Good Day to All! I had a busy night last night - with 2 hours of SYTYCD, 2 hours of Biggest Loser finale and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince all in my TV watching lineup. I made it through the marathon and am here now to recap the Top 8 performances for you.
I must say that I am a big fan of Cat Deeley and her fabulous wardrobe & makeup people, but they must have been suffering from an egg nog hangover last night. What the hell was she wearing? Some sort of silver/pewter lame jumpsuit shorts mess. Ugh. Her hair wasn't much better, looking a lot like she just rolled out of bed and hit the stage without brushing it.
Anyhow, on to tonight's show. Ashleigh was conspicuously absent from the dancer intro portion of the show, but that mystery was cleared up right away. Ashleigh dislocated her shoulder during rehearsals and while she said she felt well enough to dance, TPTB wouldn't clear her to perform in the show. This is critical because this is the last show before next week's finale. My brain automatically went into a spiral of confusion - Finale? Last season they whittled down the contestants to the Final 4 before the finale. We (Kim & I) think it's because they didn't want to have the finale week the same week as Christmas, but who knows really. Well, Nigel Lithgow & Co. do I suppose.
Onward to the performances. A reminder that each couple is a NEW pairing tonight, and will be dancing two separate routines. As well each dancer with be performing a solo. I'm going to try to pay attention to the solos tonight, because I think that they may be the deciding factor with some voters.
Kathryn & Ryan
'Last Dance (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Donna Summer
Doriana Sanchez/Disco
In the first routine of the night my favourite female was paired with the Prince of Ballroom for a fast paced Disco routine. Is there such thing as a slow or moderately paced disco routine? These two dancers seemed to do well together, though Kathryn looked tiny next to Ryan's great height. Watching this, I could certainly feel the energy they were trying to get across, but something just didn't feel right. Maybe Nigel was right and Ryan wasn't loose enough or something. As usual, Ryan's partnering was great but I'm losing my enthusiasm for him. Certainly he has proven that he can be every girl's dream partner. They don't need to worry that he'll ever drop them in a lift for instance. But - and this may be a big BUT, whenever his partnering skills aren't necessarily needed (such as in a hip hop routine or his solos) Ryan falters. He's a good dancer, but not as versatile as the others. Kathryn is, as usual, beautiful - with graceful lines and seemingly effortless movement. A good routine, but it left me feeling slightly 'meh'. I also have to disagree with Adam Shankman and say that Ryan's sequined pants were awful - it looked like he had been attacked by a drunken bejeweller.
Mollee & Jakob
'Ordinary Day' - Vanessa Carlton
Jason Gilkison/Viennese Waltz
I'm not exactly sure what makes a Viennese Waltz - Viennese. Though I get the impression that this means it is less structured than a traditional waltz. While Jason says that the story of this routine is that Jakob is Mollee's friend who is trying to help her get back her mojo - watching the routine I don't know that I got that. Maybe I missed something? That said, this was a very pretty routine. The tricks throughout the number worked and Mollee & Jakob made this seem effortless. The 'butterfly' flips (I think that's what they are called) in particular were awesome. Mollee continues to redeem herself, but I'm growing weary of the judges talking about her 'growth' as a performer. Jakob just can't take a wrong step, and is an incredible dancer but for some reason I just can't work up a lot of feeling for him. He kind of leaves me with the blahs - not sure why. I was kind of expecting a train wreck but I was pleasantly surprised. A pretty routine - but for me not the most memorable.
Solo: Ashleigh Song: None because the poor girl can't dance tonight. They bring her out anyway to remind us how sad it is that she can't perform. Then we get her # to call? I was surprised they didn't show any past dance footage for Ashleigh, but it was perhaps determined to be unfair?
Ellenore & Legacy
'Machine Gun' - Portishead
Travis Wall/Contemporary
It was explained to us that the story here is about two assassins - who are married - who have been hired to kill each other. Uhhh Mr. & Mrs. Smith anyone? I'm not sure if they left the title of that obvious inspiration out on purpose because of some sort of copyright/licensing rules or if Travis/Ellenore/Legacy just didn't get the connection. Anyhooo - I LOVED this, from the choreography to the music, from the dancers to their dancing.. After a worried moment spent wondering if this was going to be another 'desk' routine this moved into a perfect combination of Ellenore's contemporary skill and Legacy's B-boy athleticism. Rough & tumble, exciting and effortless. I could watch this again and again (and I probably will). I totally agreed with Nigel's assertion that the danger in this routine made it an incredible experience to watch. And really - I'm not just saying this because Legacy is my favourite contestant - honest. Travis Wall certainly is a choreographer to be watched in the future.
Solo: Jakob Song: 'When You Say My Name' - Mario Spinetti
And this is just another contemporary solo to me. Spins & flips and expressive grabbing at nothing.
Russell & Rachel (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Too Much Booty 2 (Bobby J Remix)' - Soundmaster T & Jah-Rista feat Korveil
Shane Sparks/Hip Hop
Okay I hope I'm not going to offend Shane Sparks' assistant Rachel here but I think Russell didn't suffer for having her as a substitute for Ashleigh. I know we're not supposed to be judging Rachel, but if we were I don't think she'd come off very well. She seemed really sloppy to me. Russell rocked this start to finish. He hit each movement hard and with precision. It was great to be able to focus on a single dancer throughout this routine - and really pay attention to how well this was done by that one dancer. Is anyone getting the feeling that Russell is bad luck though? First Noelle and now Ashleigh?
Solo: Mollee Song: 'Heartburn' - Alicia Keys
And again - more flips, more tricks, more writhing about the stage. Meh. A big fat MEH.
Kathryn & Ryan
'Put Your Hands on Me' - Joss Stone
Jason Gilkison/ChaCha
Wow - just Wow. While I'm sure this certainly isn't a traditional ChaCha - it was fabulous. Here, Ryan is in his element, able to partner with Kathryn to showcase her as the star. Again - I don't think being a great partner is going to be enough to get him through. Kathryn certainly played her part well. The characters were certainly smoldering on the stage. Not surprisingly (to me) Kathryn was able to learn this new style well and come off smelling like a rose. The final flip was incredible! This was Hot - one of my favourite routines tonight. Not sure why Mary seemed to get 'veclempt' during her schpiel but maybe she just loves the ChaCha just that much. Oh! I almost forgot - Mary offered up two tickets on the Hot Tamale Train to Ryan & Kathryn - and in a season where tickets have been few and far between that's high praise.
Solo: Legacy Song: 'Fancy Footwork' - Chromeo
Aaannnd it's a B-boy solo. Surprising, No? Not sure what was up with the cordless phone - other than Legacy seemed to indicate that it was 'America' calling - perhaps to vote for him?
Solo: Ellenore Song: 'I Got the Feelin'' - James Brown
Hate me if you like - but I do not like James Brown. While I make it no secret that I'm not fond of the solos - this was really boring. These dancers are really not putting a lot of effort in tonight. Sheesh.
Solo: Russell Song: 'Holiday Buckness' - The J Squad
Russell pulls the Bizarre card this week and makes me exclaim out loud "WTF?" Dressed as Santa, krumping, losing a shoe and pulling an accessorized teddy bear from a bag - this was too much to take in. He gets points for being the most memorable solo of the night and that's about it.
Mollee & Jakob
'Easy Street (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Annie (original TV soundtrack)
Joey Dowling/Broadway
You know - I would think that when an element of choreography simply isn't working, even after it's been altered slightly - the choreographer would just drop that element out - wouldn't you? That bench slide right at the very beginning simply didn't work, and in fact made the routine seem clunky to start. They moved on quickly though and this ended up being a really nice broadway routine - in your typical nice broadway routine way. Jakob shows off some more of his incredible jumping & flipping and Mollee hams it up . I liked the costume 'change' in the middle of the routine - though truly it was just a layer removal. Jakob & Mollee seemed really into this and embodied their characters with enthusiasm. Fun to watch. I think Mollee & Jakob did well together tonight and have a good chance to make it into the Top 6.
Solo: Kathryn Song: 'Shadowfeet' - Brooke Fraser
Another pretty contemporary solo from Kathryn. *sigh*
Ellenore & Legacy
'People Are Strange (District 78 Remix)' - The Doors
Napoleon & Tabitha Dumo/Hip Hop
I'm just going to leap right into this - what a freaking White Hot Mess. What the hell where Napoleon & Tabitha thinking? Just because the routine was supposed to be quirky and yes, strange - doesn't mean that the choreography can be a disaster. I agreed with Mary when she said that the beginning of the routine was exciting, but the rest of the routine really fell short. It was messy, there was no synchronization and indeed, very little dancing. Nigel said that the concept got in the way here, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Solo: Ryan Song: 'Din Da Da' - Kevin Aviance
This was the most memorable solo of the night for me. Not for the dancing - which was a really standard ballroom solo - but for the heartfelt plea from Ryan for America not to forget to vote for Ashleigh. I've snarked a bit on how sickeningly sweet the 'marrieds' are - but this was very touching. I really felt how much Ryan wants this, not for himself but for Ashleigh. And he gets a Standing O from the judges for his efforts.
Russell & Alycia (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Spirit Of Rangeela' - Rangeela (original soundtrack)
Nakul Dev Mahajan/Bollywood
I was expecting a very large and horrific trainwreck with this routine. Surely this should have been the genre where Russell faltered. So many intricate movements, so many ways to go wrong. I have never been so happy to be wrong. Russell proved, once again that he really loves to dance. As Adam said, the joy that radiated from every pore in Russell's performance made this a huge success. Congratulations Russell!
Alrighty people - I'll be back later on tonight (possibly tomorrow morning) with the recap of tonight's results show. Remember this elimination is the last before the finale next week. If I was forced to make any predictions about who would go home I would say that I can only guess. Based on my feelings alone - I'm going to say Ryan & Legacy (sob!) will be the bottom two guys and Mollee & Ashleigh (because she didn't dance! how can one vote for a dancer who didn't dance above any of the other dancers) for the girls. It would be sad if our marrieds were eliminated together tonight - but I don't think that will happen. To be honest, based on my pretend psychic talents to interpret fan feeling - I think Ryan & Mollee will be eliminated tonight.
We'll see you later - until then... Keep Dancin'!
I must say that I am a big fan of Cat Deeley and her fabulous wardrobe & makeup people, but they must have been suffering from an egg nog hangover last night. What the hell was she wearing? Some sort of silver/pewter lame jumpsuit shorts mess. Ugh. Her hair wasn't much better, looking a lot like she just rolled out of bed and hit the stage without brushing it.
Anyhow, on to tonight's show. Ashleigh was conspicuously absent from the dancer intro portion of the show, but that mystery was cleared up right away. Ashleigh dislocated her shoulder during rehearsals and while she said she felt well enough to dance, TPTB wouldn't clear her to perform in the show. This is critical because this is the last show before next week's finale. My brain automatically went into a spiral of confusion - Finale? Last season they whittled down the contestants to the Final 4 before the finale. We (Kim & I) think it's because they didn't want to have the finale week the same week as Christmas, but who knows really. Well, Nigel Lithgow & Co. do I suppose.
Onward to the performances. A reminder that each couple is a NEW pairing tonight, and will be dancing two separate routines. As well each dancer with be performing a solo. I'm going to try to pay attention to the solos tonight, because I think that they may be the deciding factor with some voters.
Kathryn & Ryan
'Last Dance (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Donna Summer
Doriana Sanchez/Disco
In the first routine of the night my favourite female was paired with the Prince of Ballroom for a fast paced Disco routine. Is there such thing as a slow or moderately paced disco routine? These two dancers seemed to do well together, though Kathryn looked tiny next to Ryan's great height. Watching this, I could certainly feel the energy they were trying to get across, but something just didn't feel right. Maybe Nigel was right and Ryan wasn't loose enough or something. As usual, Ryan's partnering was great but I'm losing my enthusiasm for him. Certainly he has proven that he can be every girl's dream partner. They don't need to worry that he'll ever drop them in a lift for instance. But - and this may be a big BUT, whenever his partnering skills aren't necessarily needed (such as in a hip hop routine or his solos) Ryan falters. He's a good dancer, but not as versatile as the others. Kathryn is, as usual, beautiful - with graceful lines and seemingly effortless movement. A good routine, but it left me feeling slightly 'meh'. I also have to disagree with Adam Shankman and say that Ryan's sequined pants were awful - it looked like he had been attacked by a drunken bejeweller.
Mollee & Jakob
'Ordinary Day' - Vanessa Carlton
Jason Gilkison/Viennese Waltz
I'm not exactly sure what makes a Viennese Waltz - Viennese. Though I get the impression that this means it is less structured than a traditional waltz. While Jason says that the story of this routine is that Jakob is Mollee's friend who is trying to help her get back her mojo - watching the routine I don't know that I got that. Maybe I missed something? That said, this was a very pretty routine. The tricks throughout the number worked and Mollee & Jakob made this seem effortless. The 'butterfly' flips (I think that's what they are called) in particular were awesome. Mollee continues to redeem herself, but I'm growing weary of the judges talking about her 'growth' as a performer. Jakob just can't take a wrong step, and is an incredible dancer but for some reason I just can't work up a lot of feeling for him. He kind of leaves me with the blahs - not sure why. I was kind of expecting a train wreck but I was pleasantly surprised. A pretty routine - but for me not the most memorable.
Solo: Ashleigh Song: None because the poor girl can't dance tonight. They bring her out anyway to remind us how sad it is that she can't perform. Then we get her # to call? I was surprised they didn't show any past dance footage for Ashleigh, but it was perhaps determined to be unfair?
Ellenore & Legacy
'Machine Gun' - Portishead
Travis Wall/Contemporary
It was explained to us that the story here is about two assassins - who are married - who have been hired to kill each other. Uhhh Mr. & Mrs. Smith anyone? I'm not sure if they left the title of that obvious inspiration out on purpose because of some sort of copyright/licensing rules or if Travis/Ellenore/Legacy just didn't get the connection. Anyhooo - I LOVED this, from the choreography to the music, from the dancers to their dancing.. After a worried moment spent wondering if this was going to be another 'desk' routine this moved into a perfect combination of Ellenore's contemporary skill and Legacy's B-boy athleticism. Rough & tumble, exciting and effortless. I could watch this again and again (and I probably will). I totally agreed with Nigel's assertion that the danger in this routine made it an incredible experience to watch. And really - I'm not just saying this because Legacy is my favourite contestant - honest. Travis Wall certainly is a choreographer to be watched in the future.
Solo: Jakob Song: 'When You Say My Name' - Mario Spinetti
And this is just another contemporary solo to me. Spins & flips and expressive grabbing at nothing.
Russell & Rachel (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Too Much Booty 2 (Bobby J Remix)' - Soundmaster T & Jah-Rista feat Korveil
Shane Sparks/Hip Hop
Okay I hope I'm not going to offend Shane Sparks' assistant Rachel here but I think Russell didn't suffer for having her as a substitute for Ashleigh. I know we're not supposed to be judging Rachel, but if we were I don't think she'd come off very well. She seemed really sloppy to me. Russell rocked this start to finish. He hit each movement hard and with precision. It was great to be able to focus on a single dancer throughout this routine - and really pay attention to how well this was done by that one dancer. Is anyone getting the feeling that Russell is bad luck though? First Noelle and now Ashleigh?
Solo: Mollee Song: 'Heartburn' - Alicia Keys
And again - more flips, more tricks, more writhing about the stage. Meh. A big fat MEH.
Kathryn & Ryan
'Put Your Hands on Me' - Joss Stone
Jason Gilkison/ChaCha
Wow - just Wow. While I'm sure this certainly isn't a traditional ChaCha - it was fabulous. Here, Ryan is in his element, able to partner with Kathryn to showcase her as the star. Again - I don't think being a great partner is going to be enough to get him through. Kathryn certainly played her part well. The characters were certainly smoldering on the stage. Not surprisingly (to me) Kathryn was able to learn this new style well and come off smelling like a rose. The final flip was incredible! This was Hot - one of my favourite routines tonight. Not sure why Mary seemed to get 'veclempt' during her schpiel but maybe she just loves the ChaCha just that much. Oh! I almost forgot - Mary offered up two tickets on the Hot Tamale Train to Ryan & Kathryn - and in a season where tickets have been few and far between that's high praise.
Solo: Legacy Song: 'Fancy Footwork' - Chromeo
Aaannnd it's a B-boy solo. Surprising, No? Not sure what was up with the cordless phone - other than Legacy seemed to indicate that it was 'America' calling - perhaps to vote for him?
Solo: Ellenore Song: 'I Got the Feelin'' - James Brown
Hate me if you like - but I do not like James Brown. While I make it no secret that I'm not fond of the solos - this was really boring. These dancers are really not putting a lot of effort in tonight. Sheesh.
Solo: Russell Song: 'Holiday Buckness' - The J Squad
Russell pulls the Bizarre card this week and makes me exclaim out loud "WTF?" Dressed as Santa, krumping, losing a shoe and pulling an accessorized teddy bear from a bag - this was too much to take in. He gets points for being the most memorable solo of the night and that's about it.
Mollee & Jakob
'Easy Street (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Annie (original TV soundtrack)
Joey Dowling/Broadway
You know - I would think that when an element of choreography simply isn't working, even after it's been altered slightly - the choreographer would just drop that element out - wouldn't you? That bench slide right at the very beginning simply didn't work, and in fact made the routine seem clunky to start. They moved on quickly though and this ended up being a really nice broadway routine - in your typical nice broadway routine way. Jakob shows off some more of his incredible jumping & flipping and Mollee hams it up . I liked the costume 'change' in the middle of the routine - though truly it was just a layer removal. Jakob & Mollee seemed really into this and embodied their characters with enthusiasm. Fun to watch. I think Mollee & Jakob did well together tonight and have a good chance to make it into the Top 6.
Solo: Kathryn Song: 'Shadowfeet' - Brooke Fraser
Another pretty contemporary solo from Kathryn. *sigh*
Ellenore & Legacy
'People Are Strange (District 78 Remix)' - The Doors
Napoleon & Tabitha Dumo/Hip Hop
I'm just going to leap right into this - what a freaking White Hot Mess. What the hell where Napoleon & Tabitha thinking? Just because the routine was supposed to be quirky and yes, strange - doesn't mean that the choreography can be a disaster. I agreed with Mary when she said that the beginning of the routine was exciting, but the rest of the routine really fell short. It was messy, there was no synchronization and indeed, very little dancing. Nigel said that the concept got in the way here, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Solo: Ryan Song: 'Din Da Da' - Kevin Aviance
This was the most memorable solo of the night for me. Not for the dancing - which was a really standard ballroom solo - but for the heartfelt plea from Ryan for America not to forget to vote for Ashleigh. I've snarked a bit on how sickeningly sweet the 'marrieds' are - but this was very touching. I really felt how much Ryan wants this, not for himself but for Ashleigh. And he gets a Standing O from the judges for his efforts.
Russell & Alycia (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Spirit Of Rangeela' - Rangeela (original soundtrack)
Nakul Dev Mahajan/Bollywood
I was expecting a very large and horrific trainwreck with this routine. Surely this should have been the genre where Russell faltered. So many intricate movements, so many ways to go wrong. I have never been so happy to be wrong. Russell proved, once again that he really loves to dance. As Adam said, the joy that radiated from every pore in Russell's performance made this a huge success. Congratulations Russell!
Alrighty people - I'll be back later on tonight (possibly tomorrow morning) with the recap of tonight's results show. Remember this elimination is the last before the finale next week. If I was forced to make any predictions about who would go home I would say that I can only guess. Based on my feelings alone - I'm going to say Ryan & Legacy (sob!) will be the bottom two guys and Mollee & Ashleigh (because she didn't dance! how can one vote for a dancer who didn't dance above any of the other dancers) for the girls. It would be sad if our marrieds were eliminated together tonight - but I don't think that will happen. To be honest, based on my pretend psychic talents to interpret fan feeling - I think Ryan & Mollee will be eliminated tonight.
We'll see you later - until then... Keep Dancin'!
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