SYTYCD - Top 10 Performance Show

We're late tonight with the update. Wedding prep is ramping up...

Cat Dress Watch - Excellent strapless aqua blue dress with some sassy, fun earrings. Good job this week Cat. Not in love with the smoky eye makeup, but I'll forgive it.

It's over to us, America! Top 10! I must say, I'm very pleased with this top 10. Brandon's nerdy schoolboy outfit for the opening is awesome. I'm sad some of these partners are going to switch up, but it does reveal a lot of weaknesses in the individual dancers. You can see who has been leaning on their partner too much.

Debbie Allen is on the panel this week. She's excellent. Nigel has a weird, shiny suit on. Debbie's comment about it being America's favorite dancer - the person who is still standing in your mind when the dancing is over - is the one who should win.

Group Number - Top 5 Girls (Bollywood)
Excellent. I like this. Get another opportunity to see the girls in a different setting. And seeing who stands out in a dance like this is important in getting votes. Funky little mask part slightly disturbed me at first, but it looked cool when they grabbed arms. Everyone is doing a great job, though I have to say, I didn't notice Kayla until the end when she was the point of the triangle. I did notice the other four. Totally agree with Debbie that this is the strongest top 5 girls.

Solos after the break! I forgot about solos! Hurray!

Kayla & Evan - Waltz ("Kiss From A Rose" By Seal - Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin choreography)
Wow. That's going to be rough height wise. Especially since they got the waltz. Bless his little heart, Evan is extending and throwing his arms and feet out as far as they can possibly go. There were some really nice moments. There was a lift at the end that was lovely. I felt like the turn around the stage at the end was a little awkward with the feet, but I'm not sure. Maybe it's because Kayla is in bare feet. Mary says I'm right about that last sequence of turns around the stage. Evan got the brunt of the criticism, Kayla got the glowing love. Debbie Allen is awesome.

Brandon ("In Your Eyes" by Jeffrey Gaines)
That was fabulous music. And I absolutely loved that solo. Loved when he did the little head nod like he was trying to be cool and then went into the frantic bit again. I don't usually love frantic dancing, but I really liked that. 1-888-TEMPO-01

Janette & Ade - Hip Hop ("Love Sex Magic" by Ciara & Justin Timberlake -Tabitha & Napoleon choreography)
I love that he is using the hair pick to control her in the dance. That is ridiculously awesome. Janette is hitting really sharp, but I think she needs to relax into it a bit more. The part where he got her down on the floor and brought her back up was ridiculous. The judges loved it.

Randi ("Dream" by Pricilla Ahn)
That was lovely. And we all (Emily, Kimmie and I) think she is so cute. 1-888-TEMPO-02. I loved when I drove by the place where she grew up dancing that they had their electric sign set to tell people to vote for her.

Kupono ("Marina Gaolina" - Bonde Do Role)
Not so much. I'm kind of done with him after that solo. Maybe he can change my mind, but probably not. Emily wants to design her own costumes too after seeing his. 1-888-TEMPO-03.

Jeanine & Jason - Contemporary ("If It Kills Me" by Jason Mraz - Travis Wall choreography)
I love how Cat is teasing Travis. I love these two together. Travis came up with some great stuff for them. I Can't believe they were able to do all of that and keep that necklace prop going. Especially when he threw the necklace and she caught it. Jason really danced so much better tonight. I've always loved Jeanine, but I really liked Jason a lot more than I have. They're getting a standing ovation from the judges. Mary's little speechless moment made me laugh. We loved it. But we did feel like there were a couple spots in the show where we were intruding on private moments. Emily hid her eyes a couple times. It was cute. Our first Mary double positive - "Do I think you're a star? Yes I do!" Debbie's right - I think the show does evangelize dance. And I love it.

Melissa ("Gabriel" by Lamb)
Her leaps are just lovely. She's at a bit of a disadvantage when she dances en pointe because she can't get too terribly fancy, but she should because she can. 1-888-TEMPO-04

Evan ("Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" by Rufus Wainright)
I fully realize that it is the Gene-Kelly-loving-musical-theater-geek-nerd in me, but that was my favorite thing ever. I love Evan. 1-888-TEMPO-05

Kayla ("Rock Your Soul" by Elisa)
Emil.y just told her to calm down. I agree. We don't have to move to every beat of the music. Then the movement means less if you are always moving. She's so pretty though. 1-888-TEMPO-06.

Randi & Kupono - Paso Doble ("Dies Irae" by Carl Jenkins - Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin choreography)
I don't like that they are together. He bugs. Emily says that Melanie's hair has been that color since she (Emily) was 10. I love that Emily knows that. Randi tries, bless her heart. Interesting hair. Paso is hard. HARD. They're not doing so well. Kupono really isn't strong here. Emily doesn't like the dragging, skirt grabbing sequence. She covered her face. Then when she fell at the end, she was rocking and saying "please make it stop." I have to agree. Emily says, "The trouble with Paso, is that it is such a partnering dance. It's such a hard dance when you have a new partner. If there is a weak partner, there is no way the other person can look good." I wish there had been another ballroom style in the mix for this week. I guess they'll be switching partners every week, so it really doesn't matter. Yikes. Other than this dance, it's been a pretty good show.

Ade ("Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers)
Yikes dude. Slow down. Great pirouette and back flip though. My head hurts from your crazy movement and lack of musicality, but you sure can turn. 1-888-TEMPO-07

Jeanine ("Violento" by Bailongo)
She's far more musical in her solos than a lot of these dancers. I don't go crazy watching them. She's in the lead for my favorite dancer. 1-888-TEMPO-08

Jason ("Train Fare Home" by Muddy Waters)
Interesting muisc choice. Fun movement. I'll remember what he did, and he's not driving me crazy to watch. And Cat does a southern accent! Awesome! 1-888-TEMPO-09

Melissa & Brandon - Broadway ("Aquarius" from the new revival of Hair - Tyce Diorio choreography)
This could be awful. It might be great, but it could be awful. Love her makeup and costume. That was a great opening shot. Cool flips from Brandon, and I really did love the movement. I think this is the first piece of Tyce's that I've liked this year. They did a great job. Both of them are just amazing dancers.

Janette ("This Is Miami' By Sander somebody)
This is her first solo. Quite the compliment to her that Emily didn't know that Janette was ballroom. And we all feel that was an acceptable ballroom solo. 1-888-TEMPO-10

Group Number - Top 5 Guys (African - Jeffrey Page choreography)
Poor Evan. Just not fitting in here. Good for him bringing a funny moment in there at the beginning. And I'm watching him for not good reasons. Brandon is doing really well. So is Ade and so is Jason. I don't feel like this is the best male top 5 they've had. I like alot of the guys, but I'm not worried about losing some of them like I am with the girls.

My favorites tonight based on all three dances:
Brandon
Janette
Jason
Jeanine

I really liked Melissa and Ade in their couple and group numbers, but their solos could have been stronger.

I loved Evan's solo, but his performance in the group number and his waltz wasn't up there with some of the other couple dances.

Who did you vote for?