SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Top 18 Performances

A few things are a guarantee tonight. Cat Deeley is going to look smokin’ hot and we are going to see some incredible talent. Sounds good to me. I’m in!

Tonight the top 9 guys and the top 9 girls take the stage to wow us with their dance skills. They’re going to be working with some of the top choreographers in the world. It won’t be easy, but here’s to hoping it’s pretty.

Joining Nigel and Mary at the judges’ table tonight is Lil C.

It’s just their second week in the competition and already the dancers are telling secrets about their partners. Hopefully nothing too revealing…I guess we’ll see.

Randi & Evan | Jive | by Louis Van Amstel
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Will my favorite couple of last week win my heart again? I’ve got Evan going all the way in my SYTYCD fantasy league. Fingers crossed.  But before I get to the performance, can I just say how much I think Randi looks like Kellie Pickler? Weird. Ok, as for the dance. Well, these two didn’t wow me as much as they did last week, but at least I didn’t hate it.  I’m not going to pretend to know what makes a good Jive, but I couldn’t help think that it should be lighter than it looked.  I especially felt like Randi was stuck in cement and very heavy on her feet.  Evan jumping over a standing Randi was pretty impressive. Overall, it was just ok for me (oh no, I’m Randy Jackson already.) Twenty bucks says the judges tell Randi she was so light on her feet. He he!

The Judges: Lil’ C said it was a solid beginning to the show. The judges were being obnoxious with the whole “fun” counter. Move on.. Mary thought it fell a little short, but she said Randi was the stronger of the two. Nigel finally acknowledged Louis van Amstel. (Clearly @dizzyfeet has been reading my tweets). Nigel thinks the two are a great couple and are tremendous, but he too thought Randi was the stronger of the two tonight.

Melissa & Ade | Jazz | by Sonya Tayeh
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The first Sonya routine of the season. I’m so excited. If I were cooler I wouldn’t be telling you that I often dance around my apartment to “The Garden” from last season. Good thing I’m not cool. I’m not sure if I’ll be dancing around the house with this Sonya routine…there’s no way I could. As always, so visually interesting.  Not one moment of predictability. I can’t say I saw the story between the two dancers though. I’m not sure if Melissa was as dirty as Sonya needed her to be but overall I thought their movement was fantastic. When they were doing specific moves together it was crazy good. I’m not sure this dance will get a DVR rewind from me, but I certainly enjoyed it.

The Judges: Ok, Cat doing a three-way chest bump with the dancers was awesome!  Lil C threw out his first “bucc” of the competition. He said Ade could be everyone’s competition. He loved his “manipulation of movement”. Mary loved it. She complimented them on the details. Nigel thought it was fantastic.  He applauded the dancers and Sonya. Overall, well done!

Caitlin & Jason | Hip Hop | by Shane Sparks
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Shane Sparks is back! Thank goodness, y’alls. Ta ta ta ta. Maybe it’s because he’s one of my faves, but I couldn’t take my eyes of Jason tonight.  As gorgeous as she is I really only noticed Caitlin during her solo- which I thought was good.  Jason seemed so much smoother in his movements. I’m not sure I loved the choreography as much as I normally do with a Shane routine. They certainly didn’t dance it poorly, it was good.  But I wasn’t off my seat.

The Judges: Lil C didn’t love it. He thought the dance came off a little corny. Mary saw two completely different dancers on stage tonight. She didn’t see any of the chemistry she saw last week during their performance. Nigel thought they looked really good up there. So a little all over the place with the judges.

Janette & Brandon | Disco | by Doriana Sanchez
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Ugh. Disco. Sorry kids but this is going to have to be overly impressive to get my vote tonight. I don’t know why this show keeps on with this Disco stuff.  Ok, in the pre-video Janette revealed that Brandon never works out. Say what?! That boy has the sickest body evah! He says all he benches is the ladies…uh huh. Ok, I’ve gotta tell ya, I thought they did a fantastic job with this piece. This was not easy. It was so fast that I have no idea how they didn’t just collapse at the end.  When Brandon lifted her straight over his head it was effortless.  There were a few times that I saw Janette either a little to early or playing catch up a bit, but if she hadn’t revealed she was struggling in the pre-performance video, I’m not sure I would have even noticed.  Again, disco will never be my favorite but I thought they did an extremely good job.

The Judges: I love when Lil C speaks. He’s so eloquent. He talked about inducing labor or something like that, but in the end it all meant that he thought it was amazing. He gave Brandon a special shout out, which was great because he was a little tough on Brandon in the early stages.  Mary couldn’t get over how fast it was. She thought the two of them nailed it. I’m kind of hoping that Joel McHale is watching tonight, because Mary’s “NOT” would make for a great moment on The Soup.  Nigel thought it was tremendous. He said it was one of the best disco routines he’s ever seen.

Auska & Vitolio | Waltz | by Louis van Amstel
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I got more emotion from the pre-video than I did the actual performance. I just don’t see the connection between the two of them. The only thing I really know to look for in the Waltz is the visual of the couple floating across the stage.  I didn’t see that at all. There was nothing special about this dance to me.  Maybe the judges saw something different. I have a feeling that the emotional backstory will play a big part in the judges critique.

The Judges: I guess so.  Mary was speechless tonight. She was actually crying. Yeah, I guess I missed something big here. If the ballroom expert saw something special and I didn’t…well it’s a good thing I’m only a wannabe judge. Lil C complimented the sincerity of the emotion. Hats off to the couple. Nigel commented on the beauty of the routine.  He said whoever wasn’t touched by that routine is heartless.  Damn, and all along I thought I could be a good organ donor.

Kayla & Max | Pop Jazz | by Brian Friedman
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Well, well, well look who’s back with us. It’s Brian Friedman. I guess Britney Spears kicked him to the curb. I kid. But it’s nice to have Brian back. He can be a little diva, but he’s one hell of a choreographer. As for tonight’s routine, WOW! I loved, loved, loved it! The characters and the story were so alive. Both Max and Kayla performed the hell out of the number. They were spot on. At times it felt like they were connected by a string because they were so in sync. I just wanted the dance to keep on going! So far, my favorite dance of the night! I’ll be watching that one a few times over.

The Judges: Lil C thought they were both amazing. Mary said they were still on the hot tamale train, although I think it was Kayla especially that got them the tickets. I loved Max – not sure why the judges didn’t as much. They didn’t really say anything bad, but they were all about Kayla. Nigel too loved Kayla, but he gave proper credit to the pair. He emphasized the greatness of both of them which was nice!

Karla & Jonathan | Contemporary | by Stacey Tookey
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I wasn’t all that impressed with this couple last week, so I’m ready for them to step it up. Ok first off, one of my favorite songs – “Falling Slowly”, so beautiful. I feel like I need to watch this dance again to get a better sense of it.  But it’s all about first impressions, so I guess I would say it was a little uneven at times, but so beautiful that it didn’t matter.  The emotion was intense, and I think that really helped pull them through the dance. Jonathan was so much better than I thought he would be. Shocked that he doesn’t claim Contemporary as his own style. I thought he felt more natural tonight that he did during his solo last week. Some of the lifts were awkward, but the pay off was so beautiful I almost didn’t care. I’d give it high points on beauty, connection and emotion, but maybe a few less for technique. (Says the girl that can’t dance unless she’s three sheets to the wind). Jonathan is one (young) cute patootie.  And Karla is breathtaking.

The Judges: Mary agreed that Jonathan performed this better than his own style (Me and you Mary!) She loved everything about the dance! She was completely spellbound. Nigel was equally complimentary to both Karla and Jonathan. He really thought it was fantastic. Lil C thought it was a lot of things, but he summed it but saying it was bucc.

Jeanine & Phillip | Tango | by Tony Meredith
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Yikes! Philip, that was awful. I mean really bad.  The way he planted his feet and just stomped around the stage? The only graceful moments was when he was standing still and she was dancing all up on him.  I thought Jeanine was incredibly powerful and sexy, but she wasn’t partnered well and I think it really held her back. I want some real honestly from the judges tonight.  I know The Chbeeb is a favorite, but that can’t be ignored.

The Judges: Mary gave Phillip an A+ for attitude, but a C- for technique. She said his frame and footwork were not good.  She said Jeanine’s technique was a lot better and she did a really good job. Lil C called out Philip on his lack of confidence. In what what as a great moment, Lil C called out Philip on his bent knees.  Mary corrected him and said that the knees were correct, they should have been bent.  Cat took it to Tony Meredith who was in the audience and he agreed with Mary.  And Lil C humbly stood corrected.  Sorry, but I had to point that out.  These judges are SO fantastic. It’s not about THEM unlike that other reality show on Fox.  Their critique is really about helping the dancers grow.  And as demonstrated in this moment, it’s not about ego, it’s about the dancers. Nigel echoed the other judges in his critique of Philip.  And Nigel actually said, “I wish I could turn around and say ‘yes it was fantastic’, [but] to keep the integrity of the program, I can’t. It wasn’t good.” But as Executive Producer he made sure to give Philip an extra boost as he knows he’s good for the show.

Ashley & Kupono | Hip Hop | by Shane Sparks
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Huh. That wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped it would be. The shadow concept was strong in the beginning but they totally lost it somewhere in the middle of the routine. And then it got sloppy. To me it looked like Ashley was doing more jazz than hip hop, especially during the really fast part. Her hands were all over the place and she kept coming in and out of the attitude. I can’t say that Kupono nailed it but for me he was the stronger of the two.  I like them as a couple and absolutely think they should be sticking around, but it wasn’t as good as I think it could have been.

The Judges: Mary said it was just ok. She didn’t hate it, but she didn’t love it. She thought it wasn’t very memorable. Lil C thought Kupono struggled and that affected Ashley. He thought there was a lack of clarity. He wasn’t mad at Ashley. He thought she saved the piece. (Guess I got it wrong.) Nigel was underwhelmed.

And that’s that.  Week 2 performances can be checked off like an item of Kupono’s list.

My top 4 routines…

1. Kayla & Maksim
2. Janette & Brandon
3. Karla & Jonathan
4. Randi & Evan

The GMMR at Risk Report…

• Based on the judges comments, the three couples who might be dancing for their lives tomorrow are: Auska & Vitolio, Jeanine & Philip, Ashley & Kupono.

If you’ve made it this far down in the post, then you really must love this show.  Forget what I had to say, what did YOU think about tonight’s performances?  Any favorites?  Any major bombs? Who is sure to move on and who will be dancing for their lives?

Tomorrow I’m going to be LIVE blogging the results show, so if you’re watching live, comment along with the blog throughout the show.