Well, that was a strange intro. I thought for a second we were going to have a rerun or a “best of” episode. Cat is smartly dressed in a simple satin dress tonight, so I am looking forward to tonight’s show. On the judging panel we have Mia Michaels, which is dangerous for two reasons: first, no couple is going to be dancing her stuff. Second, she is a notoriously straight shooter. Immediately, Cat puts her on the spot about her past ill regard for Brandon, and she concedes, without naming names, that her opinion has improved. So Nigel names the name, bless him. And with that, first out of the gate iiiiis:
Janette and Brandon
Jean Marc Genereaux and France are tasked with making these two cha cha. The dances are tricky territory, but Janette is pretty close to her comfort zone, so we have to see if Brandon can keep up and not drop her. (Sabra Johnson, anyone?) Picking the Pussycat Dolls was an interesting musical decision, but the song really has a great beat for this dance. Janette is being really theatrical and catching lots of flies with her wide-open mouth. The choreography seems a little “be sexy here, and then dance here.” Brandon has his guns on display, again. I’m jealous. It was definitely entertaining, and the two look really comfortable on stage, which is so key to making these technically intricate dances flow.
Nigel explodes in a Murphy-like supernova declaring it the best cha cha ever. Everyone is anticipating Mary going to the hot tamale train, but Mary is amazingly on point, bringing up how difficult Janette’s salsa-to-cha cha transition, and especially how wonderfully shaped her feet were. Her commentary is actually so useful, informed, and specific I’m willing to forgive the insanely bombastic Hot Tamale declaration. This is a version of Mary I can live with. Mia regains the show’s sanity, and begins accounting for her very tough attitude on Brandon, and that it is a response to his enormous capability. She concedes that they have been on fire for the whole studio show and congratulations them. So, we are off to a great start.
Kayla and Kupono
Sonya is taking things to a very dark place, turning Kupono into death trying to drag Kayla down. The choreography took a couple turns that I didn’t really follow. You kinda have to live with that with her choreography. It wasn’t my favorite routine ever, but I do think it was very well-performed, though I felt Kayla’s lines were sharper, her kicks higher, and her movement in general were more impressive. Kupono was good, but I felt like he was outshone.
Nigel starts out complimenting Kupono, and his excellent technique, and lumps Kayla along with it. Mary does her traditional pump-fake, dance is about death, but they are alive, and Nigel takes over “yes they are” duty. Okay…I have to ask, is someone at SYTYCD reading this blog? Because Mary is again getting into specific critique, complimenting their acting, and their partnership. Mia compliments their look, their costumes, the makeup, the choreographer…okay, so now it’s time for the dancers! Mia is equally happy, and teases herself for some of the nitpicking of Kupono in past, and praises his responding to all of their notes.
Okay, at this point, I have to ask: Is someone at SYTYCD reading this? Because I am suddenly so much happier with the show, and it seems weirdly responsive to what I’ve been saying. Well, if you are, thank you. And if you haven’t been, well, call me Mr. Lucky.
Randi and Evan
Joey Dowling is the choreographer, and she is a Broadway choreographer I don’t think I’ve seen before. I love Broadway, and I love how she towers over this pint-sized couple. The dance has a lot of splash and attitude, and, in short, it’s what I love about muscial theater. I love Randi’s sass and Evan’s playful back seat, though he seems to play that character a lot. That said, he handles several big lifts with ease, and the two are sharp, and in great sync. Although I don’t expect a lot of praise from the judges, it is my favorite routine of the night so far, more for the choreography than anything else.
Nigel immediately connects this routine to Bob Fosse, and thanks Joey for bringing that dance to the stage. Nigel points out that their wrists were stiff, but that Randi was very good. Evan disappointed him (and I agreed), but overall the dance was still very good. The aliens that came for Mary are not letting her go, and she gets into the meat of Evan’s body control, and feels that characters were a little dim, but still liked it. Mia brings the fists, and reminds everyone that Joey 6 feet tall, but she dances like she is so much smaller. (As a taller man, I can attest to how hard height is to manage with choreography.) Mia wanted Randi be lighter on her feet, and felt Evan didn’t bring enough, and held back on her “Bravo.”
Caitlin and Jason
Brian Friedman is on hand, and I am trying to keep my mind open for him, though I don’t seem to like his work. His concept: She is an alien who blew up the earth and is looking to start a new species with the last living man. Oh boy, right in my comfort zone. Friedman recycles a song from one of Mark Kanemura’s solos (thanks Mina for catching that) and the dances is weird on top of equally weird music. It is a big plate of bizarre, and I honestly have no ability to critique, this pecular, predatory number.
Nigel praises their commitment, dismisses some of the strangeness of the choreography, and then rips on the costumes (which are too weird to adjust to). Mary sees that the dance was outside their real abilities, though says they definitely sank their teeth into the characters, but on the whole, didn’t care for it. Mia, who was probably the most likely to like a routine like this, starts by explaining that this routine wasn’t meant to be great, and then complains about the tin foil on the costumes.
After numbers like this, I really feel the need to ask what the choreographers are thinking when they cough up numbers like this. Jason and Caitlin are pretty much wired for the bottom three right now, and I don’t think they ever had a shot. While I don’t think it is fair to expect genius every week from every choreographer, I still think that this wasn’t fair to these two, who did genuinely commit to it. I am sure they will take care of business in their solos, but it does illustrate how much luck of the draw comes into this show
Jeanine and Phillip
These two are doing another routine with Tabitha and Napoleon, which served them extremely well the first week. The concept starts with leg irons, and how it symbolizes their partnership, and many rehearsal pratfalls ensue. The dance is fun, and Phillip is razor sharp in his wheelhouse. Jeanine manages, again, not to look bad, but it’s hard to keep up with her partner. The concept is cool, but I feel like the chain was a little underused. There were a few cool moves, but for the most part, it just seemed to add difficulty. It was enjoyable, and one of those routines that was good enough to carry the dancers through, but not one I’ll be going back to watch again.
Nigel was on point, and did not let Jeanine forget she has yet to dance in her own style, and continue to excel in bunch of a styles that are not her own. Mary is again focused on the dance, pointing out sharp Phillip’s moves are, and how Jeanine kept up with Phillip. Mia loved NappyTabs (their Twitter names) musicality, but felt the chain took away from the crispness of the dance a bit by being, well, a chain. Cat asked about the rehearsal with the chain, and how they adapted, and Jeanine unfortunately pointed out that the two had chains all over their apartment, lending an unexpectedly fun BDSM twist to the proceeding. Jeanine turns bright red, but everyone else takes it in good humor.
I am noticing there have been no “yes you did,” “yes it was,” or any other variation of this from Mary. It’s weird, having nothing to mock. I need to start learning something about dance, and fast!
Melissa and Ade
Ah…the group that seems to be turning into my favorite couple. Thordal Christensen, whom I’ve never seen before, is on hand to do a classical pas de deux, and I am instantly looking forward to this routine. In the good news column, they do have a pure ballerina on hand for this. In the better news column, they chose the music from the opera the dance was based on! The choreography really showcases Melissa, and often has Ade standing watching her, but the end result was wonderful. Melissa is in her comfort zone, and she flows across the stage, really showing off her classical training, and what ballet should be. Ade is game, and leaps well, though I found myself wishing that Danny Tidwell had been on hand to really show what this could be. That said, Ade and Melissa seem genuinely sweet together, and I had a tear in my eye at the end. Just a wonderful performance.
Nigel praises them both proudly, and then points out the impossible, bewildering variety this show brings to the air, which they do deserve a world of credit for. Mary loved it, and especially praised Melissa’s handling of the more challenge work on pointe. Mia points how ballet merges every aspect of dance, and praises the performance, and the interracial casting. In the end, she brings up how you cannot hide any weaknesses in ballet, and deems Melissa’s work “brilliant.”
Karla and Vitolio
Our new couple drew the Dance of Doom: the Quickstep. Hope you worked on your solos, guys.
But before we get to them, an announcement about the Dizzy Feet Foundation (Also Nigel’s Twitter name) which is set up to help underprivileged dancers. Nigel deserves credit for pulling Carrie Ann Inaba from Dancing With The Stars, Adam Shankman, and Katie Holmes in to get up, while running this season of the show, and while casting the next season in the middle of economic downturn! Bravo Nigel!!
Jean Marc and France are here to try and find some way to get this brand-new couple through this minefield of a dance. Luckily, the choreographers put a lot of emphasis on characters and surprises rather than the dance. There was relatively little work done in a hold, and the steps were kept to the staples of the Quickstep, a few runs, a few shuffles, but lots of carries. It was a nice, fun dance that didn’t ask too much technically. I had a nice smile at the end of it, so they deserve credit for playing a very tough hand well. It is probably the best any couple has ever done with this dance.
Nigel praises their overall work, though does seem them over-emphasizes the lines at the expense of the flow of movement. Mary is ecstatic, but does see Vitolio’s posture as a little off, but still thinks it was well-executed. Mia put a lot of energy into praises the choreography, but credits the dancers for their performance, and especially Vitolio to roping his usual explosive energy and channeling it into this dance.
At the end of this episode, I have to say that this was one of the best episodes, top to bottom, that they have had in a long time. I am having a hard time picking a bottom three because everyone seemed to really bring great performances this week. I think Caitlin and Jason drew a short straw, Randi and Evan probably didn’t do enough, and Kupono and Kayla may have gotten unlucky as well. Tough call to make, though, and I am not feeling confident about these picks. Assuming these three couples are in the bottom, I think Evan and Caitlin are in the most danger.
