Wednesday, June 18, 2008

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 18 Perform

Let's get settled in for our second evening of performances. We are still too early on to know who our faves really are, so let's see if tonight's episode helps us to decide. The judges tonight are Nigel, Mary, and Mia.

Chelsea & Thayne - Jazz by Mandy Moore
I liked the idea and look of this dance, but then felt like the two of them didn't do much dancing for the first half of the performance. I really felt like the second half had a lot more movement. I don't know if it was the choreography (I usually love Mandy Moore) or just the dancers' performances, but it was clear their best feet were not forward. I agreed with Mary that Chelsea seemed a little uncomfortable. I do like both of the dancers. Thayne is a good looking guy, even if he was a bit over the top on the superstition.

Chelsie & Mark - Argentine Tango by Alex De Silva
Mark is goofy, but he looks like he would be good at being sexy with this type of dance, which I think is one of the most important things the dancers could bring to this dance. They are both very attractive people, looked the part, brought the tension. I thought all the leg movements were great. This dance was sizzling! Technically accurate? I don't know...but the judges say YES it was!

Jessica & Will - Hip Hop by Cisely & Olisa
This dance was alright. The choreography was good but I didn't feel like they hit it as hard as the choreography called for. Also, they weren't in sync a lot of the time. They did bring a certain amount of attitude it needed. I wasn't bored but didn't love it. The judges were all about Will, and while I do really like him in general, I didn't feel he deserved the level of praise he received for THIS dance.

Kourtni & Matt - Foxtrot by Jean-Marc Genereaux
These two don't do a good job of connecting with each other when they are on stage. They sometimes seem like they are dancing separately on the same stage. usually, I would say the Foxtrot isn't a good dance to get because it doesn't bring out the votes, but they needed a dance tat would allow for there long bodies not to seem as awkward as they did last week. Are they just too tall? While he is adorable, Matt is just too smiley. Alright to smile some, but not the whole time.

Courtney & Gev - Contemporary by Mandy Moore
I am still rooting for Gev, knowing what kind of dance he normally does. I know he is nervous about the partnering. But I thought it was really good. I thought they had great chemistry and reflected the emotion of the routine well. I really liked it. It may not have been 100% technically accurate, but they did their jobs.

Katee & Joshua - Broadway by Tyce Diorio
There was a lot of pressure on this pair from me, since they were my favorite couple last week. I thought Joshua was great. I just didn't like Katee (I'm not sure the judges were watching the same Katee that I was). And she seems to be smiling the whole time, even when it isn't appropriate in the dance. It had great energy and certainly fit the Broadway bill.

Susie & Marquis - Salsa by Alex De Silva
This pairing has to overcome my dislike for Susie, and apparently Alex's disappointment in her abilities. Ouch. They were not in sync as much as I felt like they should have been. It DID look like a really hard routine and I am sure they were both very intimidated. Marquis did a good job (better than Susie, IMO), with my only complaint about him being that I felt like he almost went over the top with it. In the words of Randy Jackson, "It was just OK for me."

Kherington & Twitch - Viennese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereaux
The story behind this choreography was really heart-wrenching, but I think that it makes it more likely that the dancers can bring the appropriate level of emotion to the dance and pull it off that much better. I really liked this performance. I loved how flowy it was and was surprised at how well Twitch seemed to do with this style of dance. Sean said, "Hey look at Twitch back there with the spins!" We were impressed, even if it wasn't technically good. I was surprised with all the over-smilers on this show, that Mia chose Kherington to complain about. It really was a very emotional 10 minutes and I even teared up a bit.

Comfort & Chris - Krump by Lil' C
For starters, I am not a big fan of shortening Little to Lil'. I just needed to get that off my chest. Before they start, I am thinking that Chris won't be able to pull this off. I really want him to, though. He did better than I thought, but there was a a bit too much trying for him. Comfort is such a natural that it makes it that much more obvious with Chris NOT being a natural. I never needed to see Nigel grab his crotch or say "Mama I wanna pee-pee." Never.

My favorite performance of the night:
Chelsie & Mark's Argentine Tango

My lease favorite performance of the night:
Susie & Marquis's Salsa

My guess for the bottom 3 couples:
Chelsea and Thayne
Susie & Marquis
Comfort & Chris

1 comment:

Emily said...

Impressive recap, especially considering your lack of a DVR! I totally agree with you about Chelsie and Mark's Argentine tango. It was fantastic! I liked Kourtni and Matt's foxtrot more than you - probably because I am still hanging on to what they brought to the auditions. I'd love to see them do a contemporary routine that might better show off their abilities. Joshua and Katee are the early favorites for me, with Joshua raising the bar for Katee.