Top Sixteen Competition

Yay for the judges no longer having complete control! I feel bad for the four who left when they might not have otherwise. Of course, some of them may still have. I’m looking at you, Brandon.

Ahem. Cat’s hair? Too much hairspray. And her ears look huge. And her dress is made of snakeskin. Fashion fail.

No Paula Abdul jokes? It’s about time. Was that really so difficult?

Season five dancers are in the audience, which gives me the perfect time to bring up the latest rumor: Jason and Janette, a couple? I always thought he’d end up with Jeanine. And so the drama of reality television continues, even another season later. Attention whores.

(I’m kidding. Or if anything, I’m jealous of Janette.)

Couple One: ballroom dancer Karen and hip hop dancer Kevin
Hustle with Maria
OK, yeah. I may think she’s a whiny attention whore for making her divorce the “one thing America should know about you,” but she sure can dance. It’s totally obvious that she’s the ballroom dancer. I thought Kevin was pretty sloppy/floppy, but apparently I’m the only one. Whatever, I’m right. My only good thought about him was “at least he’s not dropping her.” She definitely stole the show. The choreography seemed a bit repetitive to me, but what do I know about hustle? Nothing. Oh, and they both stay on the train…and the train is still pointless, and Mary is still obnoxious.

Couple Two: Latin ballroom dancer Ashleigh and contemporary dancer Jakob. And a golf club. I mean, cane. Whatever.
Jazz with Mandy Moore
Hey, remember when I hated Ashleigh? Yep, there’s always one I love to hate (remember Caitlin?). Except not anymore, because apparently she’s a history and politics dork like me. And she’s not a half bad dancer, either. Crap. Some of her steps were a bit awkward, but they were both still really good. His facials were super intense, in a really great way. And props (haha, Cat, I can make a joke too) to Mandy for not doing her usual competition-style pop piece.
On a random note, they were couple 2 last week as well. Oh, the things you notice when you blog.

Couple Three: Couple Eight: jazz dancer Pauline and tap dancer Peter
Quickstep with JT and Tomas
Well, for two non-ballroom dancers, they sure didn’t dance the “kiss of death” as badly as most (WHY DOES ADAM ALWAYS SAY WHAT I’VE ALREADY WRITTEN? HAS HE NO THOUGHTS OF HIS OWN???). Ahem. I thought the concept and choreography were cute and played well to the dancers’ abilities. I thought their footwork was pretty on at parts, but surely not perfect. I think they did as well as could be expected, for who they are and what the style is. Slight improvement over last week-seems like they get the cool concepts that they can’t quite execute.

Couple Four: contemporary/lyrical dancer Kathryn and b-boy Legacy
Broadway with Andy
ANDY? Who the hell is ANDY and where is TYCE? OK, I’m taking deep breaths, I swear. I’m sure you understand my shock.
Oh, OK, that wasn’t bad. In fact, it was much MUCH better than what Tyce gave us a week ago. I forgive you, show. The personality here was great. They were both showing so much with their entire bodies, not just on their faces, and that can be tricky. Her dancing wasn’t totally all there, but I blame the tennis shoes. Impossible to spin in. Legacy was brilliant, and it was a great use of his b-boy skills there at the end, with the head-hop thing. I think that’s a technical term. Also, their stunt where they flipped over each other was awesome (although, I can do that. Just not as well).
Oh, and Mary’s back to speaking in that obnoxious repetitive way, yes she is!

Couple Five: contemporary dancer Channing and contemporary dancer Victor
Contemporary with Stacey
WOW, did they ever throw you two a softball this week. If this is anything short of amazing, what with both of them dancing their own style, then I’m pretty much writing them off.
And, good, they nailed it. Surprising, seeing as how much that music sucked. They added a lot more passion than the music had, so good on them. That flower in the background was really freaking cheesy, though. They did a really great job, and good thing, since they were both toward the bottom of my rankings. And I’m not booing Nigel. HE’S RIGHT. Stupid live audience.

Couple Six: ballroom dancer Ryan and jazz dancer Ellenore
Hip Hop with Lil C
What we have here, friends, is two mediocre hip hop solos. Yes, they’re dancing completely differently. And poorly, both of them. He’s completely not sharp, and she’s not dancing full-out. And it’s basic hip hop choreography! And…cow print on the pants? What? Whatever. This was just completely mediocre for me. BUT they’ve both been so strong in the past that it may not be a total death wish.

Couple Seven: contemporary dancer Nathan and jazz dancer Mollee
Salsa with Gustavo
Hey, Mollee’s half deaf like me! Well, I’m not half deaf. Anymore. But deaf enough for it to impact my dancing on occasion. ANYWAYS…
Wow, Mollee is not mature enough to pull off sophisticated sexy. I sympathize with looking twelve, but this was just bad. They fumbled around on a ton of steps and kept getting their arms tangled up. Also, it looked like Mollee maybe forgot the choreography at one point? She was about 2 counts late on a pirouette. Only about a half-count late on everything else. And the choreography was really too fast for them. Umm, I didn’t really pay attention to Nathan. I gather he wasn’t great either. On the upside, these two started off the competition really strong, and I’m hoping they can stick it out.

Couple Eight: Krumper Russell with contemporary dancer Noelle
African jazz with Sean
At least we’re ending the show on a good note! Wowza. I mean, that was just incredible. The lighting was perfect, her hair was AWESOME…I guess I’m kinda glad they kept her now! Maybe the judges do know what they’re doing…maybe. Russell was just spot-on the entire time, and those stunts were absolutely jaw-dropping. What a wonderful finale for the show this week. And as much as I hate the hot tamale train, I was starting to feel bad for the fourteen who never have a prayer, so I guess I’m happy for Russell. I’d be happier if the train crashed though. With no one on it, of course.

At least we got some new choreographers this week! No Melanie and Tony, no Tabitha and Napoleon. Everything in moderation.

Now go forth and vote! BECAUSE YOU CAN!

Just for good measure, my bottom couples:
Nathan and Mollee
Ryan and Ellenore

But really, no clear loser here. Tomorrow should be interesting. I shall see you then!