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Top 8 Performance Thoughts and Discussion

Even though I’m running late tonight, I wanted to be sure I posted this so you have a place for all your thoughts and any discussion that comes up during the episode. I’ll add my thoughts in later, when I get a chance, so for now, this is YOUR space!

UPDATE:
I’ve only seen half the show at this point, but I’ll go ahead and throw some of my thoughts out.

-I really loved Sasha’s quickstep with Pasha (“easy to remember!”).

-Wish I loved Caitlynn’s hip hop with Ivan. It was really cute, but not my favorite routine and that sucks cause I love her and love him and thought they were really cute together.

-Wonder what it was like with Allison and Ivan both backstage. 🙂

-Jordan is really not good at connecting with her partners. I think she had her best chemistry yet with Ade (Ade! How can you not have chemistry with Ade?! *I* had chemistry with Ade the two times I met him during on tour!), but she was still glamming for the camera. Just not digging it. I can see that she’s athletic and gorgeous and a talented dancer, but I’m getting sick of her getting raved about for being sexy since she’s sexy all on her own. I don’t know that she knows how to build chemistry with a partner at all.

-Melanie and Neil’s Mandy Moore was hands down my favorite of the night, one of my favorites of the season. I love all the components, so how could I not love it. Love Melanie, looooove Neil, love Mandy Moore. That leap! And Rob Marshall was right about her acting at the end. And I looooved that Cat asked if we wanted to see the move again and Melanie leaped into Neil’s arms back stage. I’ve never wanted to be backstage more in my life than when Cat said they were still smooching back there. Another SYTYCD cross-season couple, hmmm? (I’ve watched this routine like a dozen times now and I still want more!)

-I thought Rickey’s was one of the better jives we’ve seen on the shows and he was great with Anya. But I actually thought the quickstep was better, had more flare and life.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten at the moment! I haven’t been reading your comments till I can see the show, but please continue the conversation! Power Rankings will be delayed till tomorrow, but I can definitely give you a poll in the meantime. Maybe you’d like to give power rankings a go yourselves?

UPDATE:

-So I just watched Tadd’s heist routine with LoFro. It was really entertaining and I can totally see the MJ references. And I agree that I was really proud of Tadd for dealing with lost hat and the accidental face punch and keeping going. It was a lot of fun.

-I was really surprised and pleased with Jess’s performance with Lauren G. I thought it would be a disaster when I saw they were dancing together, but he really stepped up to her. There weren’t any lifts of course, but he matched her really well and I think he worked on having a connection with her and the intention of the piece. He didn’t overplay it, I agree.

-LOVED the Marko/Allison routine. He does really well when partnered with technical girls and I think Allison was the perfect match for him. She brought out a lot in him, but also they were must well-matched.

-This is a good time for me to say I’m generally liking Lady Gaga as a judge. Sometimes I think he reactions are a bit contrived, but I’m usually in agreement with them anyway, so that’s okay. And she’s being calmer and quieter than I expected and really respectful of the judges, which is really good.

-I hated the Jess/Jordan rhumba. Jordan’s pursed lips and “sexy” faces were pissing me off the whole time. I thought Jess did an alright jobs, though he occasionally had a crazy “sexy” face too. They had that one great lift, but I couldn’t help wishing it were different dancers. Agree with Nigel that there was no chemistry between them.

-Really loved Caitlynn and Tadd’s foxtrot. Rob Marshall was right to call it “sparkling.” They had the right attitude the whole way through and looked so classy and gorgeous the whole way through. It really made me miss the old stage, though. This big stage swallows up some routines, like this one.

-The Marko/Rickey hip hop was cute, but not as good as I would’ve liked. I have to agree that Marko carried it better than Rickey did unfortunately. Tabitha looked really worried when they cut to her and Napoleon right after the routine.

-Lady Gaga kinda dissed the props on both of Nappytabs’s routines. Anybody else notice that?

-I liked the Melanie/Sasha jazz, but I actually didn’t think it was as good as it could’ve been. I was THRILLED to see these two were dancing together and they’re pretty well matched, I think. My disconnect with the routine was more the music (blech) and the choreography – it felt kinda empty and unfulfilled. Whenever the girls made connection, it seemed kinda pointless. They could have actually done lifts, both of them, so I wanted that instead of the weird unnecessary assists. I don’t think it was the best choreography that Sonya’s done – I disagree. But then, I’m not a dancer or a choreographer. But I did agree that it reminded me of the “Two Princes” routine, which I liked. AND, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Final 2 came down to these girls

Here’s another poll:

July 27, 2011 I Written By

SYTYCD Season 8 Top 8 Performance Music

Hi everybody! I will be at a meeting tonight and might miss the beginning of tonight’s episode, so I need your help. If you’ll let me know the music in the comments, I’ll make sure it gets put into a pretty list with links as soon as I possibly can. We have such a great community here and I love knowing I can count on y’all for help whenever I’m running late! Thanks!

Sasha danced a Jonathan Roberts quickstep with Pasha to: Terry Snyder’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” – Puttin' On the Ritz - Ultra-Lounge: Space-Capades, Vol. 3

Caitlynn danced a Marty Kudelka hip hop with Ivan to: Mario’s “Let Me Love You” – Let Me Love You - Turning Point

Jordan danced a Tyce Diorio jazz with Ade to: Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limit” – Nutbush City Limits - All the Best - The Hits

Melanie danced a Mandy Moore contemporary with Neil to: Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Total Eclipse of the Heart - Faster Than the Speed of Night

Rickey danced a Jason Gilkison  jive with Anya to: Celine Dion’s “River Deep, Mountain High” – River Deep, Mountain High - Falling Into You

Jess danced a Nappytabs hip hop with Lauren G. to: Rihanna’s “Take A Bow” – Take a Bow - Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded

Tadd danced a Mandy Moore jazz with Lauren F. to: Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” – Another One Bites the Dust - Queen: Greatest Hits

Marko danced a Sonya Tayeh contemporary with Allison to: Jeff Buckley’s “I Know It’s Over” – I Know It's Over - So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley

Caitlynn and Tadd danced a Jonathan Roberts foxtrot to: Ella Fitzgerald’s “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” – Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails (1958) - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook

Marko and Rickey danced a Nappytabs hip hop to: Diddy ft. Black Rob and Mark Curry’s “Bad Boy for Life” – Bad Boy for Life - The Saga Continues...

Jordan and Jess danced a Jason Gilkison rhumba to: Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” – Set Fire to the Rain - 21

Melanie and Sasha danced a Sonya Tayeh jazz to: District 78’s “Game On” – Game On - Game On - Single

I Written By

SYTYCD Tour 2011: Time to Purchase Tickets

Hi guys I’m checking from vacation to remind everyone that the tickets sales for the SYTYCD Season 8 tour begins this Friday with an exclusive Presale tomorrow. If you haven’t been to a tour yet I recomend that you do, I haven’t missed a tour yet and I don’t plan on missing this one. As of right now we only know the top 10 will be going on tour…hopefully by the end of the season we will know who else will be joining the tour as an alternate or if an all star will join the tour. The 2011 tour kicks off on September 17th in Orlando, FL and ends on November 2nd in San Diego, CA. Please check out Fox’s Website for all of the dates.

Presale starts tomorrow July 28 at 10am-10pm (Eastern Time) and the special pass word is DANCE2011

Regular ticket sales will begin Friday, July 29th

I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.