Hey folks! Tonight, our top 8 perform for our votes! Tonight is also part of SYTYCD's 100th Episode Extravaganza, featuring Ellen DeGeneres as a guest jidge! I'm really hoping Ellen brings the funny, Mia brings the bitchy, Mary brings the crazy, Nigel brings... his presence?, and Ade and Melissa bring some seriously high-quality dancing in order to further those two. I already know I'll be voting like mad for Ade tonight. Cat is wearing a golden wrap dress that looks like it was wrapped by 8 year olds. And yet, as always, she looks gorgeous. I'm convinced she must have some sort of Dorian Grey thing going on. The great intros are courtesy of Evan (trying to look as much like Twitch as possible), Ade (who is, um, what's the word, jaw-dropping), Jeanine, and Brandon (who does Ballroom? What the what?).
Notes: Folks, I would think we know the deal by now. This is the abridged recap. For a full version, go to sytycd.ca
Tonight starts with a group routine choreographed by Travis Wall that’s a futuristic rave. t's good, but not the best group routine of the season. It's fun to watch. I guess the two who grab my attention most throughout the routine are Ade and Kayla, although Jeanine, Jason, and Brandon are also deserving of mention as above the others. Nigel calls everyone terrific. Ellen makes a lot of jokes. Mary says everything was great. Mia is beyond proud of Travis and had a blast.
The next routine is Evan and Janette’s first routine of the night. I... like it. But it's really not jumping off the screen for me. I can kind of see the body awkwardness Evan was talking about, as Janette seems more committed and into it. I can't see the "meaning" of the dance in there all that much, well, I guess I can, but I feel like that's because I'm looking for it. All in all, solid but not amazing. Nigel is finally getting what he needs from Evan. Ellen makes jokes before telling them they were great. Mary liked it overall, but could have used more grit at the end. Mia found Evan too adorable for Sonja’s choreography and then tells Janette that she is her favorite this season.
Kayla solos next, and it’s my favorite solo from her this season. She's gotten rid of that over-crowded feeling her first ones had, and she just seems happier now. It may be a little too minimalist, but I was certainly a fan.
The next couple is Brandon and Jeanine, doing a Hunter Johnson waltz. It gets off to a really rocky start with Brandon lowering Jeanine from a lift with an exceptional amount of labor. I think this is the most I've ever seen Brandon fazed, because this is the first time it really seems like he's counting out steps to me. There's some beautiful movement in there, but the footwork seemed to be severely lacking. It gets a solid OK from me. Nigel didn’t get enough from them, but places the blame nearly entirely on external factors. Ellen makes Twyla Tharp jokes and calls them fantastic. Mary can’t stand up and scream for them. Mia finally gets around to actually blaming them for the lackluster-ness of the number.
Jason is our next soloist. It's good, but not as good as his solo from last week was. It picks up heavily towards the end, but it seemed more reserved and thought out than natural. It's certainly better than I used to expect from him; the boy is stepping up his game from the early part of the season.
Ade and Melissa are the next couple, doing a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin Cha Cha. don't think I'm just blinded because I love these two, but this seems like bringing it to me. Melissa is hot and sultry and spicy and Ade is powerful and seems like he's having fun. He could be a little more sultry, and there's one part where it looked like Melissa was about to do the wrong move before Ade corrected her. But it ends awesomely and is by far, for me so far, the best of the night. Nigel calls it very good then nitpicks. Ellen asks "Are you two carpenters because you NAILED it!" Mary thought the execution was there, but doesn’t think either dancer did that well. Mia thinks this was Ade’s weakest performance of the season, but that Melissa did an excellent job.
Janette is soloing next and it's... a contemporary solo? It's an interesting strategy, but not one that fully works in her favor. She lacked her traditional spiciness, which is kind of why I like her so much. Also, Cat and Janette standing next to each other is very comical, since Janette barely reaches her shoulder.
Jason and Kayla are our final pairing of the night and they've got a Tyce Broadway. Audible groan. I don't know if it's just my really low expectations for Tyce routines, but this one is surprisingly pretty good. I mean, it starts off really strong and loses steam as it goes on, but it's still miles better than typical Tyce. She's better than he is, but neither of them is awful. I'd rank it below the Cha Cha and probably on par with the Sonja. Nigel thinks it was great for both of them. Ellen makes a much weaker “nailed it” pun. Mary though it flowed effortless. Mia says "I seem like the only sane one up here and that's scary." Truer words were never spoken Mia. She loved the piece, and LURVED Kayla.
Ade's solo is next. Obviously, I'm biased and think he's amazing, but I don't think this solo is going to win him new votes, which worries me. It's a wee bit labored and it looks like he came this close to not landing the backflip.
Janette and Evan's second performance is next, a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin Rumba. This seems to be continuing the slow motion theme of the night. But I have to say, this is actually pretty good and Evan is a real surprise. Because he's kind of got the sultry thing this time. He almost falls coming out of a spin though. janette was actually a touch TOO subdued for me, and the footwork looked a bit sloppy at times, but it was actually a really really good one for me. Nigel didn’t see passion from Evan and had problems with his face. Ellen loves Evan’s face and that routine. Mary critiques them almost entirely from a technical standpoint. Mia agrees with Ellen.
Melissa's solo is next and it's all kinds of awesome. I accidentally typed some of that last sentence in caps and thought about keeping it, that's how much I like it. It's the first time she's really jumped off the stage for me.
Brandon and Jeanine have a LaurieAnn Gibson pop-jazz routine. N ot gonna lie, I think the star of this routine is Brandon's abs. This is, in all honesty, not doing a whole lot for me. Again, it's completely not jumping off the screen for me. He is distinctly better than her, especially because, to me, she seems to be phoning in a good amount of the number. All in all, a weaker number for me. Nigel loved it and he thinks the night finally begun for him. Ellen thinks they were unbelievable. Mary thinks was strong, powerful, and dynamic. Mia thinks they were so powerful and they WERE the dance.
Evan's solo is next and he botches a hat trick and it's still oodles of fun to watch, but nothing groundbreaking. My viewing partner very accurately points out "He's much more Donald O'Connor than Gene Kelly". I totally agree.
I'd love to critique Jeanine's solo which is up next, but my FOX feed has completely died on the video front. I'm getting audio, but no video whatsoever. However, it turns out it’s just the HD feed. Unfortunately, I can’t rewind to see her solo though, so you’ll have to find that somewhere else.
Melissa and Ade are up next with a Tyce contemporary about a woman with breast cancer. Tyce really is SO MUCH better doing contemporary routines. And this is amazing. They are both absolutely fantastic, and this time I KNOW I'm not just being biased. If the judges don't like this, I'm just going to start muting them. One of the absolute best routines of the season. The emotions, the dancing, the feeling. To quote Ellen, they NAILED it. Everyone on the panel is crying. Nigel says this is why he loves dance so much, calling it one of the most memorable routines on the show ever. Ellen feels priviledged to have seen this done live. Mary was touched deeply and will never forget it. Mia wishes she had the strength they had in that piece.
The final solo of the evening is Brandon and it's more fun than we've usually seen from him. His musicality is ridiculous, as is his flexibility and his overall skills. To quote Ms. Deeley "I mean, seriously. You're like a race horse."
Kayla and Jason are ending the number with a Shane Sparks routine that's clearly based off Thriller, since Jason is a zombie that converts Kayla into his zombie lover. It's not bad, but it's not overwhelmingly good either. Kayla's not as bad as I expected her to be and Jason is doing reasonably well, but in the end it's still fairly good and after coming after that last number, I mean, how much could acutally be expected. Nigel thinks this season’s hip-hop FINALLY came together with this number. Ellen loved it. Mary thinks they did exactly what Shane wanted them to do. This is Mia’s favorite Shane piece ever.
ROUTINE RANKINGS:
1) Melissa and Ade- Contemporary
2) Janette and Evan- Rumba
3) Kayla and Jason- Broadway
4) Melissa and Ade- Cha Cha
5) Jeanine and Brandon- Pop/Jazz
6) Kayla and Jason- Hip Hop
7) Janette and Evan- Contemporary
8) Jeanine and Brandon- Waltz
*SOLO RANKINGS:
1) Brandon
2) Melissa
3) Ade
4) Evan
5) Kayla
6) Jason
7) Janette
As stated above, my feed cut out for Jeanine’s solo, hence no ranking.
*OVERALL RANKINGS:
1) Melissa
2) TIE- Ade and Evan
4) Brandon
5) Kayla
6) Jason
7) Janette
8) Jeanine- Based on what I saw, I’d rank Jeanine at the bottom of the pack. Her solo would have had to have been very good in order to move her up from here.
Who’s Going Home: I have no clue. I think Tyce’s piece may have saved Melissa and Ade though.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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