Cat looks fab in a little green number. She has really been on the mark this summer in her styling... The best intros are courtesy of Ade, Brandon, Kayla, Evan, Melissa, and Jason. Especially Brandon. Especially. Guest jidging tonight is Debbie Allen.
Note: As always, this is a be-shortened recap. For the full one, head to sytycd.ca
Top Five Girls number kicks off the night, with a Nakul Bollywood routine! I like it, but I don't think it gonna be the most memorable routine ever. No one in particular jumps out, although Kayla maybe grabs the most attention. Oh, and that section with the masks on the back of their heads was kinda super-duper creepy. Just sayin'. Overall though, I liked it a good bit. He thought all 5 had everything. They're on his hot Bangers and Mash train. See, Nigel, that just sounds dirty coming from you. Mary says Bollywow! Debbie thinks these is the best top 5 girls ever.
Kayla and Evan are up first doing a Viennese Waltz with Tony Meredith And Melanie, who has earned her way out of parentheticals. And OMG, it's to Kiss From a Rose, which makes me endlessly happy. I dig this a bit, but sadly, I'm not sure I love him in it. I can feel that he's trying to dance tall, but I'm not sure he's 100% doing it. Kayla is, as always, graceful and beautiful. I hope those on the Kayla hate train because of her attitude have started to disembark. There's one crazy lift spin thing n there that I love too. By the end, I kind of find them adorable together but I was definitely a fan. Nigel had issues with the choreography but doesn’t praise them highly either. Mary says Evan was a technical disappointment. Debbie thinks Evan handled his big woman.
Brandon is our first soloer, and he's just soooooo good. Like, I'm sad we didn't get him to solo earlier. But, yeah, he's just awesome.
Janette and Ade are up next, with a NappyTabs Hip-Hop. But I kind of love this, and especially Ade, who is only gaining more ground on everyone else as my absolute favorite. Janette's gradual strip during the routine was awesome, but maybe a wee bit hoochie. They are maybe slightly out of sync for a bit in the middle there, but yeah, this is great. Ade is just truly awesome and is now jumping out to me, which YAY. Nigel loved it and thinks Ade has oodles of funk. Nigel stupidly has pencils in his hair, and says he's gonna try to talk Mary out of his clothes. Cat, in a fit of awesome, says "That is a terrible visual". Mary screams that it was funky. Debbie wanted to join them on stage.
Randi solos for the first time, and it's good, but I have the feeling the jidges might call this desperate. Randi laughs hysterically at the end of her routine. It's somewhere in that abyss between cute and creepy.
Kupono's solo is next. As much as I don't like the guy, I have to admit I like this solo quite a bit. It's fun, and a better side of Kupono than we've seen recently.
Jeanine and Jason are next, doing a Travis Wall contemporary. Yay Travis! Wowzers, this is kind of utterly fantastic. Jason is the best I've ever seen him by a wide margin. And if this was the judges' insidious plan, it's absolutely working on me because she's amazing. The routine is also incredibly sexy, but yeah, just amazing. And it ends in a really passionate kiss, that acutally elicits a vocal "damn" from me. Everyone, jidges and audience, are on their feet cheering. Nigel loved it, Mary is lost for words, and Debbie found them magical.
Melissa's solo is next and it's good. Not like jump off the couch amazing, but very good, and her flexibility at the end is astonishing.
Evan's solo is next and where has this Evan been all season. Like, it makes me sad watching this, because the more I watch him, the more Evan seems like a one-trick-pony, who can only do stuff like that there. But he's awesome at this.
Kayla's solo is next, she seems to have much more joy in this solo than she's had in any of her others. It's quite good.
Randi and Kupono are next, with a Tony Meredith and Melanie Paso Doble. Randi is in an absolutely awful wig, that at first distracts but fails to fully cover up problems right from the get go. They're really trying, I'll give them that, but it just seems vaguely farcical. But Randi pulls off serious better than I would have expected. You can see she also almost falls one point. Yeah, technically, you can really see all the little cracks. And he also drops her at the end and tries to cover it, I'm pretty sure. Nigel thinks they didn’t dance well enough for the choreography. Mary didn’t feel strength, but felt caution. Debbie felt awkwardness.
Ade's solo! Yay! And it's, yet again, amazing! Double yay! Seriously, I hope people are just jumping on the Ade train, because he totally deserves it. I will support him to the end.
Our next soloist is Jeanine. Her solo is pretty good. Not breathtakingly fantastic, but she has good musicality and is compelling to watch.
Jason is our last male soloist, and he's soloing to Muddy Waters, which automatically moves him up in my book. This solo is also utterly fantastic, and is maybe a bit slow, but the quality of movement, musicality, and feeling were all 100% dead on.
The final couple is Melissa and Brandon, doing a Tyce Broadway. They're doing their best here, and in fairness to Tyce, it's one of his better Broadway routines probably, but after two weeks of Joey Dowling, this just don't jump out to me. They're dancing it the best they can though. Nigel calls it fantastic, Mary calls it groovy, and Debbie thought they evoked harmony.
Janette is our final female soloist. And she's all spicy Miami in her solo, and her footwork is phenomenal. I mean, it's a ballroom solo, so it's not mind-blowing, but I'd place it in the top half of the girls certainly.
The final routine of the night is a top 5 boys African number. Unlike the girls, there are clearly a few who stand out above. Jason, Brandon, and Ade are all better it seems. Although you can see signs of fatigue in all of them during the routine. Also, Evan is not trainwreck bad, which is a pleasant surprise. I'd say the girls Bollywood number was better overall. Their choreographer seems very happy with them. Nigel again thought everyone was equal, but was proud Evan didn’t suck. Mary adored the dance. Debbie feels like a world traveler tonight.
Routines Ranking:
1) Janette and Ade
2) (in a very close second) Jeanine and Jason
3) Girl’s Bollywood
4) Boy’s African
5) Kayla and Evan
6) Melissa and Brandon
7) Randi and Kupono
Solos Ranking:
1) Ade
2) Brandon
3) Jason
4) Janette
5) Evan
6) Kayla
7) Jeanine
8) Kupono
9) Melissa
10) Randi
Overall Ranking:
1) Ade
2) Jason
3) Janette
4) Brandon
5) Jeanine
6) Evan
7) Kayla
8) Melissa
9) Kupono
10) Randi
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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