SYTYCD - Top 10 Performance & Results

First, I promise that I will get back to posting about my family. We've done a lot of wonderful things this spring, and it's just silly that I haven't been posting.

But until then, the recap:

Performance Show & Results:

*Cat's Hair & Dresses - Loved the hair last night, hate it tonight. Hated the dress last night, love it tonight.

*Fun change for this week - I like that the all-stars are staying on stage for the critique. I think that is a good thing.

Kent & Courtney - I thought Tyce was totally trying to rip off a Sonya routine with that choreography. Maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's because I'm not a huge Tyce fan. Kent gave it a good shot, but he really couldn't keep up with Courtney even though she stuck up for him.
Kent is safe.

Adechike & Allison - I love Allison. Love, love, love. I want her to dance with Billy or with Alex again. Adechike was better this week, but he still has lots of work to do.
But he's still safe.

Cristina & Pasha - Pasha was amazing, and I think Cristina did a pretty good job of keeping up with him. She's not my favorite, but she sure works hard.
And she's the first in the bottom 3.

* Adam mentions that people thought they were too harsh in their criticisms last night. I have to disagree. One of the things I love about SYTYCD is that they are always constructive in their criticism. The judges aren't mean, but they do give their honest opinion. And frankly, dancers are used to that type of criticism. Your toes are either pointed correctly, or they aren't. It's not subjective.

Alex & Lauren - Interesting that Tyce choreographed in the Fosse style, but didn't use a known Fosse song. I didn't love the whole thing, but I completely agreed with the critique the judges gave to Alex. If you watch Lauren on the parts of the dance they are doing in unison, Lauren is doing it correctly. I can't explain it very well in words, but there's a huge difference in the quality of their movement. Just go back and watch.
Alex is safe, so that is wonderful.

Jose & Kathryn - I also love Kathryn. She's a doll. And Jose was adorable and trying his hardest. I'm always happy when I see a Bollywood number because I know my friend Annie is going to be so excited. *grin*
And Jose is safe, of course. Which means another girl is in the bottom 3. America - why do you hate the girls?

Ashley & Mark - I thought this was a little frantic, choreography wise. I wanted to like it more, because I like these two dancers a lot. Some very cool moments, but frantic. And though I'm not sure what Nigel's exact definition of "jazz" is, I think he was right in saying that the choreography was more contemporary.
Ashley is safe.

Melinda & Ade - I HATED Melinda's costume. It was completely distracting. The judges were pretty nice to her. I didn't love this one. Favorite new Mia word = gorgewah (phonetic spelling)
Melinda is in the bottom 3 again. I don't think people like her very much.

Lauren & Dominic - I love the idea behind this and I thought Dominic was great. This new choreographer is awesome. I can't remember which judge said it, but I would have loved to see more realism in the fighting parts.
Lauren is safe. So it's down to Robert and Billy. That's nerve wracking...

Billy & Comfort - This was just uncomfortable. Yeeikes. He just can't pull the attitude off. That was scary.
Billy is safe - luckily the fan base pulled him through.

Robert & Anya - Anya is one of those dancers that will always make the boys look bad. In order to match up to her, they are really, really, going to have to bring it. I don't think Robert quite succeeded, and I was surprised that Nigel thought he did.
And sadly, he's our final person in the bottom 3. At least one of the guys is in the bottom 3 this week...

* Brian Gaynor (awesome guy with scoliosis who has auditioned for the show twice) is performing with his crew. Pretty cool.

SOLOS:
Cristina - meh. I feel badly for her having to do the same thing every week.
Melinda - I wish I liked her personality more, because she's one of the most interesting tappers I've seen in a while.
Robert - Mildly interesting. I'm not sure if that will be enough for him to be kept in it.

* Someone named Debbie Nova is performing. I'm just excited she is being backed up by some all-stars. I don't hate this song, which is new for me with the musical performances. CONFETTI CANNON!! Woo hoo!!

Robert is safe.
Melinda is safe, though Nigel wanted to send her home because the audience isn't connecting with her. (In my opinion, it's because she does that stupid genie bow when she wants to thank the judges instead of doing something normal. Also, she talks a little bit too much about herself and what she has done when she has the opportunity to talk. Maybe it's just me responding to her that way...)
Cristina is going home. No more ballroom contestants. I think that was a good choice.

Next week is going to be brutal. I like almost everyone that is still here.


P.S. I've become a total Bravo reality show junkie this week. I can't sleep lately, and there's nothing else on. Admission is the first step to recovery.

Though, Work of Art is a really cool show. I mocked it when I saw the commercial, but I'm really loving it. It's fascinating to watch the creative process for these people.

SYTYCD - Top 11 Performance & Results

So, I did watch the show last night. But I was in bed and I was too tired to walk downstairs and get my computer. My apologies.

Performance Show:

• I'm not in love with Cat's dress or hair.
  
• That was some AWFUL camera work during the intros. Worst I've seen on the show. And we all know I've seen some awful camera work. Not a great way to start our first live performance show.

Billy & Lauren – Tyce Diorio – Broadway – “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins
I never love Tyce's Broadway routines. They really need some new blood for the Broadway stuff. This routine wasn't completely horrible, and thankfully Billy was able to dance with Lauren. It was cute. I didn't mind it. I thought the feedback they gave Billy about inhabiting the character and filling in the space between the steps was right on.

Cristina & Mark – Sonya Tayeh – Jazz – “Starstruck” by Santogold
I felt sorry for Cristina throughout this routine. I never watched her. I was completely glued on Mark. He owns this style, and he's always brilliant in Sonya's pieces. I thought Cristina was fine, but I didn't think she deserved the high praise she got.

Jose & Comfort – Napoleon and Tabitha – Hip Hop – “Beautiful Monster” by Ne-Yo
I like Jose. I don't like Comfort, though she didn't annoy me as much as she used to when she was dancing something besides hip hop. This dance was great. Love NappyTabs.

Adechike & Kathryn – Travis Wall – Contemporary – “Addicted to Love” by Florence + The Machine
I LOVE Kathryn. She's just amazing. She completely outshone Adechike. It's been interesting to see some of the contestants step up and match the all-stars, and seeing that some of them just pale in comparison. He didn't even belong on the stage with Kathryn. She was dancing her face off.

Melinda & Pasha – Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin – Jive – “L.O.V.E” by V.V Brown
I was watching Pasha and his feet. He just looked so much more polished. Melinda had a lot of charisma, but I didn't love her performance.

Alex & Allison – Sonya Tayeh – Jazz – “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley
That was amazing. I love Allison, so I was expecting to like it, but it was just beautiful. What a combination of music and talent. And Alex got some high, high praise.

Alexie & Twitch – Napoleon and Tabitha – Hip Hop – “Butterfly” by Jason Mraz
I really wanted to like this more. I like Twitch a lot, and I love NappyTabs. And a hip hop routine to a Jason Mraz song? Awesome! But Alexie really didn't bring a lot to the routine. The judges repeatedly accused her of being just cute. Very true.

Lauren & Ade – Mandy Moore – Pop Jazz – “Oh Yeah” by Yello
I love a good Mandy Moore routine to an 80s song with a piece of furniture on stage! And I really like Lauren, but she just didn't do a great job of interacting with Ade.

Kent & Anya – Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin – Ballroom – “Lady Marmalade” by Diva Invasion
Clearly, they love Kent. Poor little kid tried his hardest, but Anya completely dominated him. She's so amazing. Kent is kind of lucky that they weren't doing a waltz, or a different dance that wouldn't have allowed for his personality to come through the steps. He's hard not to like though.

Ashley & Neil – Tyce Diorio – Contemporary – “For All We Know” by Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack
This should have been better. The steps were there, but I didn't feel much watching them. It was interesting to see Ashley break down when Nigel was trying to critique her and asked her if she'd ever been in love. Clearly, she needs to learn how to channel her emotion into her dance.

Robert and Courtney - Sean Cheeseman – African – “Norweg” Cirque Du Soleil’s Saltimbanco Soundtrack
I didn't think I liked Robert very much, but after that routine, I think I do. He was great, and really kept up with Courtney, who I think is a rockstar.

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Results Show: (SPOILER ALERT!)

• Opening number was pretty fun. I liked last week's better. A new choreographer - I didn't catch her name.
• Another bad wardrobe and hair night for Cat. The lipstick is pretty terrible too.

Alex is safe! All-stars watching from the audience. I like that! (Go Allison!)
Robert is safe.
Kent is safe!
Lauren is safe!
Melinda is in the bottom 3.
Billy is safe.
Ashley is safe. (kind of surprised)
Alexie is in the bottom 3.
Jose is safe.
And it's down to Adechike and Cristina. And Cristina is in the bottom 3. That's a shame. It should be Adechike. All girls in the bottom 3. Poor girls. They never get the votes.

• Performance from the two lead dancers in the new Frank Sinatra tribute dance show by Twyla Tharp. The show is called "Come Fly Away." I loved what Twyla did with Billy Joel's catalog in "Movin' Out," and apparently she did another show that didn't go so well. This new show seems to be going well. I liked their performances on the Tony Awards last Sunday night, and they flew in Karine Plantadit and Keith Roberts (two of the leads and both Tony nominees) to perform tonight. Fantastic performance.

Bottom 3 Performances -
Melinda - I have to say, she's a far better tapper than the girl that was on last fall. Loved the rhythms in that routine.
Alexie - She's adorable, but she's expendable. I'm not sure that performance is going to keep her here.
Cristina - That was fun. Ballroom solos are tough, and I'm not sure salsa steps are very difficult compared to other ballroom steps, but she's such a doll.

• Judges are deciding who is going home. I'm pretty sure it's going to be Alexie. Unless they feel like they can get rid of their only tapper or their only ballroom dancer.
• Usher's had a busy week in LA. Diggity saw him perform a couple days ago at a video game publisher party. It was kind of an amazing party. (Video here, if you're interested.) I actually watched Usher's performance tonight. I like this song, and he's pretty impressive as a performer.
• Justin Bieber's new video!?!? AAAAAAHHHH! (Don't hate. I'm only partially kidding. He's a talented kid. And that was a pretty fun video with lots of fabulous dancers.)

Final Results -
This is going to be rough. We usually have a few more people to let go as cannon fodder here at the beginning. But since they're starting with so few people, good people are already going home.

And I was right - Alexie is going home tonight. Cut to the sobbing dancers stage right.

So, friends, did you agree with the judges and I? What did you think of the routines last night?

SYTYCD - Top 11 Intro Show

I really loved the opening number. Costuming, movement, all of it. The formation changes were astounding. Moving that many people around a stage and making them look good is no small feat. I'm so very happy right now...

Since tonight is an introduction show of sorts, I'm going to give some basic thoughts on each dance. The contestants and all-stars are dancing together, so the names of the top 11 are in bold.

Lauren, Kent, Kathryn & Mark
Jazz/Contemporary - Choreography by Travis Wall
I really liked this one. I have to say though, I was watching Mark and Kathryn a lot. Especially Mark. He's just great with that type of movement. He's been dancing for Lady Gaga for so long now, he just owns that quirky stuff.

Melinda, Alexi, Alison & Lauren
Broadway - Choreography by Tyce Diorio
So cute. Again, I was watching Alison and Lauren a lot because I just love those two. I do like Alexi and Melinda though.

Wow - Cat is so tall. And those little dancer girls are so short.

Jose, Dominic, Twitch & Comfort
Hip Hop - Choreography by Tabitha & Napoleon
I really like the way Tabitha & Napoleon tell stories. This was fun.

I'm really liking how the All-Stars seem to be going out of their way to make sure attention is paid to the contestants. They're all really supportive as they are listening to comments and giving props to the contestants as they leave the stage. Very cool.

Cristina, Anya & Pasha
Latin Ballroom - Choreography by Jason Gilkerson
Okay, I know next to nothing about ballroom, but I don't think Cristina did very well on that. Especially next to Anya. Cristina was too stiff in her upper arms or something. Can anyone help me here? Am I wrong? Usually the ballroom contestants are so strong, and she just doesn't seem to be.

Billy, Alex & Ade
Contemporary - Choreography by Mia Michaels
I love Mia. So glad she's back. That was just beautiful.

Adechike, Ashley, Robert, Neil (Dana's favorite! ;) ) and Courtney
Jazz - Choreography by Sonya Tayeh
I never love Sonya's pieces on the first viewing. I'm not sure about that one either. She definitely has signature movement.

I still hate this new studio stage. Hate it.

I just watched the opening number again. Wade Robson makes me happy.

I was trying to decide if I have an early favorite. I really like Lauren and Alexi. And the boys - Robert, Alex and Billy are just amazing. It will be interesting to see the talent vs. personality thing play out this season.

*sigh* I love this show.

Na, na, na, na....

Dear Nigel,

Thank you for such a short, lovely audition process! I couldn't be more thrilled that the Top 11 (you tricky guy, you. Telling all of us that either Alex Wong or Billy Bell wouldn't make the Top 10 and then making a Top 11. So tricksy!) are all picked and ready to dance their faces off for us tonight! And the All-Stars! I'm so excited for the All-Stars next week!



(For those of you who haven't heard about this new little twist, instead of the dancers picking a partner and a style each week, they'll pick an All-Star and will dance in that All-Star's style. So, for example, if Billy Bell picks Comfort out of the hat, they'll dance a hip-hop routine.)

Congrats, Nigel. I think these changes will energize an already fantastic show. I'm only sorry you aren't involved with American Idol anymore. Maybe if you were, you could fix the atrocity that's going on over there...

Best,
Macy

P.S. Will the All-Stars be going on tour? Because that would be AWESOME.