CelineA

I object in principal to the new format, so against my better judgement, I caught up on the performance episodes last week. I agree with those who feel the kids are being pushed too hard by demanding essentially the same effort delivered by young adults in prior seasons. I am not sure I can finish the series. I was surprised when the panel praised this dance so highly. It was awkward & full of noticeable mistakes. I think Ruby would benefit from a better partner. I didn't vote for either Alan or Paul during their seasons, but always felt that Alan was the better dancer in Latin and even in contemporary. It has not surprised me that Alan is going farther in the cast of DWTS. Ruby at least has enough maturity to make it feel less like I'm watching my niece's recitals, so I hope she isn't eliminated too quickly Yes, that was a bad choice. A number of these kids have an over-polished persona, which I find tedious, but Jake is the worst. The faux-flirting with Jenna (shame on her for delightfully responding), the sexualized context of some of the routines, the saucy preening in his "man's world" solo...all of that is too much. I don't blame him. He's a kid. We got a peek behind his highly developed facade during the judging after the bullying number he did with Tahini, when his face crumbled in tears. I feel badly for him that someone in his life has encouraged that facade and has not allowed him to just be a kid. I can't imagine how much effort it's taken him to be "on" like that all the time. I don't think the show is handling any of that very well, starting with Jenna. I am weary of many of the all stars. Kathryn's talent can't be denied, but her voice & eyes are among the most dead of any performer on this show. Though it's the fault of the choreographers, everything she does tends to look the same and thus, a very beautiful dancer in Tate seems to be swallowed up in the ho-humness. I hope Tate can shine in her non-contemporary pieces. These are talented, sweet kids, but I do wish they had kept to the older dancers. Even they had seemed overly young in recent seasons. Fikshun & Amy Yakima looked like junior high kids as it was. I miss the early days when choreographers could construct their work around men and women.

I was sad to see Jim go. I wonder about what kind of career he is after. He was already ensconced within a ballet company, which, like Alex, did not seem to be enough to satisfy him. I can't see him moving on to a commercial career, as many of these dancers do. Alex is versatile enough in other styles to take on varied projects. I just don't know about Jim. He seems a lovely person, though. His exact quote: "You are, without question, ONE OF the best dancers of this season, and POSSIBLY, ONE OF the best dancers across all seasons." He has said variations of this to multiple dancers, across all seasons and, yes, during this season as well. After roundly criticizing the choreographer, his criticism of the Fever piece was equally aimed at Jim & Gaby, saying there was no chemistry and "your fever left me a little cold". He has said similar negatives to other dancers this season, which all adds up to fairly balanced in my view. Obviously, there is a variance in mileage amongst our viewpoints.

I'm happy to see them using Al Blackstone, but I wish he could've brought his buddy, Jess LeProtto, with him. Love having some good old, classic Broadway on the show. Gabby really is special. This is overall, a very talented and versatile group of dancers. It will be hard to let some of them go.

Chehon was in the opening number, wearing a tux & fedora. He was also in the Everything Is Awesome dressed as a cowboy (had a close-up). George was also supposed to be in the "Everything" number, though I didn't spot him. I did see Jasmine (hardhat/vest) and Alex (spacesuit) in the final pose. Ellenore tweeted that she assisted in choreography for something at the Oscars, but I must have missed the bit she referred to.