So You Think You Can Dance 8/8. Our Top 6 Dance Their Little Hearts Out

Before starting this recap, I'd just like to point out that this is my 50th post (I think). I'd like to thank anyone who's come here and read my rantings and ravings and I hope that you've enjoyed what you've read, whether its recaps of SYTYCD, Big Brother, On The Lot, the now cancelled Pirate Master (Arrrgh), or my reviews of the new crop of shows for next season. If you haven't, do you keep coming back because of my debonair wit or my movie star good looks? Or is it because you find it funny that I'm insane enough to think I have either. Well, that's enough lunacy, onto the recap!

Opening: Cat’s dress confuses me at first. It’s way too distracting, between the swirls and the shiny bits. This could be a problem. But no, I’m able to focus as Sabra does a few moves that aren’t anything special. Danny displays some cool flips and footwork. Lacey is dressed like a cowboy hooker. Pasha has fun on stage. Lauren twirls. Oh, and surprise surprise, Neil twirls as well. That wasn’t expected. Does sarcasm come across on the Internet? Cat reiterates that we’re ever so close to the finally, and therefore the tour. Apparently, this is a taxing night for the dancers, as they’re performing two routines and a solo. Tonight, instead of judges like normal or Jeejees like last week, we have jidgis, which sounds like it should be some rare disease. Debbie Allen is back, as well as all of her superlatives. Mary Murphy has sparkly things on her as well. Nigel, alas, doesn’t.

Pasha and Lacey: Pasha and Lacey’s hip-hop is the first routine of the night. Pasha calls Lacey challenging and I think he’s confusing challenging with annoying. Apparently, Lacey is supposed to be a mannequin. The routine is fun, with Pasha handling a majority of the work until Lacey “comes alive”. I put that in quotes, because, although she’s performing the moves, she still seems wooden. Not quite a real boy, if you ask me. Pasha, on the other hand, does about as good as I could expect him to do. He pulls of his dorky hip-hop character well. It’s not the best hip-hop routine of the season, but it’s certainly not the worst. Cat calls it a great start. Nigel compliments the routine and how it was shaped well for them. Wasn’t he complaining about this exact thing last week? Mary calls it crazy good and compliments their technique. She then compliments Lacey and makes a comment about blowing wind. O…k Mary. Debbie also sucks up to the choreographer and says repeatedly that they had great energy. She uses the word great a lot. Great commentary Debbie.

Sabra: Sabra’s solo is, well, it’s good. But that’s just it. It’s only good for me. I don’t know if I’m just expecting more out of her or what, but she doesn’t take full advantage of the stage. It all seems a little timid, so I was kind of left waiting for both her and the song to break out and rock the stage. Also, is Cat an Amazon or is Sabra tiny as can be. There seems to be over a foot difference there.

Danny and Lauren: They’ve got a contemporary Mia Michaels routine this week, which gets applause just from the mention of Mia’s name. Mia wants their movement more inhuman, and I’m not quite sure if they achieved it. What they did achieve, however, was another awesome Mia Michaels routine. I love the routine, the movements were flawless for the most part, and Danny and Lauren danced them well. My only quibbles would be that it was to a Celine Dion song, and that parts of it did seem choreographed for them, which is something I thought Nigel wanted them to avoid. Nigel calls it incredible, repeats it, and compliments Manny the cameraman as well. He then calls them both sensational and tells Lauren she finally reached her potential. Mary Murphy screams and Nigel joins. She calls it a special treat and tells them both they’ll go a long ways. She also puts them on the Hot Tamale bullet train. Can I possibly shoot Mary with a hot tamale bullet? Debbie calls it passion personified. She calls them every choreographers dream and says that they should get an Oscar.

Pasha: This time Pasha is dancing with an actual mannequin, and I get that ballroom solos are hard to do, but Pasha, really, is this the best you can do? I mean, it’s good, but it’s definitely not top 6 material. That being said, it’s better than last weeks cape dance. Also of note, Pasha seems to have taken mugging lessons from Dominic. Good to know Dom had an effect on the others.

Ooh, Cat’s plugging the tour. The first of many times I presume.

Neil and Sabra: First up, they have a Mandy Moore 80’s Jazz power lunch dance. Can American Psycho please get referenced? No, instead Neil references The Karate Kid. That didn’t even have power lunches! The routine is fun, and does display some amazing moves from both Neil and Sabra. This may actually be one of the first times I think Neil deserves to be in the top 6. Then again though, I still think he’s worse than Pasha and Danny. Oh, and Sabra knocks it out and reminds me why she’s my favorite. Cat makes an awkward joke about office romances. Nigel says he’s very very worried because he’s terrified that the finale won’t come up to this level of choreography. Nigel comments on how far Neil has come as well and how much Sabra dances from the heart as opposed to the head. Cat makes another awkward business joke. Mary calls it so much fun and calls them equally terrific. Debbie says that she likes it like that. I wonder if the show has to pay royalties. Debbie makes some more awkward comments, and she reveals that this was filmed before Sabra’s solo was danced.

Lauren: Well, this is the best solo so far. Lauren displays amazing body control and puts a lot of seemingly real emotion into her dance. It’s probably because she knows this will be her last week. At least she can be proud of her final efforts.

Pasha and Lacey 2, Electric Boogaloo: This time it’s Lacey and Pasha’s smooth waltz, which choreographer Hunter Johnson calls the Rolls Royce of dances. Pasha seems a little pissed that they made it really hard for them because they’re ballroom dancers. I would be too, but then I’d remember that this is a dancing competition and I’m in the final 6 so it should probably be hard. But maybe that’s just me. Anyhoo, this dance is absolutely beautiful. It hooked me from Lacey’s absolutely stellar opening line, and kept my attention as they beautifully flowed across the stage. Watching it I actually thought that I could imagine this in some great romantic ballroom during a Jane Austen novel. So the downside of this dance is that it may increase estrogen levels. I should probably get that checked. Nigel thinks that it was absolutely beautiful and that the choreographer. He criticizes Lacey’s hand though. Bad hand! Mary calls it absolutely dreamlike, sweet, and touching. Pasha still freaks Mary out with his complex ballroom move whose name is too long for me to type correctly here, especially with passion. Debbie says that everyone watching wanted to be one of them, and compliments Pasha on his power and passion. She calls it beautiful and very nice.

Neil: Oh come on Neil. Just when I say I can see why you deserve to be here, what do you do? You do the same exact thing you always do. There’s a good bit of twirling, a good bit of trick moves, and only one or two things in there that are new or show any sign of versatility out of twirling and trick moves. I mean, it’s still nice to watch, but I’m starting to get really tired of it.

Lauren and Danny 2, Electric Boogaloo: This is their second routine of the night, a Doriana Sanchez disco routine. They both say how hard it is. I’d tell them to look at how I responded to Pasha complaining. The routine is fun to watch, but I can’t help feeling like another hour or two of rehearsing this could have made it ten times better. There were quite a few moments where one or the other seemed to be caught off guard and not ready for the next movement. But besides that, both danced admirably. This is still probably one of the better disco routines the show has had. Nigel is wondering what happened to all the easy bits this week, because everything seems to be so difficult. I again say “See Pasha Comments”. Nigel compliments both though and points out all of Lacey’s bruises. Mary thinks Lauren looked like a disco goddess and that Danny finally looked like he was having fun. Mary also points out how tough everything is. Debbie says that it was so much fun because they were having so much fun. Debbie calls this “why America’s watching.” I actually watch for the Mia Michaels and Wade Robson routines. Oh, and the other good dances too.

Lacey: Lacey is definitely trying to play up the sex kitten part of her personality, doing a routine that seems partially stolen from that strip club near your local airport. I mean, I half expected someone to come on stage and pour water on her over her final moves. That being said, it’s entertaining to watch.

Sabra and Neil 2, Electric Boogaloo: Their second routine is a Tony Meredith Paso Doble routine. Apparently, Neil was playing up his fake matador masculinity. Between all of his twirling and the machismo, I think Neil is really confused. He actually accidentally slaps Tony at one point. Oops. Well, Sabra is yet again amazing. She pulls it all off with aplomb. Neil, on the other hand, well, I’m confused now. See, at times he’s really good. But then he loses the masculinity and becomes not good. But then he gets it back and he’s good again. This happens quite a few times. One thing I will say though is that Neil absolutely focuses on his partner as opposed to the camera, one of their main critiques of him last week. Oh, and apparently Neil got lessons from Dominic as well because at the end of the routine he drops Sabra kind of. Nigel calls it absolutely stunning. Nigel admits that he had no faith in either in the beginning of the competition. Cat apparently stole my line because she brings up Dominic dropping Sabra. Stop stealing my material Cat! I don’t steal your mispronunciations. Mary loves them both, and puts them both back on the Hot Tamale train, a ride that Neil points out he’s yet to have taken. Mary makes train noises and I wonder where that hot tamale bullet I was creating is. Debbie didn’t want to see this dance again, but they proved her wrong and she thanks them a bunch.

Danny: My god Danny is a beautiful dancer. He moves his body so well, and with such pinpoint control that I can’t do anything but pick my jaw up off the floor and say that he is clearly the best dancer in the competition.

Rankings for the Routines:
1) Lacey and Pasha’s Smooth Waltz
2) Danny and Lauren’s contemporary
3) Neil and Sabra’s Jazz
4) Lacey and Neil’s Hip-Hop
5) Neil and Sabra’s Paso Doble
6) Danny and Lauren’s Disco

Rankings for the Solos:
1) Danny
2) Lauren
3) Sabra
4) Neil
5) Lacey
6) Pasha

I’m not gonna try to say who had the best night, but based on prior performance, this really should be the end of the road for Neil and Lauren. But that’s just me; it’s up to America. America, do me proud and don’t botch this one.