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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

SYTYCD July 9, 2008. Episode 14: About the fabulosity of mixing Tarzan and Jane, the Hot Chahhhhccchaccchacchaaaah, a pair of absobloodylutely...

...dirty gangsta, a golden Bollywood couple and lots of back stabbing by the fabulous Mia.

Please welcome your host… Cat Deeley! In a breezy quasi halo dress, she looks like a girly girl ready for a summer afternoon tea. I am glad that she is out of that techno-retro fashion style and into something more becoming. Maybe all that contemporary-lyrical dancing is having some effect on her. I did think that after the tall dancers left last week she would wear lower heels, but she still had 20" heel shoes on. Perhaps it is her way of Pointe? Her hair, though, could have used some Shear Genius. Oh, well, about the dancing:


Mark and Chelsie start the night with a hot Salsa number. Chelsie nailed the number and, regardless of what the jidges said, I think Mark did too! Mia, with a killer hat (was she sharing that hat with Alex Da Silva?), tells Chelsie that she is so gorgeous she wants to stab her!! Wow, it is becoming really difficult to understand what this judges are saying most of the time. I think I have to go back to school and take MSL 101 (Mia as a Second Language).
For their second number, Mark and Chelsie do Broadway, and I really enjoyed watching this number!! I even forgot that I was supposed to “judge” and write my comments for this blog because I was just into their dance!! And that’s the difference between watching amateurs and watching professional dancers! When watching a professional dance, you can just sit back and enjoy! This number was a chemical reaction all over, from the couple, the jidges and the audience. However Mia, always the shocker, says that Mark does not have training and technique… ?!?! Please… if that’s the case, what do most of the others dancers this season have then?!?! I don’t know what Mia has against Mark, or where was she coming from, but honestly I do not see her point. Or, I wonder, maybe she thinks he’s so gorgeous that she was just showing her appreciation by backstabbing him with her comments? Again, I really have to enroll into an MSL 101 class asap! After their two numbers, my score for Chelsie and Mark tonight: 9.

Let’s move on…

Comfort and Thayne: Hip Hop. A well choreographed routine with sharp movements. Comfort in her zone (or so we expect) and Thayne working hard at it. Unfortunately the costuming did not help at all, with so many shoulder snaps and movements hidden by Comfort’s padded fluffy vest and Thayne’s oversized jacket. Definitely, not a number worth remembering. Comfort and Thayne’ second number was… flat! Poor execution, no magic. It was not a number for which you want to stop everything you are doing and watch. I think I’ll go feed the cats (not… I’ll watch every second so I can write this for you). Overall score tonight for Thaynefort: 7.5.

For Jessica and Will’s first number, Tyce D’Orio choreographs a number he says is evocative of the Garden of Eden… which for him means scantly clad dancers doing snake like moves, trying to show us what all that fuss about the Original Sin is about, however… the panting was not effortless. It seemed a little strained, but then it was primitive times back there in that Garden, wasn’t it? To me, Jessica struggled through most of the choreography, but Nigel, Mary and Mia say that Jessica is growing. Hence, I question myself, who will be voted out tomorrow, Jessica or Comfort? Because I truly believe that it will be one or the other… Mia says the music was to sleep by. My opinion? This was a good choreography that somehow was too hard for these dancers to perform without making it look too difficult… Does that make sense?
Will and Jessica’s second number: Quickstep AKA The Kiss of Death (remember Chelsea T?). The choreography showcased Will’s skills. The number was okay, though, nothing to write home about (or a blog about). The judges blamed the choreography, the costuming and Jessica for everything wrong. Hint: Will will not be voted off if he’s down. By the way, since when did Nigel become a purist about mixing styles? The Quickstep, mixed with Twist and Jive a problem? We have seen hip-hop/contemporary, lyrical/waltz, disco/salsa, and many other impure dances before. This couple’s score tonight: 8.

Anya and Pacha do the Cha cha for Courtney and Gev… And they not just bumped hips and crot…s (can we say that word in national television?) but they shaked every little muscle and extremity. Watching them dance this choreography, however, I couldn’t help but imagining Pacha and Anya in their place and how much better it would have been. Sorry, I like Gev and Courtney, and I think they really did their best with this number. But the choreography was not tailor made for them, or they did not make it their own; Courtney and Gev just looked like very good imitations. The judges loved it, however. They loved it so much that new words came out of everybody’s mouths!! Absobloodylutely says Nigel, Magic Hot Chahhhhccchaccchacchaaaah says Mary as she puts them on that Mexican train to the border. Fabulosity is the term that comes from Mia – After Will’s abs, Gev’s chest gets in the picture, with a little more detail than we really wanted to know. Apparently it itches! Courtney rubs it down and Nigel, with all his wisdom and experience suggests that he should wax it.
Courtney and Gev’s second number was pretty good. A cool choreography by Mandy Moore that was well executed and, two weeks ago, would have kept any couple safe. However, with a 50:50 chance of being in the bottom three this week, I’ll say they will be in the bottom tomorrow. My score for them tonight: 8.5.

Kherington and Twitch: This was Krump! Twitch’s turning, Kherington’s chest heaving, both their faces in a toughie look made this the number of the night so far (competing with Katee and Joshua’s Bollywood for best of the night). Kherington, who knew?!? And it is the first time in SYTYCD that I enjoy watching Krump. Twitchington’s second number, a smooth tango, did not work as well as their Krump. The costuming and lighting worked. The dancing didn’t. Oh, if they'd just kept their Krumpy attitudes for this tango, they could have killed it! Instead, they kind of murdered it. They looked good, however, and considering their strong following it is very likely that they will be safe tomorrow. Twitchington’s score tonight: 8.5.

Katee and Joshua do a Waltz inspired on the Pas de Deux from Le Sylphide, and the “City of Angels” fallen angel Seth—whose movie theme was that Goo Goo Dolls song Iris (remember the Angel that comes down to Earth, falls in love with Meg Ryan, and then she leaves with Russel Crowe?). Anyway, the whole ghost story did not really materialize (or it materialized too much?) because the choreography did not keep through the illusion of them not being able to touch each other. Hence, it was a pretty waltz, but nothing amazing. The judges comments made me wonder, could Joshua be in trouble tomorrow? But, then came Bollywood and all my worries faded away (as you can tell, I have become to appreciate Joshua’s mass appeal). That Bollywood number was cheesy and fake and oversold by the judges as an “ethnic” dance but it was also so entertaining and enjoyable and cool and precise and well performed… I would not call it authentic "Indian cultural dancing" as Nigel said (but what do I know?)... I must admit, however, that I loved it!! Congrats to the dancers who made it really wonderful! Tonight, Joshua and Katee along with Mark and Chelsie demonstrated once more that they are able of creating magic through their dancing. These four dancers have been consistently great. They come, as Mary Murphy said once referring to Joshua, with a label: Satisfaction Guaranteed!!! Katua’s score tonight: 9.5! (A 10 for their Bollywood).

My prediction for bottom three tonight: Courtney and Gev, Will and Jessica, Comfort and Thayne. Who will be out? Among the girls, I know that the decision will be between Comfort and Jessica. Based on the comments that they received tonight, I believe Jessica will be voted off. Among the guys, the decision is even more difficult. Gev has worked really hard and done a very good job throughout the season. However, he does not have the level of technique than any of the other two. Will has not done such as brilliant a job as was expected from him, especially after all the building up during the auditions: He’s Debbie Allen’s protégé and is supposed to possess very strong training and technique. He’s been fair, but not amazing. However, Jessica has been blamed for it. Thayne, a very strong technician and the dancer with the most professional experience in the show (he’s 27 years old and has been dancing professionally with a company for sometime), has been in the bottom too many times and criticized for his lack of chemistry and audience appeal. I like Thayne, and agree with Mia (for once) in that he is a wonderful dancer. He's done things through the show that I doubt any of the other dancers could do. But I believe Thayne will be out (he’ll go in the tour anyway as traditionally they hire two understudies; Mia even hinted at it by saying that no matter what, even if he’s out, she’ll love to work with him). I'll like to watch his solo tonight for sure!

In summary: Jessica and Thayne are the dancers that I predict will be out.

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