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'” – Little Lovin' - Catching a Tiger

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.