SYTYCD - Top 12 Performance & Results

I've done it again. Time got away from me, so you again get a blended recap. Too much going on these days. Also, I wrote part of this this morning and am doing the rest now, so if it seems a little off, that's why.

It was Top 12 week and each couple did two dances each, which was good because I was having serious anxiety about the amount of filler necessary to fill a two hour show if they were each only doing one.

This was overall a pretty strong night for our gaggle of dancers. There were some definite weak spots, but I don't think anyone came out as a definite 'going home' contender. I think when you looked at ALL the performances there was a clear choice - if only because compared to everyone else they were the last couple standing. Not mentioning names at this point. Everyone had better bring some pretty great solos out for the results show tonight. On to last night's dancing!

Ellenore & Ryan
Lindy Hop by Carla Heiney
'I've Got to be a Rug Cutter' by The Boilermaker Jazz Band

Was this the one Nigel said looked 'twee'? I can't remember and don't have my PVR in front of me. Regardless, this one was 'twee' to me. Well danced and all that, but maybe I just don't get the style. These two are ultimately really talented regardless, I don't think they've got anything to worry about.

Kathryn & Legacy
Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'So Deep' by Hot Chip

You all know I love me some Sonya, and this dance was no exception. I love the fact that she really tailors the dances to her dancers strengths, which really worked well for Legacy in this piece. The two of them mastered the 'photograph moments' where all movement just stops for a second. I love it when those are done well, no shaking, no shifting. It's like a sculpture with momentum. Additionally, Sonya tends to pick music that some might have problems finding the 'musicality' with when dancing. Definitely not a problem with this pair. Really well done. Love me some Legacy, he's become my FAVE dancer at this point.

Karen & Victor
Tango by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
'Montserrat' by Orquesta del Plata

Going into this, I was worried about Victor. He's a soft, flowy, Contemporary dancer. Could he pull off the strength of stature needed here? Definitely. Both Victor and Karen were fully invested in their characters and it showed. Aside from the point Nigel pointed out where Victor's ass was sticking out, the form was solid and held the whole way through. Very dramatic and well done. Thumbs up to the costume department here too. I think Karen had more fabric on her body in this one dance than she's had in all her other dances put together.

Mollee & Nathan
Hip Hop by Jamal Sims
'Ring-a-Ling' by Black Eyed Peas

Maybe this was the one Nigel called 'twee'. Okay - what the heck is 'twee'? It definitely qualified. But not necessarily in a bad way. Considering the concept, I'm not sure this could've been anything other than cute, especially with these two dancing it. It could've been hit harder by both, but overall, it was pretty good. Mollee and Nathan aren't going anywhere and, like the judges, I'm interested to see how they do paired up with other dancers.

Noelle & Russell
Samba by Tony & Melanie
'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira

This is gonna be one of those dances that hurts this pair and may spell an ouster for at least one of them. Russell was in it, but I don't think Noelle was completely comfortable here. I agree - she was a little stiff. We've had the pleasure of seeing some really good Samba's on this show before (both the US and Canadian versions) and this wasn't one of them. Something just felt off the whole way through. Adam was right - it just wasn't 'oogie' enough.

Ashleigh & Jacob
Lyrical Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'Time Flies' by Lykke Li

Admission up front: knowing Sonya's affinity for vampire/Twilight stuff, I had to double check the New Moon soundtrack to see if this was the Lykke Li song used on it. It wasn't. Second admission up front: writing this the day after the show, I'm having a difficult time remembering this piece. I remember thinking it was great at the time, agreeing with Nigel that it was a great piece by Sonya, but I'm drawing a complete blank now. Wait...this was the one where Jacob had to wear the horrid purple pants right? Right. That's all I can remember. So to sum up, it was good, but...it appears...not very memorable. Certainly not as memorable as the earlier Sonya piece, but still good. Ashleigh is proving herself (again) to be very versatile.

Ellenore & Ryan
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'Razzle Dazzle' from Chicago (Original Broadway Cast)

Being the non-Broadway fan I am, I was actually pretty surprised to find myself liking this one. Mostly because it seemed like Ryan was totally channeling Ed Grimley in his movement - made me chuckle the whole way through. Seriously though, this was fun. Two thumbs up for Ellenore & Ryan. Did anyone else pick up a 'goth-y' vibe from this? I liked this very much, and was for once drawn to Ryan's dancing more than Ellenore's. They're both awesome.

Kathryn & Legacy
Viennese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux & France
'Your Guardian Angel' by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Not to go with a theme or anything, but I do love me some Viennese Waltz. Jean-Marc (Com'ON!) and I have bonded over the Viennese Waltz before on the first season of the Canadian show. I agree with the judges that this had some technical issues throughout, but I just thought on a performance level it was lovely. Legacy is just so earnest in everything he does (as evidenced by his teary-ness after this dance) and I love that he wears his dance heart right out there on his sleeve. Going to shout my Legacy love again! Kathryn was definitely the stronger dancer of the two with this, but the pair of them really brought it together.

Karen & Victor
Hip Hop by Laurieann Gibson
'Moving Mountains' by Usher

This one was just a mess for me, flat out. The judges were right in that the music didn't fit the dance at all (which isn't the dancers' fault), the steps seemed messy (which is the dancers' fault), and you all know that Laurieann's choreography just doesn't do it for me. They couldn't move a mole hill with this, much less a mountain. Weakest showing of the night for me. I'm going to come right out and say it - this was badly choreographed but the dancer's didn't even try to bring it. Unfortunate.

Mollee & Nathan
Cancan by Tyce Diorio
'Cancan Suite' by Offenbach/Ponchielli

Okay, this dance really couldn't have been done by any other couple. I was all prepared to hate it, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. Like I said, perfectly tailored for these two with the spins for Nathan and all the cutesy stuff for Mollee. Much better than that Russian Folk horseshit (Bwah!) last year.

Noelle & Russell
Contemporary by Tyce Diorio
'A Case of You' by Diana Krall

It's so much better when Tyce does Contemporary as opposed to Broadway. He has real talent with these pieces. Add to that, the great song choice (original is by Joni Mitchell) and the strength of these dancers together and all in all this was a great performance. Easily made you forget the earlier samba.

Ashleigh & Jacob
Cha Cha by Jean Marc & France
'Cha Cha Heels' by Rosabel feat. Jeanie Tracy

This dance was a great way to end the show and this was pretty much a lock for Ashleigh & Jacob. Right in line with Ashleigh's own style and a great use of Jacob's abilities. Ashleigh rubs me the wrong way a bit, but even I've gotta admit this was hot. She's got great legs - and I loved to watch her enjoy her own style so completely. These two are Top 10 bound and beyond.

RESULTS

Okay, again, I just watched the group number and the results, so Carly's going to have to fill in some of the blanks a bit.

I've decided I much prefer Napoleon & Tabitha's group numbers to their pairs routines. Tonight's group number was awesome. The dance, the props, the costuming, the make-up; all top notch. For a few seconds at the beginning I thought "did they get Wade Robson to choreograph another routine?". Loved the Alice in Wonderland feel. I'll watch this one again (hooray for YouTube!)

Our bottom three couples were Mollee & Nathan (a little surprising), Ellenore & Ryan (slightly more surprising) and Karen & Victor (not really that surprising - not at ALL surprising from this corner).

After much monologuing from Nigel (which I'll rant about in a sec), our evictees tonight are Karen & Victor. Not really surprising (Called it Last Night), but for one thing in regards to the guys, which I intend to rant about...now.

Nigel, in his discussions with the guys, gave Victor a whole heap of praise for his solo and even more for the amount of growth he's experienced this season thus far. Then moving on Nathan, he says Nathan hasn't really shown any growth at all and doesn't really even mention his solo. Yet, it's Victor who's going home. YET - Nigel did say that if it was up to him Nathan would be going home. This wasn't a unanimous decision. The judges need to come to a decision on exactly what kind of show this is. If it is in fact, the search for America's favourite dancer, then I guess they made the right choice tonight seeing as Nathan's probably got a larger fan base. If that's the case though, they need to stop spewing about how 'this is a dance competition' and how the less trained dancers need to work on the technical, because that's clearly not the case.

Que sera, sera. See ya Karen & Victor. Sadly, your paycheques won't extend into the tour.

That's it for this week. You might be seeing more of Carly's posts over the next couple of weeks as next week is vacation prep for me and the following I'll be letting the bon temps rouler in New Orleans. A little cajun flavouring for my birthday this year! Should I mention which birthday it is? Not unless I don't want a Christmas present...LOL

Cheers! Salut!

SYTYCD - Top 14 Performance and Results

Alright kids. I meant to do this earlier, but I came down with a major case of the fuckits. The fuckits generally pop up after a busy day at work, usually immediately post-afternoon-nap. The worst symptom of the fuckits is a general 'don't give a shit-ness' about pretty much anything, so I figured it best to postpone the recap until the symptoms had diminished a bit.

Subsequently, I'm throwing both the performance show and results (the few bits I watched of it) into one post. So here we go.

Best thing about no more tap dancers on SYTYCD? No more mic'ing the stage for the tapping! God that was irritating. It fucked up the sound and threw everything off. Intros rolled along much better. Also, Mary clearly went directly from the taping over to the New Moon premiere in LA that night 'cause she was photographed on the red carpet wearing that exact outfit. How embarrassing! I liked her outfit - worth wearing to two events I think.

On to the dancing!

Ashley & Jacob
Hip Hop by Tabitha & Napoleon
'Whatcha Say' by Jason Derulo

This started off a little messy for me, but they seemed to pull it together really quickly and did a really good job with it. They were sharp and hitting it hard and while these two pretty much scream 'WE'RE NOT HIP HOP DANCERS' they really pulled it off. I'm with the judges in that these two are a lock for the Top 10.

Karen & Kevin
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'If My Friends Could See Me Now' from Sweet Charity, performed by the 2005 Broadway revival cast.

One word for this...BOOOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG. OMG Yes. And did you see Kevin's face? He kept 'remembering' to smile. There wasn't really anything to this routine and I just got a big ole' Debbie Downer 'wah wah' out of it. Next.

Noelle & Russell
Fox Trot by Eddie Simon
'Baby, You've Got What it Takes' by Michael Buble with Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings

This was pretty good. Better for Russell than the first time around, but I think Noelle stood out more. She really seemed to work the lifts and the extensions. Well done all around I'd say, but I'm not sure that these two are destined for Top 10.

Channing & Victor
Jazz by Tyce Diorio
'Blackbird' by Bobby McFerrin

Right off the bat, I'm totally with the judges that the song choice was distracting. Agreed. The concept for the piece was very cool and the dance itself was great but the song took something away from it. There are so many great versions of that song that could've been made to work, it's disappointing that the one chosen took away from the dance. I think Channing and Victor did a good job with this, but it's hard to be objective about the dancing when the music kind of set me off.

Kathryn & Legacy
Paso Doble by Tony Meredith
'Pursuit' from the Cirque du Soleil show 'Ka'

Legacy's on the fast track I'd say. He's pretty clearly in this thing to win it. Whether or not he can - considering he's up against trained dancers - tough to say, but he's doing everything he can to make it happen. He definitely showed it on this piece. Kathryn was pretty good as well, aside from the near miss with her feet at the end, (I internally said 'grab it grab it come on!) but I get the feeling she's riding Legacy's popularity a bit.

Ryan & Ellenore
Contemporary by Travis Wall
'Your Ex-Lover's Dead' by Stars

Oh, Travis Wall. How I do adore you. *le sigh* I want you to be my friend. You make such wonderful art. I just wish you had gotten different dancers for this one. Sorry guys. I've got a permanent case of the fuckits where these two are concerned. I realize Ryan is all popular and shit and Ellenore is great but I Just. Don't. Care. I'm going to forfeit to the judges on this one because I can't be objective about the dancers here. I like the dancers but think these two REALLY benefitted from great choreography tonight.

Mollee & Nathan
Pop-Jazz by Laurieann Gibson
'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga

There was so much working against these two in this dance for me specifically. First, I loathe the song. I think they need to put a permanent ban on Lady Gaga songs on this show, it's so overdone. Secondly, I don't really care for Laurieann's choreography. She does too much 'side-by-side', 'matchy-matchy' dancing and not enough stuff that relies on chemistry and partnering. Did you also notice how far apart Mollee & Nathan were from each other throughout the whole routine? And what the hell were those 'wheels on the bus' moves about? I just don't get it. That being said, Mollee and Nathan did a good job with what they were given here. They were 'matchy-matchy' where they needed to be and hit hard the whole way through. Good job on a bad piece. I was surprised that the judges liked this so much. I was kind of waiting for this routine to be over from about 15 seconds in.

RESULTS!

Okay, straight up, I only watched the group performance (killer!) (Woot! Wade Robson) and fast forwarded to the results at the end. Sometime over the weekend I'll come in and post the music for the solos and stuff so you have them for reference.

The group routine, choreographed by Wade and Amanda Robson was truly awesome. It just goes to show that you don't need the choreographer to explain the theme/story before the dance in order to get it. Truly a great piece. Loved the music choice for this as well. 'Aha!' by Imogen Heap.

Our bottom three couples tonight were Mollee & Nathan, Karen & Kevin and Channing & Victor. Mollee & Nathan were a little surprising, but according to the judges, they really pulled it out with their solos, so they were the first ones in their respective groups sent to safety. I agreed with Nigel's admiration of Mollee's aerial cartwheel drop to the knee move - Wow!

Ultimately going home are Channing and Kevin. Eh. Can't say as I'm all broken up about it. Channing, for all her talent, never really stood out and Kevin's up against a lot of really talented dancers.

So, Goodbye Picadilly, Farewell Leicester Square to Channing and Kevin and hopefully I'll be kissing off the fuckits before next week's show!

Cheers!

SYTYCD - Top 16 Results!

Okay kids, I left my notes at home this morning, so I'm doing this from memory today. I'll come back in and post song info once I get a hold of my notes.

The first results show group dance of the season was an African inspired Hip Hop number choreographed by Dave Scott ('Warrior Pt. 2' by Lloyd Banks). Very, very cool. The dancers were all really in it and it came off really well. For some reason I don't normally go for Dave Scott's stuff, but this was great.

Moving right along, after much (not really) suspense and teasing from Cat, we learn our bottom three this week are Ellenore and Ryan for their lacklustre Hip Hop, Pauline and Peter for their boring Quick Step and Karen and Kevin for their ho-hum Hustle. Hehe...ho-hum Hustle.

I've got to give it to Nigel for giving Nathan a verbal slap upside the head for his stupid comment on performance night. After receiving a series of fairly unflattering critiques, coming back with an 'IT WAS HOT!' struck me as incredibly disrespectful. Especially when he clearly knew his performance was anything but hot. Let's not forget that you're there to learn, boy, so sit your ass down and listen. As inane as the judges can be at times, they do know what they're talking about a good deal of the time and you'd do well to remember that.

We get a performance from three dancers from the Alvin Ailey (sp?) Dance Group which was pretty cool. Yes, I did actually watch it.

Onto solos and...yeah...aside from getting the song names (I'll add those in later), I skipped through these. Probably not a bad decision either, considering the rant they all got from Nigel about not being nearly good enough.

Solo Songs

Ellenore - 'Eleanor' by Alexa Woodward
Ryan - 'Jump With My Baby' by Big Bad VooDoo Daddy
Pauline - 'Took the Night' by Chelley
Peter - No song
Karen - 'Celia Y Tito' by Celia Cruz & Tito Puente
Kevin - 'I Question Mark' by Wade Robson

Have I mentioned that an hour is entirely too long for a results show? I swear this seemed to go on forever and I skipped through a lot. Follow Canada' lead and go for a half-hour version! Moves right along, wham-bam-you're going home-see ya!

Finally, the judges made their decision and Pauline and Peter are going home. Eh, I'm not heartbroken. Although I will miss getting to hear Cat say 'Pauline' the way she does. It's kind of like it should be spelled 'Powline'. Very cute. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get over it.

That's it for this week. Dancers better snap to it for next week, the judges sound like they're getting moody!

SYTYCD - Top 16 Performance!

Happy SYTYCD night! Tonight's Top 16 episode is the first night viewer's from the US can vote on their favourite routines and to celebrate that, Cat Deeley is rockin' the Goth look. And sweet Goddess I'm dying for Cat's shoes! Our Top 16 sashay onto the stage to be introduced (as usual) and the first thing I'm struck by is the incredible awfulness of Ashleigh's pants. Who the hell approved that wardrobe choice? Red, ruffled, gaucho pants? Terrible. Seriously, she looked like she was attacked by a deranged Fraggle.

Next, some information is passed to us about the Dizzyfeet Foundation Gala and who will be performing that night. SYTYCD's Season 5 Top 10, dancer's from ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and crews from America's Best Dance Crew. Mary Murphy will also be dancing some sort of latin routine (Salsa? Samba?) with one of the contestants (Pasha?) from a past SYTYCD season. Sorry about the vagueness, my two year old was colouring on my notes and I had already deleted tonight's show from my PVR. Note to self - Next time - check notes before delete. Maybe Kim can fill in the holes in my details.

Tonight - I'm going to change things up a little bit and list the pair of dancers, the choreographer and music right at the top of each segment, then I'll move on into my thoughts about the performance. This way YOU will be able to find the song titles etc. a bit easier. Or skip them if you like. I'm not going to go over the "thing America should know about" for each dancer, that's just filler and honestly I FFwd through a lot of that stuff.

Karen & Kevin ~ Maria Torres/Hustle ~ Music: 'Come to Me' - France Joli

Right away I'm going to break my rule about not going into the "stuff" portion of each performance: Holy crap! Karen and her husband, who auditioned with her but was cut during Vegas week, decided to DIVORCE after Vegas week. Apparently things hadn't been good for a while, but jeez Karen, fishing for a sympathy vote? Okay, how did I miss this? I didn't hear that at all! Anyhow, the Hustle was one of the last dance styles to come out of the 70's Disco era, and why they didn't leave it there I don't know. I just don't get it. While the music was upbeat, I wasn't dancing along in my seat. Something was missing here. The dancers seemed to get it, and had the choreography down but there was no real feeling and energy was low. Lifts were all done well, though the 'death drop' spins looked and felt awkward, and Kevin had a noticeably nervous look on his face with each 'drop'. I'm still not feeling like there's anything special about Karen, though the judges disagree. Kevin again got shuffled off to the side as Karen received the lion's share of the praise. And there was praise, but nothing said by the judges indicated that this was a spectacular performance.

Ashleigh & Jakob ~ Mandy Moore/Jazz ~ Music: 'Relax' - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

The first routine tonight to use a prop of some sort (and there were a few this evening). Mandy Moore has worked a cane into the movement and wants it to be used not to hold up the dancers but as an extension of their bodies. Overall I liked this. Instead of feeling awkward, the cane really worked, and the costuming was great. Ashleigh is really starting to grow on me and looked fabulous tonight, especially her hair. I still don't like her personally, but she is a great dancer. There were a couple, super brief moments where the cane tangled them up a bit, but A&J moved on so smoothly that I almost didn't notice at all. I loved the fact that these two dancers were within inches of each other throughout the routine. There was a co-ordination of movement that really showed off their talent. This was fun to watch, the chemistry was good and I think I can safely say that these two, even if they won't be the TOP couple tonight (and they won't), will be safe for another week. Though now that I've written that down, they may be doomed.

Pauline & Peter ~ JT & Tomas - NEW!/Quickstep (or Dreaded Dance of Doom 'DDD') ~ Music: 'Hey Baby! (Shake Those Hula Hips)' - Big Kahuna & The Copa Cat Pack

Our dancers are dressed as an army guy and a hula girl, which suits the 40's war era style of music. Pauline really doesn't have the 'hula hip' action I think she needs here. She's awfully stiff and not smooth and flow-y as I think hula dancers should be. Peter's got some good energy and a big smile on his face, like he's loving every minute of this routine. The actual quickstep steps, though I'm certainly no expert, don't seem quite right and feel almost as though they are a half beat behind where they should be. I have to agree with the judges on this one and say where the technique could have used more polishing, the enjoyment the dancers obviously had performing this routine made up for it.

Kathryn & Legacy ~ Andy Blankenbuehler/Broadway ~ Music: 'I Wanna Be Like You' - Swingin' Fireballs

First of all, I love the choice of music, which is actually from the Disney movie 'The Jungle Book' and not 'Tarzan' as Adam mentioned. (I double checked - Adam did say 'Jungle Book') This was Fun Fun FUN to watch. I'm constantly amazed at how well Legacy is doing with whatever style gets thrown at him. The props in this routine worked too, from the beer can to the hat and arm chair. These accessories didn't weigh down the routine at all (which we'll see later on tonight). I will say that in some parts, I noticed a lack of chemistry between Kathryn & Legacy, which seems odd considering that chemistry has been so good in the past two weeks. The minute the judges mentioned that Kathryn's performance seemed a bit juvenile I said "Ohhh that's what was wrong". I went back and immediately re-watched the number (thanks to the miracle of PVR) and agreed with the judges assessment. Kathryn didn't seem like she was taking the character seriously enough. While the whole routine was supposed to be fun, if she had maybe vamped it up a little bit, instead of playing like a little girl, a missing piece would have been filled in.

Channing & Victor ~ Stacey Tookey/Contemporary ~ Music: 'Be Be Your Love (Live at KCRW)' - Rachael Yamagata

In a piece themed around a toxic relationship, Channing & Victor proved that in their own style they can really shine. Victor really didn't need to prove this, but Channing certainly did. I FINALLY like something Channing performed, and her chemistry with Victor seems to click. Much better than it did with Phillip anyway. There were some really beautiful examples of contemporary movement. I have to wonder though, if that can be put down more to the genius of Stacey Tookey's choreography (Yay for Canadian choreographers!), than to the talent of the dancers. Because while this was really lovely and enjoyable to watch, it wasn't all that memorable. Channing still gives off more of a clunky athlete vibe, rather than a graceful dancer. A good routine, but just that...Good. Again - I agree with the judges assessment when they said that Channing & Victor, in their own style were expected to be good and so they should have given us something Incredible.

Ellenore & Ryan ~ Lil C/Hip Hop ~ Music: 'Lost Boiz Anthem' - The J Squad

This had such potential, but from the minute I saw Lil C trying to teach swagger to our favourite ballroom guy, I dreaded the result. Dressed as bank robbers (though in white? huh?) and tossing around money bags, this had the opportunity to be really awesome. Here is where the use of props becomes laboured and a hindrance (much like the tennis rackets last week). The money bags led to some really clutzy moments and it immediately felt as though Ellenore & Ryan were SO concerned about catching the bags they forgot about character and the mood of the piece. Luckily the bags were discarded just a few seconds into the piece. I thought that Ryan & Ellenore worked really hard at pulling this off. I enjoyed the effort, but a few things just seemed off. Ryan is WAY too tall- the length of his arms and legs seemed to get in the way. There was a stiffness to his movement (most likely the result of his ballroom training) that I just couldn't let go of. Ellenore's movement certainly had more swagger but instead of coming off as hard hitting, just felt sloppy. There was NO synchronicity from the very start and they couldn't pull it together. This was the first time watching Ryan, that I KNEW I was watching a ballroom dancer trying to perform in a different genre. While Adam & Mary tried to hand out some good critique with the not so good, Nigel was having none of that and said flat out that he didn't like this routine At All. Oh dear - one of our dream teams fell flat this week. Let's hope they'll get another chance to prove themselves. I have a theory about this one...I've never seen them have Lil' C choreograph in anything other than Krump. I'm thinking these two originally pulled Krump and when they came to the realization that these two weren't going to be able to get dirty enough for it, dialled it back to Hip Hop.

Mollee & Nathan ~ Gustavo Vargas - NEW!/Salsa ~ Music: 'Quimbara' - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco

Gustavo Vargas is a new choreographer to SYTYCD US, but those of us loyal Canadian watchers will recognize him from SYTYCD Canada ~ Again YAY! for Canadian Choreographers. Gustavo's routines on the last Canadian season proved he's an exceptionally talented choreographer and our American friends should love what he has to offer. I was certainly excited to see what Mr. Vargas would give our Teen Dream couple to work with. And well...uhhh I...well this just didn't work. At All. While I believed Nathan more than I did Mollee, neither dancer sold this. Sloppy moves, no real sexy salsa hip action, missed & messy hand holds, no sync between the dancers and the end lift was awkward to say the least. From step one this was a mess. I won't go so far to give it my ultimate bad critique of "White Hot Mess" - it was bad, and the judges agreed with me. Mollee and Nathan should be worried.

Noelle & Russell ~ Sean Cheesman - NEW!/Afro-Jazz ~ Music: 'Frog Dance' - Mickey Hart & Planet Drum

WoooHoooo! Another fabulous Canadian choreographer - what a night for Canada! This style (a mix of African tribal and Jazz techniques) has been used on seasons past of SYTYCD Canada and is really fun to watch, so excitement filled my brain waiting for this to begin. I wasn't disappointed! Russell playing the role of the Frog Prince and Noelle as the African Princess were So Much Fun to watch. I loved how Russell threw such joy into the whole routine. The smile on his face the whole way through made my night. Noelle was great as well, but I do think she's going to have to work very hard to outshine Russell's star. The tribal movements were well executed and the flips and tricks were amazing. The tumbling roundabout was incredible. Obviously my favourite routine of the night - can you tell? The judges agreed and congratulated Sean Cheesman for bringing this new style to SYTYCD so successfully. While the judges called Russell the King of Afro-Jazz, I'd have to say I disagree and say that title belongs to Mr. Cheesman.

So here we are at the end, and I'm going to make some predictions regarding the bottom three couples. Please don't make any bets on my guesses though, I'm certainly no prognosticator. I'd have to say that there are two couples tonight that have a VERY good chance of being in the bottom 3, and they would be Mollee & Nathan and Ryan & Ellenore. However - all of these dancers are fan favourites, so we may be surprised by one or both of these couples making it through. The third couple in the bottom tonight was, for me, Pauline & Peter. They pulled the 'DDD' and while the performance aspect of their routine was good, I don't think it was good enough. Unfortunately for Pauline & Peter, I believe that if they end up in the bottom 3 this will be the end of the line. Both have been selected by the judges to be in the bottom previously , and at this point how many chances can they be given?

That's it for me dance fans. Kim will be back later to expound on the results show. Have a lovely week!

SYTYCD - Top 18 Performance and Results!

I'm back! After a week like no other (for various good and bad reasons) I'm back on for blogging.

So we're here for the Top 18, and like last week, we're doing all the performances as well as judges' eliminations all in one night. I gotta admit, I kind of like this format...moves things along at a good clip that's for sure.

Before we get into performances, some good news from Nigel; Billy Bell - who left the Top 20 due to illness - will be allowed to re-enter the competition in Season 7 during the Top 100 in Vegas. Additionally, Brandon - who stepped in in Billy's absence - will be allowed to try out again in Season 7, even though he technically made the Top 20.

First dance of the night is Noelle and Russell who've drawn a Jamal Sims Hip Hop number to 'Move Shake Drop Remix' by DJ Laz, Flo Rida, Casely. It's tennis themed and the dancers each have tennis raquets. I sort of thought there was just too much going on in this dance and it ended up looking kind of messy. It started out okay. They were both really strong in the beginning but then it went all over the place. I honestly think there was too much 'stuff' in the choreography. The judges were kind of meh about the whole thing too.

Next up was Ashley and Jacob doing a Viennese Waltz choreographed by Tony and Melanie to 'At Last' by Etta James. Is anyone else completely over this song? It's just been so overdone. The judges really liked this but I just couldn't get enthusiastic about it. Maybe the song wrecked it for me, but I just didn't like it.

Following that was Bianca and Victor. They got a Tyce Broadway number to 'Maybe God is Trying to Tell You Something' from The Color Purple soundtrack. I could see where Tyce was trying to go with this, but I don't think B&V pulled this off. It just seemed like they were way too focused on hitting all the steps just so and it lost the performance factor. Had they just let go a bit it would have been excellent. As it was, it was just okay.

Then we had Mollee and Nathan doing a Bollywood routine by Nakul Dev Mahajan. The song was 'Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah' from the Jodhaa Akbar soundtrack. These two are just too cute, aren't they. I generally prefer when they do Bollywood as a group routine, but this was really good. Nathan does these cool spins and then just stops on one foot and stays there. Very cool. I think they both have the potential to go really far in this competition. Nathan's been one of my faves right from the start. The judges thought it was fantastic.

Channing and Philip came next with a Tony and Melanie Samba to 'Maracatu Funk' by The Samba Squad. Channing was clearly the stronger of the two in this piece. I totally agreed with the judges when they said the lifts seemed labored. There were parts when it was almost like the stopped to calculate what was going to happen next. It was pretty obvious that they weren't comfortable with this piece.

Next up was Karen and Kevin doing a Hip Hop number choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha to 'Ice Cream Paint Job' by Dorrough. Yeah, I don't think anyone will be unhappy with the wardrobe department for putting Karen in that cat suit. The woman just exudes sex all over the place and I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I gotta say, Kevin could be a complete screw up and no one would notice, 'cause everyone's watching Karen. The dancing is really strong and shows just how weak the earlier Hip Hop piece was. In addition to last week's 'AOOGAH's from Adam, this week he's falling out of his chair over Karen. Dude cracks me up all the time.

Contemporary is up now with Catherine and Legacy doing a Stacey Tookey piece to '2 Steps Away' by Patti LaBelle. Yay Stacey Tookey! She's probably the strongest choreographer from the Canadian series and her pieces are always excellent. This one was no different. Great, great dance. That sideways leap that Legacy does to wrap around Catherine's waist is just outstanding. There's just some wonderful movement here that is executed so well. Legacy is really growing on me. The judges love it and are almost teary over Legacy's growth.

Up next is Pauline and Pete with a Jazz/Contemporary/somethingorother routine by Wade Robson. Yay Wade! They're dancing to 'Little Green Bag' by the George Baker Selection, which is ironic because I think Wade was dipping into the 'Little Bag of Green' when coming up with this one. I just love it when Wade's whacked out. Loved this piece. The dancing was excellent. All the little moves stayed little and sharp and the bigger moves were surprising in contrast. Costuming, props, stage...whole thing was fantastic. The judges think that some viewers may not get it (which is a fairly consistent comment from the judges with Wade's stuff), but I think they will. My favourite of the show.

Finally we had Ellenore and Ryan doing an Argentine Tango by Miriam LaRici and Leonardo Barrionuevo to 'Violentango' by Astor Piazzolla. Are these the same choreographers that did the Matrix-y Paso Doble last season? I think they are. Anyway, these two danced this fabulously. Especially when you consider that Ellenore's dress was caught on the heel of her shoe for at least half of the routine. At first I thought that was intentional - it sort of worked! They were both so focused and in it that it was like she didn't even notice the wardrobe malfunction. Great, great job.

Then it was up to the judges to determine the bottom two guys and girls (because apparently we're throwing tradition to the wind and not basing it on paired couples like it's supposed to be at this stage in the game) and after much yammering from Nigel we learn that Noelle, Bianca, Philip and Victor are in the bottom. Not such a good night for the tappers.

Solos, solos, solos....Songs are below:

Noelle - 'For a Reason' by Zhane
Victor - 'Navras' from The Matrix Revolutions soundtrack
Bianca - 'Tootsee Roll' by 69 Boyz
Philip - 'Almost Like Being in Love' by Nat 'King' Cole

And going home tonight are....Bianca and Philip! Bianca looks a little pissed. Philip is gracious and holds it together really well, especially considering his father died a week and a half ago. That's really impressive, sincerely. The safe group is losing it off stage.

And that was that. Things are all back to normal next week with the viewers voting on the dancers and an actual results show - Yay for group routines! While I usually skip through the majority of the results shows, I always look forward to the group routines and I've missed them in this compressed format.

We'll be back next week for the Top 16 and, if I have time, I'll try and find some performance show spoilers and post them here.

And for those who may be interested, I posted a quick post U2 show report on my blog and will be posting a full review (hopefully with pictures) fairly shortly.

Cheers!