So You Think You Can Dance: 6.30.10

There's only three girls left!  This is weird!

Cat is shiny tonight, in a really lovely metallic dress.

Partners this week are

Lauren & Neil
Melinda & Pasha
Billy & Kathryn
Ashley & Ade
Robert & Courtney
Jose & Anya
Kent & Allison
Adechike & Lauren
Alex & Twitch.  Can't wait.  :D

Everyone also does a solo tonight.

Adechike (with Lauren, Hip Hop choreographed by Dave Scott)  In glasses, Adechike looks like Dwayne Wayne.  This is the most I've liked Adechike to date.  He really connected well with Lauren and with the routine.  Nigel thought that Dave Scott brought out Adechike's personality.  Agreed.   Mia also thought that something has shifted for the better in Adechike.  Adam cheered and gave him a standing clap.

Ashley (with Ade, Contemporary choreographed by new choreographer Dee Kaspary)  Ade is such a fantastic partner, he made her work look easy.  She was a broken creature supported by him,and it was gloriously done.  I got chills.  Although it was contemporary again for Ashley, Nigel thought she looked like an entirely different dancer, with a fluidity that didn't get broken by the steps.  It was her finest performance for Nigel, and I agree.  Mia loved the idea of complete surrender and thought it was danced extraordinarily, and said it was like a purple wind, a hurricane, and a summer breeze, and said that Ashley is her favorite female dancer.  Adam called her breathtaking and said it was one of the best contemporary performances ever to date on the show.  I would agree with that, actually.

Billy's solo - It was pretty cool, but nothing that would blow my mind.

Robert (with Courtney, Jazz choreographed by Sonya Tayeh)  The problem is, I am just more drawn to Courtney than I am to Robert.  He is good, but she is just a little ball of fire.  I think they are styling his hair to try to make him look Mark-like.  Nigel thinks that Sonya's choreography suits Robert like it suits Mark.  Mia wanted Robert to take ballet, which would give his movement weight and ground him.  I can see where that would be a good thing for him.  Adam loved how engaged and committed Robert was. He told him to be careful to jump up and not down.  Robert seemed to know what he was talking about.

Jose's Solo - I love a good B-boy solo.  He spent a good deal of it on his head.  I remember seeing that Jose does yoga to strengthen his moves, and I can totally see that.


Melinda (with Pasha, Salsa choreographed by Fabian Sanchez)  In the beginning, her shoe got caught on her dress, but she didn't waste too much time fixing it.  They don't seem to have too much chemistry, and my husband thought that they were off.  Nigel questioned her musicality.  Mia thought that she danced as hard as she could, but thought it looked like she was thrown in a pool with bricks on her legs for part of it, and thought that he feet were pigeon toed.  Agreed.  Mia said that she felt like they made a mistake letting Cristina go last week.  Adam actually agreed with her.  They did congratulate her for fixing her shoe and keeping on.

Kent's Solo: I find him more engaging as a dancer than Billy.  Maybe it's because he's so darned likable.


Alex's Solo:  He did a lot of leaping and spinning.  He can move, that's for sure.


Lauren (with Neil, Broadway choreographed by Joey Dowling) It was a fun routine, but didn't do too much for me... and another wardrobe malfunction as her dress strap broke right at the end!  Oops!  Nigel said with the dress strap and everything, it was a seduction and a half!  He enjoyed the dancing a lot.  Mia felt that it was a great piece danced really well, but she wished for more slinkiness.  She warned Lauren that she is such an athletic dancer, she needs to tap into her sexiness.  Adam told her that she needs to try to dance as if she's dancing in butter.  He was really proud of her, though.


Ashley's solo: It was pretty good, but didn't call to me.

Billy (with Kathryn, contemporary choreographed by Stacey Tookey): What a beautiful routine. Hard to see Billy as a heartbreaker, though.  Nigel thought that the most connected Billy was was right at the end, and he didn't quite believe the partnership, though Billy CAN undoubtably dance - it's about the partnering with him.  Mia thought that he needs to let go of the thought of perfection of his lines and needs to connect totally with partners. Adam wants him to watch his dance on playback and he'll see what was missing.


Robert's solo: I think I like his solo best so far.  He is interesting, that's for sure.

Jose (with Anya, Samba choreographed by Dmitry)  It's Jose's first partnering dance.  I don't know if all his moves were exactly right, but I loved the dance.  He was a convincing partner and Anya is just smoking hot.  Nigel thought that Dmitry brought out the man in Jose, and introduced him to the "Ooh, I've lost the buttons on my shirt" club. lol.  Nigel said that though Jose is not the best dancer, he has the charisma and the personality that you can't teach or bottle.  He also thought that Jose had very good technique in some places.  Mia said that while he is not that great a dancer in a lot of areas, she can't help but love him.  They can't pick on his technique so much, because he's so full of joy.  Adam said he made the dance work for him, and called it brilliant.

Melinda's Solo:  Tapping to Alicia Keys?  Ok... that's interesting.  It was a weird solo.  I have to admit it. 

Kent (with Allison, jazz, choreographed by Mandy Moore) Mandy said that Kent's biggest problem is being a man, not just acting like a man. I think he did a convincing job of being a man in this routine.  Nigel loves Kent's personality, but wanted him to keep an honesty in his dance, and he admits that Kent has a magnetism, but he doesn't want him to play too much to the audience instead of working with his partner. Mia thinks he is beginning to play too much into the tv personality aspect of the show.  She wants him to take the choreography to another level.  Adam thinks he is a very hireable dancer, but wants him to lose the hungry jazz face, because he's better than it.

Adechike's solo:  Ok, I take it back.  This is my favorite solo fo the night.  He is just magnetic in solos.  More so than in his partner dancing.  Maybe I'm just drawn in by his muscles...

Lauren's Solo: Nice solo!  My favorite solo of the girls, for sure. 

Alex (with Twitch, hip hop, choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon)  Totally surprised, Alex is pulling it off!  Could he have hit harder?  Sure.  And they managed to get some of the ballet moves in there, too.  Twitch is, of course, simply amazing.  It was a fun routine for the two guys.  The judges were all standing.  Cat says it is the loudest roar from a crowd in the show's history.  Nigel loved the concept, and said it was Tabitha & Napoleon's best choreography to date.  He then said that Alex did the most incredible hip hop ever, and while I don't know that I agree completely, because he could have hit harder, it WAS pretty awesome.  Mia thinks that Alex has defied everything about the ballet world and he held his own next to Twitch.  Adam said that it is Alex's world, and he is just visiting.  He said that Alex made him so proud.

Favorites of the night?  Jose, Alex, and Ashley.

Middle?  Kent, Billy, Robert and Adechike.

In the bottom?  I'm afraid it's probably Melinda's time to go.  I wouldn't be surprised if Lauren's in the bottom with her, but I really think Melinda is going.

What do you think?