S11.E06: First Live Performance Show; Meet the Top 20 Performances

[Bella]

No description aside from the episode title.

[mbutterfly]

Valerie Rockey is from my township. I don't know her, but many of my friends know her well, so we're cheering her on. She's a cute little tap dancer. 

[LizBug]

So distracted by Cat's undergarments showing thru the slits in her dress.

[susannot]

Malene and Marquet were incredible!  Voting for them unless I see someone better--doubtful.

[Dejajeva]

Man, Nigel is laying it on thick with Jessica & Ricky. I mean...I thought it was good...but best routine he's ever seen on the show? Ever? Really? I think Jason Derulo is useless as an actual judge but he is pretty funny. And I think he tries to give good feedback anyway.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Dejajeva

[Misslindsey]

I am a sucker for tap dancers so Valerie, Zach, and Teddy are who I am rooting for. No one irritates me yet...well, besides the judges.

 

I liked Jason Derulo at the judges table for the intro to the top twenty, because it is less judged show. Does that make sense? It did look like he was trying to give good feedback. He seemed laid-back and appreciative of all the dance styles. 

[Koffee Kup]

Whichever ballerina was on the left most of the dance is not very good, her leg was always at an angle when on pointe.   Don't know which one it was.

 

I too love tap and they got my votes.

[Keekski]

I have to say, I really wanted to continue to hate the stripperesque Jessica but I kind of liked her tonight. I love Marquet, thought Jacque was terrible, want the tappers and the hip hoppers to continue on awhile. I do love Rudy. He made me cry. For some reason he reminds of Jess (the broadway kid from a few seasons ago). The contemporary girls blend (as usual). 

[callie lee 29]

Yeah, I didn't really get all the love for Ricky and Jessica's routine. Admittedly I'm over Sonya (although I don't think I've ever been a huge fan. Kinda in the same zone with Mia Michaels for me), but it was good, definitely not the best I've ever seen, or the best of the night. 

 

No one irritated me which is a huge good thing. Normally at lest one person gets on my nerves. I'll probably vote for everyone this time. (Maybe not Jessica and Ricky out of petty spite. I know I shouldn't...)

 

 

thought Jacque was terrible

I have no idea which one is which, one was good the other not so much, but I just want to see more ballet so bad. Never thought that would happen.

Edited July 3, 2014 by callie lee 29

[Keekski]

also, I like that there are so many ballroom dancers! I surprise myself! 

[Superpole2000]

If the judges are just going to kiss the ground these dancers walk on then cut their mics and show more dancing instead. If they dance well, great. Tell us, and then shut up. They would go on these 5 minute raves like they were the dancers' parents, and it made me want to turn the channel.

 

How did no one tell Cat that we could see her white underwear through her dress? Who designs a dress like that anyway?

 

That first male dancer produced more sweat in two minutes than I have produced in the last two years.

[Charmqn]

Well I can tell that Jessica and Ricky are Nigel's pets this season. Man, I thought Malene/Marquet Brazilian Samba was the best routine of the night.

 

I also really liked that tap routine. That looked difficult as shit. Though, nothing can top Tara Jean/Everett Tap/House routine the most.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Charmqn

[susannot]

Ballerinas: I think Jacque was on the left. I thought she was better than Jourdain, but I think they are interchangeable, and one of them will be the first girl voted out.  The one on the left (Jacque?) was slightly prettier so I predict she survives.

Edited July 3, 2014 by susannot

[mojoween]

He did sweat SO MUCH but damn Serge is such a good partner. His handholds looked so good to me.

Ricky really surprised me with how strong he is. She was shakier than he was when she was standing on her own than when he was holding her on his back.

Marcquet. Sigh. Love him. He is all limbs and they're all so pretty.

I liked the tall hip-hopper much more than Emilio. At first I was like "what? A hip hop routine to The Commodores?" but then it was choreographed so well to the beat it totally worked.

I have no idea who is going home.

[Mumbles]

As well-choreographed as the hip-hop routine was, I couldn't get into it because it was set to "Night Shift", the song written for Marvin Gaye after his father murdered him. Seemed off-putting to me to see the song's title taken so literally.

[susannot]

 

I liked the tall hip-hopper much more than Emilio. At first I was like "what? A hip hop routine to The Commodores?" but then it was choreographed so well to the beat it totally worked.

That was Teddy, I think.Nigel name-checked him as the third dancer who can tap.  He is a really good-looking guy who is taller than Cat!  Actually several guys are taller than Cat this year--Marquet too.

[crowceilidh]

Shallow aside: I thought Teddy looked offputtingly like someone who had had plastic surgery to try to look like David Bowie and was somewhat successful.

 

Neither ballerina was that good.  The inability to tell them apart was a stupid costuming move.  There is no reason one couldn't have been a white swan and one a black, given that it was a fictional pas de deux in the first place. I would not vote for either of them in case I voted for the awkward one and I couldn't tell which that was.

 

Travis's contemporary routine was definitely the most lacklustre of them all.  I hated Sonja's opening number; loved the duet which I did not find recognizably Sonja. Loved Bonnie Story's choreo and Stacey's.

 

Is the Broadway prize why they cast so few hh dancers?

 

I thought Jason's piece was more fun to watch than Sonja's.

 

I couldn't hear so much of what the girls were saying in their 8 seconds.  But I liked the way they did it in partners.

 

I understand why they changed it, but I completely prefer meet the top20 with small group dances.  So much more interesting.

 

Emilio was really funny with Cat.

 

The new voting system stops Canadians from voting.  Stupid.

Edited July 3, 2014 by crowceilidh

[bluvelvet]

Whichever ballerina was on the left most of the dance is not very good, her leg was always at an angle when on pointe.   Don't know which one it was.

 

I too love tap and they got my votes.

 

Is that the same one who was a bit shaky in the routine...

 

I didn't watch any of the auditions as I didn't want to get attached to any auditioners only to be disappointed when they didn't make the show. So tonight the the first I am seeing these dancers, they seem like an okay bunch.  Very surprised at all the ballroom representation which I liked, but none of those girls really impressed me much.they are no Anna that's for sure.

 

I will admit I did fast forward through parts of the contemporary routines, but I liked the samba ballroom dance with Marcquet and the tap dance the best of all the dances. The tap routine looked very difficult and they did a great job.

 

The parts of the contemporaries I did watch blended together, that being said the Ricky/Jessica one stood out the most.

[Heather Lynn]

For a group I was mostly "meh" on last week, I thought this was a great week. While I have favorites, I'll likely watch everyone again this week.

Loved Stanley & Bridget and the new choreographer and, surprisingly Ricky & Jessica who I like but am not a huge Sonya Tayeh fan. I really enjoyed that one (not so much for the Top 20 number). Also, loved Marcquette and Malene.

That tap number was incredible but I keep expecting Valerie to fall over. I'm no expert and can tell she's a great tapper but she looks off-balance when dancing.

Ballet experts: With the fouettés, was the dancer on the left hyper extending her knee on her free leg? Something about her turns drew my attention but I'm not sure what.

[ramble]

I thought the boys were stronger than the girls as a whole. The contemporary girls tend to blend & I thought the ballroom girls were outdanced by their partners. The ballerinas didn't impress me & that made me sad. I liked the taller hip hop guy the better of the two & I loved the guy that did tap. I'm so tired of best top 20 ever, best routine ever, blah blah blah. Can't they just like things without slobbering all over themselves? Sorry stupid question.

[Shades of Red]

I liked Ricky and his partner's routine - no idea what her name is ... actually have no idea what any of the ladies' names are.  As someone else pointed out, he's stronger than he initially looked and he's also shorter than I thought.

 

He reminds me a little bit of Kevin Zegers looks wise and his dance style reminds me a bit of Jakob Karr.  I think it's the leg extensions that bring Jakob to mind.

 

I enjoyed all the dances but thought one of the ballroom dances was a little on the frantic side.  I don't remember which one as we had several, but thought some of the moves weren't completed/extended as they should be.  The samba rolls were gorgeous, at least to my untrained eye they were.

 

I might be wrong about this, but it didn't seem to me that anyone was shoved under a bus tonight.  Usually from the very first show there seems to be someone the judges pick on and tear down, but not this time.  Of course I wasn't paying really close attention so please correct me if I missed something.

[kechara]

They had some criticisms of Brooklyn and the 2 ballet dancers and they kind of said that Rudy wasn't as good technically as  the other contemporary guys but he had heart.  Not under the bus but something.

 

I wasn't impressed with either ballet dancer. One looked like she was stumbling, losing her balance a bit. The other one looked sloppy in a different way. But what do I know. I couldn't really tell them apart when they were dancing except one was heavier set.

 

Marquett has charm for days I think.  And Emilio is so likeable.  It's probably a good thing that we can't vote up here.

I was impressed by Tanisha Belknap although for some reason I don't want to like her.

 

Pretty good start. The Ricky/Jessica number was nice.  Not sure if it was all that great.  I thought the Alex Wong/Allison  piece to Hallelujah (hate that song) was a benchmark piece.

 

I miss Wade....lots. And I like Sonja's purple hair.  And no dying someone in a story line. All fights and breakups ...

[beeble]

I wish they had done a recap at the end - some editing of tonight's show would have helped that awkward filler bit at the end. 

 

Anyhoo, I loved all of the contemporary routines, the hip-hop, and the final cha-cha.  Nick is such a lovable dork.  

 

I think first ballroom girl is toast.

 

Is Bridget the girl with the sad dead father story that we heard over and over and over during auditions?

 

I wonder if that ballet routine was fair. It looked very difficult, and there was really no way for either dancer to stand out. I enjoy ballet but I'm just a civilian - I have no way of evaluating technique. It looked fine to me but I'm not sure how to evaluate it.  (I did like that both dancers were spazzy during the 8 seconds and both admitted to being coffee junkies. I think one of the girls said she graduated pre-med. Impressive!)

[kechara]

The first ballroom girl had some kind of wardrobe malfunction I think.

 

This is the first time 2 have gone home after the "meet the top 20" episode isn't it?  I was surprised.

[ramble]

The first ballroom girl had some kind of wardrobe malfunction I think.

Oh yes I had forgotten! A small white something hanging out near her bum. Once I noticed it I couldn't quit seeing it. It drew my eye in the worst way.

[morgankobi]

I have to have Facebook to vote?

Fuck that!

[bourbon]

Aaaaaand so the pimping of Jessica and Ricky begins.  Could have seen that one coming a mile off.  Their routine was fine.  Nothing amazing.  Fine.  And I like Ricky, but the facial hair makes him look strikingly like Bob Denver: The Dobie Gillis years.  (Yes, I am dating myself.  I know.)  Or Kent Boyd with a testosterone boost.

 

It irks me every season, but particularly this season when Nigel has claimed that the Top 20 was supposedly picked on talent, but I hate the lukewarm praise with the "But you're likable, so people will vote for you" thing they give Rudy.   Don't get me wrong.  I really like him, but can they really claim they cast primarily on talent when basically point out how poor his technique is?  I wish they would say, "We know there are people who auditioned with stronger technique, but we really like your spirit/backstory/enthusiasm/commitment/versatility/whatever, and we think America will enjoy watching you grow this season"  instead of the "well, at least you're cute" spiel as if he's failed them and doesn't deserve to be in the Top 20 that they just put him in last week.  

 

Nothing wowed me. The girls blend. I thought the choreography was underwhelming and over-literal.  I don't know if care for Chris Scott's duets, but his group numbers are amazing.  More of that, please.  

 

Have the teen girls in the mosh pit always been this vocally demonstrative?  All their shrieking during the numbers was distracting.

 

Jacque and Stanley are my guesses for first elim, but it's usually a safe bet counting the tappers out, unfortunately.

Edited July 3, 2014 by bourbon

[TVSallyS]

I always have weird feelings about the ballet dancers. I always just feel like it is safe to assume they probably are not great. I am not a ballet expert. Is that unfair? Maybe I am totally wrong in my assumptions. For example, when you think of hip hop as a genre, I know there are outlets where you can work professionally doing that, but they seems more diverse (music videos, stage shows for famous performers, etc etc). I do not even know - what is the the most elite or impressive professional accomplishment for a hip hop dancer?? At any rate, my uninformed impression is that it always seems plausible that a truly great/brilliant up and coming hip hop dancer might audition for this show to make some connections on television, etc. Like, we could be seeing perhaps some of the very very best up and comers. I could see how some truly truly great up and coming ballroomers who thought it would be fun to get paid for TV work (choreographing on dancing with the stars, etc.) could also come on this show hoping to foster connections. Maybe I am 100 percent wrong here, but my impression is that the very very best up and coming young ballet dancers are not as likely to audition for this show, because there is pretty much one desired professional outcome for an up and coming ballet star - and that is to make it as a dancer in one of the few top ballet companies in the world, and this show is not going to really contribute to getting there, is it? Maybe I am totally wrong about that process, but that is my impression. (I am not a dancer so educate me if I don't know anything!) So I feel like in the other genres, there is a remote possibility I could be seeing the next big thing in the speciality I am watching. I always assume, however, there is simply no way I am ever watching the next big ballet star. Am I wrong about this? So I always kind of imagine great ballet dancers watching these straight up ballet routines and cringing. I just feel like I should watch the Nutcracker on YouTube if I want to see great straight up ballet. Whereas some of the other routines on this show feel like there are some truly special/unique moments in the other genres, if that makes sense. Is it unfair to automatically assume that the ballerinas are mediocre ballerinas? To my untrained eye I was not impressed by what I saw. Or are they no more mediocre (on average) than any of the dancers in any genre we see? I guess we probably have not had top ranked ballroom dancers audition for the show either.

[Misslindsey]

I wanted to like the ballerinas, because I do enjoy watching ballet, but I did not like them so far. Though maybe when I see them dancing other styles separately I can decide whether I like them or not. I always welcome a style of dance that gives me a break from contemporary, and I like contemporary, but on this show it goes into overkill. So I usually tend to pull for non-contemporary dancers first.

[allypenguin]

Ugh I dunno. I just have SYTYCD ennui or something because I just didn't get excited for like 90% of the show, and I felt myself eye-rolling at so much. Another episode, another string of cringeworthy moments from Nigel. I like how he congratulated himself for creating SYTYCD so Ricky and Jessica could dance on TV. Good lord. And Jason Derulo. I fucking hate that Wiggle song so much.
 
Maybe it's because they were in pairs so there were automatically more Important!Contemporary pieces, or that there were so samey looking dancers, but I just was not feeling it. (Haha let's be real though, I'm just bitter because Yaya got cut). I really miss the idea of having 2+ groups of dancers for the Meet the Top 20 Episode, though I realize the show would be shorter, but it's fun to see different formats and groupings, and there's more freedom in the range of choreography and combinations I guess.

 

I thought the Bonnie Story choreography was lovely though. And the Sonya routine was a nice surprise. The Travis routine was so same-y. Ugh. I wasn't all that impressed with any of the ballrooms, though, mostly because I unfairly compare every ballroom done by dancers in their own style to Black Mambo by Benji and Heidi. I continue to love Emilio <3 I hope he makes it really far. As for the ballet, I noticed that Jourdan fell out of some of her attitudes or something and it seemed to mess with her timing or confidence for the rest of the number. That being said, I love ballet and I love seeing it on the show, and wished we got more of it.

[Gella]

I think Brooklyn had a wardrobe malfunction. Three was something weird going on with her dress and she was dancing very carefully.

The samba was HOT. Very entertaining and we'll danced.

The less said about ballerinas, the better. They were both off balance with poorly developed feet. The more muscular one fell out of her arabesque croisee, I believe the other one had sickled feet. Fouettes were slow as molasses and they were behind the tempo as well. It was a mess. Look up Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle in Black Swan pas de deux for what the quality of movement should look like. Costuming didn't help either.

The contemporary girls are blending together. The hip hop number was light and entertaining. I thought the taller guy (Teddy?) was smoother somewhat.

Sonya's piece was beautifully danced. Jessica seems to be a standout of the jazz/contempo girls so far. That partnership would've been awesome.

Nick reminds me of Broadway Jesse too. Not sure what to say about Tanisha... I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her either.

Not sure who to vote for. Was very excited to see ballet represented, but that was just not good.

And yes, this show is somewhat counter productive to making it far in the classical ballet world. Two months (or however long it takes) of being out of the class is not going to help (Eliana and Chehon both admitted to struggling with the pas de deux in the finale after being away from class for the duration of the season) and some of the other styles are very ripe for injury (Alex Wong), so I doubt we would see a new Margot Fonteyn or Maya Plisetskaya on that stage, unlike say ballroom or hip hop or contemporary.

[90PercentGravity]

Teddy looks like David Bowe and Vanilla Ice had a baby.

 

Marquette is absolutely captivating with his six-foot legs. I feel like I could watch him all day. Also, I really want him to do disco.

 

I thought Jessica and Ricky where great, but Nigel was way over-selling it. When he acts like that it always ends up backfiring, too.

 

I figure Nick and one of the ballet girls will be going home.

[crossover]

I hope Brooklyn has a strong fanbase.  Both Mary and Nigel had negatives for her.  Mary also pointed out Marcquet's jive during the auditions (that no one saw).  I guess she had to use something because he was really good tonight.  Then Nigel made sure to butt in during Mary's time to praise only Malena.  So Marcquet needs a fanbase as well.  Rudy's technique was not good but then it wasn't good during auditions.  Mary and Nigel know this.  That's why he got the gentle negative comments.  They want him to stay awhile but they can't ignore technique.

 

They were very disappointed in the ballet girls.  I don't know why because they didn't audition as classical ballet?  They are really pulling for Serge, Malena, Tanisha and Nick.  They LOVE Ricky and Jessica.  Mary quietly loves Stanley and Emily.  I guess because Nigel hasn't really been definitive about them yet.  The tappers appear to be picks as well.  I thought Zack was the better of the two.  They were meh on the rest--Casey, Carly, Bridget, Emilio and Teddy.  They probably want Emilio for the hip hop guy but they couldn't stress that after the routine tonight because he had mostly tricks.

 

My favorite routines (choreography, execution and performance) were Stanley/Bridget, Ricky/Jessica, Marcquet/Malena and Zack/Valerie.  Second group were Casey/Emily, Nick/Tanisha, Emilio/Teddy and Rudy/Carly.  Last group was Serge/Brooklyn and Jacque and Jourdan.

 

So they probably want Brooklyn and Marquet in the bottom.  Rudy should be safe because they used the lovable tone with him.  Jacque and Bridget for the other girls.  Casey and Teddy for the other boys.

[Carrickfergus]

If I never see another contemporary routine, I'd be happy.  They are so boring.  Liked most of the ballroom, though some of it was underwhelming.   I really like Zack, but why, why, why is modern tap so very heavy and unengaging?  It's great in old movies, but I couldn't wait for routine that to end (esp. the long sections of Victoria tapping with her back to the audience.)

 

The two ballerinas are for the chop, since they were treated as part of the troup instead of soloists, and thus looked exactly alike.  The one on the left seemed to be throwing her leg in the twizzles (forgive me, I don't know what they are called).  That may be correct, but it certainly looked awkward.  The two men dancers (in hip-hop) got the only really distinctive routine of the night.

[shimarella]

I enjoyed this premiere episode of the show more than most. The opening number didn't do too much for me other than create some fun formations but I guess that's the benefit of having 20 dancers to start with. My favorite routine was probably the "Night Shift" number. I get the dissonance of taking a song with tragic roots and turning it into a fun routine...but in a way that's what worked since the set up was about joy in nostalgia. Anyway, the choreography really showcased their individuality and teamwork. Both those boys are total charmers. I also surprisingly enjoyed Jessica and Ricky's duet because Sonya Tayeh actually did some somewhat different movement vocabulary and they both did right by her. Smart to showcase Jessica's ability to be clean and celestial in her technique. My third favorite routine was probably Nick and Tanisha. I know that Malena & Marquet's was more technically proficient but Nick and Tanisha really played up the fun aspect of their dance better for me. 

Most of the other contemporary/jazz routines didn't make much impression. The ballerinas had some nice things going on but I did think the duet showcased some wonky technique on both of them and they really should have not dressed them alike, for reasons others have stated upthread. The tap routine was more enjoyable for me when they were dancing side by side and you could see their skill. The staircase was for me another one of those SYTYCD choreographer afflictions where the set-piece did not serve the dancers. Watching them race up and down the stairs while trying to smile and tap-dance didn't do much for me. 

Interesting to have the voting start tonight..not sure who will get cut, although as always the contemporary/jazz dancers for the most part hold my interest the least.

Jason Derulo was a fun judge. I hate that song but I loved watching his female dancers pull-up onto the bars and twerk. Get it!

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm shocked that somebody thinks Stanley will be going home, he blew me away!  All of my votes will be going to him.

 

Like everybody else, the ballerinas underwhelmed, and their being interchangeable would work against them anyway.  I thought Jourdan, the one on the right, was worse, she looked totally out of sync and fell out of a couple of moves.

 

And Valerie the tapper repeatedly looked like she was going to topple over.

[90PercentGravity]

With all the lines about pride and singing proud, I couldn't shake the feeling that the Night Shift routine was about a couple of blue collar guys finding forbidden love on the night shift.

[BensBritches]

Not that bad of a show, but other than Jessica, all the contemporary girls melded together. I wasn't blown away by the ballroom ladies either, but at least I know who is who. Was surprisingly disappointed by the ballet and don't know Which one was which. And I don't know too much about tap, but Valerie did not impress me. She looked off balance, a bit heavy and seemed to be leaning forward a lot of the time ( bad posture?).

I too was distracted by the white wad hanging out of Brooklyn's panties. My mind went places it shouldn't...

Did Emilio miss a trick toward the end of the routine? It looked like he slipped off the table when he was trying to do a trick to get on it.

Someone above commented on how short Ricky is and I never realized he is so small. Thought he was great though. And that routine made me like Jessica (or rather not hate her). The fawning was over the top, though and if it continues, it will only hurt Ricky and Jessica. Don't see Harry Potter in Ricky, so I'm not sure what Nigel was going on about. IIRC, Nigel told Ricky he liked him better with facial hair, so I'm guessing that's why the fur was back. Nigel probably thinks it makes him look more " manly".

No clue whose going home, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is Brooklyn (did we ever see her befor the top 20?) or a ballernia for the ladies and Stanley or either ballroom guy that's not Marquet.

[shimarella]

Yeah, I think Emilio stumbled a bit on the flare move he was using to get back on the table. The table just seemed a little too high for that trick to get pulled off consistently. He didn't miss it exactly but it was the only bobble I noticed. 

[GeorgieNY]

I feel bad for the ballerinas- that choreography was what company dancers would dance, and i feel like these women are cross trained dancers who happen to do pointe. Also, dressing them exactly the same makes it hard to vote- one was clearly stumbling off her pointe several times (I thought it was Jourdan, but I could be wrong!) they could have easily given them a lovely duet that was more in their reach and differentiated their appearance.

I actually really liked Bridgit, and hope she doesn't suffer from all the Dead Dad audition nonsense. (I also lost my dad at a young age, but it's not my identity!)

Ricky and Jessica seem to be the Golden Children, and I will be interested to see how Jessica does with another partner- I felt Ricky and the choreography elevated her.

All in all, I really liked everyone, which is a change from most seasons.

I hate that you have to use your Facebook account to vote.

Edited July 3, 2014 by GeorgieNY

[Iguana]

While Nigel seriously over praised it, I still thought the Ricky and Jessica contemporary piece was a standout. I surprised myself by actually saying "wow" out loud when Ricky did that one armed cart wheel in sort of slow motion, and really appreciated the connection the two dancers had. That being said, it was hardly "the best dance ever".

I was glad to come here and find out that the ballerinas did do a crappy performance and it wasnt just me being uneducated about how it should have been danced. From the way the Russian choreographer was NOT enthusiastic in his applause I figured they had blown it but wasn't sure.

The tap routine was fun to watch and clearly very demanding on the dancers. I like to them using a prop like the stairs instead of just having them tapping around the stage. The "night shift" hip hoppers were also fun.

The rest of the routines really didn't standouts in either direction for me so I guess they were okay. I think one of the ballerinas will be going home but I have no idea which guy is gone.

[chocolatine]

The samba was far and away my favorite dance of the night. Malene is an animal, in a good way. I also loved that, despite the seven-year age difference, she and Marcquet didn't look mismatched.

 

Agree about the ballerinas. I didn't pay too much attention to Jacque because my eye was drawn to Jourdan's wobbliness. Agree with TVSallyS that this show is probably not a great career move for an aspiring company dancer - I think it's more for ballet dancers who've already danced with a company and now want to cross over professionally (Chehon and Alex Freaking Wong come to mind).

 

I know Brooklyn was thrown off her game by that wardrobe malfunction, but to be honest, I wasn't that impressed with her audition either. I think she'll go home next week. 

[stronglikemusic]

Agree with GeorgieNY that ballet routine was something a company would perform, and I don't think the rigor required in practice to pull it off correctly can be accomplished in the time that they had. Such a shame, as I love ballet too.

 

Knew I would love Ricky and even Jessica (yes, despite Uncle Nigel's drooling) and the tappers and Marcquet and Marlene. The surprises of the evening for me were Stanley (seriously, watch again and keep your eyes only on him, it's like he floats on air) and Teddy, mostly because they hardly showed him before tonight. Hope Teddy gets hip hop again next week, because I'm not really sure what his specialty is. It's really obvious they are de-emphasizing hip hop this year (thus, JaJa-gate). 

 

Have no idea who could be going home among the guys. But if it's Stanley, that would be a crying shame. 

[crocosmia]

I enjoyed Jason DeRulo on the panel.   He seemed to have fun being there and to appreciate the talent, which was a nice touch for the opening introduction-to-the-dancers night.  I thought he was cute and funny. 

 

The two tappers were adorable, and their routine was entertaining.   I also liked Marcquet's samba.  Marcquet is a charming dancer, and those long, artistic legs and arms are a delightful sight.   

 

Contemporary, meh.  Most routines are monotonously similar, and the contemporary girl dancers on the show at this early point are interchangeable.   One guy whose name I can't remember had great legs and was lovely to watch, but I can't pick out in my memory even one of the girls from the others at this point.  But I'm not a fan of contemporary, especially Sonya's contemporary, so I'm not a good judge of its artistic worth.  

 

I don't know a lot about ballet, but the two dancers tonight were underwhelming.   I remember Eliana and Chehon from a couple of seasons ago, who were both such engaging and elegant ballet dancers.    Tonight's girls weren't even close to that level, it seemed to me.

 

It's always a treat to see Louis van Amstel!  

Edited July 3, 2014 by crocosmia

[NextIteration]

So Travis?  Managed to bore me, that says something.  Preferred Stacy's piece over Bonnie and Travis' but it was Sonya's that wowed and surprised me, gee thanks Nigel for ruining that moment by telling me how important it was. ::sigh::  Jessica is now off the bubble, and I think Ricky as well.  Still really can't stand Tanisha - everything about the poor girl bugs me.

 

The ballet duet was extremely disappointing, for a number of reasons many of them cited above.  Jourdan did bobble, but I only watched it once so I don't remember where or what precisely, but she did.  And since I was mostly watching her, I didn't watch Jacque - who was primarily on the left (stage right) and Jourdan is more muscular than Jacque, it that helps anyone tell the difference.  Of note as to the "why" for a ballet dancer, Jourdan is already in what I think of as a world renowned/respected Contemporary Ballet Company, Complexions, so I've been curious as to why she auditioned from the start.  All that said, they really did a damn good job with what they were given and the enthusiasm of the judges was well deserved.  This wasn't "bad" in any way, it just wasn't as good as it might have been or what I'd hoped for, what these dancers did even with a wobble here and there takes a lot of skill, and because ballet is so technically precise, there is no hiding a wobble or missed step.

 

The Commodores song Night Shift is about Jackie Wilson, and Marvin Gaye.  The duet, was one of the standouts of the night for me.

 

As was the Samba, love Louis, Malene and Marcquet.

 

So Sonya, Chris and Louis delivered tonight.  At this point the dancers are still pretty interchangeable to me, especially the contemporary ones, though I did notice that Dead Dad and Dead Mom dancers were paired together.

 

I did enjoy the tap piece, but I didn't think it was out of this world remarkable or anything.

 

Oh as a PS of sorts, hunting around the interwebz I noted that Nick and Rudy are from Janette Manrara's studio, Dance Town, which really seems to hands down turn out the most dancers in competitive reality television.

Edited July 3, 2014 by NextIteration

[mojoween]

With all the lines about pride and singing proud, I couldn't shake the feeling that the Night Shift routine was about a couple of blue collar guys finding forbidden love on the night shift.

I actually thought something similar. Emilio's ill-fitting security guard uniform and the way it was worn with the open front was very porny to me. It made me giggle anyways.

[rina9294]

Overall I enjoyed the show other than the judges blathering but not really saying anything except for the subtle pushing of several people toward the bus lane. My son went to high school with Teddy - great kid and definitely trained in more than just hip hop so I'm looking forward to seeing other routines from him.  Don't know if there's any video up from it, but he was the lead in Footloose last year for Webster Schroeder High School and put on a great show.

 

Want to guess where my votes are going even with the dreaded Facebook login?

[waving feather]

I thought Zack looked cool as shit in that tap routine. He was totally in control and is obviously a better tapper than Valerie. At some points Valerie seemed to be concentrating hard to do the steps right and the performance aspect was gone. And I think I saw her look down at her feet for extended periods of time.

 

ETA: I thought that hip hop was terrible. The attitude wasn't right enough and the synchronization was bad. I understand both dancers have different hip hop styles but they really should have worked together better to ensure similar quality of movements through out the piece.

Edited July 3, 2014 by waving feather

[kechara]

There are different schools fo tap right?  Zack seemed so much more upright than Valerie who seems to be a looking down/forward leaner. But I've seen that before and I am not sure if it's a style or a form break. Anyone?

[tv echo]

I pretty much ignore or mute the judges' comments because I know that they try to manipulate the results from past seasons.  Nigel's blatant favoritism and Mary's screeching are just annoying.  I usually like the guest judge, unless it's some celebrity who has no dance background whatsoever. 

 

I think Ricky is the best male dancer on the show this season, but the show is about America picking their favorite dancer (remember Danny?).  I'm afraid that judges' overpraise will create a backlash against him.

Edited July 3, 2014 by tv echo