Finally! We’re on to competition shows!
As we introduce the Top 20, it’s pretty clear there’s already some favourites based on the audience reaction...it’ll be interesting to see if that remains the same by the end of the night.
Nigel’s Twitter mentioned something about a pretty clear bottom two or three tonight, so I’m quite excited to see what happens.
Tonight on the judging panel are Adam Shankman (yay!), Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe. After some idle chit chat, Cat goes into the spiel about how the voting works for the first five weeks and gives us a reminder of the road to this point.
Up first are Jeanine and Phillip. They’re doing hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. It’s basically about not going to sleep mad. I realize this is only the first dance of the season, but I get a little bored with T&N’s incessant need to have a story attached to the dance. I feel the same way - oooh look, I said, an angst ridden couple... now here's something we haven't seen before.
Aaaanyway, Jeanine and Phillip are dancing to ‘Mad’ by Ne-yo. First impression is that Jeanine is actually sharper than Phillip on this. They’re definitely taking advantage of Phillip’s popping skill, but Jeanine’s definitely holding her own. Which is exactly what Adam says! I don’t know that I would call it ‘unbelievable’, but it was a good start. Mary does her usual fake-out and ups the volume with her praise. I guess we couldn’t really start the season without it. Nigel thought Jeanine was fantastic and made a great impression. I thought they were fantastically in sync, and was really pleased with how they both performed.
Next up is Asuka and Vitolio doing Broadway with Tyce Diorio. The set-up is that it’s a scene with a director and an actress. Looks like they’re having some struggles in rehearsal, so hopefully it turns out okay.
They’re dancing to ‘Hot Honey Rag’ from the musical ‘Chicago’. Carra’s already sold on this one just for that I’d bet. Right off the bat they seem very in sync. Damn! Vitolio’s got some long ass limbs! There’s lots of energy and they both seem pretty ‘in’ to their respective parts. Adam thinks it felt artificial but it was ultimately danced technically well. Mary’s a little disappointed because they both played it safe. Nigel thought the dancing was strong and the lines were great but thinks they didn’t put their personalities into it. I admit, I loved the choice of music! Of course, it's from Chicago, what's not to like! But that's where it stopped for me. The whole routine came off on the flat side, and I agreed with the judges that there was no life, no personality, to it. This is on my list for the Bottom 3.
Now we’re featuring Karla and Jonathan. Tony Meredith is teaching them the Cha Cha this week. Karla thinks it’s going to be easy. That might not be a good omen. Haven't they heard? Have they not watched before when we've been reminded that none of this is as easy as it looks?
Ugh. They’re dancing to ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga. Are we not over her yet? I’m not getting much of a connection between the two and they’re a little hesitant it seems. It’s like she doesn’t fully trust him to catch her at the right times. And he needs a little more oomph. Adam thought it was good/awesome but thinks Jonathan needs a little more flexibility. Mary screams for him and makes some really uncomfortable sexual innuendos that I can’t comment on. Nigel said they exploded with chemistry. Huh, what do I know. This one was not one of my favorites of the night, and it's Bottom 3 for me.
Now we’ve got Randi (she of the unitards!) and Evan. Tyce is back for them with a Jazz piece. He talks a lot about emotion and sensuality. For some reason I think they’re going to pull this off really well. I think it's funny that she's squeamish about this because she's married. Again, I say, if you watched the show before you came out to audition, you would know that the possibility of dancing with a boy is pretty high, so it may be something you want to work out with your husband first...
They’re dancing to ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ by Jamie Cullum. Evan just fits this kind of music. They seem to have gotten over any qualms they had about the sensuality because they’re both really into it. Randi looks great out of the unitard and in a dress and Evan looks equally great in a more casual look. Adam says they danced tall and loved their connection. Mary says they started low on her radar at the end of Vegas, but they’ve jumped to the top with their ‘smoldering’. Nigel thought it was fantastic and praises their control. I really liked this number, and I think they have a terrific partnership.
Up next is Paris and Tony. I’m really interested to see how Tony does. Oh, wait, I’m less interested because they’re doing hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon, so it’s less of a challenge for him.
They’re song selection is ‘Let the Beat Rock (Boys Noize Megamix)’ by The Black Eyed Peas. I’m not pleased with the costume department on this one. And the choreography is too flowy for me. It’s kind of dull. Which isn’t really a problem with the dancers. They both seem competent with this, I just wish the choreography was better. Adam thought it was good and didn’t like the costumes (we’re so in tune, Adam and I). He also said it was a little mush. Mary doesn’t think it’s memorable and wasn’t aggressive enough. Nigel agrees with Mary and thinks there’s definite room to grow. I thought Paris was too smiley for this, it needed to be a bit rougher. This one hits the Bottom 3 for me tonight.
Caitlyn and Jason are on next with a Bollywood number choreographed by Nakul (if anyone caught his last name, please leave it in the comments! I don’t have a hope in hell of getting it right!). There’s a lot of technicalities with this and looks like it will be a bit of a challenge.
Of course, they’re dancing to ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire. This has apparently become the go to song for anything related to Indian culture. They both seem really together from the start. They fall out of it here and there, but this is a really challenging piece for week one, so I’m fairly certain that’ll be forgiven. The dance ends with a kiss and a bow. I’d say they pulled this one off pretty well. Adam is up out of his seat saying they rocked. He praises Jason’s hand work and says Caitlyn blew it out. Mary’s yelling some more, praising Caitlyn’s hand stand and Jason’s charisma. Nigel thinks they brought it tonight and thought it was beautiful. Likely my favorite performance of the evening. I always enjoy when they bring Bollywood on the show, and I imagine it's a pretty difficult routine to learn. I like them as a team, and I thought they did great!
Now we’ve got Janette and Brandon. This seems like a powerhouse pairing. They’re both really strong dancers. They’re doing a Louis Van Amstel Fox Trot. They’re going to have to be really smooth with this and it looks like it was a little challenging in rehearsal.
They’re dancing to ‘Come Fly With Me’ by Michael Buble. I have no business critiquing technicalities with this but their form seems pretty solid and they seem to have the feel down. There’s a great lift at the end that they do really well. I LOVED the end, it was fantastic! Seems like (to me anyway) that they managed to work out the kinks they had during rehearsal. Adam makes a thinly veiled pass at Brandon and praises them for a lovely dance. Mary admits to botoxing her forehead into an expressionless stupor (explains why she has to scream so much) and has everyone killing themselves laughing. Once we get through that, we find out she loved the dance with no shortage of screaming. Nigel praises Janette’s carriage and Brandon’s framework, but says he needs to work on his smaller moves.
Next up is Ashley and Kupono. Yay! It’s a Jazz number choreographed by Wade Robson. Double yay! There’s a story about crash test dummies and living like you’ve never been hurt...but I just really wanna see the dance! Hear, hear! I can't wait!
As we introduce the Top 20, it’s pretty clear there’s already some favourites based on the audience reaction...it’ll be interesting to see if that remains the same by the end of the night.
Nigel’s Twitter mentioned something about a pretty clear bottom two or three tonight, so I’m quite excited to see what happens.
Tonight on the judging panel are Adam Shankman (yay!), Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe. After some idle chit chat, Cat goes into the spiel about how the voting works for the first five weeks and gives us a reminder of the road to this point.
Up first are Jeanine and Phillip. They’re doing hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. It’s basically about not going to sleep mad. I realize this is only the first dance of the season, but I get a little bored with T&N’s incessant need to have a story attached to the dance. I feel the same way - oooh look, I said, an angst ridden couple... now here's something we haven't seen before.
Aaaanyway, Jeanine and Phillip are dancing to ‘Mad’ by Ne-yo. First impression is that Jeanine is actually sharper than Phillip on this. They’re definitely taking advantage of Phillip’s popping skill, but Jeanine’s definitely holding her own. Which is exactly what Adam says! I don’t know that I would call it ‘unbelievable’, but it was a good start. Mary does her usual fake-out and ups the volume with her praise. I guess we couldn’t really start the season without it. Nigel thought Jeanine was fantastic and made a great impression. I thought they were fantastically in sync, and was really pleased with how they both performed.
Next up is Asuka and Vitolio doing Broadway with Tyce Diorio. The set-up is that it’s a scene with a director and an actress. Looks like they’re having some struggles in rehearsal, so hopefully it turns out okay.
They’re dancing to ‘Hot Honey Rag’ from the musical ‘Chicago’. Carra’s already sold on this one just for that I’d bet. Right off the bat they seem very in sync. Damn! Vitolio’s got some long ass limbs! There’s lots of energy and they both seem pretty ‘in’ to their respective parts. Adam thinks it felt artificial but it was ultimately danced technically well. Mary’s a little disappointed because they both played it safe. Nigel thought the dancing was strong and the lines were great but thinks they didn’t put their personalities into it. I admit, I loved the choice of music! Of course, it's from Chicago, what's not to like! But that's where it stopped for me. The whole routine came off on the flat side, and I agreed with the judges that there was no life, no personality, to it. This is on my list for the Bottom 3.
Now we’re featuring Karla and Jonathan. Tony Meredith is teaching them the Cha Cha this week. Karla thinks it’s going to be easy. That might not be a good omen. Haven't they heard? Have they not watched before when we've been reminded that none of this is as easy as it looks?
Ugh. They’re dancing to ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga. Are we not over her yet? I’m not getting much of a connection between the two and they’re a little hesitant it seems. It’s like she doesn’t fully trust him to catch her at the right times. And he needs a little more oomph. Adam thought it was good/awesome but thinks Jonathan needs a little more flexibility. Mary screams for him and makes some really uncomfortable sexual innuendos that I can’t comment on. Nigel said they exploded with chemistry. Huh, what do I know. This one was not one of my favorites of the night, and it's Bottom 3 for me.
Now we’ve got Randi (she of the unitards!) and Evan. Tyce is back for them with a Jazz piece. He talks a lot about emotion and sensuality. For some reason I think they’re going to pull this off really well. I think it's funny that she's squeamish about this because she's married. Again, I say, if you watched the show before you came out to audition, you would know that the possibility of dancing with a boy is pretty high, so it may be something you want to work out with your husband first...
They’re dancing to ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ by Jamie Cullum. Evan just fits this kind of music. They seem to have gotten over any qualms they had about the sensuality because they’re both really into it. Randi looks great out of the unitard and in a dress and Evan looks equally great in a more casual look. Adam says they danced tall and loved their connection. Mary says they started low on her radar at the end of Vegas, but they’ve jumped to the top with their ‘smoldering’. Nigel thought it was fantastic and praises their control. I really liked this number, and I think they have a terrific partnership.
Up next is Paris and Tony. I’m really interested to see how Tony does. Oh, wait, I’m less interested because they’re doing hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon, so it’s less of a challenge for him.
They’re song selection is ‘Let the Beat Rock (Boys Noize Megamix)’ by The Black Eyed Peas. I’m not pleased with the costume department on this one. And the choreography is too flowy for me. It’s kind of dull. Which isn’t really a problem with the dancers. They both seem competent with this, I just wish the choreography was better. Adam thought it was good and didn’t like the costumes (we’re so in tune, Adam and I). He also said it was a little mush. Mary doesn’t think it’s memorable and wasn’t aggressive enough. Nigel agrees with Mary and thinks there’s definite room to grow. I thought Paris was too smiley for this, it needed to be a bit rougher. This one hits the Bottom 3 for me tonight.
Caitlyn and Jason are on next with a Bollywood number choreographed by Nakul (if anyone caught his last name, please leave it in the comments! I don’t have a hope in hell of getting it right!). There’s a lot of technicalities with this and looks like it will be a bit of a challenge.
Of course, they’re dancing to ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire. This has apparently become the go to song for anything related to Indian culture. They both seem really together from the start. They fall out of it here and there, but this is a really challenging piece for week one, so I’m fairly certain that’ll be forgiven. The dance ends with a kiss and a bow. I’d say they pulled this one off pretty well. Adam is up out of his seat saying they rocked. He praises Jason’s hand work and says Caitlyn blew it out. Mary’s yelling some more, praising Caitlyn’s hand stand and Jason’s charisma. Nigel thinks they brought it tonight and thought it was beautiful. Likely my favorite performance of the evening. I always enjoy when they bring Bollywood on the show, and I imagine it's a pretty difficult routine to learn. I like them as a team, and I thought they did great!
Now we’ve got Janette and Brandon. This seems like a powerhouse pairing. They’re both really strong dancers. They’re doing a Louis Van Amstel Fox Trot. They’re going to have to be really smooth with this and it looks like it was a little challenging in rehearsal.
They’re dancing to ‘Come Fly With Me’ by Michael Buble. I have no business critiquing technicalities with this but their form seems pretty solid and they seem to have the feel down. There’s a great lift at the end that they do really well. I LOVED the end, it was fantastic! Seems like (to me anyway) that they managed to work out the kinks they had during rehearsal. Adam makes a thinly veiled pass at Brandon and praises them for a lovely dance. Mary admits to botoxing her forehead into an expressionless stupor (explains why she has to scream so much) and has everyone killing themselves laughing. Once we get through that, we find out she loved the dance with no shortage of screaming. Nigel praises Janette’s carriage and Brandon’s framework, but says he needs to work on his smaller moves.
Next up is Ashley and Kupono. Yay! It’s a Jazz number choreographed by Wade Robson. Double yay! There’s a story about crash test dummies and living like you’ve never been hurt...but I just really wanna see the dance! Hear, hear! I can't wait!
This dance is set to ‘Felt Mountain’ by Goldfrapp. There’s a lot of props happening here. Hmmm...I’m liking this...but I can see some people not liking it. The movement is well matched to the music. Both dancers seem to be doing really well with it. The movements are sharp when they need to be and soft when they need to be. Adam thought it was weird but praises their technique and calls Wade a sick puppy. Mary was fully on the trip with Wade and bought it from the dancers 100%. Nigel calls Wade a genius (fully agree) and says both dancers ‘got’ their characters. Honestly, we need more Wade on this show. His pieces are always killer, never the same thing twice. This one rocked.
Now we’ve got Melissa and Ade. They’re doing Contemporary with Mandy Moore (the choreographer) (never to be mistaken...) . Melissa calls it ‘Dirty Twister’. Which kind of creeps me out...
They’re dancing to ‘Right Here Waiting’ by Richard Marx, which is a song I probably haven’t heard since I was, oh, 13! (And no, I’m not saying how long ago that was!) But just for the record, in case anyone is doing the math, the song was big in 1989... They’ve both got the movements down; hands and feet are where they need to be when they need to be there. I think Melissa’s ballet training is really helping here and Ade is definitely a strong guy. I’m not sure about the chemistry with these two....it might be there...but I’m not completely sold. Adam is tearing up calling this dance ‘special’ and ‘big’. Mary just screams and says it was believable and flowing and beautiful. Nigel says it was very well done. I have to say, this one didn't work for me. I thought the choreography was just too fast for the music and it didn't flow. But based on the judges reactions, I'm pretty sure they will make it though.
Finally we’ve got Kayla and Max doing a Samba choreographed by Louis Van Amstel, who’s actually known Max for a while. He’s not holding back with this and they both seem pretty confident.
They’re dancing to ‘Jum Bah Day’ by The House of Gypsies. This is Max’s forte, so there doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about with him. Kayla looks amazing - wow! did she ever! - and seems to be all over this routine. They’ve really got this down. I’m suitably impressed. Adam is reeling with enthusiasm over how good this was. He can’t sit still. Mary is Amen’ing all over this thing, standing ‘O’, screaming, tamale train. Can someone feed her some new schtick? Nigel is very impressed and calls it truly sensational. I have to admit, Mary had me laughing... I know, I know, it's all been done before, but there's something about the familiarity of it all that I enjoy. I thought this performance was hot hot hot!
So that’s it for the dancers. Predictions for the bottom three? I’d say probably Paris & Tony, Karla & Jonathan...and maybe Asuka & Vitolio. Although I wouldn’t be completely shocked if Kupono and Ashley were there; some people just won’t get that dance. Ooooh look, we picked the same ones!
A pretty good first show overall. What did you all think? Let us know in the comments!
Carra’s comments will be up in not too long and I’ll be back to recap the results tomorrow night.
Cheers! x2
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