo was terrific and that, without question, this was the best that Phillip's been out of his style. Well, duh. Mary guarantees us that Jeanine will be here next week. Well, ok. Mary thought Phillip was going to crash and burn, but that he actually did a really good job. Mary puts Jeanine on the Hot Tamale Train. Tyce says "call 1-800-fan-freakin-tastic!"

Randi and Evan (Pasha and Anya samba):

• The featurette: PASHAAAAAA!!!!!! PASHAAAA!!! PAAASHHHAAAA!!!! Holy crap, he's adorable!
• The dance: Randi's got a weird leopard print-and-fringe dress that definitely looks like it would be right up Anya's alley. Since the music was mostly rhythm (very little melody), it demanded a technical proficiency, crispness and attitude that they weren't exactly displaying. Could we please just now watch Pasha and Anya do that routine? PLEASE!!
• The judging: Nigel says it wasn't hot enough--and not as hot as it would have been if Pasha and Anya were doing it. Mary says they did a good job, but Evan needed to do more and find some more fire. Mary thought Randi was a Hot Tamale though. Tyce brings up Danny and Lacey's hot samba in addition to Pasha and Anya's hot routines, saying that this performance didn't live up to those.

Janette and Brandon (Wade Robson jazz):

• The featurette: Finally, Brandon and Janette get one of the marquee routines! They've been consistently great each week, but they haven't gotten any particularly memorable choreo. This routine is about two thieves.
• The dance: Thieves with some crazy sunglasses, apparently. Lots of stair-work in the beginning. This song is pretty awesome. This style is more up Brandon's alley, but Janette is killing it. That was a super fun and very nicely performed.
• The judging: Wade and his wife are wearing crazy sunglasses too! Nigel says that this shows that there's nothing they can throw at these two that they can't do. He's impressed with Janette's ability to keep up with Brandon too. Mary says the best was saved for last. She says they stole everybody's heart. Tyce says they have "that thing." It's a little hard to take Wade's "strong voice in the industry" seriously when he's wearing those glasses... Tyce's stint on the juding panel tonight turned out to be far less annoying than I was expecting.

My favorite routines:
Janette and Brandon's jazz
Janette and Brandon's Argentine tango
Jeanine and Phillip's jive
(runner up is Caitlin and Jason's lyrical jazz)

In trouble:
I'm thinking the bottom three couples will be Caitlin and Jason, Kupono and Kayla, and Randi and Evan.

SYTYCD: Vampires, Aliens and Ballerinas, Oh My!

So You Think You Can Dance: "Top 14 Performance Show"

The episode started off with quite a dramatic opening montage, seeing as it's only Top 14 night. (That intro seemed like it was designed for the finales or at least the week the cuts for the Top 10 are made.)

Cat's dress is a little on the boring side again this week. Strapless, hot pink, poofy skirt, kind of prom-y. She has at least paired it with kind of a punky belt, however.

Has the line above the U in Kupono always been there? I've not noticed it before. I guess I've got to start figuring out how to get that symbol in Blogger... or not.

Oh nooooo, the third judge is Mia! Poor Brandon. Hushed silence as we wait to find out if Mia pulled the stick out of her butt in regards to Brandon. She reports that her opinion of him has improved. So that's nice. I was sure they were going to milk that later in the show: Brandon performs and Mia suddenly has an epiphany and realizes that he doesn't represent everything she hates in the world after all. And everyone cries.

Do we need to do such a thorough retrospective on every couple's three previous routines? It's only been three weeks!! I still remember all of their previous dances.

Janette and Brandon (Jean Marc & France Genereux cha cha):

• The featurette: Janette's bangs/hair really bother me.
• The dance: I like Janette's hair poofier like this. This routine is pretty good. Janette's obviously really good at it, and Brandon's keeping up well. It wasn't really a Benji/Heidi-caliber Latin-style routine, but will anything ever be? I'm beginning to think no.
• The judging: Nigel says this was "the best damn cha cha ever on this show." I'm not convinced, but upon further reflection, I remember that Benji and Heidi did a "club salsa" and a "mambo" but not a cha cha, so all comparisons to them are, in fact, completely irrelevant. Apparently, salsa technique (Janette's specialty) and cha cha technique are totally different. After a remarkably reserved and articulate critique, Mary gives them two first-class tickets on the hot tamale train and totally loses it. Mia tries to explain her past pissiness off as her recognition that Brandon has great talent and her wanting to be harder on him so that she can drive him to his full capabilities. I think she might just be kinda mean. Or that the producers told her to pick someone random and just skewer them to create some drama on the show. Whatever.

Kayla and Kupono (Sonya Tayeh contemporary): Enjoy your gift, kids. I can't imagine a more favorable combination of style and choreographer for these two dancers at this point in the competition.

• The featurette: Sonya's hopping right onto the pop culture vampire bandwagon with this routine.
• The dance: And, just in case we didn't get it, the song (Blue Foundation's "Eyes on Fire") comes straight off the Twilight soundtrack. I'm loving Kayla in this. Kupono's okay. I'm kind of wishing that he was Mark right now though. Mark + vampires would be absolutely creeptastic! I think they could have done a little more with Kupono's makeup for this one. He does not look all that vampire-ish; his lips aren't red enough.
• The judging: Nigel mention's Twilight and Sonya goes "YES!" in the audience. Lol, that seemed excessive. Nigel says that he's not going to talk about Kayla first because Kupono was so awesome. Ok, whatever. Mary likes it too and wants to know where Kup's beautiful kicks came from. Mia thinks this is Sonya's best piece ever on the show. (I still like "The Garden" better.)

We're 35 minutes in, and only two couples have performed. Oh my freaking heck...

Randy and Evan (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: The couple reflects on their charmed life in this competition (getting assigned jazz, jive, and contemporary routines). And now Broadway! This is Evan's specialty. Ha ha, this Joey chick is hardcore.
• The dance: That opening spin/kick-(cartwheel)-on-the-table thing from Evan was awesome. Evan also looks way hotter than usual tonight. And this routine is eons better than most of Tyce's Broadway routines. Let's lock this Joey lady down! Evan was really good, and Randi was good too.
• The judging: Nigel thinks that their wrists need to be more flexible. Seriously? How does one make one's wrist more flexible in a week? Nigel says Randi did well but that Evan could do more. Mary says she really enjoyed it, but the tone of her voice doesn't sound too convincing. Mia says that since Evan and Randi are short, they need to take the dancing to an even higher level. Mia says Randi's dancing was "a little heavy." Mia also says "good job," but in a way that makes it sound like she's saying "that was the most horrendous piece of crap I've ever seen."

Wow, does Katherine Heigl's The Ugly Truth look terrible, or what?

Caitlin and Jason (Brian Friedman pop jazz):

• The featurette: Jason's personality seems a bit too calm for this show. He's very chill, and chill is rare on SYTYCD. Brian's back! Catlin is an alien who blew up Earth and then comes down to find the last man left with whom she can procreate. Now we're talking.
• The dance: Santigold!! "Creator" is a kick-ass track and it fits this theme well. Caitlin's doing pretty well with her alien role, but Jason's looking really good, even though his role isn't as flashy. Actually, he's kind of killing this. His pop jazz movements are superb. Isn't anyone going to suck this week? Who are we going to put in the bottom three?
• The judging: Nigel thinks Brian comes from another planet. Are those cuts on Jason's face part of his costume? OMG, Nigel just said that Caitlin's outfit makes her look like a "dancing condom." Cat: "Safety first, Nigel." Mary says this doesn't sit right with her. Come on, what's the big deal? How was this any weirder than crash test dummies or vampires or comic books or foxes or transformers or mannequins or any of the other weirdo stuff they've had on this show before? Would we seriously rather watch the same sappy contemporary routines about lovers getting together and then breaking up over and over and over again? I would not.

Jeanine and Phillip (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop): ARE YOU SERIOUS?! They're doing another Nappy-Tabs hip hop routine? They did a Nappy-Tabs routine in week one! This is week four! That means that two of their four routines have been Nappy-Tabs hip hop routines! Come on! I realize that Phillip hasn't been showing that he can do any other style particularly well, but that's no reason to keep serving his specialty up to him.

• The featurette: Phillip describing how he felt when his pants ripped last week was hilarious.
• The dance: Kayne West's "Love Lockdown," get it? Because they're chained together? I appreciate that the addition of this chain must make this whole thing much harder, but the problem is that they're making it look like it's hard. I thought they were going to take each other out for awhile there. I'm not super impressed. Even the parts where they could ignore the chain and just dance for a while didn't seem that great because everything looked so much like what they did in week one.
• The judging: Nigel, however, loves it. Nigel actually uses the term "Nappy-Tabs." I thought that term was kind of derogatory, so I'd been refraining from using it. Mary says that this routine was just so incredibly creative. So to Mary, chains = creative, but aliens = no good. Oookay. Somehow Mary and Nigel both manage to not mention that this couple already did a Nappy-Tabs hip hop routine just weeks ago! Mia, however, thinks the chain made things look sloppy, and I agree. Way to sock it to Nappy-Tabs, Mia!

Melissa and Ade (Thordal Christensen classical/traditional pa de deux):

• The featurette: I guess this is the first "classical" pa de deux because Melissa's going to wear pointe shoes. So obviously this the only couple who could pull this style off, as Melissa is the only pointe dancer. I mean, can you even imagine Phillip trying to do a classical pa de deux?
• The dance: Beautiful. Not as flashy as SYTYCD routines are known to be--just very simple and classy. Excellent lifts. Melissa was lovely and Ade did all right. I would like to see them do a routine sometime that puts more focus on Ade, however. I feel like he's almost always there just to lift Melissa.
• The judging: Nigel almost wets himself over this, and then points out that tonight we've seen aliens impregnate dancers, dancers in chains, and now classical ballet. Mia says that Melissa was brilliant.

And now for a special announcement: Nigel, Adam Shankman, Carrie-Anne Inaba and Katie Holmes (naturally) have established The Dizzy Feet Foundation to benefit young, underprivileged dancers. They are kind of making it sound like no one has ever given scholarships to dancers in need before. In any event, Katie Holmes looks far better here in this interview than she's looked in years. Also involved is the top-notch team of Lil C, Paula Abdul, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, and Debbie Allen. (Debbie is actually top-notch. Miley, not so much.) For more information: DizzyFeetFoundation.org.

Then Nigel announces (to no one's surprise) that SYTYCD's 100th episode on July 23 will include a tribute to Judy Garland choreographed by Tyce Diorio featuring Katie Holmes, who "donated her entire performance fee" to Dizzy Feet. Since when can Katie Holmes demand a performance fee for dancing? She was on freaking Dawson's Creek. That's like Adam Brody showing up on American Idol and expecting to get paid for singing.

Karla and Vitolio (Jean Marc & France Genereux quick step): These poor kids almost got kicked off last week and now they've got to end the show with a quick step!? It sure seems like they are getting thrown under the proverbial bus.

• The featurette: Jonathan looks just as happy sitting in the audience tonight as he did when he was actually in the competition. Vitolio already had to do a ballroom routine; cut this kid a break.
• The dance: I love Karla's polka dot outfit...whoa, and then all of a sudden it turns into a flowy pink dress! I'm no quick step expert, but this looks okay. I'm not sure that the quick step technique was impeccable, but the routine was fun: there was some Charleston and there was a little bit of a story. It was nice. I don't know if it will really inspire people to vote for them though. I think this does prove that Jonathan was holding Karla back a bit.
• The judging: Nigel and Mary both like it. Mia says Jean Marc is a genius and that this piece was amazing. Mia says that at times Vitolio looks like "a wild horse" who cannot be tamed, but sometimes he's great. Vitolio: "It was the kiss of death, but hopefully we made it the kiss of joy." That was a sweet thing to say, Vitolio, but I think it's going to take more than that to keep you out of the bottom three.

Phillip almost took Karla out when they first started to dance during the end credits. Other than that, the end credits dancing was much improved this week.

My favorites: Kayla and Kupono's contemporary, Caitlin and Jason's pop jazz, Randi and Evan's Broadway

Headed for the bottom three: It's kind of a tough one to call this week. I'm thinking Karla and Vitolio, Caitlin and Jason (due solely to the judges' lackluster critiques), and maybe Brandon and Janette (just because they went early and didn't have one of the gimmicky "marquee" routines of the night).