The rules change this week on So You Think You Can Dance? – gone are the partners that they have been dancing with for the past five weeks. Instead, they randomly draw a partner for the week (along with their dance styles), dance two dances with that partner, as well as a solo performance. Oh boy.
And here’s my first real complaint about the show (ok, the second…I still don’t understand why two couples each week dance hip hop…) – why are they mixing the solos in with the couple dances? Aside from the fact that it’s confusing, it makes the blogging tricky (and be warned, I have a lot to say tonight). Sigh... So, in the order of their solos…
Donyelle rocks. That’s all there is to it. She has been consistently the best female dancer throughout the show. And I had totally forgotten that she is actually a hip hop dancer. After watching her solo, all I can say is WOW. She was paired this week with Dmitry, and started off with the lindy hop. She was great – there was so much energy, it was amazing. To think, too, that she has been nursing a hurt foot makes it even more amazing. Her samba was fantastic too. She should sail through to next week.
I’m so done with Dmitry. I’m just not all into the bare chest open shirt thing. His solo was absurd – there is a lot more to dancing than throwing open your shirt. His lindy hop with Donyelle was fine. She totally outdanced him. The contrast between her energy and his lack thereof was quite striking. I think that Nigel finally started to see that he’s not as good as everyone thinks. (especially considering the comments about his lack of shirt later in the show) He was good in his final dance with Donyelle. The samba is one of his specialties, and in that specialty he did a good job. I’m hoping that he’s one of the bottom dancers tomorrow night.
Another person who I’m done with is Martha. She started off the show dancing hop hop with Ivan, which should have been extremely exciting. I know that if I had to be stuck with hip hop (I am just SO not funky), I would be so stoked to be with Ivan. But she was complaining about pulling hip hop and complaining about the fact that some dancers have been getting by based on their partners. How ironic, since it seems like she has really been getting by on the strength of Travis. Their routine was good, but she was totally overshadowed by Ivan. (and did you see how much better Travis was without her?) Her solo wasn’t very good either. There just wasn’t much to it. Her second dance with Ivan was the smooth waltz, which was just ok. The judges were pretty harsh, and I think that the criticism was probably warranted. She’s my pick to go home this week.
I admit it – I have become such an Ivan fan. He started off tonight dancing hip hop with Martha. And just as Martha seemed disappointed with the arrangement, I was bummed that he wasn’t dancing with Allison anymore. Their piece last week was so breathtaking. Anyways, even though I didn’t like the choreography, Ivan did a fantastic job with the routine. His solo wasn’t quite as good – as the judges said, it was a novelty routine with the skate shoes. (of course, it took me a second to figure out that he had wheels on his shoes…) But I agree with what Ivan said at the end – he’s trying to entertain the crowd. He finished up his night dancing the smooth waltz. The judges weren’t fans, and rightfully so – neither of them did a great job with it. I will say that it was less of a disappointment for Ivan than Martha, considering Ivan is a hip hop dancer, but it still wasn’t great. Hopefully people will take his dancing from the past few weeks as a whole and keep him on the show tonight.
Heidi has always been such a strong dancer. And her performance with Travis was nothing short of incredible. Their paso doble was spectacular. They had great chemistry as well – I think that Ryan has been holding her back a bit. Her solo was good too – she’s definitely spunky! She capped the show off dancing contemporary with Travis. Mia clearly choreographed the routine for the two of them, and she was fantastic. I loved loved loved the routine, and she was wonderful in it.
Travis is one of the best male dancers in the competition. And his paso doble showed that. I was just floored by the dance. I also think that Martha was holding him back – his performance with Heidi was so far above anything he had done with Martha. His solo was also spectacular. He’s a pure dancer, someone who you just want to sit and watch over and over again. His final performance was the amazing contemporary routine that Mia choreographed for him and Heidi. I thought that Ivan and Allison last week were the most amazing contemporary routine ever – he and Heidi just gave that performance a run for their money. It was so amazing – I didn’t want to even blink because I was scared I would miss something. Not only was he spectacular, he helped Heidi to be as well. Freakin’ brilliant.
Natalie has been so hot the past five weeks with Musa. So I was wondering what would happen when she was paired with goofball Benji. Turns out, she has great chemistry with Benji as well. Their jazz routine was great – I think that dancing with Musa has overshadowed what a great dancer she really is. I also think that she took the judges’ criticism from last week to heart, and her dancing was much more open and yearning – it was great. That openness was clearly evident in her solo as well. Her dancing is showing a lot of emotion, and she’s positioning herself as one of the top girls in the competition. Her final routine was hip hop, and she and Benji did a good job. The judges didn’t love it, but it was pretty good. I really like Natalie – I think she’s good to go for another few weeks.
Benji has been one of my favorites since the first auditions, and he still is. He has been so amazing with Donyelle, so I was worried about how he would do with Natalie. But it turns out that he was so amazing with Donyelle because he’s just an amazing dancer. Watching his jazz routine with Natalie, I almost forgot that his specialty is West Coast swing. That’s right, that amazing jazz performance was done by the current champion of West Coast swing. His solo was fantastic too. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him dancing solo, and it was worth the wait. The reaction of the crowd was great too; I guess I’m not the only one who’s a Benji fan! His last routine was hip hop with Natalie. It was good actually, especially considering that neither of them dance hip hop. But I couldn’t help but compare it with his hip hop routine the first week with Donyelle, which I think was a lot better. I don’t think he’s in any danger of going home this week.
Allison was so amazing last week with Ivan, so I was sad to see her paired with Ryan. Pulling contemporary was a huge bonus for her. The choreography from Mia was amazing – even my husband commented on how difficult it looked. And she danced it really well. She is a really strong contender in this competition. Her second routine was Broadway, which is a tough style. But she really shined. I especially loved how she handled her hat falling off – Nigel was right – that was a mark of a true professional. Her solo was good too. I don’t think she’s as good as someone like Donyelle, but I would be surprised if she was eliminated.
At some point, the judges commented that there seems to just be something missing from Ryan’s performance. I felt that way tonight as he danced contemporary with Allison. I thought that he would be good at the routine, because contemporary is his specialty as well. But even though most of the dancing itself was technically good, there was just something missing. That same feeling of something missing carried into his second routine with Allison where they danced Broadway. Once again, he had the steps right, but you couldn’t help feeling like the performance was somehow empty. He tried to pick it back up with his solo, which was pretty good. He really is quite good technically; it’s a shame that he doesn’t dance better with his partners.
If I were going to vote tonight (I know, I know, what am I doing voting for this thing?), it would have to be for Donyelle and Travis. They were by far the best two dancers of the night. I might throw a vote to Heidi & Benji as well. I’m thinking that Martha will be the bottom girl, and either Ryan or Dmitry will be the bottom guy. Should be interesting to see what happens without the judges making the final cut.
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