SYTYCD for 7/27: Top 8 Perform

The list of contestants has gotten small enough now that this week, we’ll get two dances from each, one with an All Star and one with another contestant.  In the latter case, there’s going to be a few twists.  Of course, I have to mention one of the guest judges this week: Lady Gaga. As I expected from her, she turned out to be the best of the guest judges to date.

All Star Couples:

Sasha & Pasha (Quickstep by Jonathan Roberts, danced to Puttin’ On the Ritz by Terry Snyder) There’s so much to say about this performance. First of all: Sasha and Pasha? Really?  The name based cuteness factor was off the scale. I’ve said this before, the Quickstep is my favorite ballroom dance. When done well, it’s a marvel to watch.  Unfortunately, even on SYTYCD, it’s not often done well.  This was an exception. Both dancers looked marvelous moving across the floor in that distinctive Quickstep style. As is often the case, the straight Quickstep was interspersed with other styles, to provide some interest to the audience and, to be honest, to give some relief to the dancers. Still, Sasha looked marvelous here (much better than her dubious Paso Doble). This was a winning performance.

Caitlynn & Ivan (Hip Hop by Marty Kudelka, danced to let Me Love You by Mario).  A quick note about Ivan: He was from season 2, so this was the first time I’d seen him dance. The man is amazing; he has a professional’s style and presence when dancing that only the best show. But, this is about Caitlynn. I thought that she was a star in this performance.  This was a softer, more “lyrical” performance, that can make the dancers look weak and unprepared. This wasn’t the case with Caitlynn; her performance actually legitimated the style.  The judges had negatives to say, but they seemed to be mainly around the fact that Ivan was a better performer than Caitlynn. It’s hard to argue with that, Ivan was amazing to see.  Still, I’m getting the feeling that Caitlynn’s getting a raw deal from the judges.

Jordan & Ade (Jazz by Tyce DiOrio, danced to Nutbush City Limits by Tina Turner) Wow, this was one athletic number. Tyce really pulled out the stops here.  Once again, Jordan succeeded in dancing the piece well while simultaneously treating her partner as a coat rack. It is amazing that she does such a good job while dismissing her partner so thoroughly. 

Melanie & Neil (Contemporary by Mandy Moore, danced to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler) Melanie showed once again that, among this season’s crop, she’s the best at portraying emotion through dance. It was amazing watching her dance. And, just when I thought that I’d seen her best, she kicked it up another notch; she brought that same “single mind” synergy that she’d shown dancing with Marko to her partnership with Neil: they both made the other look even better.

Ricky & Anya (Jive by Jason Gilkison, danced to River Deep Mountain High by Celine Dione) This was a fun dance to watch, and Ricky did a commendable job, keeping his footwork going. The Jive is almost as difficult as the Quickstep (and another of my favorite ballroom styles as a result) and Ricky did a great job with it. I did want more exuberance in his movement, but he did keep up with Anya which is no small feat.  The judges also pointed out that Ricky was dancing too high, and needed to get down into the floor more; I agree, this would have improved his performance a lot.

Jess & Lauren Gottlieb (Hip Hop by Tabitha & Napoleon, danced to Take a Bow by Rihanna) It seemed that Jess’ Broadway sensibilities were in charge of this one. His Hip Hop just didn’t have the right sensibility to it. He seemed to be  hitting hard enough, but somehow it came across as more of a Broadway stage performance than a Hip Hop performance. He especially paled in comparison to his partner, Lauren, who was fantastic. I’d like to see Lauren and tWitch do something sometime.

Tadd & Lauren Froderman (Jazz by Mandy Moore, danced to Another One Bites the Dust by Queen) This was a Michael Jackson inspired routine, and Tadd looked like he was actually channeling Michael during the performance, but doing it better than Michael ever did. Losing his hat was unfortunate, as it distracted from what should have been a great routine for him.

Marko & Allison (Contemporary by Sonya Tayeh, danced to I Know it’s Over by Jeff Buckley) In this case, the choreography was not Marko’s friend.  Too much of the routine gave the spotlight to Allison, who was certainly up to the challenge and gave a superb performance.  Still Marko handled himself well, and in the end, the routine was enough to bring tears to the judges’ eyes.

Contestant Couples:

Caitlynn & Tadd (Foxtrot by Jonathan Roberts, danced to Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails by Ella Fitzgerald) This was an exquisite performance by both contestants (though I especially enjoyed Caitlynn here). The whole thing was marvelous, with the right level of style and grace. the whole thing looked like a dance number out of a 50′s musical (as it should have). As I expected, Nigel picked a bit at Caitlynn.  Nigel seems to have some sort of problem with Caitlynn, due to her perceived youth.

Marko & Ricky (Hip Hop by Tabitha & Napoleon, danced to Bad Boy for Life by Diddy featuring Rob & Mark Curry) This was the first twist of the night, partnering up to of the male contestants.  The ramification of this was pretty clear: it meant that two girls would also be partnered. Ricky really killed it here. His styling looked great, where Marko, for the first time, showed a bit of weakness.  Marko didn’t hit hard enough and didn’t show enough swagger.  Nigel did point out that Ricky is still dancing too high again.

Jordan & Jess (Rumba by Jason Gilkison, danced to Set Fire to the Rain by Adele) Jordan did her usual thing, looking fabulous while not caring one whit about Jess.  Still Jess gave it his all, doing a great job as a partner. Jordan was finally called on the lack of chemistry by the judges, though they did act as if this was the first time it happened. Hey, Nigel, this has been going on all through the season.

Sasha & Melanie (Jazz by Sonya Tayeh, danced to Game On by District 78) When I saw Marko & Tadd dance together, this was what I was hoping would be the outcome: the two best dancers of the season partnered. Well, here we were!  This was one of Sonya’s avant-garde pieces that left me cold, however the judges ate it up.  Sasha, of course, has already shown herself to be a particularly fierce dancer. This was Melanie’s opportunity to show the same. Both dancers met the challenge of the dance, and gave us a suitable ending for the night.

What this all means:

Heh. I forgot this part earlier.

Who’s Safe: Sasha and Melanie (of course), and Marko.

These should be self evident by now.  Marko didn’t have as good a night as Sasha and Melanie, but he was better than the other guys by a wide margin, and he has a very strong following after his stint as Melanie’s “second half”.

Who’s On The Fence: Tadd, Ricky

Tadd had a very good night, and is probably the fourth of the top four, but someone needs to end up in the bottom with the other three. It’ll be one of these guys, probably Ricky.

Who’s At Risk: Caitlynn, Jordan, Jess

Caitlynn and Jordan end up here because they’re the other half of the two girls who are going to be in the final.  It’s a bit of a rough call for Caitlynn (whom I really like), but she’s not going to be higher than third among the girls anyway.  Hopefully, this will be Jordan’s time to leave and we’ll at least get one more opportunity to what makes Caitlynn such a magical dancer.

Jess just can’t help to be in the bottom. Unlike Tadd, who’s sucked up just about every style thrown at him, Jess continues to pull toward his Broadway roots. As Rob Marshall said, he’s going to do fine on Broadway, but he’s really not competing with the other guys. If Ricky ends up joining him in the bottom, there is a chance that Ricky still hasn’t recovered sufficiently from being Ryan’s partner to hang around. Still, it should be Jess’ time to go.