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*Spoiler Alert* Season 10 Finale

SPOILER ALERT! DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE SHOW!

It has been another great season and it’s always sad to see it go. Before I get to the run down of the show and of course the winners, I am happy to announce that Fox and Nigel announced that there will be a SEASON 11! Now on with the show that had a 17 min intermission (Presidential speech), well for the east coast. We had Judges favorites, top 4 favorites, and some surprises.

The Top 20 are back, even Jade even thought he can dance cause his knee isn’t fully healed yet. A fun routine choreographed by Ivan from season 2 (who has choreographed for Justin Timberlake).

Paula Abdul Favorite: Edge of Glory, Paul and Makensie

Jasmine H. Favorite: Blurred Lines she danced with Marko. She surprised me with this pick.

Adam Shankman: he picked the FikShun and Twitch hip-hop to Hello Good Morning.

The Top 4 got to see a special screening of Battle of the Year, that features Dominic from season 3. Also Legacy from season 6 is also in the movie (look it up on IMBD if you don’t believe me).

Nigel’s Pick: This really was a no brainer, I knew he would pick a tap number, I just didn’t know which one. It’s fitting that he chose the one with all of the tappers from this season.

Twitch’s Favorite: His choice surprised me as well, mainly just the fact that it was a Broadway number. Kiss of the Spiderwoman- Nico and Hayley.

Aaron’s Favorite: Kissing You with all-star Kathryn

They replayed the sand number with the Top 10 guys, which is actually one on my absolute favorites of the season.

Cat’s Favorite: Run the World, Jasmine and Comfort hip-hop

Mary’s Favorite: Medicine, Tucker and Robert

Puttin’ on the Ritz: Top 20. Really loved this innovative number that NappyTabs created.

Then another favorite of mine Mark and Jenna.

FikShun and Amy both picked the same dance as their favorite. After Party, the bell hop hip-hop.

So we are treated to the “partnership” of Nigel and Mary. Though the video montage, I’m sure I wasn’t the only that was wondering where they were going with this…a dance with Nigel and Mary. This did make my night, especially Adam not wanting to be left out of the fun.

The Top 5 moments from the Auditions with the number one spot going to Movement Box.

Twitter’s Travis Wall routine Favorite: Seriously no surprise that it is Wicked Game that he danced with Amy.

The Top 10 and All-Stars perform and fun surfs up number by Nappy Tabs.

Now time for the Winner’s, Cat announced that a girl got the top number of votes. With that said she began with the guys and then the girls.

The Season 10 Winners ARE….FICKSHUN and AMY!!! Congrats to them both and Aaron and Jasmine. What a great season can’t wait till next year.

 

 

September 10, 2013 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.

Top 6 Now Top 4 Thoughts

Since there was no voting last night, I figured that I would save power rankings for next week and just do a thoughts post instead. I love having Jesse Tyler Ferguson as a guest judge, too cute watching him blush over admitting he has a crush on Aaron. Each of the dancers had three dances each; a solo, paired with an all star, and paired with each other.

Solos

Amy: She is just a little powerhouse and has been an early favorite from the beginning. Her solo was probably my favorite out of the girls.

Jasmine: Still love that song choice. I like the fact that yes, her legs are her best feature but I like that she doesn’t always remind us in her solos.

Hayley: I wanted a bit more from her solo.

FikShun: The fact that he was moving about as fast as the lyrics of that song was impressive.

Paul: Ballroom solos are always a bit hard to watch. I would have like to seen him do a more serious solo.

Aaron: I love tap solos cause it’s really the only time we get to see it during the show. I would think they could pull one of the other tappers that have been on the show to dance with him…it would be nice.

All Stars

Paul & Kathryn: the thing I like about Paul is that he tends to have chemistry with everyone who he is paired with on the show. There may have been a fight concept but for me they both seemed to be on an even level.

Hayley & Joshua: Who else thought of Katy Perry when they saw the stage set up? This was a major improvement from her last hip-hop. She really did seem like she was fighting to stay in the competition

Aaron & Melanie: I so wanted to know what they were yelling at each other during this piece, which made it entertaining to watch. Granted yes he sort of dropped her but thankfully it went with the theme of the dance. Also, Melanie being as good as she is caught herself.

FikShun & Witney: A ballroom dancer he is not but he sure did try. I agree with Mary that his close hold position was nice and probably with a little more time he could really do the fox trot justice.

Jasmine & Neil: I knew this was going to be good just from the rehearsal footage. Tyce created a beautiful number for these two. This was my favorite of the all-star pairings.

Amy & Alex: So happy Alex was able to do Bollywood and not hurt himself. Amy’s personality just suits Bollywood. It takes a lot of energy to tackle those dances.

Paired together

Hayley & Paul: I loved this version of the song and love watching these two dance together. Sad to see them both go but I had a feeling that they would be the ones that left.

Amy & FikShun: Happy that Dave Scott didn’t make this a cutesy hip-hop. They really do bring out the best in each other.

Jasmine & Aaron: This was my favorite out of the last three dances. I loved the concept of this dance and I did notice that Aaron took the judges note from earlier in the night and corrected it for this dance. Jasmine must be double jointed, how else would her legs be able to move like they do.

So our top 4 are Jasmine, Amy, Aaron, and FikShun. Who will you be pulling for next week? I’ll be pulling for Aaron mainly, as for the girl I’ll be happy with who ever wins out of the two of them.

August 28, 2013 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.

Top 8 Power Rankings

Great night of dancing last night but with the All Stars joining the Top 10, I can’t say I’m surprised. Twitch, Marko, Brandon, Jakob, Robert, Neil, Kathryn, Melanie, Comfort, and Witney were the All Stars for this episode.

The bottom four was Jenna, Makensie, Nico, and Tucker (who was only there by default). There were no solos last night and looking back on it not sure if that was the right thing to do, but in the end Nico and Makensie were the two to say goodbye.

Since the partners were split up I figured I would rank the girls and guys separately.

Girls

Jasmine: Marko joined here for this fun dance to one of the songs of the summer. Jasmine gets the top spot cause she seemed to outshine her all-star partner; it was hard to take your eyes off her. To answer Nigel’s question, he was looking at two all-stars last night.

Jenna: I still have no clue as to why I just can’t connect with Jenna but she is a great dancer. I loved Mandy’s choreography and with Neil as a partner I say this helped Jenna.

Amy: I had to watch this twice cause the first time the song threw me off. Brandon to me is the perfect disco partner with all those crazy lift and that death drop at the end that was so close to the ground. Amy rocked this number keeping the energy up threw the entire dance.

Hayley: This is a perfect example of why sometimes dancing with an all-star isn’t such a good thing. Hayley and Twitch did have the chemistry and dance well with each other. However, even though Hayley did a great job, I think may people were watching Twitch.

Makensie: Paired with Jakob, they definitely have the best feet. This actually was my favorite dance out of all the girls so needless to say I’m sad she was voted off.

Guys

Tucker: What can I say; everything about this piece was just absolutely amazing. Travis provided us with a story that both Tucker and Robert could relate to. They have both survived life threatening accidents, I would imagine it was easy for them to tap into the emotion of the dance. I haven’t really cried while watching a dance on this show but this one came close.

Aaron: It’s crazy to think that he wasn’t part of the original top 10 guys; he has proven he deserved a spot on the show. Love watching him and Kathryn dance together.

Paul: Must have be the luck of the draw that he and Witney were paired together for this cha cha. Thankfully they did not disappoint, which I figured since this is Paul’s style.

FikShun: He is by far the most improved dancer on the show. He kept up with Melanie in this sassy jazz number. I’m excited to see what he has next.

Nico: Loved this reptilian hip-hop. I thought Nico and Comfort were selling not only the character of the dance but the choreography as well. Hated to see him leave but after Tucker’s performance I figured it might happen.

So Hayley, Amy, Paul, and Fikshun make up my bottom four but will the fans agree.

Next week should be interesting since the all-stars are choreographing and dancing with the top 8. Maybe we will get to see Travis dance on the stage again, or maybe even Dmitry.

August 14, 2013 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.

my favorite season 8 dances

whew! what a finale! while we’re all still relishing last night’s amazingness, thought I’d take a minute and post my favorite dances from the season. this was a great chance to look back for me, and, for as much grief as we had with things that we felt were wrong with season 8, it still produced some pretty awesome numbers.

These aren’t in order of preference, just week they were done, mostly b/c I’m cheating and using Wikipedia 😉

Iveta’s intro (ballroom medley with Pasha)–while this wasn’t quite as steamy as last season’s intro of Cristina Santana w/ All-Stars Pasha and Anya, this was, by far, the best ballroom we had this season, mostly because it was Iveta in her style. Caitlynn and Pasha’s Argentine Tango that was replayed last night was soo beautiful and a fabulous showcase for her, but technically, this medley was just unbelievable.

Melanie and Marko’s “Turn to Stone”–on the night of the premiere, this was the only number that made me literally punch the air with excitement. I probably rewatched this number a dozen times over that week. For me, Melanie & Marko are the best pair the show has had since Katee & Joshua. They made each other better dancers, and emotionally they were just totally in sync. The slow cartwheel that Marko does over Melanie still gives me goosebumps.

Caitlynn & Mitchell’s “Turning Tables”–our first chance to see them as a couple and they did NOT disappoint. Stacey Tookey has a way of bringing emotions out of dancers that they may not have touched before. The chairs and lamps could have gotten in the way, but they really worked with them well, and the interplay between light and dark made the piece really interesting and powerful. For what Mitchell lacked in technical refinement, he made up for in pure emotion and drive, and I could tell he had a lot to prove after not being able to dance week 1. I loved this partnership.

Clarice & Jess’s “Fly Me to the Moon” foxtrot–as you all probably saw from my posts, I was NOT Jess’s biggest fan, I found in immature and annoying a lot. But NOT in this number, I loved this one. His broadway background lent itself really well to the jazzy bluesy feel of the song. Though there were quite a few points when they were in closed hold when the movements felt heavy, their musicality overshadowed that for me. It was THIS type of movement I was looking for in Ryan & Ricky’s broadway that they did a couple of weeks after this, when Jesse Tyler Ferguson said they were “hitting the ceiling” with their movements and not finishing them.

Tadd & Jordan’s “One Night Stand” hip hop–just so much fun. really great to see Tadd kind of in his element, and how NappyTabs were able to incorporate some of what Tadd does really well. I agree with the judges that it almost became too much about the story, but this was one that I just really enjoyed watching.

Caitlynn & Mitchell’s “To Love You More” contemporary–one of Mandy Moore’s best pieces this season (I’d put it just behind Neil & Melanie, but I’ll get to that later!) The trust they had in each other was innocent but so mature at the same time. They’re both so young, but they tapped into something really amazing.

Sasha & Alexander’s “That’s Life”–their best dance together, Alexander finally let it all go. He was so tight for so long, but in this one, he just felt free, and it lifted a weight from their partnership that had been there really since the beginning. This was also one of Tyce’s best pieces.

Sasha & Twitch’s “Misty Blue”–what can I say that hasn’t already been said?!

Neil & Melanie’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”–for me, Neil wins the award for most improved dancer since his season aired. He’s become a really fabulous technician as well as an even better partner. He breathes life into the moments between the movements in a way he didn’t used to when he was on the show. Melanie matched Neil step for step, and really shined in this piece. And the leap!! The trust she had in him was just amazing. This was a goose-bump inducing one for sure.

Caitlynn & Tadd’s “White Tie & Tails” foxtrot–was this the best technically? no. But there was such joy on both of their faces. Jonathan Roberts, a pro from DWTS, really does the classic ballroom dances incredibly well. He has a real sense of how to impart wisdom on the dancers in terms of how to embody the dance even if you don’t quite have everything technically sound. And stylistically, Caitlynn looked AMAZING, wow.

Kent & Sasha’s Wall contemporary–Kent is my runner-up in the “most improved since his season aired” award. The strength that he has gained, both physically and emotionally since last summer is absolutely astounding. He would NOT have been able to pull of that routine the way he did this season last summer. And his strength helped Sasha’s strength and vulnerability really emerge.

Tadd & Melanie’s “A Chorus Line/Black Swan”-esque broadway–though I really liked Chris & Ashley’s “Please Mr. Jailer,” THIS is the broadway I would have rather seen last night. I know why they didn’t repeat it, but this was the best broadway of the season, by far. Nothing felt out of place, from the music to the camera work to the lighting to the dancing. It was so sexy but so mean at the same time, I know that sounds weird. For me, this was Tadd’s best dance other than the vulture dance with Jordan.

Lauren & Marko’s contemporary from finale night–this was my favorite dance from the finale. It started with the music; the fact that the music didn’t have big sweeping crescendos allowed the dancing to be the most important thing on the stage. The dancers could just dance, the music wasn’t ruling the way they moved, THEY ruled the way they moved in their relationship on stage together. Loved it loved it loved it. Tessandra hit the ball out of the park with this one.

so there’s my list! what do you guys think? any that I missed?

August 13, 2011 I Written By

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 8 – Top 8 Performance and Elimination

Summary

This week’s judging panel featured director/choreographer Rob Marshall and pop music icon Lady Gaga, who gave constructive insight into the performance aspect of dance. Although we liked Neil Patrick Harris’s judging the most so far this season, the celebrity panel additions have worked a lot better in the second half of the season versus the first half.

The elimination show was tough for us to watch. Jess was one of our favorites from the competition and we were both expecting to see him make the top six and possibly the finals. We had a tough time seeing him cut after his growth and improvement in favor of Tadd, who has also grown but hasn’t felt as polished when you compare the two. We talk in-depth about Jess and Tadd and draw a line in the small details. Tadd has difficultly with fast choreography and when we consider his solos in total we don’t see a wide range in his dancing vocabulary and we don’t have these same issues with Jess. We admit, we’re biased here, but we try to quantify our feelings of disappointment as best as we can.

Jordan’s elimination was more straight-forward as her body of work has been hit-or-miss during the season and her solos have revolved around her leg movements. Caitlynn has been consistent and we feel like we still have more to see from her.

Marko and Melanie once again had amazing pieces and have solidified their place in the finals. As for who else is going to the finals, it looks to be a toss up when we compare Tadd/Ricky and Sasha/Caitlynn. We think it will depend on what routines they get next week and how well they perform. We consider their bodies of work and speculate on what may happen.

Please let us know your thoughts by dropping us a comment here after listening! We love to hear feedback and what you thought of the show. We also encourage you to check out our blog and twitter feed to keep up to date with us!

Episode Length: 30:01

Time Stamps
0:00 – The guest judging by Lady Gaga and Rob Marshall
1:45 – Discussion of Jess and his elimination
7:48 – Tadd, has he grown more than Jess to deserve a top six spot?
13:28 – Jess’s final solo and online fan reaction
15:40 – Jordan’s elimination (the Tyce kiss of death strikes again)
16:50 – Caitlynn’s work
18:50 – Sasha had a very good night
19:59 – Melanie had an excellent night!
22:10 – Marko continues to amaze us.
24:15 – Ricky: does he dance too tall? And is Anya heavy?
26:10 – Who makes the finals?
28:24 – Next week’s all-stars: Kent, Janette, Jamie, Ellenore, Twitch and Pasha!
29:23 – Wrap-up


Listen to the podcast

Episode 12 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes

 

July 30, 2011 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Top 8 Results Thoughts and Discussion

My live thoughts and yours, too. Excited to see what All-Stars we’ll have next week. I just realized that Jaimie Godwin was supposed to be an All-Star this week and I guess she was replaced by Allison. I must’ve missed something – did they explain why Jaimie wasn’t on last night? Maybe they’ll say something tonight.

LOOOOOVED Tyce’s Top 8 routine! It’s routines like this that remind me what he’s capable of and make me even more annoyed with his lackluster choreo. It had hints of Wade and Sonya and was just so fun and cool and was a great opportunity for the dancers (especially Jess, as the ringmaster).

I also love Cat’s dress, especially the sleeves. Gorgeous.

Rob Marshall really nailed it when he said that SYTYCD puts dancers back in the center of attention, rather than in the background. That’s what I love about the show, too. Or at least part of it.

It’s cruel that they went to break without saying which of the four girls is in the bottom! Fine, keep us on edge, but soooo mean to the dancers.

Spoiler space for the rest…

Well, I was right about the girls. Melanie and Sasha are safe and Caitlynn and Jordan are in the Bottom Four.

Oh my gawd, I almost lost it watching that little clip of Marko’s mom hugging him backstage. I think he almost lost it too, judging by his face when they went to him on stage. Not surprised Marko’s safe and Jess is in the bottom, but I have to say I loved Jess peeling off his shit as he strolled off stage. Okay, I kinda like him a tiny bit more and more each week. 🙂

I *am* surprised that Rickey is safe and Tadd is in the Bottom 4, but maybe I shouldn’t be after some of your comments lately that he seems arrogant. I don’t see it myself, but apparently enough people do to put him in danger.

LXD always makes my day. It was nice to see Christopher Scott dancing on the SYTYCD stage, too. And, am I crazy or was that Ashley Galvan in the line of dancers?

The National Dance Day segment was really fun.

Jordan’s solo was her best, I think, but the leg extensions were still prominent, of course. Jess’s solo was full of character and entertaining. BUT, I thought Caitlynn really danced her best solo yet and that it was better than Jordan’s. I hope the judges agree and keep her! Tadd’s was clearly the best, full of character and performance. Love the song, love the tricks, love the whole attitude. He has some of the best solos.

Liked Lady Gaga’s performance, but most especially seeing Mark dancing with her so prominently.

Whew! Glad Caitlynn is safe. I thought Nigel was really respectful and nice to give such a positive build up to cutting Jordan. I’m surprised the judges could bear to cut Jess, but Tadd really earned it with his solo. He threw everything he had onto that stage.

The goodbye sequences made me realize two things
-I liked some of Jordan’s performances more than I remember (the bed hip hop with Tadd namely)
-I warmed up to Jess right as he was leaving.

They never announced the All-Stars for next week. Hmmm….

What do y’all think??

July 28, 2011 I Written By

Season 8 Top 8 Power Rankings

Sorry this is late! I’ve just caught up on the episode. Thanks for all your comments, y’all!!

I really wish this wasn’t going to be broken down into Top 2 Girls and Top 2 Guys vs. Bottom 2 Guys and Girls. I really want three girls in the top and I have to put one of my favorites in the bottom. :'(

Top Four

1. Melanie – While I agree she hasn’t been as challenged as some of the other dancers (she does tend to get contemporary/jazz) and never gets critiqued, I also love her. Her contemporary with Neil was the best of the night, I think and then she ended on a high note with Sasha at the end.

2. Sasha – She was stymied with a weaker partner at the beginning, but she’s gotten almost as much face time as Melanie since Vegas Week *and* she’s had to stretch herself more. Her routine with Twitch last week was maybe the best of the season. I liked her quickstep with Pasha, but it was the first routine. However, she and Melanie had that lauded Sonya routine at the end.

3. Marko – He had a stellar contemporary with Allison, has been part of the Power Couple with Melanie and had an alright hip hop with Rickey later.

4. Tadd – His heist routine with LoFro was great, despite his hat malfunction. He was very MJ-ish and had one of the more popular All-Stars, plus good chemistry. Also, his foxtrot with Caitlynn was really classy and elegant and I think might’ve surprised a lot of people.

Bottom Four

5. Caitlynn – I’d like to put her in the Top if this wasn’t broken down by gender. She had an alright hip hop early on with Ivan, but I really, really liked her foxtrot with Tadd. I think she’s grown enormously and she’s been challenged a lot, even just in tonight’s episode.

6. Jess – He surprised me in his hip hop with Lauren G., but his later number with Jordan wasn’t good. He was stronger than her, to be sure, and I know he’s got a fan base, but I think he’ll be in the bottom. I think he should be, anyway.

7. Jordan – She’s annoyed me more and more each week, with her “sexy” pouting and vamping, not to mention her leg extensions. She danced an alright jazz with Ade, but I think whatever strength the routine had was Ade’s, not hers. She didn’t connect with him or later, Jess, at all. Her rhumba with Jess really sucked. It’s time for her to go home, in my opinion.

8. Rickey – His jive with Anya was pretty good, but not nearly the most memorable routine of the night and then he was called out as the weaker link in his hip hop with Marko. He’s been in the bottom a lot and if he is again, it’s probably his week to go.

It makes me nervous that I didn’t get to vote, but I’m fairly confident that Jordan and Rickey will be going home tonight. What do y’all think?

Also, I BOUGHT MY TICKETS to the tour!! Whooo hooo! Has anybody else gotten theirs yet? I’m going to see it in Atlanta this year, with my mom and (I’m sure) Amanda.

I Written By

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

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