So You Think You Can Dance: 6.23.10

Cat is very feathery around the edges.  I've seen better.

We find out who is paired with who first.

Billy (paired with Comfort, for Krump)

Lauren (paired with Dominic, for Lyrical Hip Hop)

Adechike (paired with Allison, for Contemporary)

Kent (paired with Courtney, for Jazz)

Melinda (paired with Ade, for Contemporary)

Alex (paired with Lauren, for Broadway)

Cristina (paired with Pasha, for Pasa Doble)

Ashley (paired with Mark, for Jazz)

Robert (paired with Anya, for Argentine Tango)

Jose (paired with Kathryn, for Bollywood)

Neal and Twitch will not be dancing this week.  I wish they could dance together.  Just for fun.

Cristina (paired with Pasha, Pasa Doble, choreographed by Jean-Marc and France)  I love a good Pasa Doble, and I'm glad that Cristina got this style.  It was hot.  Gorgeous.  Truly.  Nigel wanted passion, power, fire, and control, and Cristina brought all of that.  Mia thought it was everything, the whole package.  Adam made a "Pasha Doble" joke, and called it perfect, and full of commitment.

Adechike (paired with Allison, Contemporary, choreographed by Mandy Moore, Listen to Your Heart)  No story, just emotion this week.  His smile looks forced.  The dance is beautiful, and his emotion is better than last week, but Allison shines in the emotion, and I don't buy him most of the time.  However... dance was glorious.  Nigel saw a major improvement in his emotional connection, but he also thought he was interrupting the flow of his emotional journey with the steps, and he needs to make it muscle memory.  Mia wants him to tap into joy, and thinks that he is stiff on top and doesn't let the emotion get into it.  She says that dance is an artform, but it's also a heart-form, and she didn't feel it.  Adam thinks he is dancing from his head, but he needs to dance from his heart, but does think that he danced it beautifully.

Alex (paired with Lauren, Broadway, choreographed by Tyce Diorio, Summertime by Sylvester)  It's a Fosse Style dance, and Alex does very well with it.  Damn, that boy can kick high.  I liked it a lot.  Cat put on the hat after the dance and it was tiny, and she said "that just goes to show what a massive head I've got."  Nigel wanted Alex to research Fosse, and needs to see more power in his performance, and thought it looked like he was tight in the shoulders.  Mia wanted him to know that it's not always about the tricks.  Adam reminds him that it's not about technical details, it's about subtlety. 

Ashley (paired with Mark, Jazz choreographed by Travis Wall, Wonderful, by Annie Lennox)  It was awesome and Mark's shirt was nearly off... so thank you, Travis!  Ashley's 20th birthday is on Saturday.  Congratulations.  Nigel wants Jazz to be separate from Contemporary, and that's more of a critique of Travis, and I would agree.  Nigel didn't get anything new from Ashley, even though she was strong in the routine.  Mia wished it was jazzier, but still thinks that Ashley is one of her favorite girls, and thinks she delivered.  Adam agreed with Mia that the transitions need to also have the story in them.


Billy (paired with Comfort, Krump choreographed by Lil C, So U Think U Can Krump, by J-Squad)  I have to say, Billy was hitting it harder than I thought he possibly could.  Better than expected, that's for sure!  Nigel really hated the music, and Cat told him that he wasn't supposed to like it - because all the young people like it.  Nigel thinks that Krump is a warrior dance, and doesn't think that Billy's quite found his warrior yet, but thinks he gave it his all.  Mia thought that Billy knocked on the warrior's door, but he didn't answer, and said that it was awkward.  Adam laughed and said that Billy was obviously trying hard.  Comfort said that Billy was buck to her, but Adam maintained that though Billy is one of the best dancers on the show, this was a bad experiment.

Robert (with Anya, Argentine Tango, choreographed by Jean-Marc and France, Libertango, by Bond Quartet)  It turned out, to my untrained eye, very well.  It was super quick, and I believed it.  Nigel said that Robert took control like he was supposed to in the dance, and said that it was magnificent, and the lighting and direction helped to make it stand out.  Mia thought that Robert's carriage and his groundedness wasn't powerful enough, and thought that Anya dominated him.  Adam thought that Robert had unbelievable footwork, but looked really stressed out, and wanted him to stretch his steps some.

Melinda (with Ade, Contemporary, choreographed by Stacey Tookey, Squander, by Skunk Anisie)  This routine is about the relationship of Man (Ade) with Mother Earth (Melinda).  I really really liked it.  Nicely done.  Lots of throwing herself around.  Nigel gave some love to Canadian choreographers.  He thinks that for a tapper, Melinda has got some beautiful lines.  Mia loved the concept and the story but was distracted by Melinda's dress.  She was also impressed with Melinda's lines.  Adam thought she was just great.

Jose (paired with Kathryn, Bollywood choreographed by Nakul)  It's a genie in a  bottle theme, and it's awesome.  He did an awesome job.  Nigel thinks that taking people out of their element is interesting, and thinks that Jose didn't quite make it all the way to India, maybe made it as far as South Africa, and then made a World Cup reference that flew over my head.  Nigel thought that he didn't get all the fingers right, but he was having fun.  Mia said that although there was a lot he did wrong, he had fun and it's infectious.  Adam thinks that Jose wins the prize for the brightest light on the show.  He admitted that his Bollywood was kind of absolutely wrong, but he's so sweet it almost doesn't matter.

Lauren (paired with Dominic, Lyrical Hip Hop, choreographed by Tessandra Chavez, If I Were a Boy, by Beyonce)  This routine is about an abusive relationship.  Heavy.  I definitely felt the emotion.  It was wonderful.  Nigel welcomed Tessandra to the family, and thanked her for the routine.  He told Lauren to give herself a stronger base, but thought it was a really fine performance from both of them.  Mia thought it was outstanding, but thought that the abuse moments should have been a bit more about the abuse and less about the steps.  Adam was happy that she took his notes from last week and could tell that she was in an emotional and raw space because of the dance and wants her to celebrate that because she's become an actress.  She said she's gotten to a deeper place, and the judges say she's gotten there.  Then, Cat stuck her foot in her mouth and asked Dominic if he wanted to get in a deeper place... he leered at her a little before leaving the stage.  oops!


Kent (with Courtney, Jazz choreographed by Tyce Diorio, Amy Amy Amy, by Amy Winehouse)  Kent was really adorable in rehearsals, excited that he got to touch Courtney as much as he wanted and she didn't care.  I thought the routine was really awesome.  Nigel worried about his outfit (which was weird), and thanked Tyce for a real Jazz routine.  He worried also that Kent wasn't having as much fun as he was in the cha cha, even though it wasn't a very good Cha cha.  Mia thought there were some great moments of technical movement, but wanted him to step into a more mature role.  Adam thought he did really well, but does need to work on the character.

I thought that Cristina was amazing, and I enjoyed Robert's Tango and Melinda's Mother Earth.  Lauren showed amazing improvement, and I also really like Kent.

I liked Ashley quite a lot, but I'd put her in the middle, with Billy.  Jose is infectious, and I don't think he's going anywhere.

Adechike continues to underwhelm me, and I don't love Alex nearly as much as the judges do.  I have no idea who is going to be in the Bottom 3.  your thoughts?