TV Social
Recent Comments
- PopePhilly: @Everyone discussing Sneakergate: I would have understood Zendaya wearing them for her hip hop routine...
- Derek Hazelton: @S-Natch, no mention of the MDL’ers awkward...
- labowner: Good morning Sweetblondie.
Smango (in response to your post on the minicap) I agree it... - Gma96793: I think the reason Val and zendaya stayed out of the melee after dreck and Kelly were crowned was so he...
- plockness monster: Missed Brienne and Jamie as well as Jon Snow. I enjoyed the scene between Arya...
- PopePhilly: Thank God Bruno still has one more season to go! I’m just learning how to speak his flail-based language....
- sweetblondie: “Side note – most of the parents we have met have been tons more entertaining...
- AmberAtkins: I can’t even with John. Kathryn was so desperate to get married she took the first...
- sweetblondie: I have to admit…I kind of liked Cercei this episode. I thought her monologue...
- melange: I’m glad the right person won. However, I was getting tired of most of the contestants, so I’m...
-
Tonight Nigel proves yet again that he is a colossal prick. Welcome! To So You Think You Can Dance (dance………..dance)!!
You should be hanging your head in shame!
We open tonight with Cat reminding us yet again of the vast talent of this year’s dancers. And then she gives us the low down on the fact that there’s no results show this week. Yeah Cat, we all already knew that. Did I mention that I’m not thrilled about the judges deciding all by themselves who will be going home? Not thrilled. And then Cat introduces the top twenty……
AKA Billy’s Replacement, or We need a dancer for tonight, good luck making it to tomorrow
They do that weird thing with miking the taps again, which is even more annoying than it was yesterday. Oh, and in case you weren’t counting? There were only nineteen dancers in the intro. Someone else is missing.
Doesn’t Cat look gorgeous tonight?
Cat reiterates again that there will be no results show this week (thanks for rubbing that in, CAT) and says she doesn’t know how the judges will decide who to send home. She says it’s going to be a very difficult evening for them, so she wants us to give them some love.
Will this work for you, Cat?
We have Adam, Mary and Nigel, and Paula Abdul’s Chair. Nigel says he was with Paula at a Barry Manilow concert this past weekend, and she told him how much she would like to do the show. No word on how drunk or high she was at the time she told him that.
Nigel says he told Paula she could judge, dance or choreograph; he just would love for her to come on the show. I actually wouldn’t mind if she came on to choreograph, even dance (maybe). It’s her at that judges’ table that I really don’t want to see. Straight up.
They now want to take this moment to talk about Billy having to pull out due to his illness. But we’ve already covered this, so I’m going to move along to Noelle. Noelle has “done something” to her knee. Uh. I think the word you’re searching for is “injured”, Nigel.
She’s not able to dance tonight. DUH. Melanie LaPatin (aka Bette Midler) will be standing in for Noelle tonight. YAY!!!! I love it when Bette dances on the show! It will remain to be seen if Noelle is able to come back, or if she will have to leave the competition next week. In other words, she gets a free pass to the top eighteen.
Cat tells us the dancers have been paired up and their dances for this week “randomly” picked from a hat. Yeah, we all know how random those picks can be. Once they’ve all danced, the judges will decide which four dancers were the weakest performers of the evening. They will then dance a solo after which the judges will send one guy and one girl home.
Are you ready to begin? Alright! Let’s start off with Channing and Phillip. And right away we’re going to start finding out more about them. Channing was a tomboy. Her mom tried dressing her in frilly clothes, but she preferred baggy shorts; she looks back on those pictures now and wonders what she was thinking.
Channing is a liar because the only evidence we see of the “frilly dresses” her mom allegedly dressed her in is actually a picture of her in a dance COSTUME.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Phillip not only tap dances, but also writes spoken word poetry. Color me not surprised. He seems to be someone that wants to spend as much time on stage as possible.
I still don’t like him
For their dance style this evening they’re drawn the jive. Oh, this could be a total train wreck. Hee! Their choreographer for this dance will be Jason Gilkison. Jason tells us the footwork in this jive is ridiculous. Phillip thinks that his experience as a tap dancer is going to help him here. We’ll see.
I did not like this dance at all. I love the song, “Rockin’ Robin”, but the dance felt so heavy and tired. It had a really clunky feel to it, and the lift sequence they had was just awful. Not a great way to start the night, that’s for sure.
Adam thinks that the two of them together is a very classy pairing. He thinks Phillip did beautifully in this style, but he expected that because of his tap background. Channing surprised him. He thinks she danced very elegantly. I could not disagree more.
He does give her some critique (which is why I like Adam) saying that he thinks she was dancing too “up”. She needs to use her plie more. He also talks about their lift and tells them that they need to be careful not to break character when doing a lift. But overall he thinks they did a good job.
Mary loves to start the show with a high energy jive. She thinks it was not bad. Good, but she wants more. She goes on, telling them that the legs got a little lazy, and then says something about body tics. I have no idea what she is talking about, but apparently Channing was getting the tics better as the dance went on. Phillip got lazy.
Nigel agrees with Adam. He was expecting Phillip to be good because of the style, but tells Channing she needs to get her weight over her toes more. He also tells them that their retractions weren’t as strong as they should be, and says he thought Phillip ran out of steam. They also need more chemistry.
Up next are Ashleigh and Jakob. The show is trying to soften our hearts toward Ashleigh by having her tell us a sob story of how she was sick and had dance taken away from her for six years. That does suck.
It doesn’t change the fact that she’s an orange face licking pain in my ass wearing my gramma’s pink lipstick.
Jakob tells us that he grew up in a tiny town and has been very sheltered. God help him being paired with the face licker. She’ll open up a whole new world of ick to him. He moved to New York after high school and has loved every minute of it.
I’m so annoyed that he’s paired with her.
The dance style they’ve drawn is Broadway with, you guessed it, Sir BitchyPants. Oh yay. Sir Bitchypants says that today they will be doing sultry Broadway. GAG. Ashleigh being sultry? Barf.
Jakob says the dance is very dirty and raunchy, and he loves it. He thinks Ryan might come after him, a little bit.
I am SO hoping Ryan comes after me. A lot.
Ashleigh doesn’t think Ryan will be jealous. She thinks he will be excited to take her home that night. Oh. My. God.
Tyce always picks THE BEST songs
I didn’t like this one either. First of all, the song was BORING which made the dance somewhat boring. Ashleigh just didn’t do anything for me at all. It doesn’t look like Sir BitchyPants actually gave her too much to do, but that made her look like she was merely a prop in Jakob’s dance. Not that I’m complaining about that because I like him, but she barely did anything there. MEH.
We’re starting with Adam again. Adam thinks that Sir BitchyPants pulled out some incredibly smart choreography. Hmmm, I guess Adam isn’t too fond of Ashleigh either. He tells Jakob that god put him on this earth for one reason; to spread the gospel of dance. He thinks Jakob is setting a new standard of excellence on this show. I think he’s really great, but I’m not ready to let go of my old standard of excellence.
Sorry Jakob, you’ve still got a long way to go before I’ll put Danny aside for you
Adam tells Ashleigh it’s going to be tough to be partners with Jakob because he is going to hit it every time. He tells her she needs to work on finishing her lines and closing her hands. I think she should work on packing her bags and GOING HOME.
Mary thinks Asseleigh was more than just fine, she was phenomenal.
I want some of whatever Mary’s got in that cup
I have to thank Mary for that slur. I have now found my new name for the face licker. Thanks Mary! She goes on and on about Asseleigh, but I’m not repeating it because I don’t like to encourage drunken judging. And of course she loves Jakob too.
Nigel is going to start with Asseleigh. He thinks she was one of the surprises to get into the top twenty, but he thinks tonight and on the top twenty show she has proven why the judges have faith in her. Yes, we all have faith that she’ll bring up her husband time and time again in an effort to create false drama.
He tells her she is dancing with one of the most gifted dancers that they have ever had on the show. Yeah, that really bites my ass because his dancing is going to keep her around WAAAAAAY longer than she should stay. Nigel is sad that Billy is no longer on the show because he would have liked to see the two guys grow together. No! Not like that you pervs!
He goes on to say that not only is Jakob a technically gifted dancer, but he’s also got a great performer inside of him, and that is very difficult to find in dancers. Nigel says he is going to go a long way on this season. And he’ll be bringing Asseleigh along with him. Great.
Let’s find out more about our next couple, Ariana and Peter. Ariana is up first and tells us she’s a country girl whose family has a farm. She rides a tractor with her grandpa.
Yee Haw!
Peter is a Philly boy. I swear the footage they show of him with his family is the same footage we saw last season during his auditions. Anyway, he’s Italian, so family comes first, and they like to eat spaghetti. Because they’re Italian.
Hey Paisan!
The style they will be dancing this evening is hip hop with choreography by Tabitha and Napoleon. I really liked what Tabitha and Napoleon did last night, so I’m hoping they can keep moving in that direction. In this piece, Ariana and Peter are androids who are programmed to be emotionless but when they get together programming goes out the window.
Ugh. Am I just being overly critical tonight? I wasn’t thrilled by this one either. I did think the concept was cute, and some of the choreography was really nice, but their connection wasn’t there at all. Some of the problem for me was Peter’s cap; it was pulled down so far you couldn’t really see his eyes. It was like it overshadowed his whole face. Very disappointing overall.
Adam says they weren’t dancing like each other. Yes! He is so right. He says he likes them both so much and he wanted them to be dancing a little more similarly. He goes on to tell them that they can’t let the choreography be more evocative than them inside the choreography. There wasn’t enough action and reaction. He wants them to focus on the similarity of their musicality. “Ooooo! I sounded like Lil C.”
“The similarity of your musicality, and the veracity of your tenacity.”
That was so NOT buck.
Mary says this should have been buck. They have the country girl and the Italian Stallion. What the hell is she talking about? How is that supposed to have made it buck?
Shut Up, Mary
Nigel hated it. He brings up the fact that both dancers were out of their element, and he thinks that Peter got closer to the feel of the piece than Ariana did. That surprised him. And he was disappointed. He says they need to bring a little more next time.
Next up are Noelle Melanie LaPatin and Russell. Russell tells us he didn’t grow up in the best of neighborhoods but he’s had a lot of leaders around him to teach him how to be a leader. He thinks that makes him a good role model for others.
Love!
Why do we still have to hear about Noelle when she’s not even dancing tonight? I’d much rather hear some inane facts about Melanie Bette.
Blah blah blah…..I’m a Southern belle.
I hated that Barbara Hershey during the filming of Beaches. What a prima donna!
They’ve drawn fox trot and as we all already know, it will be choreographed by Tony Meredith and Bette. Noelle has never heard of the fox trot, for all she knew it could have been imitating a fox.
Sorry Noelle, you’re three seasons too late for that one
Bette never thought she would be teaching the fox trot to a krumper with dreads. She’s hoping it will be stupendous. I’m wondering if she tripped Noelle during rehearsals so that she could dance with Russell. Hmmmmmm. Not that I can say I’d blame her.
I think he did a really good job on this. Was it a perfect fox trot? No. Was it better than what we’ve seen so far this evening? Yes. I thought Russell did a great job of portraying the elegance and smoothness of the fox trot. I think he was helped out greatly by dancing with Bette rather than Noelle, but he still pulled it off; she could have easily made him look like he didn’t know what he was doing, but he kept up rather well, I think.
Adam tells Russell that he continues to defy explanation. He says it speaks to how gifted Russell really is. He tells him that he was living a character that had style and smoothness and elegance. NOTHING that’s ever seen in krump. It was effortless, beautiful, FANTASTIC first show.
Mary says it’s really difficult to partner with someone for the first time, and he had to do it twice in one week. So her hat’s off to him. And her hair too apparently. Cat wonders if that’s a new revelation.
“Nah, I’m juss a lille drunk, Kitty Kitty Cat!”
She gives Russell some more compliments, and then some things to work on. But overall, she really liked it. Nigel says that Russell is living proof of why Nigel gets on a soapbox about kids experiencing dance in school.
If he goes through the technique of the dance, the rise and fall wasn’t there, there were so many things that weren’t good. Really, Nigel? Like what else? I’ve only heard you say one thing. He doesn’t tell us any other things that weren’t good, but he does tell Russell that his lines were good.
The thing Nigel keeps coming back to is that this was really Fred Astaire’s style. He can’t imagine Fred Astaire getting on this stage and krumping. “But here you are doing his style, and really well.”
Next up are Bianca and Victor. Bianca tells us that she’s a really hard working independent person. She moved to LA from Detroit by herself to pursue her dreams.
Yikes! Put on some make up girl. Asseleigh has some awesome lipstick you could borrow.
Victor was born and raised in Miami and he loves representing where he’s from. What is this? The Miss America pageant? He’s got that heat from Miami and he’s going to bring it.
Just not right now. Later the heat will be brought.
They will be doing a contemporary piece choreographed by Travis Wall. Yay! I’m happy to see what Travis will do this time; I really liked his number last year with Jeannine and Jason. The storyline of this piece is basically that Victor is a dick. Bianca wants his attention, but he ignores her.
I really like this piece a lot. Travis seems to be able to bring a sensuality to his routines that aren’t there with other choreographers. Maybe because he’s closer to their ages? Maybe he gets that out of them better?
Bianca definitely has some work to do; she seems really awkward and lanky in parts, though that costume is not helping her out in that area. But I thought she did a really good job with this. Victor was great. He has great lines and technique, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what else he has to bring to the table.
Adam says first of all, he’s impressed again with Travis Wall. So young, and so smart. So talented. And then of course he has to talk about how this show had bred that talent. Um, Adam? I’m pretty sure his MOM, Denise Wall, who taught him and so many other great dancers including Danny Tidwell. I’m pretty sure Denise bred him (literally AND figuratively), Adam, not this show. Sorry, I just hate when they do that.
Adam tells Bianca she’s at a distinct disadvantage in this because of her style. He thought she did very good, but he’s going to give her some things to look out for. He says it’s sort of like the song “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”. YES! Thank you, Adam! That is what has been bugging me about her. Her shoulders have that tendency to go up to ears a lot. So she’s always looking tense in the upper body. He also talks to her about pointing her toes. He says she needs to have someone sit on her feet.
Adam thinks that Victor was a revelation in that dance. He thinks Victor was in his sweet spot because he found the character of the music so beautifully. Brilliant. Good job.
Mary thinks Bianca conquered it tonight, much as she has conquered her goals to get here after trying year after year after year (and saying she was quitting). Mary thinks the chemistry between them was really off the charts. Victor is a surprise to her. She expected him to be good in this, but he took it to another level that she has never seen from him before.
Nigel thinks that this is the most connection between partners that we’ve seen all evening. He loves the confidence that the both had. And he’s proud of Travis.
Time now to move on to Karen and Kevin. Karen is from Venezuela. She finds great joy in being a Latina and being able to dance her style. It’s in her blood.
Would that be mild or hot salsa in your blood? I just hope it’s not the chunky kind.
Kevin is a male model. He says that as a model your have to know how to work the camera with your eyes. And then he shows us how he works the camera.
Please stop.
Am I the only one that feels like he seems sort of sleazy when he does that? I liked him better before. Anyway, they’ve picked the cha cha as their style, choreographed again by Tony and Melanie. Watch out that she doesn’t trip you, Karen!
Eh. I wasn’t too crazy about this one. I thought Karen was better than Kevin. He seemed very stiff in parts, and didn’t have enough hip action. That pretzel lift thing at the end was just painful. So bad. You can tell Karen was in her style, I think she would have done even better had he been better.
Adam says “Yikes” to Karen, and then does one of those eye popping motions, like they do in the cartoons.
He says that for those of them who know him, that’s not really his thing. Hilarious!
He tells Kevin good for him for being able to keep up with her. He does call them out on the awkwardness of the last lift series, and so the audience has to boo him. Because they are as stupid in this theatre as they were in the old one.
Nigel jumps in saying he quite liked that. Because he is stupid also.
Mary says everyone knows she likes her some cha cha. She likes it sharp and rhythmical and sexy. Karen was all those things and so she is going on the hot tamale train. Kevin is not on the hot tamale train, he needs to work harder to get there, but he is ever so close. Whew! I was dying to know.
Nigel thought Kevin danced that very very well indeed. Really, Nigel? I think you’re an idiot. Of course he LOVES Karen, but surprisingly doesn’t really oogle her. I know! I was shocked too! All I can say is that he didn’t want to squick everyone the first week.
Time for Ryan and Ellenore. Ryan tells us that he loves to work out. No shit, Sherlock. And look! Asseleigh has somehow managed to insert herself into Ryan’s clip about himself.
WHY?!?!?
Ellenore talks about how she was dancing before she was even born. Both of her parents are dancers, and they met dancing in a show together. Her mom even danced when she was pregnant with Ellenore, so she thinks it was kind of her destiny to be a dancer.
Good thing her mom wasn’t driving a forklift when she was pregnant. We’d be hearing a whole different story. Wait, we wouldn’t be hearing her story at all.
They’ve got contemporary jazz with Sonya. I’m really hoping Sonya can redeem herself after the number she did last night. Sonya tells us the piece is about two angelic creatures. Ryan plays the dark creature trying to possess the more innocent Ellenore.
Ryan wants to be seen as more than just a ballroom dancer. Ellenore thinks he is good with a lot of great natural instincts. Ellenore also thinks that this is going to be one of the best pieces she has ever performed. And maybe that So You Think You Can Dance has ever seen.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, sweetheart.
I’m torn about this one. I’m going to first start out by saying, Ellenore? You were wrong. This wasn’t the best ever performance on this show. There were things I really liked about it, but I guess the problem for me is that Sonya’s work is starting to blend together for me. She uses a lot of the same movement over and over and over again. That wouldn’t be so bad if it felt fresh every time. It doesn’t.
So while I liked the piece overall, and I thought they did a good job performing it, it feels like I’ve seen it before. Does that make sense?
Adam says Sonya rocks his world. Things just got incredibly exciting for him. Huh, I wonder if Ryan’s naked chest has anything to do with that? He says he would not have put either of them at the top of his list of best technical dancers on the show, but they just became two of the most exciting dancers on the show.
The one critique he does give them is that he would have liked to see a little more abandon within the movement, a little more throwing themselves deeper into it. Yeah, I agree, I think that would have helped.
Mary thought the chemistry between the two of them was just crazy. Ellenore better start sleeping with one eye open! She says it’s so tough for a ballroom dancer because they have to spend at least fifty percent of their time out to the judges. She is so proud of him because he was focused on Ellenore one hundred percent.
Nigel agrees. He says Sonya’s style changes all the time with her music. I think that you know from my comments above that I disagree. He thinks they brought a completely new style to them. He says it’s hard to critique that because he doesn’t know what Sonya told them to do, he just knows how much he enjoyed it.
Nigel says he was surprised by Ryan, and what he loves about tonight is that if anyone tuned in without knowing what style each dancer specialized in, they wouldn’t be able to tell from what we’ve seen tonight. He thinks that is a great compliment to the talent of this year’s dancers. Of course he does.
Next up are Pauline and Brandon (Billy Bell’s replacement). Outside of dance, Pauline loves photography, and capturing moments. That’s actually what she loves about dancing too, that in the dancing she can capture those still moments.
I bet Asseleigh is always jumping into the shot
Brandon is so confused and shocked and excited. He can’t believe that he’s in the top twenty. Probably because he wasn’t originally. He says it’s a scary feeing to know everyone else is ahead and he’s kind of behind so he’s gotta catch up. He’s gong to make the best of this opportunity.
Great attitude, shitty circumstance
They will be performing a smooth waltz, choreographed by Jason Gilkison. Jason tells us that the smooth waltz is probably one of the oldest and most traditional dances out there. He wants to create a really young, modern contemporary love story. Jason tells us it has to be lighter than air, skimming across the floor.
I liked it. I thought they had great chemistry, and for coming into it all later than everyone else, I thought Brandon did well. I didn’t like the parts where he was picking up her dress and sort of pulling her with it, but that’s a choreography issue, not a dance issue. There were some part where their posture was off, and I’m sure they’ll get some notes about their rise and fall, but overall, I thought it was good.
Adam thinks they had some beautiful performance moments. He tells Brandon that he needs to work on opening his port de bras from his back instead of from his front and shoulders. For those of you non-dancers out there, port de bras refers to the carriage of the arms, in other words, his posture/upper body was off during the dance.
Mary thinks they’re just the cutest little people. She thought the chemistry was dynamic and very believable. She says the dancing of it was not necessarily the best from Brandon, agreeing with what Adam has said about his upper body. She thinks Pauline was beautiful and provided a good quality of movement out there. She enjoyed the performance.
Nigel says they have to understand that he loves them both before he critiques this. But he has to critique it without the knowledge of what’s been going on this week. Why? Because it serves his purpose to ignore the fact that Brandon had a day and a half to learn and rehearse the routine.
He points out that Jason said it needed to be lighter than air and skimming across the floor. It wasn’t. They reminded him a little bit of a prom couple, and it wasn’t strong enough for him. He’s not sure if that performance is strong enough to keep them in the competition this year. Dick.
Now it’s time to learn more about Legacy and Kathryn. Kathryn tells us she loves to be outside. The producers use this as an opportunity to show us a picture of her in her bikini.
Legacy is a b-boy. He tells us he stared out as a street performer, and he’s able to take that energy and performance to the stage. He wants us all to see what comes out from his heart.
Keep your oozing heart to yourself please.
They have randomly drawn hip hop. Wow. It’s so awesome that it just so happens one of the hip hop guys got hip hop. They’ve also gotten Dave Scott as their choreographer. Niiiice. I like Dave. Dave tells us this piece is about cavemen hearing hip hop for the first time; it’s sort of a comedic piece. Should be interesting.
Wow. I really hate to say this because you all know how I feel about Legacy, but I really liked that. In fact, I think it might be my favorite dance of the evening. I loved the nose bop she gave him at the end of the number! It made me feel better about liking the dance.
Legacy was definitely in his element in this routine, but Kathryn really surprised me. I didn’t think she was going to be able to pull off a Dave Scott hip hop number, but she really hit it. The routine was fun, it hit hard when it needed to, and they both did really well in this performance. Dammit.
Adam reminds us that this is not Kathryn’s style, and that even though Legacy is categorized as hip hop, he’s really a b-boy which means he isn’t used to long stretches of choreography. He gives props to Dave Scott. Dave Scott. Dave Scott. Dave Scott.
He thinks their chemistry together was just fantastic. It was really good, but what he wants to say to them is that they have an amazing opportunity to learn from each other. Is it just me, or does Kathryn look gorgeous as a cavewoman?
Mary’s turn. “Yabba dabba do!” Oh, god. And then she screams, calls them Pebbles and Bam Bam and then screams again. Where is my ice pick? I wish she would lose her voice. Then she talks about paying Kathryn in Pebbles. Wha?? She has lost her pebbles. Yabba dabba do.
Nigel loved the routine. He calls it the hip hop version of Quest For Fire. He thinks it’s funny how the hip hop boys tonight, all three of the other ones, pulled ballroom. Hahahahahaha. Yeah, Nigel, that was HILARIOUS. You should go into comedy. So I can throw rotten tomatoes at you.
He tells legacy he was lucky to have gotten hip hop. Translation: You owe me one. He thinks Legacy’s isolations were terrific, while Kathryn’s could have been a little more hard hitting. And great chemistry between the pair of them. He is looking forward to seeing how they develop across the season.
Time for the last couple of the evening, Nathan and Mowee. Oh lord, it’s like a tween’s wet dream, isn’t it? Nathan tells us he is a musical kind of person. He started out playing piano, and then he moved on to playing the trumpet. He feels like those instruments helped him with listening to music.
He’s so cute, but he makes me feel like a goddamn pedophile!
Mowee is a goofball. Because that’s just who she is. That’s her personality. She hates it when people are all sad and down so she thinks she might as well be one that’s lifts everyone up.
Or drives them into a homicidal rage
They’ve gotten disco for their first routine. You know what that means…….Doriana Sanchez and her lifts of death. Doriana says this routine is inspired by Mexican wrestling. Doriana has some mental issues, I think. Of course there will be a lot of lifts, and it is super fast. Would it really be a Doriana Sanchez disco if you didn’t fear for your life? Or in Nathan’s case, his balls.
YEOUCH!
Doriana’s been stealing moves from Afro-Whore-Icky.
Okay, so. Not super impressed by this dance. I do love that one lift above. Not the cunnilingus one, the other one. I thought Nathan did well, but Mowee didn’t cut it for me. I thought she was dancing really heavy, and she seemed to be dragging in places. It was just okay for me.
Adam says that they are the most adorable couple. Barf. Their energy is infectious and bright and upbeat and really glorious, and he thinks this was a great kind of number for them to have picked. He says they did some really really sexy lifts, and yet somehow none of it seemed dirty.
Nigel butts in to say Adam is not huge fan of disco. Adam says that he thinks of it as a social dance, not a competitive dance, but he was a big fan of that number. Mary says Doriana is famous for making the toughest disco routines, but they really pulled it off. Mary thinks that they are the dream team. UGH. No they’re not. Mowee is never going to be on my dream team.
Nigel thinks that anyone who doesn’t like disco has got to be crazy (Adam Shankman). It celebrates the 70′s. Okay, then, that’s enough for me! He thinks that Nathan and Mowee bring the fun to this competition. I think one of them brings the annoying.
After a brief review of the evening’s dances, Cat brings all the dancers out onto the stage. It’s now decision time. The judges will have to tell us which two girls and which two guys will be in the bottom tonight, dancing for their lives.
She really does hate this part, doesn’t she?
Nigel thinks it’s important that he states immediately that they will be judging the dancers on everything that they know of them since they entered the competition, not just on the solo this evening. Sounds more like not just on this evening’s performance. Kind of suck for Brandon, doesn’t it? Considering he wasn’t good enough to make the original top twenty.
The four people they would like to see dance for their lives are Ariana, Brandon, Pauline, and Russell. Wait. What? Russell? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?
What the fucking cock sucking motherfuck fucking shit fuck?
I guess I’m not the only one who’s pissed
This is such a fucking crock of shit. FIRST OF ALL, the bottom dancers have always been couples until the top ten, so by all rights, it should have been Peter in the bottom four because he was coupled with Ariana. SECOND, what the fuck?!?!?!?!? Russell wasn’t the weakest guy of the evening. I personally think that Phillip and Channing should be in the bottom. I am so fucking pissed right now, I cannot even see straight.
Yes, I realize that in all likelihood Nigel will be sending Brandon home. That’s fucked up too. I think it’s such bullshit to bring the kid on and then boot him off the first show. Why not have Pauline dance with a choreographer too? And then put her and Russell together, instead of giving Noelle a free pass to the top eighteen? GRRRRRRRRRRR. Nigel is an asshole.
Each of the four will now dance a solo hoping that it will be enough to keep them in the competition.
And now, it’s time for the judges to decide. I think you all know I don’t want Russell to go anywhere. Nor should he on the back of that solo that he just did. I’m pretty sure Brandon’s fate was already decided, but if I had to go on the solo alone, I’d still send him home. I think of the girls I liked Ariana’s solo more than Pauline’s, but only slightly.
We’re going to start with the girls. Nigel tells us it was a unanimous decision. Both girls please step forward. He tells them that they both have to know to get into the top twenty this season you had to be an amazing dancer. He thinks they’re both amazing dancers.
He tells Pauline she dances with wonderful charisma, but they would like to see more passion in her work. Step back. He tells Ariana she’s cut. He says she’s such a strong dancer, but they would love to see much more charisma in her work.
Aww, I liked her. But I guess I can’t say I’m too surprised since we barely saw her in Vegas. Bye, Ariana, you seem like a sweet girl.
Time for the guys. Again the judges were unanimous. They better not have sent Russell, unanimous or not. Nigel calls Russell forward. Nigel says that they urge him to keep dancing, keep learning other styles. Isn’t that what he’s been doing? Nigel says he is a remarkable young man with what he’s achieved on this show. Uhhhh, that’s not sounding too good for Russell and I swear to god my head is going to pop right off if they cut him. I will hurt you, Nigel!!!
Brandon, please step forward. CUT. But. And Nigel wants him to listen very carefully. He thinks it is an unfortunate sequence of events that has brought Brandon here; they didn’t put him in the original top twenty because they thought he needed another year to grow and smooth some of the rough edges out.
The rules of the competition state that once a dancer has been on the show, they cannot reenter the competition. If you make the top twenty. Nigel is going to talk to Fox about changing the rules under these circumstances. I’m betting that the rule change will be more for Billy Bell’s benefit than Brandon’s. And I’ll believe it when I see it because we all know how Nigel loves to lie.
You say hello, we say goodbye
He really has a great attitude about the whole thing considering he got royally fucked over. I do hope that he gets another chance to prove himself.
And so that’s our top twenty performance show, Gasmi. What did you think? Were you as pissed as I am about Russell being in the bottom four? Which performances did you like? Did you love any? Hate any? Did you think it was as bogus as I did that the judges didn’t stick to bottom couples, but rather chose whoever they felt like?
My fears about these first two weeks are confirmed. I am not looking forward to them having carte blanche yet again next week. I can’t wait to hear what you all thought about this episode!
SWAK, PottyMouth
29 Comments
What a JOKE that Nigel put Russell in the bottom 4. And yes, it was Nigel, and only Nigel, who wanted him there. What a dickfacetwatlickingdouchenozzle. I am so over his machinations! In no way, shape or form did Russell earn a spot in the bottom. He was awesome!
And re: Brandon: Oh, “I’ll talk to the producers to see if you can come back on…” Um, Nigel? Stick it up your ass; you ARE the executive frickin’ producer, douche. I feel bad for that kid. He was used and abused.
Okay, that’s out of my system. Just had to vent.
Awesome recap PM!
For some reason, this screencap really made me giggle: Later the heat will be brought.
You were spot on with all of your assessments.
XOXOXO!
Great recap Potty!
Oh man! If they had cut Russell, this comment would have just been a long list of swears and a picture of Nigel getting stabbed in the neck. What the hell?! Why?! He was good! It’s not his style! Did they just want to ensure that what’s-his-name went home? Why wasn’t Peter in the bottom two? He stunk! And this whole tap thing is wearing thin for me. I get it, tap is a legitimate style of dance, but do we really need three of them? Such bullshit.
The dances this week, and with some exceptions, the dancers, were kinda blah for me. It was hard to figure out what was happening, since this season is the best ever and all, and this season is in midst of blowing last season out of the water. But I was bored more often than not during the dances.
I really liked Jakob, and I wish he had a different partner. Ashleigh didn’t have that much to do, which I’m pretty sure was by design. I wonder if their choreographers are going to style all of their performances to be Jakob heavy. He’s such a good dancer, and she’s so limited, even in her own style, that I can see someone making a dance in which she sits in a chair reading a book while he dances around her. I’d like that.
And what a surprise! The b-boy with connections to the show, who shouldn’t have made it anywhere near the top twenty and who they’ve rammed down our throats from the beginning got hip-hop as his style. Shocking! That said, I really liked Legacy and Kathryn’s dance. I’m with you Pottymouth, I was all set to hate it. But the choreography was great – as Dave Scott’s choreography usually is – the idea was great, Kathryn was great (I think she hit hard enough) and even Legacy was good. I was all set to poop all over him, but I’ll have to save it till next week.
I’m also with you, PM, about Sonya’s choreography: it’s starting to all look the same. I’m not tired of it yet, but I can see getting tired of it soon if she doesn’t mix it up a little. That said, I liked half of this routine, More specifically, I liked the half that Ellenore danced. She was great, and I think she can really move. She might want to avoid setting such ridiculously high expectations before next week’s performance, though. I thought Ryan was awkward and stiff, and that Sonya’s choreography didn’t suit him at all. His head bobbles were cringe-worthy.
I think Victor’s a great dancer. I think Nathan’s also great, but I thought he stunk in this routine. I guess all you have to do is make it through a disco routine on this show and you’re considered awesome, because no way was that good. Nathan just wasn’t strong enough to make those lifts look anything but torturous. And I thought his movement was stunted and tight. What’s-her-name just annoys me.
Oh, and Channing and her partner aren’t very good. He’s not terrible, but there’s something about his bearing that bothers me. Maybe it’s the beat poetry. And I think Channing’s movement is brutish and ugly.
Now that I’ve thought about it a little bit, I wonder if the judges think Russell will be one of the finalists, so they put him in the bottom so they’d have a story to tell at the end, “and he almost got sent home the first week!”
What do you all think?
Based on the judges’ comments (and watching with my own eyes,) Russell certainly didn’t belong in the bottom…and neither did Brandon. Both Peter and Phillip did worse, and had less positive comments.
I call shenanigans.
Oh…and I figure the rule about competing once you’ve been in the top 20 won’t apply to Billy Bell because he technically never got a chance to compete while in the top 20.
hmmm… I was doing a little googling, trying to figure out how Lauren and Legacy are connected (no luck there- can someone please explain?), and I found some interesting info. Legacy was in both Dance Flick and Stomp the Yard, choreographed by none other than my main man Dave Scott. I hate this show and its shenanigans!! It’s so unnecessary.
Ditto to everything PottyMouth! I went to bed angry over this show – how pathetic is that?
June 6, 2009
Lauren Gottlieb (s3) choreographed a piece called “FUSION” with BBoy Legacy and has entered it in a contest at dancemedia.com.
Here’s the description:
A 2LEGZ PRODUCTION… CHOREOGRAPHED & DIRECTED BY: LAUREN GOTTLIEB & BBOY LEGACY This piece is about UNITY. An inspiration of movement to music which equals DANCE. No Separation. The union of all styles makes a complete big picture consciousness in which all races and people as one are unified to set the example for equality (the quality of being equal). DANCED BY: Lauren Gottlieb, Paula Van Oppen, Sara James, Sloan Rabinor, Brittany Markle, Theresa Pena, Carly Anderson, Pandora, Maire Poppins, Hero, Raquel, Lockadelik, Legacy, Luigi, Venum, Beast, Milky.
In past years, Legacy also has assisted Lauren with chreography.
Great recap as always….
Color me surprised by Legacy’s hip hop. His partner (um, name escapes me right now….Frieda?) almost outdanced him and he was really good.
Sonya? Please back away from the costume trunk and let someone else dress the dancers.
What is up with the bad lighting/crappy backdrop? No wonder Russell was in the bottom–you couldn’t even see him on stage!
Adam’s “aaaOOOOGah!” comment was cute! He’s rapidly turning into my favorite judge. Please, no Paula!
I could hardly wait to read your recap on this episode Potty! And you did not disappoint. Thanks for making me laugh out loud about a crap Top 20 show.
Thanks for sticking in that beautiful picture of Danny Tidwell, dance god extraordinaire! (No way any of the boys from this year come close to matching him imo)
The use of the Hugh/Wolverine pics this recap were particularly clever. Loved it!
The only 3 routines that I actually liked were Bianca and her partner’s (forgot his name already — but colour me surprised because I thought Bianca would suck more), Ellenore and Ryan (although it was in no shape or form the BEST routine ever danced on the show, but it was good), and the caveman routine danced by Legacy and Kathryn (I did NOT expect that from Kathryn — she’s earned some respect from me).
I was sooooooo pissed about Russell and Brandon being in the bottom 2. I should of known Nigel would pull some crap like that. First of all, that crap about how they’re giving a pass to Noelle like they did to whatshername in season 3 is BS. In season 3, whatshername still had to dance for her life and wound up being sent home. The way things are set up this season, I’m guessing that they’re not going to make Noelle dance for her life next week, no matter what crap she puts out on the stage.
Secondly, Brandon did an amazing job for having so little time to prepare. You’d think they’d give him credit for that. And isn’t he a hiphopper? And yet he pulls out a beautiful contemporary-style routine for his solo and looks like a natural at it? And does he get credit for that? No!
Thirdly, there is no way in heaven or hell that Nigel can justify putting Russell in the bottom 2 — none at all! My conspiracy theory is that he wanted to justify sending Brandon home and knew that Russell’s solo would kick ass (which it did) which would give him an excuse to boot Brandon. If Peter had been in the bottom (as he should have) and had put out a crap tap solo (which he would have), it would have been a lot more difficult to argue that the lesser dancer had been sent home. Bastard!
Ok, other things that ticked me off: Ashleigh being paired with Jakob (watch for her to make it all the way to top 6 just like Melissa, Chelsie, and Lauren before her (sorry to all who like any of those 3, but I couldnt’ stand them). I too was ticked that she managed to insert herself into Ryan’s video segment — she is sooooo going annoy me this season.
The other annoying pairing was Nathan with Mollee. When I realized that they were the only two left, I was soooooooo annoyed. One of my favourite male dancers with the most annoying female dancer? Damn you Nigel! I swear he tries to vex me on purpose *sigh* And Doriana needs to retire to a home for mental patients. Why do the judges keep praising her disco routines? All she does is pack them so full of tricks that it’s all the dancers can focus on and it takes the actual dance and performance out of the routine. So annoying.
To end on a positive note, I do love Adam as a permanent judge. He provide such detailed, meaningful critique to the dancers and you can tell that he loves building them up, not just tearing them down. After the crap excuse for judging that took place on SYTYCD Canada, Adam (and although I hate to say it, even Mary and Nigel) are a breath of fresh air — well, Mary and Nigel aren’t so much fresh air, but they are better (which is sad to say).
That was some interesting info you guys dug up about Legacy – gosh this show really is sneaky isn’t it? Who knew the world of dance could be so controversial?
I agree with you that it wasn’t fair that Russell got to dance with Melanie (a ghoreographer) but Brandon was flown back with the false hope of competing when you know they never had any intention of keeping him. Why not have Pauline dance with the guy choreographer(his name escapes me).
In your last recap we all blasted the new stage – but your photos of Channing and Philip’s dance really showcase how distracting the lighting is. Actually all of your photos show how dark and black holish the whole stage is now.
You wondered why Nigel didn’t gush over Karen, it’s because she is brunette and a full grown woman. He likes his ladies blonde and young so Molly better watch out.
And speaking of Molly – with every other dancer you learned something about their background in their little clip package. But with Molly we learned she was a goofball. That’s it? We already knew that. Does she really have nothing else to say about who she is or where she comes from?
Since I’m not a dancer, I will only comment on some of my superficial first impressions.
First of all, Faces.
Face 1: I don’t know who did her makeup this week but I thought Cat’s makeup and facial expressions were weirdly Jokeresque. Maybe it was in honor of Halloween.
Face 2: Phillip – Mr GreasyFace. It disturbs me that his face is always so greasy. I hope it’s not used as a lift point anytime this season because his partner is sure to slip. I also think Phillip is emulating Philip Michael Thomas of Miami Vice – not only in looks but in his assumption that he is greater (grater?) than he really is.
Good Pairing.
I think the Mollee and Gollee (Nathan) pairing is very cute in a High School Musical sort of way.
Dark Horse Pick.
My Dark Horse pick of the season is Kathryn. She is the dancer that most impressed me because she did more than I ever expected. Sort of like when Katee Shean first appeared. The others lived up to or near what I anticipated so there was no ‘aha! moment there. I hope Kath-You’re-In continues to rock it and impress us all.
Show Excitement.
Overall the show was a 4.5 on the Richter scale. Not enough to shake me up. The Cave routine woke me up, the others seemed meh.
Bad Juju.
I hope Russell doesn’t continue to suffer bad juju from Nigel. Already I am more impressed in Russell than I ever was of Evan (or his brother).
Thanks from a grateful nation.
Finally, thank you Pottymouth for your, as always, humorous, yet insightful, recap.
SWAK-back
I didn’t get the whole “bring Brandon back just to fuck with him” thing either. It would have made SO much sense to just let Pauline dance with the choreographer and only vote out a girl this week. Then let her pair up with the guy who was partnerless. That would have made a lot more sense.
I LOVED the dance that Travis choreographed. It reminded me a lot of the stuff that Mia does (love her dances too). I’m pleased to see how well he is doing for himself. I always liked him.
Philip is icky. Just… smarmy. I don’t know what it is about him, but everytime he appears on my screen I feel like I need to shower. Gross! Same with Assholee AND her husband. Yeah, he has nice abs but it takes more than that to wow me. Both of them just reek of famewhoredom.
I don’t have a problem with Mollie like the rest of you guys. I think she is cute.
TinkerbellAPixie: They showed a lot about Mollie’s background during the auditions. She was in all 3 HSMs and then her mom basically sold everything and took her and her sister to LA to give Mollie a chance. They live in a house with no furniture except beds. What more could they really say about her?
Thanks for a great recap, Pottymouth!
Great recap Pottymouth and I’m always anxiously waiting for them!
TinkerbellAPixie you just don’t know how sneaky this show is. For anyone wondering Legacy why made it through Vegas Week when it basically sucked and go onto the show he had connections connections connections.
Whether they just wanted for us to see Russell solo or they already knew were going to get rid of Brandon and they had to ensure that by putting him up against Russell it’s all still wrong. Inviting Brandon back for like 2 days and then cutting him. They should’ve just not brought him back and had Paula dance with the choreographer like they did with Russell. Putting Russell in the bottom making him think he was really bad might mess him up next week or so.
I like the Bianca/Victor contemp. routine and even though he bugs me I also liked the Legacy/Kathryn hip hop routine.
Does anyone else get a Twitch/Joshua type of vibe in Russell? Maybe that’s why I like Russell so much and he’s just awesome!!!
Great recap!
Completely agreed with everything already stated. However, just to play the devil’s advocate when it comes to Legacy: If you took almost every dancer that has ever been in the competition and made a list of how their backgrounds all intertwined, then you’d have a spiderweb of overlapping jobs, movies, commercials, events, etc. From what I understand, if you’re a talented dancer that has been trying to make it in the business for a few years, there’s a good possibility that you’ve somehow been involved in a project either choreographed or supported by someone who has somehow been a part of SYTYCD (whether it is a choreographer or a previous contestant). I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to constantly berate someone for having connections to the show.
The thing about this season that is making it difficult for me to enjoy is that there’s nobody to root for. Instead of coming out of this Top 20 show with three or four contestants that I absolutely adore, I came out of it furious that Nigel exists, angry that they let Orangeface McPinkLips be a part of this show, and concerned that instead of being able to enjoy Russell as a contender I’m constantly going to be worried about his relationship with the judges (I know that they aren’t going to kick him off because it would go completely against the whole idea of America’s “FAVORITE” dancer, but still¦)
Other notes: I, too, feel as though Sonya’s routines are becoming a bit redundant. I’m starting to feel the same way about her that I began to feel about Mia Michael in more recent seasons: I want to like a choreographer because their choreography makes me feel something. I want to see a dance, and when it’s over say “Whoa.” And I was starting to miss that in Mia’s routines, because I always knew what to expect (she did get me with the “Addiction” routing last year though), but I still liked her because I felt obligated, because she is THE Mia Michaels. Anyway, I’m starting to get that same feeling with Sonya, so she’d better bring something new.
I love Adam Shankman. I love him as a judge, and a choreographer, and a movie producer, and I want to carry him around in my pocket everyday because I think he’s adorable; he manages to be constructive and knowledgeable, without being snarky and annoying like Tyce.
I also agree that the stage is swallowing the dancers whole. It’s almost as if I can’t focus on the dances because the lights are going all over the place, except where they need to go¦on the dancers.
All this being said, I am still (and will forever be) a King Danny/Prince Travis fan. I have yet to see a dancer on this show who matches Danny’s technique, or has as likeable a personality as Travis. I find it almost sad that I get more excitement out of seeing Travis as a choreographer, than I do from any contestant on this season or last.
*One note: Not that Legacy did well in Vegas, because he didn’t, but there have been several dancers who sucked in Vegas and made it to the show. Legacy is somewhat talented in his own right.
Rocksmiles:
I agree with most of your post, but concerning your comments about Legacy, I think it’s different this time.
First off, it’s not his connections to the show that bother people. Will from season 4 had connections to the show. But Will deserved to be in the top 20, whereas most people feel Legacy doesn’t.
I also don’t agree that recently there have been dancers who sucked in Vegas but still made it onto the show. There have been dancers who were bad in other styles who made it through, but these dancers were awesome in their own styles. I think part of what pisses people off about Legacy is that he’s not even that great in his own style. He’s got talent, sure, but compare his solo to Twitch’s or Phillip’s. Twitch and Phillip’s had range and humor and showed thought and and a good sense of choreography. Legacy’s was just a bunch of tricks we’d seen before with no transitions. Do you really think he’s on the same level as Josh from Season 4 or even Russell from this season?
But mainly though, it’s the way they rammed Legacy down our throats. The show needs to promote itself and its current season, and so it lies to us a lot. But there are lies and then there are insulting lies, and telling us that Legacy might be the best b-boy ever is an insulting lie. And telling us that he did well on Mia Michaels’ choreography is an insulting lie, too. It made it too obvious that they had decided from the very beginning that he was going to make the top 20 no matter what. Probably, it’s not the first time they’ve done that, but this time it was so obvious, and their reactions to his routines so obviously false, that it made my stomach hurt to watch it.
All that said, as I mentioned in my earlier reply, I thought he was good this week.
JohnnyLegs:
Totally agreed. I didn’t think Legacy was anywhere near talented enough to be on this show when you compare him with Joshua, Twitch, and even Phillip.
I think when reading the comments, what I had gathered was that many people were hating on him simply because he had connections, and I guess I didn’t really read closely enough to realize that it’s not simply the connections to the show that people are mad about, but the fact that he really doesn’t deserve to be there because his solo and his performance of the choreography is lacking (which I agree with). Thanks for the clarification!
JohnnyLegs:
I think you summed it up pretty nicely about everyone’s issue with Legacy. My comment before I wasn’t hating on Legacy just cause he had connections I just don’t think his talent justified him getting a spot onto the show.
I also agree with JohnnyLegs.
I think putting Russell in the bottom two did two things, actually: (1) tried to throw viewers off the scent that he’s one of the judges favorites (honestly, he has top four–if not top two written all over him; plus, he was heavily featured from the beginning); (2) rallied a fan base for him once the voting starts. If people think he’s in danger or that the judges are gunning for him, they’ll vote for him.
I have to say that I don’t like the judges picking who goes in the bottom because part of the fun of the show is the WHAT WAS AMERICA THINKING aspect, and, I get the feeling that Ellenore probably would’ve still gotten booted but who joined her in the bottom might have been different.
I have such a problem with Noelle being safe, but I’m guessing the judges really like her and want her in the top ten, which is why she was paired with Russell. Still, it stinks.
I normally agree with your assessments PM, but we had a few differences of opinion this week.
I liked the Broadway number with Ashleigh and Jakob. I think they both did a good job.
I absolutely hated the Sonya number (although I admittedly have never liked her choreography), and what Ryan was doing can’t be considered dancing, he was spazzing out on stage. I want to root for Ellenore, so I hope Ryan gets cut soon and she stops making outlandish predictions about her routines.
I guess I’m also in the minority in that Mollee doesn’t bother me. In my opinion, she’s a good dancer and she saved the disco routine. Nathan was horrible. Horrible, horrible and did I mention horrible. Based on his performance he should have gone home. He could very well be another case of someone who is brilliant in his own style but can’t adapt to anything else. Given the judges’ positive comments after his epic failure at disco, it looks like he’s favored to be around for a while regardless how he dances.
I also disagree with the notion that the bottom four people should have been couples. If someone dances well, why should they be put in jeopardy just because their partner wasn’t very good. That seems a lot less fair. That the judges have a tendency to cut couples in the first few weeks of a season is something I’ve always disagreed with, so I can’t buy into that being an excuse for how people should be put into the bottom four now.
I’m glad people were impressed with the hot girl’s performance, but why did she have to be saddled with Legacy? Once the voting starts his incompetence is going to put them in the bottom three every week. But oh no, HE won’t go home¦it’ll be her who gets boned by the judges. I’m having Ashley/Kupono flashbacks.
You beat me to the punch keenai. I was just about to say the same thing regarding Russell. He was never in any danger of going home. What better way to light a fire under his fan base and guarantee he stays in the competition than by “supposedly” placing him in danger. Who thinks his fans aren’t going to vote for him in droves when they finally get the chance? Being put in danger of going home was the best thing that could have happened to him.
I dont know if this was covered in the other comments. My theory is that they put Russel in the bottom so he could showcase his solo and possibly garner support for later on when votes will be necessary. That is the only thing that makes sense because he was far from being in the bottom 2 guys in my opinion.
I meet Ariana, not Ellenore. Obvs.
Also ohhhyeah, I agree with you about the disco routine. I blame the choreography more than the dancing, but I thought Nathan was plodding and danced heavy. A lot of it was him rushing to get into position for the lifts, which is why I blame the choreography more than anything. He couldn’t really ever settle into the routine to actually DANCE.
Somewhere along the line Doriana figured that the routines were boring because they lack tricks, but I always found the routines boring because of the dancers. The season one disco with Nick and Melody was awesome (and choreographed by Brian Friedman) and I loved the S3 one with Sara and Neil. And then the S4 one w/Joshua and Chelsie was memorable because it was HARD AS HELL. And I think for some reason she latched onto that. WHO KNOWS? Maybe she just wants to keep her job.
At any rate, I liked the waltz more.
ARGH.
MEANT Ariana, not meet Ariana. Sigh. I should’ve just left well enough alone. The smart people already knew what I meant anyway.
I finally got to watch this show over the past two nights. Ugh, where to begin? I’ve about had it with Nigel.
Potty, you were right on with your recap the other night regarding the fact that they won’t feature tap routines on this show. They continue to feature Disco, and Russian Folk Dancing, and African, but I don’t remember one person get on this show as a disco dancer, or a Russian fold dancer…etc. If tap is such a hard routine to master, why is it there was a whopping total of ONE tapper prior to this season? Isn’t that an insult to the people who learn hip-hop, Paso Doble or contemporary routines in a week?
Kudos to Russell for being a class act and defying the odds again. Tough ballroom routine, and he loses his partner a day before, and has to work with a new partner, and he still did a respectable job. I was especially impressed with the lifts, as Noelle would’ve been a little easier to lift.
I actually liked the Legacy routine. That was better partnering work than I’d seen from him. They were hitting most of those moves in perfect sync.
Ellenore should refrain from calling her shots unless she has the goods to deliver, and that routine was not even close to the best that this show has seen. It’s not endearing anyway…ask Blake from season 1 how that much confidence worked out for popularity.
I accept that Mowwee is going to be with us for a while, though not happy about it. I think Brandon got a very raw deal, which leads me back to Nigel…
How in the blue hell does Russell get put in the bottom? To counter ohhyeah’s opinion that the bottom four should not have been couples, I’d say that I know the World Series is affecting the first two shows, but America would be voting bottom couples until we have the top 10. Not necessarily are couples eliminated, but they both dance solos when in the bottom, so it should be the same now.
Lastly, I’d like to know WHO Nigel plans on talking to in order to bend the rules. That’s a really flimsy way to make the show appear transparent and like he’s NOT pulling the strings, but I think most should be on to him by now. Brandon should get another shot, because in reality, he never really had a shot here. This was a foregone conclusion from the onset, I believe.
Noelle gets hurt? She gets a pass. If memory serves, Pauline missed the last part of Vegas due to the ankle, for sure the last solo part, and made it on.
Most of this show is meh for me so far. Not thrilled with many dancers thus far, not a fan of the stage, the miked tapping is kinda off. However, the one great part to this show is Adam Shankman. He’s restored a lot of the credibilty to the judges panel that’s disappeared since Mary became a caricature of herself and Nigel is playing puppet master and changing the rules to suit his shaping of who stays and who goes.
Hopefully once people start voting again things will get to normal. Fingers crossed Russell makes it one more week until we take over in voting.
zbird: Yeah, I’ll be shocked if they actually let Brandon come back “ Nigel is a big liarpants.
JohnnyLegs: I think Phillip and Channing may be my least favorite couple. I think once America starts voting, they’ll be in the bottom. Legacy and Kathryn were definitely the surprise of the night for me. Like you, I was all set to poop all over him! Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get my chance when they get ballroom!
cattyfan: Yes! Shenanigans!!! I was thinking the rule would apply to Billy since he appeared in the Meet the Top Twenty special. I hope I’m wrong because I’d really like to see him come back.
here4beer: I see your question about Legacy’s connection to the show has been answered already. Thanks for the info about his movie credits! I had no idea he had a connection to Dave Scott as well!
zerocool: Not pathetic at all! I was still pissed three days later!!!
cattyfan: I’ll have to keep that list of dancers for future reference “ I wonder how many will show up on future seasons??
Sabrina: I know! When I was pulling the pictures for Russell’s dance it was so frustrating because the lighting was so bad! This show has already had issues with lighting and camera work, but the new stage seems to have made it worse.
Lizbot: What really annoys me is that Nigel has said that the reason Russell was in the bottom was because he was weaker than the other guys. That is complete and utter bullshit. Now, could he be lying and trying to pull a reverse psychology no all of us? Yes. My concern is that there is something more insidious at work and he is trying to undermine someone who is clearly a fan favorite. In other words, Nigel is an asshole.
Tink: The thought of Nigel oogling Mowee just made me throw up in my mouth. I guess Karen needs to bleach her hair, stat.
gerritv: Yeah, someone needs to apply some powder to Phillip’s face and fast! The Tubbs comparison is hilarious! I think you said that before, right? As soon as you did, I was like YES!! A greasy Tubbs!
Snootchy Bootches: I really love Travis’ choreography and am excited to see him do more. That IS one really good thing about the show “ giving young choreographers more exposure. Who knows? Maybe Travis will win an Emmy in a year or two.
bigjr6633: I really hope being in the bottom doesn’t mess with Russell’s head “ I really like the guy. I think he has a great spirit about him, if that makes sense. I can see where you’re going with the Twitch/Joshua comparison. There was just something about them that made you want to see them succeed.
Rocksmiles: A pocket Adam Shankman? I want one! I do love that he tries to give constructive criticism to the dancers as well. Really the only time I’ve ever had an issue with him was when he called Danny arrogant, but I’ve since forgiven him.
JohnnyLegs: Will was a great example!!
keenai: That is some of the fun isn’t it? Wondering what the hell people were thinking when they voted. I hope that people do rally around Russell because I actually think he could go far in this competition, given the chance.
ohhhyeah: The reason I’m saying the bottom four should have been couples is because that’s how the show has always done it. I wouldn’t mind the dancers have individual numbers from the beginning “ then we wouldn’t have the business of a good partner “protecting” someone not as good. But I would bet money that as soon as the voting starts, we’re getting numbers for couples until the top ten. I guess I’d just like them to apply the same rules to themselves that they apply to us. Silly, I know.
nick7894: Yes, that seems to be a popular theory. And I hope it’s true. I still don’t like that they put him there.
keenai: I swear one day Doriana is going to seriously injure one of the dancers. And Hee!! You made me giggle with the meet/meant thing “ I do that all the time!!!
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your comments, everyone. Can’t wait to see what happens tonight!!!
SWAK, PottyMouth
LuckyLouie!! You must have been leaving your comment as I was writing mine!! LOL on the Blake comment “ I always wonder if he would have been better received had he not put his foot in his mouth so early on in the competition. We are on the same wavelength about partners vs individuals in the bottom four
I will have my fingers AND toes crossed for Russell tonight!!
Something that has bothered me every year…the changing criteria based on who the judges want to give the boot.
Some weeks we get a “this decision is based on your weak solo this evening. If you’re dancing for your life, it needs to show.” And other times we get “this decision is based on your body of work throughout the show.”
It’s just another batch of lies Nigel tells, thinking the audience is too stupid to see through it.
@cattyfan -
You’re dead on about the changing criteria. That’s because it’s whatever it needs to be to spin the judges decisions.
@tink -
He likes the brunettes too…remember how he drooled over Jeanine, especially with the superhero costume routine. He’s an equal opportunity ogler.
@potty -
I really don’t like to get all conspiracy theory, but I really think Evan has spooked Nigel. I believe, in his mind, Russell is like an Evan or Phillip, in that they’re fan favorites, they have a good story, let them stay in the competition to get them on tour, then get ‘em off the show so they don’t get in the way of those who are deemed worthy of winning cough*contemporarydancers*cough.
I hear where you’re coming from PM. What I’m saying is that the judges already know who they want to send home, so it doesn’t make any real difference if the dancers are put into the bottom four as couples or on an individual basis. Whoever they want to cut is going to be cut, there is no way around it. Maybe I’m just being overly practical.