Recap: So You Think You Can Dance Performance Show: Push It Real Good

This week the pairs all perform two routines together, and no solos. My outrage over Anya’s ousting continues as it is so clearly NOT a solo competition. My highlights include a bitchin’ 90′s hip-hop routine and a Tyce DiOrio Broadway routine that doesn’t suck. Funny that. I wouldn’t call it a low, but we also get a tear-jerker of a routine from Mia Michaels that dissolved everyone but me to tears.

It’s just another emotional episode of SoYouThinkYouCanDance!

He’s crying on the inside.

Whoa, we’re only two weeks from the finale! Or so Cat tells us at the top of the show. Mmmm, better savor it while we can. Cat’s dress once again leaves me to wonder why she chose it over all the party dresses in all the land.

It’s just missing a couple sequined salmon swimming upstream.

Cat reminds us that we are going to lose one more guy and one more girl tomorrow night, based on tonight’s performances. Cat cuts the call for the audience to say “jidges” short and just says it herself tonight, like in the good old days. With chatterbox Adam Shenkman back on the panel, they’re probably pressed for time.

Adam’s slightly calmer at the top of the show than he was the last time we saw him, which is probably because Hairspray has since opened and had the “highest grossing opening for a musical of all time,” as Nigel reminds us. Adam was “too shy” to tout his own horn, but of course Nigel was more than happy to brag for him. Adam goes on to quote “a certain heiress” while complimenting Cat and he’s now dead to me.

Apparently tonight the pairs will be doing two routines tonight with their partner. So no solos at all? Interesting. Are they trying to make sure Pasha makes it to the finale or something? Anyways, Mary is not dressed like a blind person for once, but a hooker. A crazy, addled hooker.

Where’s my money, bitch?!?

Well enough about the judges, let’s get on with the show. In the video of Danny picking his partner, Cat asks him who he’s hoping for. “Britney Spears.” He deadpans and Cat and I LOL. But Danny does not get Britney. Instead, he draws Sara and the two will be dancing an Argentine tango and hip-hop. I like that the pairs draw a card with two dance styles at once, to make the coupes display their versatility.

The Argentine tango is being choreographed by Alex da Silva, who’s excited to be working with Danny. So is Sara. Everybody worships Danny, King of Dance. Since they’re doing a tango, there’s the obligatory footage of them practicing the Goncho, or kick in the balls, as it is more familiarly known. Because someone getting kicked in the nads is always funny!

Dancing to a techno-y “Whatever Lola Wants,” the pair look good. Danny’s in a suit and Sara’s dressed like Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman, thigh-high boots and all. I kind of find this dance snoozeworthy, and I normally love both of them. I know it’s not a fast dance, but it just feels soooo slow and heavy. It’s not sizzling enough for me. The pretzel thing is a cool bit, but even that feels slow and deliberate.

He’s always relied on the kindness of strangers.

Or maybe I’m just a product of too much MTV. Adam Shenkman found it “un-beepin-real” and is so proud of Sara. He sees no b-girl there any more. Well just wait for hip-hop! He goes on to call Danny the best dancer this show has ever seen, though he doesn’t know how butch the move with the fan at the end was. Lolgay. I totally thought Mary was going to rip them apart, but she, too, loved it! She praises Danny’s pirouettes. She thinks the flip at the end was out of place, though acknowledges that that wasn’t their fault. Nigel enjoyed it as well and calls Danny “stunning” and the pair “brilliant.”

Ugh, up next are the two dancers I find most annoying: Dominic and Lauren. Together! Yuck. The pair are going to krump and rumba this week. Oooh, I’m actually looking forward to their krumping. Lil C, inventor of krumping, is choreographing. Dominic, ever the horndog, talks during rehearsals about how hot Lauren is. Really? If you say so…

The thing about krumping, especially when they’re doing all this side-by-side movement is that it’s really obvious when they’re not together. And I don’t think they are. Like at all. And Lauren and Dominic don’t move in the same way, if that makes any sense. I dunno, it looks really messy.

The backswim is sooooo hip hop.

Adam, on the other hand, thinks krumping is all about “character, character, character… and explosion,” so he thinks it was hot. Mary thought it started well, but they lost energy towards the middle. Nigel says that he knows as much about krumping “as Little C knows about cucumber sandwiches and cups of tea.” Uncomfortable! Nigel thinks krumping should be “three notches tougher than hip-hop” and he didn’t get that in this routine. Yeah, it was kind of lame, right? Nigel calls Lauren out on falling at one point, saying no one caught it. Except you. And everyone now. Ha, nice.

Moving on, Neil picked Lacey and the pair are going to do Latin jazz and contemporary. That’s nice, since both of them are going to get to dance their own style (somewhat). Maria Torres, who choreographed Lacey and Kameron’s great hustle a few weeks ago is back to do the Latin jazz. It looks like they’re doing an intense lift today and Lacey is very dramatic about it. It seems like she’s just as much of an attention whore as her brother, though whereas Benji gets attention through corny antics and amazing dancing, Lacey gets it through whining and amazing dancing.

Honestly, I’m nervous for them. That lift looks pretty freakin’ dangerous. Co-starring a shirtless Neil, the screams from the audience are pretty constant through the whole routine. Their lift goes off without a hitch, but I don’t remember him using two hands in the rehearsal video.

Damn, girl. What’d you have for lunch?

Adam thinks Neil dancing shirtless is going to degenerate into everyone dancing naked for votes. Can you imagine? Geez, Adam, we’re not in the Netherlands. That’ll never get past the FCC! Anyways, he thinks the pair are beautiful dancers, though he, like the judges last week, wants Lacey to look at her partner even once during a routine. Adam also wanted to see more levels from Neil because he was at an 11 for the entire routine. Mary thought the chemistry was missing from the pair. Yeah, that’s really Neil’s problem, huh? Connecting with women? Just saying… After Adam takes over again, Nigel finally gets a chance to speak to tell the pair he liked the music and choreography, but didn’t like their performances. Ouch. He calls them dance school pupils. I love this level of the competition when the judges will honestly rip them apart.

And so our last couple must be Pasha and Sabra. They will perform Broadway and the Quickstep. Ah, two of my favorites doing two styles I love! I know who I’m voting for… First they rehearse the Broadway routine with Tyce DiOrio. Apparently it will be very fast and the two of them will be all over the stage.

Holy crap, they’re dancing to “A Wild, Wild Party” from The Wild Party, and my respect for Tyce DiOrio just doubled, though it would have tripled if they were dancing to the LaChuisa version instead of the Lippa. They look good dancing together and it’s a very fun routine. Sabra, especially, is very nicely stylized. Great chemistry. Great choreography. Great performances.

LOVE

Adam didn’t want to like it, but he did. He thinks they’re the first ones who got both character and an overall performance. He liked Pasha, but calls Sabra a revelation. Mary loved the pair of them. She can’t think of anything she didn’t like about it, and screams her head off so we know she really liked it. Nigel praises Tyce’s choreographer and thanks the pair for a wonderful performance. He’s sure they’ll be around next week.

Next, we’re back to the beginning as we visit Danny and Sara in rehearsal for Shane Spark’s hip-hop routine. Danny’s a little nervous since Shane didn’t want him in the Top 20. His fears turn out to be totally warranted as Shane’s still a little cold towards him, though by the end of rehearsals, he changes his mind and says he thinks Danny could be one of the best dancers ever.

OH. MY. GOD. This show has found my weakness. It is late 80′s/early 90′s nostalgia and they continue to exploit it. Danny and Sara are dancing to Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” and I freaking LOVE it already. Danny once again reminds me of Will Smith, though this time in his Fresh Prince days. THEY’RE DOING THE HUMPTY DANCE! And that move where they move their feet really fast, like MC Hammer or Bobby Brown or something. It’s incredible, even if they’re off at the end.

How do you feel, Mar?

Adam has major problems with their costuming. So do I every week, Adam, but that’s not really what this is about. (And I for one think their costumes — matching air-brushed t’s, black pants and red berets — are bitchin.) Adam thinks they were great, though warns them to be nice to the wardrobe people. Mary doesn’t care about the costumes, but didn’t like the dancing. Whatever, old lady. Nigel also didn’t like it, commenting on their lack of unison. Danny looks scared shitless that he’s going to go home.

We are next treated to Dominic and Lauren’s rumba. In rehearsal, Dominic is still all over Lauren, but now he’s in heels. LOL!

Tom Cruise called. He wants his lifts back.

The pair are dancing to “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” which doesn’t really scream rumba to me. Like Dominic’s last rumba this is mostly done in spotlight and its very slow and actually pretty sexy. For once Lauren isn’t grinning like an idiot through her entire routine. And wait, did they just kiss at the end? Awwwkward and ICKY.

Adam was very impressed with Dominic and loved their chemistry. However, he wished he’d seen more dancing and rumba, with a little less posing. So what did the ballroom expert think? Mary thought they had beautiful lines in their poses, though it could have used more actual movement. And when they did get into the rumba, she wanted to see more hip movement and grounding. She gives it a mixed review.

Nigel pervily compliments Lauren’s costume before moving on to the dancing. And this is an example of a costume I don’t like. It’s trashy and just oh so “ballroom dancer.” This week Nigel liked Dominic’s facial expressions because they weren’t too over-the-top. He goes on to say the choreographers are dumbing down the choreography and if this pair gets through to next week, they should be ready for a challenge.

Next up, Lacey and Neil perform a Mia Michaels contemporary routine. And crap, Mia’s already crying as she explains that the story is a reunion in Heaven between Mia and her deceased father. Poignant! These two better be freaking amazing. Lacey and Neil feel the pressure to make it good, or else Mia will have wasted this very personal idea on them.

I’m sorry about the jacket!! I’m SORRRRYYY!!!!

The routine starts with flowers all over the stage. That seems really dangerous. The pair flit and float around the stage, but I’m left feeling kind of unfulfilled. I was expecting more from them, though I wonder if the camera angles are partly at fault, since we look down on them from above during the part where they soar the most.

Don’t trip.

Adam starts by thanking Mia for that incredibly touching and personal routine. Yeah, you can’t criticize the choreography on this one. Adam loved the performances too and thought they embodied characters in their dream world. Mary is basically sobbing and can’t speak. Nigel explains that Mary is going through a personal time and now I’m tearing up a little. Seeing other people cry makes me cry! Nigel says they were able to forget about technique and just dance and calls it one of the most beautiful things he’s seen EVER. Um, am I just a cold-hearted bitch? I just found it so meh.

Last up tonight are Sabra and Pasha dancing the quickstep. It’s another routine where they’re all over the stage. Sabra is tripping all over the place, but vows to get it.

Much like the last quickstep, the pair are dancing to swing music. This is a fun and fast routine, though I think I preferred Lacey and Kameron’s quickstep from earlier in the season. These two just don’t seem as light and bouncy. It’s good though, and this is definitely my favorite pair of the night.

Hottest. Conjoined. Twins. EVER.

Adam loved it and calls it awesome. He thinks it sparkled. Yeah, you sparkle. Mary recognizes how difficult that routine was and thinks the pair of them just tore it up. She compliments both of them on their “top lines” which sounds pretty dirty. Nigel thought it was a great follow-up to the emotional previous routine. He calls them the best couple of the night.

Who did you think was the best? Worst? And what’s with those costumes, huh?