Top 20 (Part 2) Performance Thoughts
So SYTYCD was pre-empted for 15 minutes due to President Obama’s speech. Good news that our troops are coming home.
Here I go with my thoughts, live and feel free to put yours in the comments. We love the discussion.
Spoiler space for my live thoughts…
They intro’d the dancers in their couples, maybe to reassure us they’re not switching the couples up? Maybe to save time because of the pre-empt?
I laughed when Iveta and Nick switched it up when Iveta dipped Nick.
I think I’m gonna love guest judge Debbie Reynolds. I know I looooved seeing the clip of her dancing.
Rickey and Ryan were super cute when revealing each other’s secrets. (Her leg hair grows really fast and his real name is Roderick, which he hates). I thought the routine was great, but I kept catching Ryan smiling again. Sometimes, it worked, but other times it was really distracting. She seemed to be playing to the crowd more than she was to Rickey, which was disappointing. It would’ve been so much hotter if she’d been focused on Rickey, like she didn’t even know we were watching. Debbie Reynolds cracked me up when she said, “You gave us your all…”
So excited for Footloose after that trailer! I caught a bit of a Lissie song, too, which is awesome. I think it was “Little Lovin'” –
Ohmygawd!! I’m so glad Mitchell didn’t get cut last week! I had not warmed to his personality, at all, but I think I’m starting to now. He and Catilynn are so cute together (too!), talking about (her) nasty feet after wearing her boots and (his) leopard-print snuggie. And their Stacey Tookey routine was AHMAAAAZING! Those flying leaps! The intricacy of the lifts! I looooved that Mitchell turned off his lamp at the end. It was a brilliant routine and they danced it so well. And at the end, when Mitchell was fixing Caitlynn’s makeup (or checking her face for injury), that was adorable.
I have to agree with the judges that there were some issues with that cha cha. I don’t know enough about technique to have put all the blame on Wadi, but I definitely felt that there was some weirdness. I was proud of Wadi for his partnering. My mom said that it looked like Missy stopped him from doing some lifts. I dunno, I like both of them a lot and Debbie made me laugh when she said she’d take Wadi home and he could cha cha with her anytime. (Was that Kayla assisting Jean-Marc in the rehearsals? Who was the guy?)
Iveta and Nick revealed that she talks to herself while looking into mirrors (affirmations?) and he always wears shorts (and has chicken legs, according to her). Their Bollywood was alright – not my favorite. Which is weird because Iveta’s Bollywood dancing kept reminding me of Katee (I know, weird) and Katee’s Bollywood with Joshua is one of my favorites.
Miranda says Robert thinks he’s a pro wrestler, which was a pretty tame secret compared to him outting her crush on Tadd. The woodpecker routine was not my favorite Nappytabs, but I thought both Miranda and Robert danced well. Nothing terribly memorable for me, except how concerned Nappytabs, especially Tabitha, looked after the routine was finished. And I just don’t know about Nigel’s claim that Miranda’s the best contemporary dancer dancing hip hop.
Clarice sleeps with her eyes open (straange) and Jess obsessively draws complete stick-figure orchestras. I don’t think they’re a very good couple, even when they’re not dancing. No chemistry. Their Stacey Tookey contemporary would have been amazing if it had been danced by a pair that were better matched. I agree completely with Nigel that their work separately was good, but whenever they were partnering, it was very awkward. Jess’s effort was just too obvious not to be distracting and you could see Clarice jumping before the lift, ready to leap into his arms.
Jordan is “not the brightest crayon in the box” (did he just call her dumb?!?!) and Tadd has OCD issues. Their Viennese waltz was kinda boring to me. It’s not my favorite dance, sorry. I like them both a lot and I could see they were doing a good job, but I just wasn’t that entertained. I agree that Tadd is a surprise and I love that Nigel said, “I need to remind you you’re a b boy.”
Melanie can’t stand anyone touching her ears (so cute!) and Marko likes to read romance novels. They are adorable together. I loved everything about the rehearsal footage. But the routine itself… What’s wrong with me? I suddenly turned into a grouch. THEY ARE MY FAVORITE COUPLE! But that routine seemed…loose. It seemed like it was missing beats or something in between some of the tricks. I loved so much of the attitude in their tricks and dancing, but it just seemed like something was missing. Maybe I should stop now before y’all kill me.
Sasha sweats a lot and Alexander loves looking at himself in the mirror. During the rehearsal footage, all I could think is that they were *really* showing off their acting. It was so overdone that I almost though they were being silly. I liked the dance, but there were moments (like the end) when I thought the choreography wasn’t the best, to be honest. Why was her back to him? Sometimes, the lyrics or their positions seemed off to me. But I could definitely see they were doing a good job and I agree with Nigel that the timing considering the Presidential announcement was perfect.
Ashley thinks she has a lot more swag than she does and Chris has a creepy nervous smile. Okay, I need a confirmation here. Did Ashley say, “Encore?” with a flirty giggle when Spencer Liff lifted her? Lol. I guess I probably would, too. Normally, I’m concerned when they start talking about how sexy something is going to be, but that actually was really sexy, and I think it was made more so by the prison bars. Spencer had to be creative to get them dancing with each other on either side of their prop.
I’m gonna go try to work out the Power Rankings in a minute…AFTER I VOTE! Catch you then and help me out with my rankings by telling me what you think.
Agreed so far. On it all. Emilie, you have such great taste. π
Why, thank you, Beth! I might just have to put that on my business card. π
Completely agree on Jess and Clarice. Not a fan of their dancing (or their personalities really).
But disagree on the Nappytabs routine. I loved it! I thought Miranda was one of the best contemporary hip-hoppers I’ve ever seen as well–maybe it’s because that song is one of my favorites, or because the choreo seemed to fit the dance perfectly…I dunno.
Oh, and Tadd? LOVE LOVE LOVE him. He is rising up my fav list this season.
Lol @beth. I like Tadd a lot. I wonder who you feel about the rest of my thoughts after that…
Agree on Melanie and Marco, unfortunately. Not a fan of the choreo or execution, unfortunately, though I loved that Mandy was trying to hit it out of the box.
Also agree on Ashley and Chris. Crybaby is one of my all time favorite movies so when this song came on, I was in heaven! I had to youtube the original just to prove to my husband that I wasn’t crazy. π
About Sasha and Alexander–I love love loved this dance. I thought it was almost perfect. Nappy Tabs were my heroes tonight choreographically.
Aren’t Nappytabs always your heroes? π I have a feeling that if I saw Melanie and Marko dance that routine on tour, I would like it. It just felt like it hadn’t been settled in yet. But it had so much of the right attitude to it. Ahhhh! I feel opposite of how I felt last week in many cases.
But I think I know 2 of the Bottom 3. Just need to figure out the other couple in danger…
Beth- I agree about the Nappytabs routine. I thought it was the best of the night. The degree of difficulty was incredible. Robert and Miranda really nailed this one.
I’m going to add my thoughts in a bit, but i LOVE that I can answer your question about the guy who was assisting Jean Marc, that is Vincent from SYTYCD Canada season 2! He has an adorable French accent and he was the runner up to winner Tara Jean, and the last time I checked they are actually dating! I couldn’t see enough of the girl he was partnering to see if she was Tara Jean, I’m going to watch it again and see if it is her.
Caitlynn and Mitchell’s routine was my favorite of the night, but Robert and Miranda’s was a close second π And I’m not sure Miranda is THE best contemp dancer at hip hop (wonder if Nigel was counting LoFro as contemp or jazz), but she’s definitely up there.
I liked the Jess/Clarice dance, but I agree that I would like to see them with other partners. Or at least Jess. Honestly, I could lose Clarice. She’s a great dancer but doesn’t stand out for me in any way.
There have been some Viennese Waltzs I’ve really loved… Kaypono’s first dance together in S5 comes to mind… but Jordan and Tadd’s didn’t do it for me. I thought the dancing itself was exquisite, but there was something about their style or how they moved in the transitions sometimes that just reminded me of a magician and his assistant working a crowd. Didn’t feel as genuine as I would have liked.
I didn’t get to see Ashley and Chris. DVR cut them off. I hope they don’t lose votes because some people didn’t get to see them. On the other hand, I thought they were the weakest last week and am still a bit bitter that they weren’t even bottom 3, so… lol.
I have a crush on Marko π
@ahs, Kapono and Kayla was one of my favs, as well as Twitch and Kherington in the one to the Celine Dion song that was dedicated to Jean-Marc’s daughter who has some mental and physical disabilities, what a beautiful dance. Interesting that both of those were danced barefoot, maybe it’s something about connecting to the earth that made them so pretty.
Debbie Reynolds was a nice lady, but pointless as a judge.
I didn’t buy into Ryan & Ricky at all. The attitude and “sexiness” was completely fake and tacked-on.
Wadi’s chacha was reeeeally bad – he couldn’t complete any of the steps because his hips weren’t moving. Missy was a lot better but not as great as the judges proclaimed her.
The Bollywood was bogged down by Nick, I’m afraid. He was just slightly behind on the timing all through the routine.
I liked the first NappyTabs routine MUCH better than the second. Sure the woodpecker thing was silly but they went for it and the unison was great. The “emotional” piece just didn’t work for me at all – the music, choreography and theme didn’t come together to make a coherent whole. Oh yeah, and Alexander just plain sucks at Hiphop. Zero swag, sorry.
Strangely enough, I also agreed with Nigel about Clarice & Jess. And I didn’t agree with him much this episode…
The viennese waltz was pretty terrific. Tadd really impressed me. Oh, and he also proved himself a SYTYCD geek by quouting Donyelle from season 2. π
I also liked Melanie & Marko, but felt something was off. I think the choreography was overstuffed with lifts, and that interfered with the musicality of the dancers.
Ashley & Chris was my favorite routine of the night. I pity anyone who didn’t get to see them because of the overrun.
Getting my comments out before I read anything…
Ryan and Ricky–Not bad. The music wasn’t my favorite (even when it was popular the first time), so that prejudiced me against this dance. And, uh, a mullet? really? Ryan was getting sexy, but I don’t think she got there all the way. Even so, she drew my attention the entire time. I had to watch it a second time to catch Ricky–and I’m glad I did: I really liked the way he moved, sexy and slinky (though Nigel might think it a bit feminine in parts). He was an excellent partner. Being first might weigh against this routine.
Mitchell and Caitlyn–Between last week and this one, I’m starting to see what the fuss is over Caitlyn. She lived the character with her whole body. Mitchell was excellent support. I think read a commenter not liking how he seems self-absorbed when he dances, but here he was the perfect support–he let her be the star of the show (as appropriate for the story) I tend to like everything from Stacey Tookie anyway. I like how even though they were dancing apart at their chairs, there was an energy between them, linking them across the stage.
Wadi and Missy–fun cha-cha. I could imagine Missy channeling Kesha.
The woodpecker routine really entertained me. They took on the characters and it just worked for me. Robert really did seem to take her… under his wing (heh). Miranda was a surprise. Of course it wasn’t one of those amazingly moving pieces from Nappy Tabs that we know and love, but it still hit a nice note with its blend of fast bird-like movements and occasional hard hit.
As I’ve said before, I’m not a big Jess fan, though he came across better for me in the package than he has yet. He really struggled to carry Clarise around, and that made me feel it was unfair to her. I got the feeling the judges were being nice because they don’t want to lose him so early.
Tad and Jordan: surprisingly good rise and fall. Tadd was the most impressive here (though Jordan was not slouch–she did a wonderful job of inhabiting elegant abandon). He had a good frame. And coming right after Jess’ struggle with partnering, Tadd look so much more adept at lifts (he was rising and falling as he was lifting her)
M&M–I was ready to like this one because like most folk I’m taken by this partnership. Though they may have danced a possibly award-winning dance last week, this one is certainly not. This had a Broadway feel to it and they did well with what they were given. She looked more comfortable with it than he did. Very jazzy, yes, but pretty forgettable.
Sasha and Alexander–Nice story (memorable and apropos). Sasha hit it harder than Alex in both dance moves and character (sometimes they weren’t together because she was pounding it while he was doing the moves). It was smart that they gave her more to do. I actually think the woodpecker routine was danced better, but this one was way more moving.
Chris and Ashley–the use of the bars was intriguing. Not much of a Broadway fan, but I enjoyed this. It was a step up from last week’s hip-hop. They both did pretty good with the characters. I liked Chris’ role better–being a prisoner gave him more freedom to do some pretty playful stuff on those bars. That little grind through the bars wasn’t near as sexy as it was in the package (a few moves were like that), too bad. Being in the final slot might save them.
I wonder why they have the same choreographer doing more than one dance in the show. Last week Travis and Sonya did a couple (right?). This week Mandy and Jean-Marc are getting two each. It seems weird to have them do that. I wonder if the dancers think “Wow, this choreographer gave that other couple an amazing dance and we got leftovers.)
Ricky did an interview with American Cheerleader Magazine, and the story is on their website.
Here’s the link!
http://www.americancheerleader.com/2011/06/a-cheerleader-thinks-he-can-dance/
I finally got to see Ashley and Chris from last night. I loved the routine – yay, Spencer Liff! – but I think it had more to do with the choreography and the concept for me than Ashley and Chris. Chris sold it fairly well. Ashley is insanely flexible but otherwise I just don’t get much from her. I keep imagining the routine with other couples… Jordan and Tadd, Melanie and Marko, Clarice and Jess. I kind of wish Missy and Wadi had gotten it instead of cha cha, actually, lol.
Oh, and @Margaret, I think you’re right! Barefoot Viennese Waltz for the win! \O/!
@ahs I have a crush on Marko too! He seems like such a nice guy (and hes cute too)
I agree with some “off” moves in Sasha and Alexander’s routine. The one that pops out for me is where she goes down on hands and knees and he flips over her. Though it was an interesting move, it didn’t suit the theme at all.
Also, I think the costume didn’t help Alexander with swag. They made him look all clean-cut and Ken-like.
@Margaret: Thanks for pointing out Vincent!
@Katie: Thanks for the link!
@everybody: I loved reading your comments throughout the day. Y’all made some great points.