So You Think You Can Dance 7/2- The Top 14 Perform. Alot.

Cat apparently got into a very bad multi-tuxedo pile-up before this weeks show. I wish her a speedy recovery from her horrible wardrobe accident (I’m gonna leave her slightly bizarre and unflattering hair alone, simply because the dress is that bad). The standout intro dancers this week are Katee, Twitch, Mark, Joshua, Comfort, and Gev. Everyone is dancing twice tonight, so I’m gonna try to cut down my recapping a little to keep this from being six pages long. Our guest judges tonight are the unreliable Napoleon and Tabitha.

Jessica and Will- They had no idea what they were doing, according to the pre-dance package. So it’s no surprise when their Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin choreographed Jive is nothing much. I mean, there are a few fun bits, but neither is all that remarkable. Will continues to dance circles around Jessica though, which is no big feat when she’s off her game like she appears to be tonight. Tabitha felt the fight but Napoleon thought that Jessica started pretty weak. Mary thinks there were a lot of missed connections and thinks they probably fooled the audience. Jessica also gets a negative mention from Mary. Nigel thought Will had a good bounce, but Jessica’s weight and balance were all wrong. But he also thinks there was some good technical stuff. But then he picks on Jessica again. I don’t sense that Jessica is long for this competition.

Comfort and Thayne- The new Frankensteined couple has a Broadway routine from a new choreographer. They seem to be getting along well in rehearsals. It’s a lot more classical Broadway it seems, and it’s markedly better than anything Tyce has ever put on the stage, in my opinion. They’re actually really good. Thayne even tempers and uses his perma-smile to his advantage. It’s not the way the song was originally intended, but that’s the choreographer’s fault. They danced the choreographer’s vision well. Tabitha is really liking their chemistry. Napoleon liked Comfort’s flirtiness. Mary really liked the partnership and the number and is really proud of Comfort. Nigel comments on how authentic the choreography was but thinks the passion of the original number was seriously missing. He kind of lays into Comfort actually. I guess they’re stopping babying her. He tells them they’d be booed off Broadway for that routine.

Kourtni and Matt- They’ve got a Cecily and Olisa hip-hop routine, and they seem to flounder during rehearsals. I wouldn’t quite classify this as a trainwreck, but even Kourtni reads as thinking they’re terrible. You can see every mistake in her face, which is not good, since there are lots of them. They seem to hit every step (although many of the them are labored), but there’s absolutely no soul in it. Matt is better, but he’s still pretty stiff. Tabitha calls them groovy and commends them for how good they did for being who they are and she compliments Matt. But Napoleon tells them they would have gotten booed off the stage at a hip-hop competition. Mary liked it, but had nothing to say and wasn’t at all wowed by it. Nigel doesn’t know if it was the choreography or them but there was nothing to get hold of. He calls it hip-hop on sleeping pills, which I kind of agree with.

Chelsie and Mark- They’ve got a fast Mandy Moore jazz routine. This is probably gonna be the unpopular opinion here, but this doesn’t do all that much for me. It’s fun and they dance it well, but the choreography doesn’t seem to be all that much. But I give them a lot of credit for keeping up the rapid pace. And Chelsie didn’t seem repelled by Mark this week, which is nice to see. Tabitha thinks they’re always able to tell the story. Napoleon loves their chemistry. Mary just loved it and says they haven’t taken a wrong turn yet. Nigel thought it just worked and they used each other well. He calls them magic together.

Sidenote: I think the true strength that Mark has is that he never breaks character. Never. So he always seems to be really good, because he’s performing it well. Plus, he’s a great dancer. I’m on Team Mark for the win.

Kherington and Twitch- They have a Tony and Melanie Paso Doble about matadors. This is all sorts of fun, with a great opening involving capes. They have intense chemistry and nail all the steps really well. This may be their best performance of the season. Napoleon thinks Twitch started slow but he built awesomely. Tabitha agrees. Napoleon jumps back in and says that the second half of the dance rocked. Mary says it was full of passion, but calls the cape-work was weak. She calls it just ok, but says she was entertained. Nigel was very entertained, but calls Twitch on some of his framework and lauds Kherington for not smiling.

Katee and Joshua- Mia Michaels Contemporary! Mia Michaels Contemporary! Yay! Wowzers. I mean, I know I shouldn’t be shocked when Mia delivers an amazing routine, but that was remarkable. The dancers seemed a little weak, especially in the beginning (they seemed to be a little off-sync), but when it picks up, boy howdy does it pick up. All sorts of awesome. Banoodles. Just banoodles. Tabitha agrees with my wowzers sentiment. Napoleon seems to thinks so too. Napoleon also picks out an amazing assisted run across stage as being ridiculous. Mary thinks Katee and Joshua still have a perfect record. Nigel says the word fancy multiple times and thinks they were both stellar.

Courtney and Gev- They’ve got a Cecily and Olisa hip-hop. Gev seems more worried than Courtney, because it’s not his style of hip-hop. They’ve got nothing to worry about though, at least from me. THIS is the kind of hip-hop I love to watch. They’re both having fun, hitting the steps, and more importantly, they’ve got that all-important soul and bounce that Kourtni and Matt were missing. Napoleon thinks they were good but that Gev was a little worse than Courtney. Tabitha thinks there was a little too much bounce in their shoulders but she’s feeling Courtney. Mary was expecting more out of Gev but thinks Courtney killed it. Nigel thinks it was fun and funky but thinks it lost its mojo after a while.

Jessica and Will 2- They’ve got Lyrical Jazz by Mandy Moore for their second routine. Pre-video package didn’t inspire much confidence. This is much better than their jive, but Jessica probably still isn’t all that good. Will, however, dominates that stage and draws attention throughout the entire thing. He’s the best technical dancer of the season, no question. Tabitha likes Will’s shirtlessness and thinks the choreography was very clever. She also points out how classically trained he clearly is. Napoleon tells him he has what it takes to win. Napoleon also tells Jessica she’s holding Will down (Ouch). Mary thinks it was genius/fire (there’s some bizarre analogy which allows it to be both). She thinks they had the whole package and puts them on the hot tamale train. Nigel makes a homophobic comment about two men dancing together (But he wasn’t calling Jessica a man). He says people will pick up the phone for that dance.

Comfort and Thayne 2- They’ve got a Smooth Waltz and it’s all about lost love, which may be problematic. The message of the dance doesn’t really come across, but they’re elegant and smooth. Thayne’s perma-smile is also missing, which is a breath of fresh air. I like it (quite a bit, actually), but my viewing companion doesn’t (She really dislikes Thayne though). Napoleon is not a waltz expert but he loved it. Tabitha wasn’t crazy about Thayne though, calling him somewhat phony. Napoleon disagrees though. Mary is a waltz expert and loved it (Comfort moreso than Thayne), especially for it being danced by a Contemporary boy and a hip-hop girl. Nigel thinks it was very good and that Comfort looks better without her eyebrow piercing.

Kourtni and Matt 2- They’ve got an Alex DaSilva mambo, and both seem very intimidated by it. It’s markedly better than their hip-hop, and I liked the number overall. But Matt is seriously weak. He does not have the masculinity to pull this off. He’s good technically, but he doesn’t have the necessary oomph. But boy does Kourtni rock this one. She seriously outshines him. Tabitha was hot and cold on it, but Napoleon thinks Matt needed to be a lot more masculine. Mary says Kourtni was really hot but there was no chemistry between them. Nigel butchers the pronunciation of the word mambo and thinks it was a tough routine and they didn’t get the feel of it. He wanted butcher from Matt.

Chelsie and Mark 2- They’ve got a Foxtrot, which worries Mark a little. I like it a lot. They’re both really entertaining to watch, there’s a ridiculous cartwheel up and over Mark, and for once it seems like there’s a really memorable slow ballroom routine. Chelsie’s dress is also absolutely transfixing. Napoleon and Tabitha think they’re showing America why people love dance. Mary thinks they nailed a bunch of really difficult technical stuff, to which Mark replies “Wow.” Nigel thinks Mark was a little uncomfortable but calls Chelsie fabulous. Nigel and Mary bicker a little.

Kherington and Twitch 2- Another Mia Michaels Contemporary! Another Mia Michaels Contemporary! Double Yay! Ok, well, this is significantly less wowzers, but it’s still really good. There’s a lot more flinging of bodies onto a mattress than great dancing. The musicality is really good though, and the use of rose petals is a great touch. There’s serious chemistry though. I’d give it about a half a banoodles. Tabitha calls it awesome nine times. Napoleon calls it storytelling at its best. Mary says that Mia outdid herself this time and there’s a small scream. She calls it powerful and dynamic. Nigel makes a joke about the routine being about him and Mia. Nigel thinks they were committed to it and calls it thoroughly entertaining.

Katee and Joshua 2- They’ve got a West Coast Swing choreographed by (GROAN) Benji Schwimmer, assisted by (SMALLER GROAN) Lacey Schwimmer. The routine has moments, but overall, it seems sluggish, like they’re not dancing as fast as they should be. The hip bumps are all a lot of fun, but everything seems a lot more practiced than danced. The ending though, where she bumps Joshua and he goes flying, is great. Tabitha thinks Katee bumped Joshua off stage. Napoleon thinks it was well built for characters. Mary enjoyed it and gives a small scream. She liked the routine and thinks they executed it. Nigel thinks they adapted really well.

Courtney and Gev 2- They’ve got another non-Tyce Broadway routine where they pretend to be tourists. I had a smile on my face throughout this whole dance. Again, it seems like real Broadway choreography, although there were clearly bits thrown in there for them. But it’s fun and cute and better than a Tyce piece, so I’m a definite fan. Courtney was better than Gev. Tabitha thinks a little bit of modulation would have been better, but she calls it amazing. Napoleon thinks Gev may have found a new niche. Mary thinks they were great and believable and strong. Nigel calls them underdogs (which I’d like to point out I said last week) and says this style was perfect for them. But he has some technical nitpicks for them.

My Dance Rankings:
1) Katee and Joshua’s contemporary
2) Chelsie and Mark’s Foxtrot
3) Courtney and Gev’s Hip-Hop
4) Comfort and Thayne’s Smooth Waltz
5) Kherington and Twitch’s contemporary
6) Courtney and Gev’s Broadway
7) Comfort and Thayne’s Broadway
8) Kherington and Twitch’s Paso Doble
9) Jessica and Will’s Lyrical Jazz
10) Chelsie and Mark’s Jazz
11) Katee and Joshua’s West Coast Swing
12) Kourtni and Matt’s Mambo
13) Jessica and Will’s Jive
14) Kourtni and Matt’s hip-hop

Couple Rankings:
1) Courtney and Gev
2) Comfort and Thayne
3) Katee and Joshua
4) Chelsie and Mark
5) Kherington and Twitch
6) Jessica and Will
7) Kourtni and Matt

In Trouble: Kourtni and Matt, Jessica and Will, and either Courtney/Gev or Comfort and Thayne. Neither deserves to be there though… (Matt and either Jessica or Kourtni is gone tomorrow)