Hey folks,
So, it’s top 18 night! Top 20 night was good, but I fear the “poor cousin” theory may actually prove true. I didn’t find any instant stars on top 20 night, like I did last year with Katee, Josh, and Mark among others. No one just jumped off the screen for me. However, I got high hopes for tonight. After looking at the style/choreographer spoilers for tonight, there’s at least one piece I’m super-mondo-mega excited for. I won’t say which one, but I’ll give you a hint: it’s not NOT Ade and Melissa doing a Sonja jazz. Was that too obvious? Whoops. However, the whole lineup looked like it could have plenty of banoodles moments. What’s that sound I hear? I think it’s the hot tamale train a-rolling down the tracks. Let’s hop on and ride it through top 18 night folks. All Aboard!
Note: This is the abridged recap. For my full ramblings, visit sytycd.ca
Cat looks like she came from some sort of Spanish themed toga party. It’s got weird frills. She still kinda pulls it off though. In our dancer intros, the standouts are Jeanine, Brandon, Evan, Kayla, Vitolio, Randi, Philip, and Janette. Phil’s flexibility scares me a little bit, not gonna lie. Cat lets us welcome the jidges, who consist of Nigel, Mary, and Lil’ C. Lil’ C is usually a pretty good judge, or at least provides us with some great turns of phrase. Then again, he did give off some stank while judging in Vegas. Cat makes a Mary Murphy botox joke, and Mary tries to convince us it was all a dream, and Cat says all her girlfriends love Mary more for it. Nigel tells the dancers not to show them what you can’t do, show them what you can do. I’m guessing that somewhere out there, Tony Bellisimo is saying “Ouch.”
Randi and Evan- They’ve got a Louis van Amstel jive. It’s FUN. Like, oodles and oodles and banoodles of fun. I see a long run on the show for them. Lil’ C sees a divinity in Evan and calls Randi a firecracker. Mary thinks it fell a little short, but was really good, Randi in particular. Nigel thinks Evan should have been better, but that they’re tremendous as a couple.
Melissa and Ade- They’ve got a Sonja Tayeh jazz routine. I have really high expectations going into it, and it meets them… mostly. I like it a lot. Maybe even a lot a lot. But it’s not Sonja’s best ever. It was like an 8.5 and I was hoping for a 9.5. Lil’ C thought it was buck and tells Ade that he is the competition. Cat chest bumps both dancers. Mary thought it was tough to find anything she didn’t like in it. Nigel though it allowed the dancers to show off their strength.
Caitlin and Jason- They’ve got a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine. Jason is much better, constantly drawing my focus, but it’s definitely a weaker effort this week. Lil’ C doesn’t love it, and didn’t see the choreography becoming a reality. Mary thought the chemistry didn’t work. Nigel thought they looked really good doing the routine.
Janette and Brandon- They’ve got a Doriana Sanchez disco routine. It’s fun, and is definitely one of the better disco routines the show has ever had. That being said, it’s still disco, so I’m not head over heels for it. Both dancers do very well though. Lil’ C thinks the primary objective of all obstacles is to induce labor so that progression can be born. Make of that what you will. He found it extremely, extremely amazing. Mary thinks they nailed it and gives them screams and a standing ovation. Nigel loves them and praises them all around.
Asuka and Vitolio- They’ve got a Louis van Amstel waltz. Louis wants Vitolio to dance with his pain on display. There’s one remarkable part where Vitolio swings Asuka in a circle, but I didn’t love the whole thing. I don’t see the pain coming through, but Asuka seems to be doing a pretty good job. Mary tears up and found Vitolio’s dancing to be very honest. Lil’ C thought his vulnerability balanced out the technical faults. Nigel thinks anyone who wasn’t touched by that routine is heartless. I have no problem being called Heartless. I’ll just pretend the Kanye song is about me.
Kayla and Max- They’ve got a Brian Friedman jazz routine. Welcome back Brian! . Um, this feels trashy and amazing. But I mean trashy in the best way possible. I love it. Utterly fantastic. Kayla, you miss, are banoodles. And Max, well, you’re doing a really good job of keeping up. Lil’ C thinks they picked up Brian’s vernacular. Mary keeps Kayla on the Hot Tamale train and deems Max a surprise. Nigel calls Kayla a front runner and thinks the pair of them are special.
Karla and Jonathan- They’ve got a Stacey Tookey contemporary. Stacy was a choreographer on SYTYCD Canada, but I’ve never seen any of her stuff. I like this alout. They’re both quite good, but Karla is probably slightly better. They give Cat her first chills of the season. Mary calls them the underdogs who have moved into the spotlight. Lil’ C thought it had the perfect balance of everything needed. Nigel thinks they recovered beautifully from last week.
Jeanine and Philip- They’ve got a Tony Meredith tango. Phil is stone faced throughout the routine, and as such is not really connecting with her. He feels a bit like he’s masquerading here to me. Jeanine, however, is fantastic. Mary applauds Phil for his attitude but kind of tears him apart on technique. Lil’ C thinks Jeanine was, as Mary called her, a hot mama. Nigel hopes that Phil’s fanbase can carry them through to next week. Way to not play favorites Nigel.
Ashley and Kupono- They’ve got a Shane Sparks hip-hop. I’m not feeling it all that much. It gets better as it goes on, but overall, it’s an eh. Mary thinks it wasn’t memorable. Lil C thinks Kupono dragged Ashley down. Nigel thought it stopped just when he was starting to enjoy it.
My Rankings for the Night:
1)Kayla and Max
2)Randi and Evan
3)Melissa and Ade
4)Karla and Jonathan
5)Janette and Brandon
6)Asuka and Vitolio
7)Jason and Caitlin
8)Jeanine and Philip
9)Ashley and Kupono
Who Should Be Worried: Ashley and Kupono faltered as predicted, and they should definitely be ready to dance for their lives tomorrow. Jason and Caitlin should be prepping too. Philip and Jeanine could well have the fan-base to keep them in, which leaves me stumped as to the final bottom 3 couple. Asuka and Vitolio are at risk if I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t feeling their waltz. Melissa and Ade could also even be at risk, as I could see that being a divisive routine. Or maybe the disco curse will bring down Brandon and Janette.
Who I’d Send Home: It’s a tough call this week. It’d probably be Kupono and Ashley. Or maybe Asuka.
Who Will Probably Go Home: In all honesty, I don’t know. But I think Kupono and Caitlin might be in trouble.
I’d say this was a pretty good top 18 week. I don’t feel as positive towards the poor cousin theory, so that’s something. What did you folks think?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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