Tonight is the night that everything changes—the power is entirely in the hands of the American voter. I’m a little bitter that I’m not ensconced in a comfy movie theatre chair, eating popcorn and watching HP6 right now, but that irritation recedes when I learn Debbie Allen is our guest judge. OMG I LOVE Debbie Allen!!! Wouldn’t she be the world’s best mom? I’m 99% sure if she kissed your booboo, it really would heal.
Nigel reveals his disquiet regarding the judges’ loss of voting rights, and admits to being a control freak. Mary elaborates how difficult it will be to change partners after so much time working together. Debbie is warmly welcomed back, and tells us her three favorite girls and three favorite guys are still in the competition. She also says that she’s been watching at home, and has thrown her cup of Haagen-Dazs at the screen on more than one occasion. Love it! Honestly, a dinner party with the SYTYCD judges would be the very best dinner party in the world.
Our first dance is the girl’s ensemble routine. They’re performing a Bollywood dance, and it’s wonderful. They look gorgeous!!! Nigel delivers the obligatory “Nakul is cool” comment, and puts all the ladies on his “hot bangers and mash” train. VERY interesting! If you had a “Hot whatever train”, what would your food item be? I’ll have to give this weighty decision some thought. Mary and Debbie both love. I plan to Google where I can get lessons as soon as this show is over. (P.S. For those in DC or NYC who are interested, voila. I so want to do this! http://www.dhoonyadance.com/classes.php )
Kayla and Evan are the first new couple to perform. We see a bit of Mia’s addiction piece again, and I swear, had Kupono been dressed up as a giant Snickers bar, that would have exactly been the story of my life. I am utterly incapable of resisting all things Snickers. Anyway, Kayla is the tallest girl in the competition, and Evan is the shortest guy, and shots of them rehearsing the waltz while she towers over him are a bit funny. Evan says he’ll dance like he’s nine feet tall, and Kayla says “I’ll plie…a lot.” Hee. Also, Evan has HUGE pitties. I know they’ve been dancing for about five hours and all, but for the love of God, if you’re on camera, wear a shirt that hides that nonsense! They perform, and the camera guy decided this routine would be best viewed from an aerial point of view, apparently, because all I can see are the tops of their heads. I suppose that’s one way of hiding the height difference? When they finally show them straight on, they just zoom in on Kayla’s bracelet, so…I don’t know, maybe the costume jewelry was an integral piece of the dance? Evan seems to be doing well with the lifts. Nigel notes that they look the same height, and it’s because…whoa, Evan is rocking some three inch nurse shoe heels, and Kayla is wearing flats. Nigel notes to the choreographer that he didn’t see much Viennese in the Viennese waltz. Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen him give critiques directly to the choreographers before! But he thought that Evan was strong and supportive, and that the lifts were great, when it could have been a nightmare. Mary thought Evan’s footwork needed work, and gives Kayla gets a “FABULOUS!” Debbie says “Darling, you HANDLED your big woman! I don’t care what kind of waltz it is honey, they were in three/four, and they were in time…” She gives more warm praise, and once again: love her.
Brandon performs his solo. It’s good; I think he was better in Vegas, but whatevs. When my husband and I spontaneously perform our own solos, which we are wont to do after a beer or two (or dead sober, or any time, really), they always include some kind of barrel leap, lots of meaningful reaching out, and a bit of rolling around on the floor. I also throw in the “wave hands around head and through hair” move required of the female dancers. Brandon’s solo includes all of these.
Our next couple is Jeanette and Ade—the tallest guy and the shortest girl. They both seemed really excited about the grouping. His pick is gold and sparkly this week! Oh dear. Is he starting his own line? NappyTabs has choreographed a dance whereby Ade infuses Jeanette with funk. Apparently art is a reflection of reality in this case, as Jeanette is many things, but funky she is not. In the dance, the pick acts almost like a wand which controls Jeanette’s movement, and once again I’m reminded that I’m missing Hp6—grr! The dance is performed well and is a lot of fun. Can Tabitha and Napoleon do no wrong? Nigel shoves two pencils in his head and says if that’s what you can do with a pick, then he’s wearing one next week. He tries to critique, still wearing the pencils, and Mary breaks down laughing. Cat notes that it’s hard to take him seriously while he has pens in his hair, and he says “I have to talk Mary out of her clothes later” while making hypnotic type gestures—seriously, I’ll post a screenshot of this for reference. You can just imagine the screams this elicits from Mary. Cat just says “That is a terrible visual”. Mary sobers up, tells Nigel to “just cut the crap”, then adorably yells “That was fuuunky!!!!” Debbie says “Whooo, honey, these children wore me out! I wanted to get up there and dance with you!
Randi’s solo. Wow, she’s really good! Not that I thought she wouldn’t be, but it’s fun to see solos from the contestants who have skirted the bottom three so far.
Kupono’s solo. He’s wearing the necklaces and torn clothes. It’s funky. He sings along to the music, though—huge pet peeve of mine.
Jeanine and Jason are our next pair. Jeanine deadpans that “Last week, I had the Russian Folk dance, which stole the night.” Travis Wall is back as a choreographer! Fun. I actually really love Jeanine after the highlight reel. Their dance is a story about two longtime friends dealing with their romantic feelings toward each other. Poor Travis just looks terrified. They perform, and wow, I LOVE this!!! They perform beautifully, and it’s so well choreographed, and it ends in quite a kiss. My goodness! They get a huge standing ovation from everyone, including the judges. Nigel says he’s so happy to see Travis grow from being a dancer on the program to a choreographer. Mary is silent initially, prompting Nigel to yell “Mary is lost for words! I want you to do the same routine every week!” Mary finally hollers that she’s just ready to pass out, she’s so happy, and she loves seeing Travis back, and she’s crying, and Travis is crying, and Jason looks like he’s going to cry, and oooh! And then Mary hears something! Hooray for the train! Debbie loved the piece, and the dancers. She notes that this show helps evangelize dance in a way that nothing has, and she’s so happy to be a witness to the growth. Me too! And PLEASE bring Travis back as regular choreographer! After this, I may just have to go out and buy his SYTYCD workout DVD. (Note to MSG—I will drink tons of Crystal Light to rehydrate after I work out. Yes I will!!)
Melissa’s solo, yay ballet! It’s very pretty.
Evan’s solo. Wow! He’s looking dapper in a tuxedo, and he dances a beautiful Gene Kelly type routine. I thought it was lovely. I wonder if Ryan choreographed it? As Cat said, let’s hear it for “It’s Evan!”
Kayla’s solo is lovely, and she’s all legs. It’s ridiculous.
Randi and Kupono are paired for a Paso Doble. It looks like a disaster in rehearsal. Choreographers Tony and Melanie say “they were in total panic mode today, and they should be! It was rough!!!” Oh dear. They perform, and it’s Kupono and... some random chick? Honestly, who is he dancing with? Did Randi get hurt? OH GOD no it’s Randi, wearing some crazy wig. They perform, and egh. It is a trainwreck. And I love me some Paso Doble! I always think that I would love to dance this on Dancing with the Stars, except I don’t actually want to be a star. Can they create Dancing with the unknown Virginians as a spin off? Anyway, Kupono drops her at the end…oh, this is terrible. Nigel thinks that Kupono wasn’t strong enough, and that he wasn’t sure about the wig with Randi. Not sure about it? He’s being kind. The wig and the tawdry barmaid costume were dreadful. He says it didn’t work as a couple or as dancers, and that it didn’t feel authentic in any way. Cat says that it’s hard to be a new couple, and Mary notes that it’s hard for everyone, and some people take the challenge and blossom, but Kupono and Randi did not rise above. She describes the passion with which the Paso Doble should be danced; mauling poor Debbie in the process. Finally Debbie has to defend herself with an “AlriGHT, Mary!!!” Debbie says it’s hard not to agree, and it didn’t seem like they didn’t trust each other. When momma Debbie can’t even find words of comfort or praise, you KNOW you sucked.
Ade is once again shirtless—shameless pandering to the female audience! -- And combines Alvin Ailey with Bring it on. Methinks Cat has a little crush on Ade!!!
Jeanine’s solo; she does a great contemporary piece. In general, the solos here seem much better than when they dance for their lives. Maybe lack of nerves?
Jason performs a really interesting piece to “Train Fare Home” from Muddy Waters. Way to take a risk! You know, I like Jason more tonight than ever.
Melissa and Brandon are our last couple to perform. They are doing a Tyce Broadway routine to Aquarius. I don’t know about this damn liberal hippy nonsense, but they dance the bejesus out of the routine. Well, the part of it I could see—the last part of the dance was completely obscured by smoke. Nigel loved it, and said it brought back great memories. I bet it did, Panama Red. Mary loved it, and beats Debbie up some more. What is that all about!?! Debbie, get yourself some Workman’s Comp!!
Jeannette’s solo is last of the night, and she is such a firecracker. Love her!
We wrap it up with the guys performing an African routine. This is new! Evan looks a little petrified. They all tell us how much trouble they had with it during rehearsal. They perform, and…God bless Evan. He keeps making these goofy faces during the performance, and I’m cracking up watching him. But on the whole, the piece has amazing energy, and it’s very complicated, and I love it. Jeffrey Page, the choreographer, seems so pleased. I hope we see more from him!! Nigel tells Evan he looked like a dancing milkshake. Mary loved it. Debbie loves that this is the origin of hip-hop and jazz, but this piece was so pure and authentic, and it was wonderful. Debbie was proud. We could end the show on this nice note, but Nigel throws in that it was MUCH better than last week’s Russian folk dance. Oh that’s great. Like our relations with that country aren’t strained enough. Let’s move on, and stop trying to provoke international incidents, shall we?
I’ll be sad to see any of these guys go home, but I think it will be Randi and Kupono who leave us tonight. Thoughts?
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