Hey folks! Tonight, our top 12 try to cut a rug and not get cut before the tour. Wow, did Mia Michaels write that last sentence? Cat looks smashing and Old Hollywood glamorous in a simple black dress. However, she may or may not have gotten a haircut. And if she did, personally, I think it's marvelous. The great intros tonight are courtesy of Jason, Brandon, Philip, and Kupono. Maybe Ade and Melissa too. They weren't great, but they're my favorite couple, so i guess they get an automatic boost? Tyce is guest jidging tonight. Everyone’s doing two routines tonight, so instead of laying this out chronologically, I’m doing it by pair:
Note: As always, this is the abridged recap. For a more lengthy take, head to sytycd.ca
Melissa and Ade
Disco by Doriana Sanchez
It’s really high energy, and Melissa looks like she was plucked from the Saturday Night Fever extras pool. I watch her more, even though Ade seems to be doing a slightly better job with the dancing. And OMG, Melissa was just in a lift and had her legs in a 180 degree line. She should get super-duper bonus points for that, which should completely nullify the fact that she falls at the end of the routine. But know what, she recovers greatly. Nigel loved it, Mary calls them a Disco Pick-Me-Up, and Tyce says “That Was Friggin Great.”
Waltz by Ron Montez
Really, as a couple, they're SO connected. And that's what's really selling this routine. I mean, it's pretty and graceful to look at, but it's going to be memorable because of how awesomely connected they are. Nigel thought it was very beautiful but has a technical critique for ade. Mary found it beautifully danced, but didn't feel enough power from Ade on something called "the twinkles." Tyce calls it well-danced.
Kayla and Kupono
Contemporary by Mia Michaels
Mia looks very at peace when working with them. This routine is about addiction. This is also really good, but I'm not sure if Kupono's really in the character. I mean, he's hitting the moves well, but I don't actually feel the connection to the character in him. He's just kind of... glaring. Kayla, on the other hand, is just BONKERS good. Like, her face reads it completely, she NAILS every move, and just inhabits the dance. However, the routine itself is fantastic. Nigel thought it was great, Mary keeps them on the Hot Tamale Train, and Tyce thought they brought more than just steps.
Broadway by Joey Dowling
Joey seems like an awesomely demanding choreographer. The rehearsal packages with her are great, because she's clearly just so unimpressed with her raw materials. I don't know though, there's something about this routine that I just don't love. I mean, they both seem to be doing the movements well, but I'm just not connecting to this routine in any sort of major way. Kayla looks fantastic, but I don't have much else to say. Nigel didn’t think it had the necessary emotion, Mary found it really dynamic, and Tyce didn’t think they made it part of their world.
Caitlin and Jason
Foxtrot by Tony Meredith
This is a pretty darn good Foxtrot. Jason isn't really quite connecting all that greatly with Caitlin, but they're both dancing it well. They look the part fantastically, and Caitlin is doing a really good job selling it all. Nigel thinks they made it all look simple, Mary found it tremendous, and Tyce thinks they looked like stars and captured the essence.
Lyrical Jazz by Mandy Moore
Mandy is excited to bring out their strengths, because they're both basically in genre. Mandy describes it as a kitchen-sink routine. For both being in genre, sadly, I do not find this to be the most captivating of dances. Don't get me wrong, they're both doing very well. There's some awesome hand work in there. They dance it well. But I just didn't hone in on it. It didn't jump off the screen for me. Nigel found it very technically well-done, Mary didn’t feel the magic, and Tyce thought it was good but they needed to take it a step farther.
Jeanine and Philip
Russian Folk Dance
This isn't their fault at all, but it's just really bad. The choreography, just isn't enertaining to watch. They're doing their absolute best to sell it as entrtainment, and Philip does a great Trepak, and then shows in some Hip-Hop-ish stuff. And Jeanine does her best with the funner bits she has, but that's just a terrible dance to saddle a couple with. Nigel can’t fault them for how awful it was, Mary found it believable, and Tyce thinks they did well with what they were given.
Jive by Tony Meredith
Phil is greatly awkward about the sexiness of this one. I probably preferred Evan and Randi's jive from earlier this season, but it's much better than I expected to be. Phil is nowhere near as bad as I expected him to be. And Jeanine is just great to watch. She is drawing me in like whoa, and not just because she's shimmying while basically making direct eye contact with the camera and viewer. Miles better than their first routine, and a very very solid routine. Nigel calls Phil the best he’s ever seen him out of his style, Mary was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t a trainwreck, and Tyce asks us to call 1-800-Fan-Freakin-Tastic.
Randi and Evan
Hip-Hop by NappyTabs
I have to say, I'm really impressed by how well Randi is handling this. I mean, they're both good, but I kind of expected her to be pretty bad at this. But she's probably even the better of the two. They're both nailing the emotions of the number, and in all honestly, I would probably say this is my favorite hip-hop routine so far this season. I really really liked it. Nigel liked it a bit and particularly that they weren’t urban-ified. Mary was expecting a trainwreck but didn’t see one. Tyce liked the storytelling.
Samba by Pasha and Anya
Randi is out of her comfort zone. Pasha and Anya want it to be hot, intricate, and different. It's certainly intricate, and also really cool, but these two have problems pulling off the sultry. It's fun to watch, but it doesn't have that Samba sexiness. It picks up a little bit a the end, and there's some great footwork and flips, but without that sexiness, it's just missing something. Nigel thinks they did everything the could but it wasn’t hot enough. Mary found it to be a slow sizzle by wanted it to be more dynamic. Tyce wanted more fierceness.
Janette and Brandon
Argentine Tango by Leonardo and Miriam
They spoke a lot of Spanish in the rehearsal, which Brandon doesn't speak. But even if he didn't understand what they were saying, it's pretty clear that he got what they were doing. I mean, Janette is the stand-out here, but Brandon is no slouch. My only criticism of him would be that at times, you can see it on his face that it's not coming naturally to him. But Janette is fantastic. Her footwork is great, she nails the emotion, and she is just amazing to watch. All three judges give them a standing ovation. ‘Nuff said.
Jazz by Wade Robson
We're like 15 seconds in, and its AWESOME. Like, quite possibly my favorite routine so far this eason. They're both rocking the movement, the feeling, and they're just both ridiculously amazingly fun to watch. Yeah, that's my favorite routine of the season so far. Major major kudos and a half to them. Nigel thinks there’s nothing they can’t do. Mary screams “The best for last!” Tyce thinks they have that thing.
Rankings for the Night (By Couple):
1) Janette and Brandon
2) Melissa and Ade
3) TIE- Kayla and Kupono, Randi and Evan
5) (by a hair) Caitlin and Jason
6) Jeanine and Philip
Rankings for the Night (By Dance)
1) Janette and Brandon- Jazz
2) Kayla and Kupono- Contemporary
3) Melissa and Ade- Disco
4) Randi and Evan- Hip Hop
5) Janette and Brandon- Argentine Tango
6) Caitlin and Jason- Lyrical Jazz
7) Jeanine and Philip- Jive
8) Melissa and Ade- Waltz
9) Randi and Evan- Samba
10) Kayla and Kupono- Broadway
11) Caitlin and Jason- Foxtrot
12) Jeanine and Philip- Russian Folk Dance
Who’s In Trouble: Jason and Caitlin and Philip and Jeanine are likely to land in the bottom. Evan and Randi’ll probably round that out.
Who’s Going Home: Caitlin is dunzo, I’m guessing. For the guys, I’d say it’s between Jason and Evan. Which is sad, since I really like both those guys. Can we get rid of Pono instead?
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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