More Amazing Dancing

Another great week of dancing on So You Think You Can Dance?. I wish it was on every night. Really.

Before I started watching the show, I had never even heard of krump. But now, it’s one of my favorite styles they do. Sara & Jesús were incredible. You kind of expected it from Sara, but Jesús was amazing too.

I feel so bad for Shauna. She went from being partnered with Jimmy (who was really good) to being partenerd with Cedric (who isn’t). Shauna danced really well. And I agreed with Mary that the choreography was clearly designed to highlight her and almost hide Cedric. She did nearly all of the dancing. They’ll probably be in the bottom three again, and hopefully it will just be Cedric that goes home.

Lacey & Kameron continue to be one of my favorite couples. The quick step is notoriously hard for dancers on this show (like the judges said, it’s often the kiss of death!), but they did a great job. Even if they somehow end up in the bottom three, there’s no way either of them is going home.

I really like Anya & Danny too. It wasn’t a great hip hop performance this week, but it still was pretty good. I agree with the judges that they are clearly the couple to beat.

As I watched Dominic & Sabra, all I could say was “wow.” They were just incredible. I also think about the difference between Dominic & Cedric – Cedric can really only do his style, while Dominic is a superstar regardless of what is thrown his way. I love them both.

I was really surprised last week when Lauren & Neil weren’t in the bottom three. And while they were better this week, I’ll be shocked again if they’re safe.

Whenever I watch the show, I always say that I want to do choreography by Mia Michaels. But tonight, my favorite choreography by far was the jazz routine by Wade Robson. Jaimie & Hok were fantastic; I rewound and watched it three times. Unbelievable dancing.

I’m not a fan of Jessie. But I certainly don’t want to see her leave the competition because of an injury. Pasha did a great job dancing without her, and he should be safe regardless. As my husband said, he just got the “middle-age women” vote. Yikes.

So there’s no question for me that the performance of the night was Jaimie & Hok. I also loved Dominic & Sabra. And my bottom three? Shauna & Cedric, Lauren & Neil, and Pasha & Jessie (sad to say).

Age and Science of Love

I watched the first two episodes of Age of Love this week, and I think it’s the first show in awhile that falls into the “so bad it’s good” category of reality shows. I don’t know why I care, but I do. I guess there’s something intriguing about watching someone date a woman whose son is his age. Ewww….

I also watched Science of Love. This is not “so bad it’s good;” it’s just bad. I wonder how much money they saved by using the same set and the same host as Age of Love? That, and the fact that it was essentially an hour-long infomercial for some online dating service, made the show nearly unwatchable. I’ll admit, though, that my husband and I enjoyed shouting “you’re a LONG SNAPPER!!” at the tv every time the guy started to talk about how he’s an NFL player.

Results Make Me Cranky

I've only been back to the blog for about a week, and already I'm cranky. I didn't like that Ricky went home the first week on SYTYCD?, and I HATED the results of the show this past week. I appreciate the fact that "America" doesn't always vote for the best dancers. And that's why I like the format of these rounds of the show - that the judges have a say as well. But given who was in the bottom three last week, I don't agree with the decision the judges made. No doubt it was a hard choice - the bottom three was shocking. But I just didn't understand it. Sending Faina home wasn't such a shock. Based on their solos it should have been Jessi, but she really didn't belong in the bottom three at all. And Faina did. It was the guys that made me so cranky. I don't understand why the judges are so enamored with Cedric. Yes, he's good at what he does. But he's not good at anything else. Think about all those specialty dancers that didn't make it through Vegas for that very reason. Yet somehow he keeps making it through. So we had to say goodbye to Jimmy, who was a really good dancer; the only reason he went home is because he was up against Cedric.

So You Think You Can Dance? is BACK!

My favorite show of last summer was So You Think You Can Dance?, and this season hasn’t disappointed. The dancers are even better than before, and the choreography has been amazing.

Lauren & Neil aren’t my favorite couple. They probably should have been in the bottom three last week, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them there tonight. They’re good dancers individually, but aren’t great together.

I really like Pasha – he might be one of my favorite male dancers. It’s a shame that he’s been paired with Jessi. There’s something about her that just rubs me the wrong way. They were really good this week – I loved the choreography, and they were fantastic.

I agreed with Nigel & Mary about Jaimie & Hok. They were very entertaining, but not so great with the dancing. Jaimie is lucky to be paired with Hok – he seems to have a reasonably large fan base. Otherwise she would have gone home last week. They’re both great at what they do, but not much else; I don’t know how long they can get by in this competition.

Dominic & Sabra were phenomenal. So much of what was in the routine looked easy but was actually very difficult. And to think that Dominic was able to do it makes it even more impressive. I think they’re both favorites to go far in the competition.

Faina & Cedric are another couple who are phenomenal in their fields, but aren’t great outside of them. Their foxtrot just wasn’t very good. They don’t seem to partner well together, and should probably be in the bottom three. I don’t see the appeal of either of them; I wouldn’t be sad to see them go.

My favorite couple last week was Lacey & Kameron, and I loved them again this week. I thought the routine was a perfect mix of pizzazz & sexiness (even if Mia thought it needed more pizzazz). And I agree with the judges that their connection is superb. It reminds me of Benji’s relationship with Donyelle last season. Absolutely fabulous.

Danny & Anya were also phenomenal. They’re a great example of how a good dancer can dance in any style. The difference between them and some of the others who had to stretch beyond their own styles is night and day. They’ll be in the competition for awhile.

There’s something about Jimmy & Shauna that I just love. Their routine this week was so unique and danced so well. I loved them last week as well – they’re definitely a top couple this season.

Sara & Jesús are an interesting couple. They’re so good at their own styles, and there’s something about them dancing together that’s very captivating. During their dance I was thinking the same thing as Mia – the music was all wrong. I watched it back on mute and it was much better.

If “America” gets it right this week, it shouldn’t be hard to choose the bottom three – Faina & Cedric, Lauren & Neil, and Jaimie & Hok. Should be interesting to see if they do, especially since Mary was so adamant that they got it wrong last week.

I'm Back...

That’s right, I’m back. After a short break, I’m ready to settle into the summer shows.

I’m not really sure when tv execs decided that summer should be the time for new series, instead of the re-runs that were on every night in the summers growing up. But, for the most part, I like the trend. I wish I could say the same thing for the shows.

I’ve already given up on a couple of this summer’s big shows. On the Lot was good for the first episode (when they highlighted the creative process of the directors). Then it wasn’t. I quickly decided to cut my losses on that one. Same with Pirate Master. I SO wanted to like the show. But after about 15 minutes, the show was so unwatchable I had to turn it off. What a shame. And I didn’t even try with America’s Got Talent this season. It was so horrible last summer – I don’t see how Sharon Osbourne could make it better.

So what’s left? So You Think You Can Dance? is back, and I love it again. And Big Brother starts again in a few weeks. I also have Age of Love ready to watch on my tivo – I just wish the tv people wouldn’t put these things on opposite Red Sox games. :)